It is rare when I go to a wine tasting not to discover a grape varietal that I did not know or never sipped before.
It happened again at Destination Riesling 09 with a Gutedel from Briztingen Winzergenossenschaft (German only site) that Karin Bolanz offered.
She suggested that her Gutedel, a very lite wine is one of these perfect easy drinking spring-summer white. She was right, simple, straight forward, good fruit.
So what's the story behind Gutedel.
This varietal is also a table grape.
As for its origins, Deutscher Wein offers a few options:
"There are two versions regarding the origin of Gutedel. One says Gutedel came from Turkey through Burgundy to Germany. The other version claims that Gutedel originated in Egypt where it is still grown as a table grape in the oasis of Fayum.
From there Gutedel can be traced back to the Jordan Valley as archaeological finds at Jericho suggest. It was the Markgraf (count) Karl Friedrich von Baden who introduced it in 1780 from the Lake Geneva area to Baden's southernmost district, Markgräflerland where Gutedel still covers 50% of the vineyards as a true Baden specialty for which reason is also called Markgraefler.
The winery is in Britzingen, a picturesque town (below, from their site) located between Freiburg and Basel.
Another nice Summer wine, they showcased was the Muskateller Kabinett (2008), nicely rounded with good acidity.
Throwing a party in your backyard and in need of a bubbly, their Trocken 'Pinot Blanc' Sparkling would do the trick.
Let's forget to mention their 1999 Weisser Burgunder (Pinot Blanc) Icewine 'St Johannes' whose grapes they usually harvest in December or January sometime around 5AM.
When I met Karin at Destination Riesling 09 they were still looking for an importer for the US.
They gave the option in the meantine to ship their wines to you via DHL ($42 shipping cost) as long as you order at least a case.
Gutten Tag!