16-MILLION BOTTLES IS A LOT OF BUBBLES

Wc07Feb11

David Ellis

A FIZZ bang for your buck: Germany’s Henkell Trocken claims title to being  Europe’s “favourite sparkling wine.”

GERMANY’s most famous sparkling wine, Henkell Trocken Sekt goes back 155-years to 1856 when Adam Henkell began making a bubbly little drop that whilst popular, took three generations of the family to really hit its straps.

And it was a 20-year-old, Otto Henkell who went to the USA to learn about marketing and trading, who finally put the wine on the world map: on his return home he recommended that the family discontinue its range of many differently-labelled sparkling wines, and produce just one Sekt (it means dry) bubbly of unmistakable flavour and quality.

And in a standard-labelled bottle, that could be recognised instantly wherever it was sold – in Germany or internationally.

It was revolutionary, and it worked. Today the company uses Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, Blanc de Noir and Chenin from Rhine Valley vineyards to make a non-vintage fizz that’s German-precision consistent, with a palate of smooth and creamy citrus-like fruit flavours and a lingering finish.

HISTORIC drop to share with a rosemary-infused roast leg of lamb.

It sells 16-million bottles a year and claims title to being “Europe’s favourite sparkling wine.” It is also exports to 100 countries internationally, making Henkell Trocken a party-time favourite world-wide; enjoy at just $18.99.

ONE FOR LUNCH:  BRAND’S Laira were the first to plant Merlot in Coonawarra, and two rows of the original vines amid its-now 300ha vineyards were basically the genesis of most of Coonawarra’s current Merlot plantings.

Fruit from those two original rows was hand-selected and used to create small quantities of the unique 2007 Brand’s Laira Two Row Merlot, a big wine with varietal plum and blackberry flavours complemented by notes of cinnamon, chocolate and cedar. A great drop worth searching out – yet just $27.99. Share it with a rosemary-infused roast leg of lamb and baked vegies.

NEED A FOOD/DRINK IDEA? Check out  http://www.vintnews.com