FEATURED WINE NAME

I could try to explain this wine to you, but I would never do it as well as the very well spoken Terry Theise, who imports these wines.  Take it away Terry:

Look, I am a man with greying temples. I’m in the wine-biz and drink wine very often. For those reasons and possibly other of which I’m unaware, I’m starting to place my highest premium on drinkability and beauty when I select wines, not just for you but also for my personal sloppin’ down. A few years ago I began to see the occasional dichotomy between what I offered to you as Great Wine and what I actually bought for the private stash; what I need at home are wines I can drink any time and which taste good with my meals. And I would stake this claim; if you buy wine for practical reasons, not simply to have “nothing but 90+! on your shelves or winelist, you must pay attention to the quality, the loveliness of the flavors of the wines you choose. Any clod can buy and sell BIG-ASS wines. Show reserves, wines for the tasting room. I want to sell you wines for FOOD and LIFE. Berger’s wines are delightful and affordable. ‘Nuff said?

Terry's Tasting Notes: A gushing almost sappy aroma leads to a surprisingly dense and almost powerful palate – even with a little tannin – and a bacony finish. The wine exceeds its price-class...

And if we might add.. great red fruit concentration.  Delicious and easy to drink.

Berger Zweigelt 2010    $17 a bottle

meet the winemakers

Erich + Michaela Berger
Charm and value typify these wines. Clean, cultured-yeast wines with lots of primary fruit, yet aging superbly. Cultured yeasts give them all a similar profile; fresh, long in middle and finish, polished, with a finely doughy aftertaste; clean, pure through and through, vital, frisky and crisp.

This is a father/son estate of fourteen hectares. Half of the land consists of south-facing loess terraces with locally renowned names. Vines planted consist of 50% Grüner Veltliner, 10% Riesling, 10% Welschriesling, 20% Zweigelt, 10% other varieties. There’s some land on the Gedersdorf plateau that’s planted to red varieties.

All the wines are made dry, of course. They use cultured yeasts to get slow fermentations and to preserve the utmost CO2. Berger is all stainless steel, of course. Technology for controlling fermentation temperatures, by no means universal in Austria, has been in use here since 1990. They produce around 5,400 cases annually.
www.weingut-berger.com