The start of it all & Germany

I've always loved escaping to some seminar or class. While taking a master class in Affinage at The Artisanal Cheese Center in NYC something just clicked. I became fascinated with pairings. The possibilities are endless.

Never liking sweets surprisingly I started trying all types of dessert wines with cheeses. With this I discovered German wines. The TBA's, BA's & Eiswien are in my opinion very under appreciated in the US. I have been eagerly awaiting some kind of "Riesling Renaissance " that all the wine books predict. At least we know have a little more variety imported. How often did you see anything from the Nahe on a shelf 2 yrs. ago?

After studying independently for a while I started taking classes. Someone told me about Kevin Zralys class that you can get for free if you pour & set up. I would drag my tired ass down to the city every Wednesday after setting up the line for the day at work. Then get home at 1am. Was it worth it? Yes, I got to taste some rare vintages and network like crazy!!!!

Starting studying the WSET program over a year ago while still dragging myself back & forth. Every free minute I spent studying, I'm still going strong with 2 more years to go!

I decided I'd had enough of slinging hash to country folk & sold my place to a woman that renamed it after a cow!

Since then I've gone to study in Germany at the Deutsche Wine Institute (yeah that right the DWI institute). A really great program! Very intense tasting with tons of regional food. Also you get into cellars that others will only dream of.

The cellars of Juliusspital alone are worth the trip. Set up in 1576 to fund medical care for the poor it is still a working hospital with patients getting a glass of wine a day! Also it is the second largest wine estate in Germany with 415 cultivated acres. There are actually 3 wine hospitals in the city of Wurzburgh. But only Juliusspital is still operating as a medical facility with on the average having 4oo beds filled. It was really weird to walk past a lab with nurses & patients one minute then find yourself in this beautiful cellar with intricately carved barrels the next. Also each hospital has a weinstube where you can get reasonably priced Franconian specialties along with their wines. We had our farewell dinner at Burgerspital. It was a meal that I won't soon forget. From the starter of soup made with new wine to the roast duck stuffed with sausage, & apple it was wonderful! The potato pancakes they make are smothered with cheese, forest mushrooms, & a light creamy gravy. Seriously if I ever decide to just give up on the figure I just might move there to stuff a few of these away every day! Every course was paired perfectly with a variety of Riesling, Silvaner, & Muller-Thurgau. For dessert we had a rare 2003 Wurzburger Abtsleite Riesling Eiswein a rich luscious wine with high acidity, notes of peach, apricots, & almonds.

I would highly recommend this program to anyone with interest in German wine. They have different programs yearly & it is very reasonably priced. Just stay away from the bacon fat with salt on bread that they give you when tasting! This is deadly stuff!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!