This was a fun tasting for me with Franceen Khang and owner Roman Pfaffl ( of WEINGUT R& A PFAFFEL ( www.pfaffel.at, Schujgasse 21, A-2100 Stetten, Austria Tel : +43 (0) 22 62 / 67 34 23 Fax : +43 / (0) 22 62 /67 34 23 -21 wein@pfaffl.at www.pfaffl.at ) ) of Austria. Franceen had called and emailed in advance to let me know that they would be passing by for me to meet owner and to taste his family's wines.
This is a complete family operation of four : Roman and Adelheid at the helm and sister Heidemarie ( marketing ) and Roman, Jr as cellar master. Roman, Jr. explained how the labels with the cherry and the pepper on them were his sister's idea and I mentioned how I thought that the image of the pepper needed more contrast to stand out more distinctly on the white background of the label.
I love this picture that I got finally of Roman, Jr in full smile as he warmed-up to what I was doing with all my artsy photos and pictures of him, the color of the wines, the labels distortions through the Reidel tasting glass as well as the wines themselves. Funny, he never mentioned that I was tasting his wines with a Reidel glass which is Austrian and considered the best today in the wine world for tasting and evaluating properly wines.
I was running around like crazy with my " to do " list and so it was a nice break for me to come out of our office and to taste these four wines that they brought with them : two whites and two reds. The two whites were both made from the Gruner Veltliner grape which has over the last fifteen years or so grown to be a favorite.
I love this picture above of smiling broadly Roman Pfaffl : he's brimming with cheer and joy. Look at the color, too of the Gruner Veltliner in the glass as well. I love combining pictures of those that make/ and or pay for the wines to be made with their wines. I like showing the relationship that exists between the two. Of course if I had the bottle there, too it would be even more of a complete match. I have some of those as well.
I liked all four of the PFAFFL wines ( they make five in all I think that includes another Gruner Veltliner - the Hundsleiter not tasted ) that I tasted here with Franceen and with Roman, Jr. He and his family produce very fine wines from Wenviertel a grape-growing region northeast of Vienna. I had never heard of it before so this was a " first " and a welcome discovery for me.
I enjoyed both the two PFAFFL Gruner Veltliners that I tasted : the 2008 " Austrian Pepper " ( $16.49, 100% Gruner Veltliner aged 5 months in stainless steel tanks on their fine lees, it was fresh and bright and medium-to-light-bodied with good balance and smooth taste : I might have liked to see a bit more definition of flavors and a bit more range ) ; and the 2008 " Haidviertel " Weinviertel DAC ( $ 24.99 : bolder, thicker and denser and with more weight and body: medium-bodied and best with food ).
My one complaint is the weak dollar and the strong Euro that makes these two wines a bit more expensive than I would like to see them to have them sell well in our store here in our nation's capitol of Washington D.C. where people are uncertain of their economic future and counting their pennies a bit more than ever. We will give them a go anyway and see what the response to them is. Franceen will more than likely make time in her really busy schedule to come and do an " in-store wine-tasting " that includes them to get the momentum started for them.
I love capturing the colors as they change of the wines as in this Gruner Veltliner above that was the " 2008 Haidviertel Vineyard, Weinviertel DAC " ( 100% Gruner Veltliner aged 3 months in stainless steel tanks on the fine lees ) in the Reidel glass. This glass shape is especially well-suited for showing the gradations of color of the wines.
I forgot to mention the the 2008 PFAFFL " Austrian Pepper " Gruner Veltliner had that lovely touch of Austrian pepper for which it is named here. It's definitely in the taste in a subtle and balanced/welcome way - not too strong or pronounced, adding accent and lively interest to the whole taste.
It's important for me to include these pictures like the one above that show the labels of all the wines that I have tasted at any tasting. It's good for you that were not in attendance and reading and looking at this later. It's also really important to help me recollect the years and the correct names and appellations of these many " new " wines that I am often discovering here for the very first time as in this instance.
I love playing with the labels through the wine's color and the Reidel glass : extending and distorting the word " Austrian Pepper " and thus also drawing more attention to it in this manner.
Being an artist I like to take lots of bold risks and make many experiments as I try for more interesting and original pictures and angles and combination of the various elements that make up any one moment. I hope you like some of the results that I get this way where I am not always in complete control : sometimes I am just along for the ride which I think describes a lot of us in life in general.
What did I say here Roman, Jr. to make you laugh and smile so broadly all in one? I know that we covered many topics and I feel that I must have described the wine in such a fashion that was out of the realm of the ordinary to get such a candid response. I do this in part just for that as well as to see how you and others will respond verbally to whatever I have just thrown out which in many cases may be quite audacious and provocative and not always warranted or exactly correct as I am simply " testing the waters " and playing the devil's advocate.
People often speak as much with their hands as they do with their words. I like capturing on digital both when I can : especially when the image turns out more candidly and less posed as the one above.
Next we passed to the 2008 PFAFFL " Austrian Cherry " Zweigelt, $16.49 , ( 100% Zweigelt aged 6 months in older barriques ( 30% ) and stainless steel tanks (70%)) dry red that I liked, too. I love those zesty toasty darker as well as lighter cherry/berry flavors with strong accents of spice and body to give definition and exclamations/ahhs to our taste buds as we complete our ride on the wine's liquid surface just as we would body surf on an ocean's wave and land smoothly and satisfyingly - gently - on the sand's/beaches surface.
For the last three or four years we have sold lots of Zweigelt at Cleveland Park Wines & Spirits ( 3423 Connecticut Avenue N.W. Washington D.C. 20008 Tel : 202-363-4265 sales@clevelandparkwine.com www.clevelandparkwine.com ). We have not found as many Blaaufrankish or St. Laurent dry reds available and I asked Roman Jr. about this? I don't recollect now his answer. What do you think Roman Jr about this? Is more Zweigelt being exported now to the United States and less of the two others?
I don't need another Zweigelt right now as much as I need and want another St. Laurent. Franceen and Roman Jr. tasted me on the 2006 PFAFFL " Altenberg " St. Laurent ( $49.99, 100% St. Laurent aged 16 months in barriques ) and I quite liked it for all of it's nuances and pronounced variations of tastes and accents. It's young and needs more time in the bottle to really evolve and show more of it's overall definition and charm. I mentioned this to Roman Jr. here a couple of times as well as I believe mentioning it with all of his wines. They were all good : but they would in my humble opinion be even better with a bit more bottle-age : and that included the two Gruner Veltliners. This leads me to the point that I often make that most people drink their wines young and before they are really at or in their prime. They don't even know what the " prime " tastes like in many cases because they drink them young and within a day or tow of purchase without anyone probably telling them that it may be wise to save them for another 3-6 months or even more, depending on each wine of course.
What's the fifth wine, the Gruner Veltliner " Hundseiten " taste like Roman Jr.? How is it different from the other two PFAFFL Gruners?
I also had fun during the tasting asking Roman Jr. if he made a Roter Veltliner PFAFF? That's a " red " Gruner and I have enjoyed selling the occasional one when it is well-made as it can be with care and attention taken.
It just occurred to me that Franceen will be sending in an order for us on March 1st, 2010 I think and so we will add some of this PFAFFL to the order : a red and a white. I will call her later today from the store to add these to our order for March.
For more technical information on these wines go to : WEINGUT R & A PFAFFL Schulgasse 21, A-2100 Stetten, Austria Tel : +43 / (0) 22 62 / 67 34 23 Fax : +43 / (0) 22 62 / 67 34 23 - 21 wein@pfaffl.at www.pfaffl.at .
In our gust book Roman Jr. wrote before leaving : " Thank you very much to taste the wines! " Yours, Roman Pfaffl
It was a pleasure to taste your wines with you and with Franceen. Thanks for this new and exciting opportunity. I enjoyed myself quite a bit and look forward to having the wines at the store soon.
I can't help myself here trying to get just the right evocative/ provocative picture of wine and glass and PFAFFL label with the cherry on it! Not bad, not my best but I sure do like trying ...
Customers that happen to be in the store often ask what is being tasted and with the permission of the supplier. wine-maker/owner we often explain and offer a taste or two of the wines to include them in the moment. Franceen explains here the label to this lady.
Above, I'm back at work capturing the intense toasty/roasted ruby-garnet red color here with the label in the background. I love the play of light and dark and of contrasts, too.
In parting I always like to take a picture of myself with the owner/wine-maker and often the rep, too as a souvenir showing that we were all part of this " PFAFFL " moment : often a once-in-a-lifetime experience for me and one that I am thrilled to be able to record with pictures and text and then share with any of the wide world out there that may be interested.
Cheers and thanks for coming to Cleveland Park Wines & Spirits Roman Jr. Come again anytime. And the next time let's set up an in-store wine-tasting with you tasting your wines here with our customers? Email me to set this up if you would like. TONY
PS : This was just after our " snowstorm of the century " in the Washington D.C. metropolitan area and so I may include a picture or two here if I remember when back at the store. To see some just scroll down the February 2010 column to our right and you will find plenty.
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