Black Sea Wines Brings You Items from the Web - 22 March 2011

Black Sea Wines brings you some of the latest news and opinions from the Web.

• If you missed this January article from The Economist about wines making a comeback in the former Yugoslavia especially Croatia, Montenegro and Macedonia, it's a short and enjoyable read.

• Richard Jennings of RJonWine.com has a nice article on new releases from Eastern Europe and the Balkans.

• One of my favorite super cheap wines is the Bulgarian Gamza Suhindol. Gamza comes from the Veliko Tarnovo area and is a spicy medium-bodied red that sells for about $4 per bottle. Click here to find out about the wine and the Lovico winery. According to Lovico's website, their wine is available throughout the EU and in the US.

• IstanbulEats thinks that the 2007 Umurbey Sauvignon Blanc from Turkey is New Zealand quality.

• Cramele Recas, a Romanian winery, on its news page lists new places in the UK and US where you can buy their wine and recent awards. 

• If you can read Romanian, a nice wine blog is Cazan Cu Vin.

• Wine and cheese are always a nice pairing. If you are interested in cheese, check out the blog, Cheese Enthusiast.

Tell Us About Wine Stores with A Great Collection of Eastern European Wines - Anywhere

If you know of a wine store or merchant that features Eastern European, Black Sea or Central Asian wines, please let us know. Send us the name of the store, street address and website (if applicable). We would like to build a global database of where you can find the wines of the Black Sea. Thanks!

Black Sea Wines Brings You Items from the Web for 21 March 2011

Black Sea Wines brings you some of the latest news and opinions from the Web.

• Food & Wine magazine lists the best wines of 2010 from Eastern Europe according to a well-known Chicago sommelier.

• Frommer's, the travel site, lists the best local places for beer and wine in Eastern Europe.

• At a recent Moldovan Chamber of Commerce event, I was told of hopes to build an underground transport system to tour the wine cellars of Cricova.

• If you live in the New York City area, there is a class on the wines of Croatia and Hungary on March 26th.

• Austria's former commercial attache to Romania saw opportunity and launched the wine brand LacertA and is now opening a wine-tasting venue.

• Black Sea Wines recently reviewed the Avia Pinot Noir 2009. Why Wine Blog reviewed the 2008 edition.

• The 2011 Chardonnay du Monde competition for the world's best Chardonnay's was held in France last week. One of the top ten Gold Medal winners, Chardonnay Vyber z Hroznu 2006 by Vinarstvi Josef Valihrach, was from the Czech Republic. Bulgaria was cited as a Central European standout.

• Blogger Carolyn Snowabiad praises Turkish wine and provides a link to a CNN piece on the revival of Turkish wines.

Interview with Nimrod Kovacs, Owner of Kovacs Nimrod Winery

Nimrod Kovacs

Kovacs Nimrod Winery, based in Eger, Hungary, offers wine drinkers whites and reds, varietals and blends made from well-known French and traditional Hungarian grapes. Black Sea Wines spoke with Mr. Nimrod Kovacs, the owner of the winery. Born in Hungary, Mr. Kovacs moved to the United States where he lived for over twenty years and became an advertising and telecommunications executive. During his international business travels, he developed a love for wine and a self-described ‘California taste.’ Kovacs decided to return to his native Hungary and invest in, among others, the Eger-based Monarchia winery. He retired from the telecommunications industry and became the proprietor of the winery which now bears his name.

BSW: We read your website. Can you elaborate on the story of how you became involved in winemaking?

NK: I was an investor in Hungarian wine, through the Monarchia merchant company for 10 years, which also oversaw the Monarchia winery in Eger. Two years ago, I left the corporate world and bought out the winery. It became my pet project.  Eger is similar to Burgundy and Northern Rhone. We have three tracts of land in the region where we grow grapes.

BSW: Tell us about your collection of wines.

NK: We are still refining our wines and moving to the next phase of quality. At the top of the pyramid, is the Nagy Eged hill with its Grand Cru characteristics where, we are trying to take lessons from designers like Armani and Versace by creating high quality, haute couture, unique, not mass market wines. Furmint and NJK are our two, top of the line, Grand Cru type wines so far. We are also working on some more reds from Nagy Eged, such as Pinot Noir, Kekfrankos, Syrah and Cab Franc, which will come out in a few years time.

In the middle of the pyramid are the Estate Selection wines including our 2007 Battonage Chardonnay, 2007 Pinot Noir and 2008 Syrah. The Pinot Noir is in made in an international style. It’s fruity, luscious and big with a nice body. Our Syrah is a fruity and peppery, Cote de Rotie style.

We are also developing everyday wines called EGRI for the bottom of the pyramid with purchased grapes that will sell at hypermarkets and large retail outlets for less than $10 a bottle.

BSW: We don’t grow Furmint in the States and it is not available in much of Western Europe. What is your Furmint like? Sweet? Dry?

NK: Our Furmint from Nagy Eged is a complex wine with aromas and flavors of pear and apricot with some flinty overtones and with a long finish. 2009 was our first year for the Furmint and we produced only 480 bottles. It’s a very nice wine and is more subdued and fruity than the Tokaj.

BSW: What should we look for in 2011 from Kovacs Nimrod winery?

NK: In March 2011, from our Estate selection, we introduced the 2008 Battonage Chardonnay which is more subtle and elegant than the 2007. Also, around September, we will bring out, our Estate Selection 2007 Kekfrankos. Finally, around Christmastime, we will offer two limited productions wines from Nagy Eged, the 2010 Furmint (1200 bottles) and the 2008 Kekfrankos (300 bottles). The Kekfrankos has been harvested from the very top of the Nagy Eged Hill (500 meters) which is the highest Kekfrankos terroir in Hungary.

BSW: Where can we buy your wines?

We sell in neighboring countries especially in Germany, Czech Republic and Poland, and of course, all over Hungary. We just shipped 5000 bottles to the US. I also am a 33% partner in Starry Night Winery, based in San Rafael, California who will help in the distribution of Kovacs Nimrod Wines in the USA.

BSW: Are there other wines in Central and Eastern Europe that you like or find interesting?

NK: There are many fine wineries in Hungary. From Eger, St. Andrea has great wines. Zoltan Demeter makes sophisticated wines in Tokaj. Istvan Szepsy is also a great winemaker in Tokaj. From Villany, Attila Gere and Sauska make nice wines. From the Szekszard region, Takler wines are big and luscious.

Black Sea Wines thanks Mr. Kovacs for his time and participation. You can find out more about Nimrod Kovacs Wines at www.kovacsnimrodwinery.com.

Regional Wine Associations and Organizations

• All About Greek Wine
• Georgian Wine Association
• Greek Winemakers 
• Hungarian Wine Society
• Moldovan Small Wine Producers Association 
• Moldovan Wine Guild
• Romanian Winegrowers 
• Romanian Wine Exporters and Producers Association (Wine Romania) 
• Tokaj Wine and Women Association (Hungary) 
• Wines of Balkans
• Wines of Croatia
• Wines of Czech Republic 
• Wines of Serbia
• Wines of Turkey 

We will be adding to the list. Please send the name and URL of your wine association or organization!

Review: Matrasa by Ganja Sharab from Azerbaijan

Matrasa by Ganja Sharab of Azerbaijan

Wine: I sampled a Matrasa, a red wine from Azerbaijan, from Ganja Sharab, a well known Azeri vineyard. There was no vintage on the bottle but a date stamp of May 2010. I purchased the wine in a market in the downtown section of Baku, Azerbaijan's capital. Baku is a beautiful city and the downtown area is modern yet retains an oriental feel. I carried the wine back to the US in my luggage. I really wanted to like this wine because Azeri wines are not common in the West and it comes in a really cool looking ceramic bottle. Besides, I schlepped it 5000 miles. Unfortunately, I did not find the wine appealing.

Tasting Details: We drank the Matrasa with dinner at home-- pasta with marinara sauce, roasted brussel sprouts, feta cheese and salad. My wife also tasted the wine.

Results: Neither Debbie nor I enjoyed the Matrasa. The aroma had a faint rubbing alcohol smell. The wine had little fruit and no complexity. It had an alkaline taste with a strong aftertaste. In short, a basic red wine that seemed antiseptic. The color was a dark red but seemed a little light. We did not finish the bottle and used a vacuum stopper to store the wine for future drinking. On the third day, the wine actually tasted significantly better. So, if you have a bottle of Matrasa by Ganja Sharab, make sure to decant or open the bottle well in advance of drinking the wine.

Overall rating: Drinkable- (minus)

Price value: You can have better Azeri wines at the same price - around $8 per bottle.
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Review: Corten Pinot Noir 2007 from Moldova

2007 Corten Pinot Noir Ready for Tasting

Wine: The wine tasted was a Corten Pinot Noir 2007 from the Cahul region of Moldova. Corten is produced by Acorex, one of Moldova's largest wineries. Acorex sells internationally and offers a Chardonnay that is an excellent value.

Tasting: The wine was drunk from a paper cup at a Moldovan Chamber of Commerce event with the Moldovan Ambassador to the US. The Moldovan Embassy was kind enough to provide samples of the Corten at the conclusion of the event. No food was consumed with the wine, and the wine was opened immediately before drinking.

Results: Not bad but the wine should have been better. The wine tasted like it was starting to turn bad. This 2007 Pinot Noir is meant for drinking now. Perhaps improper storage at the Embassy and transportation to various social events damaged the taste of the wine. There was a slight 'skunkiness' to a wine which seemed to have potential. Beyond the skunkiness, the Corten had nice color (in the paper cup!), a decent bouquet and elements of citrus. The wine gave the impression that it would go nicely with soups, chicken and fish.

Overall Rating: Drinkable. Snooth rated the Corten 2007 Pinot Noir 3 1/2 out of 5 stars. If I had tasted a better bottle, perhaps I would have done the same.

Price Value: N/A
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Don't Miss the Zagreb Wine Gourmet Festival on February 25th!

The 4th Zagreb Wine Gourmet Festival begins on February 25th. More than 500 wines will be available at the festival; mostly from Croatia, but also from Italy, Slovenia, Austria, Bosnia and Herzegovina, France, Spain and South Africa. If you have not had Croatian wine, it is excellent.

The Mystery Red from Lion Gri

During my trip to Moldova, we met with the President and owner of Lion Gri winery. Lion Gri operates from a free trade zone at the edge of the city limits of Chisinau, the capital city. Lion Gri is impressively expanding into emerging markets like China and India. While we visited with the owner during our project evaluation, we were able to sample some wines. Upon leaving the production center, our generous host not only let us sample a number of wines but handed my colleagues and me a gift bag containing two bottles, one white and one red – both unlabeled. We had no idea what they were.

I brought the red home to the US. My father-in-law enjoys wine and a story. So, explained how I had received this wine from the production facility and had no idea what it was. What made the story more interesting was the recounting of meeting the winery president. She was an hour late and resplendent in high heels, a suit with shoulder pads and a ruffle collar shirt that would make Prince blush. It was a grand entrance.

We opened the wine sitting around the dinner table with my wife’s family. We ate pasta puttanesca with the mystery red along with salad and roasted vegetables as a side dish. By this time, Slava, my friend and colleague in Moldova informed me he thought the wine was a cabernet.

Anyway, we tasted it and we all enjoyed it. It went well with the puttanesca. I don’t think it was a straight Cabernet but a Cabernet/Merlot mix. The wine had a Cabernet taste but had low tannins, a soft aroma and seemed a bit too light in body to be a Cabernet. The wine was gentle but had enough taste to stand up to the capers. Everyone at the table seemed to enjoy the wine and the story. We managed to finish the bottle … the unlabeled bottle.

The moral of the story is if you receive an unlabeled bottle from Lion Gri, try it.

The Oldest Winery is in Central Asia ... Armenia!

Scientists found the world's oldest winery in a cave in Armenia. They believe the wine-press, grape seeds, urns and other artifacts they discovered date back more than 6000 years.

Our Wine Review Philosophy

Readers may submit wine reviews or tastings in any format or style they wish. Our style of review is as follows.

1. No quantitative ratings. I think saying one wine is a 98 and another wine is a 94 is silly. A comment by a friend from France has resonated with me over the years. He said the wine ratings have done wine drinkers a tremendous service by rooting out low quality wines but they also imply that there is one way that wine should taste. Not all wines are supposed to be bold, oaky and full of tannins. There is no scale that fits all wines.

2. Fine wines in their own right. If a Georgian or Croatian wine is rated as Outstanding, it does not necessarily mean that it is as good as a Domaine Romanee-Conti. We judge the wines within their own realm. The wines are not compared across all the wines of the world.

3. No fancy, abstract flavors. I don't pretend to have the most educated palate but I can honestly say that I have never tasted tobacco in wine. I have seen wine reviews describe wines tasting of "pear", "poached pear" and "pear tart." Hmm, pear ... OK, it's a fruit. But can you really discern the difference between poached pear and pear tart in a bottle of Pinot Noir? One wine expert told me a certain wine tasted of "smoked plums." I've never eaten a smoked plum! Have you? I use words like crisp, fruity, buttery, flowery, strong, peppery, woody, etc. However, I pledge that we will not write, "... the wine's flavor reminded me of the boldness of roasted almonds yet with a hint of insouciance from its butterscotch overtones."

4. What to expect.

* Information on the wine - name, type, vintner, year, etc.
* Where I purchased or drank the wine - wine store, vineyard, restaurant, festival, etc.
* What I ate while tasting the wine
* Color/appearance
* Aroma/bouquet
* Taste
* Overall rating - Outstanding, Excellent, Very Good, Good, Drinkable, Drinkable Minus and "May I have a beer, please?"
* Price value (if applicable)

To see all of Black Sea Wines' reviews and tastings, click here.