WUNDERWEIN German Wine Dinner At Artisan In Southport

Photo courtesy of Artisan

There has been no shortage of wine dinners lately. It is a good way to showcase  wines that are selected to pair with foods that complement  them.   I came across  one sponsored by WUNDERWEIN , an importer of German wines. The focus was on wines from Germany and featured a couple of wines from a grape, Silvaner, that I don't have much experience with.  The dinner took  place at Artisan in Southport on March 1, 2023. 

The opening wine was  Sekt, a sparkling wine that has several quality levels and methods of production. Click here for a Wine Enthusiast Magazine article on Sekt.  The Gut Hermannsberg Brut is made using the Champagne method and is 100% Riesling.  It was delicious- fresh and bright, a great way to begin. Sekt is not well represented in many CT wine shops. I did a search for Sekt online and found very few available. Hopefully that will change as importers like WUNDERWEIN introduce it to the public.

Achim Kirchner, Managing Director of Gut Hermannsberg presented the Sekt and a Riesling that was poured with the first course. 

Simon Guiot, Export Manager for Battenfield-Spanier presented his Riesling from the Rheinhessen.  

Christopher Catansei was in charge of the wine service. He suggested pouring two wines for each course. The first course included two different Rieslings. In my opinion Riesling is the most under appreciated wine on the market today. Riesling can be made in many styles from bone dry to dessert style. The pair for the first course were both dry and from  2020. As they were from two different producers and regions it was interesting to pick out similarities and differences. They both were fine matches for the first course.

Local sea food crudo with radish, cucumber, vanilla-calamansi elixir.  A great match for the wines. 

I was very impressed with the preparations for the dinner. Quite often a restaurant will need to collect the used wine glasses between courses to wash them. That can slow down the pace. Not so at this dinner. A room adjacent to the space we were in was set up with clean glasses ready to go. My compliments to the wine staff and servers for putting in so much time and care into making sure service went off without a hitch. 

The last time I was in this room was in 2016 for a dinner with Jean Trimbach of Alsace. 
Click here for link to the Trimbach post.

Robert MacGregor, Export Manager for Burgerspital zum Heiligen, Franken presented a pair of Silvaners for the second course. At one time there was more Silvaner planted in Germany than Riesling. Many are bottled in an interesting bottle known as  Bocksbeutel.  The best Silvaners come from the Franken region of Germany. It can also be found in Alsace were it is known with a slightly different spelling, Sylvaner. The wines showed off flavors pear, peach and citrus along with an interesting touch of herbs. 

Quenelle De Poisson Lyonnaise & Nantua Sauce- Traditional Fish Dumpling
​with Crayfish Sauce. 

Kevin Gagnon, Tasting Director for Fritz Wassmer, presented the next set of wines. The first was a Chasselas, a grape well known in Switzerland but  German versions are not often seen here in the US. It ripens early and can be over productive. When yields are managed they can produce fine wine with floral and fruity flavors like this one.

The Fritz Wassmer was a Grauer Burgunder, known as Pinot Gris or Pinot Grigio in France and Italy. A 2017, this wine was quite complex and a pleasure to drink. 

Great Lakes Walleye with leeks, fingerling potatoes and Genevoise Sauce

Next up were 2 Spätbugunders, known as Pinot Noir. Spät is German for late and the grape does ripen later than others. Spätburgunder is the third most widely planted grape in Germany. I wish we saw more of it here in the US. Generally speaking most show nice fruit and have a little less tannin than you see in Pinot from warmer climates. With a nice level of acid they pair well with many foods. Like Sekt, we don't see a lot of them here yet. 

Roasted French Rack of Veal with celery mousseline, root sofritto, hen of the woods mushrooms, Madeira sauce

The Pinot Meunier was presented by Bernd Kost, Managing Director for
​Stromberg -Zabergau. Apologies to Bernd, I did not get a pic of him.

​Photo credit Wein Heimat Magazine.

A fitting end to the dinner was the  Stromberg-Zabergau Pinot Meunier Rosé Sekt. With aromas and flavors of stone fruits and raspberries it paired well with the Valrhona Chocolate Pudding with crème fraiche and raspberries. Pinot Meunier, a red grape, and one of the three grapes allowed in Champagne is not often seen  on its own. I have had a few, both sparkling and still. I hope to have a chance to try some other versions of this grape.

The group I sat with all agreed that the food, wines and service were outstanding. I would like to thank Bill Goldberg, the WUNDERWEIN importer and his partners, Jeff Himmel and Jan Schüler for bringing representatives of the wineries together for this dinner and for  help with background info for this post. Bill's enthusiasm for the wines he brings in is quite evident. It is nice to see wines of this quality available and on store shelves. Several of the wines are being carried at Greens Farms Spirit Shop in Westport.  My compliments to Artisan and Chef Frederic Kieffer along with his team for putting together a great night. Cheers!

Click here for pics from Germany I took in 2013