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Enikö Dub July 10, 2019 0

Meet Enikö Dub, a certified sommelier, wine writer and educator based in Vienna. Discover her journey from...

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OLD-VINE CHENIN BLANC: ONE OF SOUTH AFRICA’S MOST

OLD-VINE CHENIN BLANC: ONE OF SOUTH AFRICA’S MOST INTERESTING WINE STYLES. 🍷 And Stellenrust 59 Barrel Fermented Chenin Blanc 2023 is a great example of why. ⬇️

📍 Tasted at @bortodoor in Budapest back in July, during a tasting with @deewineguide this wine is a reminder of how much complexity Chenin Blanc can develop when it comes from old vines and meets thoughtful oak ageing.

🍇 @stellenrust_wines is a family-owned winery in Stellenbosch, South Africa, with a particular focus on old-vine Chenin Blanc. The number 59 on the bottle refers to the age of the vines in the year of the 2023 vintage. Planted in 1964, these bush vines grow in Bottelary, an area renowned for its old-vine Chenin Blanc.

👉 For the 2023 vintage, the wine was fermented in oak barrels, 16% of which were new. It then matured for another five months, with 57% in oak and 43% in concrete eggs. This combination brings texture and complexity without allowing the oak to dominate the wine.

🍷 The nose is rich and expressive, with ripe stone fruits, especially apricot and peach, alongside yellow apple. Sweet spices and acacia blossom add another layer, followed by brioche, vanilla, butter, and freshly baked croissants.

🍷On the palate, the aromas translate beautifully into flavour. It is juicy, creamy, and full-bodied, with medium-plus acidity providing the freshness to balance the richness. The finish is exceptionally long, combining apricot, buttery notes and warming spices, with a delicious butterscotch aftertaste.

☝️ What makes this style of Chenin Blanc so interesting? Old vines can produce wines with remarkable concentration and depth, while Chenin Blanc's natural acidity helps maintain balance. Add barrel fermentation and lees-derived complexity, and you get a wine that is rich and textured without losing its freshness.

Have you explored Chenin Blanc beyond the fresh, fruit-driven styles? Which producers would you recommend? 🍷

#Stellenrust #CheninBlanc #SouthAfricanWine #StellenboschWine #OldVineChenin

🍇 GRAPE TALK: EPISODE 53: Zierfandler. One of Aust

🍇 GRAPE TALK: EPISODE 53: Zierfandler. One of Austria’s rarest white grape varieties. 🍷 Let’s break it down. ⬇️

☝️ Save this post for your wine studies and the next time you come across a bottle of Zierfandler!

1️⃣ Zierfandler is a white grape variety strongly associated with the Thermenregion in Austria. 🇦🇹 Today, it is grown almost exclusively around places such as Gumpoldskirchen, where it has become one of the region’s signature varieties. It is also known as Spätrot, meaning “late red”, because the sun-exposed side of the grapes develops a reddish colour as they ripen.

2️⃣ It is a late-ripening and demanding variety. Zierfandler usually ripens around two weeks after Rotgipfler and benefits from warm, south-facing vineyards. It also performs particularly well on the calcareous soils found in the Thermenregion. But it can be sensitive to frost and botrytis, so getting the right site and growing conditions is important. 🍇

3️⃣ Zierfandler is all about the balance between richness and freshness. The wines can be full-bodied, rich in extract and beautifully creamy, but good acidity keeps them fresh and energetic. Young wines can show citrus, pineapple, peach, and pear, while mature examples can develop dried fruit, flowers, honey, and more complex tertiary aromas.

4️⃣ It has a Hungarian connection. 🇭🇺 In Hungary, Zierfandler is known as Cirfandli. The variety was brought from Gumpoldskirchen to Pécs in the 1850s, where it found a second home around the Mecsek. There are still vineyards of Cirfandli in the Pécs wine region today.

5️⃣ Zierfandler is not just interesting as a single-variety wine. It has a long history of being blended with Rotgipfler. Together, they form the traditional Spätrot-Rotgipfler style and have been an important part of the wine identity of Gumpoldskirchen for generations.

🍇 It might not be one of Austria’s most famous grapes, but that is exactly what makes discovering it so much fun.

🍷 Have you ever tasted Zierfandler — or Cirfandli?

#GrapeTalk #Zierfandler #Thermenregion #AustrianWine #WineEducation WineKnowledge WineStudies AustrianWine Cirfandli HungarianWine WineLover WineGeek LearnAboutWine

ONE OF THE OLDEST WINES I’VE TASTED SO FAR WAS A 1

ONE OF THE OLDEST WINES I’VE TASTED SO FAR WAS A 1968 AUSTRIAN WHITE. And it was still beautifully fresh. ⬇️

I visited the Thermenregion back in 2024, so I already had a connection to this beautiful wine region just south of Vienna. But during @vievinum I got to explore one of its most fascinating sides in much more depth: Rotgipfler and Zierfandler.

🍷 The occasion was the “7 Decades of Thermenregion” masterclass, where we tasted ten wines spanning from 2023 all the way back to 1968. Four Rotgipfler, four Zierfandler, and two sweet blends of the varieties.

And the final wine was the one I won't forget: Winzergenossenschaft Gumpoldskirchner Zierfandler/Rotgipfler Auslese Ried Grimling 1968. The nose was incredibly creamy and beautifully mature, with honey, apricot, and just a touch of nuts. The palate was the real surprise. Despite being an Auslese, it felt surprisingly dry and lifted, with apricot marmalade, honey and delicate nutty notes. The freshness was incredible, the balance was spot on, and the finish just seemed to go on forever.

📍This was not a wine that simply survived for almost six decades. It was a wine that had evolved.

☝️ And that's what made this tasting so interesting for me. I've known Rotgipfler and Zierfandler for years, and I've loved Zierfandler since my first encounter with it in Hungary, where it is known as Cirfandli. But tasting wines from 2023, 2021, 2020 and 2011, all the way to 2006, 1977 and finally 1968, gave me a completely different appreciation of what these varieties are capable of.

👉 I've just published the full story on WinEncsy, including the history of @thermenregion_dac_ my tasting notes, and why Rotgipfler and Zierfandler might just be one of Austria's best-kept white wine secrets.

🔗 Read the full article via the link in my bio.

Have you ever tasted an Austrian white wine with this much age? 🍷

#Rotgipfler #Zierfandler #Thermenregion #AustrianWine #VieVinum #WineTasting #OldWine #WineEducation #WineWriter #WineLover

SPAIN CAME TO VIENNA FOR ME. 🇪🇸🍷 While a lot of my

SPAIN CAME TO VIENNA FOR ME. 🇪🇸🍷 While a lot of my fellow wine influencers were in Spain last week for the VinoInfluencer Awards, I stayed in Vienna — and Spain decided to come to me instead. ⬇️

Last Thursday, I spent a long day at a Spanish wine masterclass and tasting with @einfachguterwein tasting wines from some seriously interesting producers from across the country.

And when I say across, I mean it. From Rioja to Mallorca, from Conca de Barberà to some of the lesser-known corners of Spain, this was a great reminder that Spanish wine is so much more than Tempranillo and Rioja.

🍇 One of my favourite parts was discovering native varieties I don't get to taste every day: Callet, Premsal, Trepat, Macabeo, Tempranillo, of course, and Garnacha Blanca.

Alongside them, we had some international varieties showing how differently they can behave depending on where they are grown.

☝️ We also tasted wines from two Vino de Pago producers: Finca Río Negro and Bodega Otazu.

🍷But what exactly is a Vino de Pago? 🍷
In simple terms, it is Spain's highest-level wine denomination for a specific estate or vineyard site. A Pago has to have distinctive characteristics linked to its particular location, and the grapes and wine production are tied to that defined estate. Think of it as a very specific recognition of place rather than a large regional appellation.

🍷 The lineup included:

🔹 Finca Río Negro @bodegasfincarionegro
🔹 Bodega Otazu @bodegaotazu
🔹 Clos Montblanc @closmontblanc
🔹 Bodega Buezo @buezo_bodegas
🔹 UKAN @ukanwinery
🔹 Josep Foraster @josepforaster
🔹 Vi d'Auba

Some were completely new discoveries for me; others gave me a different perspective on varieties and regions I thought I already knew.

You can read about Spain's wine regions all you want, but tasting Callet next to Tempranillo, Trepat next to Garnacha Blanca, or discovering what a particular vineyard can do in the glass is where the map starts to make sense.

A big thank you to @einfachguterwein for bringing these producers to Vienna and for the invitation. :)

Have you tasted any of these lesser-known Spanish grape varieties before? 🍷

#SpanishWine #WineTasting #WineEducation

MY FAVOURITE THING TO DO WHEN SEPTEMBER ARRIVES? H

MY FAVOURITE THING TO DO WHEN SEPTEMBER ARRIVES? Have a nice, rich, and spicy St. Laurent from Austria. 🍷 And this one from Weingut Heinzl-Gettinger @weingut.heinzl.gettinger was a very good choice. ⬇️

📍 The wine comes from Schrattenthal in the Weinviertel, from the Ried Innere Bergen single vineyard. St. Laurent 🍇 is one of Austria’s important red varieties, and this is a dry Qualitätswein from the 2022 vintage.

🍷 In the glass, it shows a medium-deep, vibrant ruby colour with slow tears. The nose is ripe, juicy, and spicy, with dark forest fruits, black cherries, blackcurrant, and plums. Then come roasted coffee beans, vanilla, and dark chocolate, with a touch of mint and plenty of spice: black pepper, cardamom, and star anise.

👌 On the palate, it gets even juicier, with the same dark-fruited, spicy character. The tannins are super ripe and well integrated, giving the wine a silky, smooth texture. Great freshness keeps everything balanced, with medium alcohol and a long, fruity aftertaste.

☝️ What I really like here is the balance. It has plenty of ripe fruit and spice, but the freshness and silky tannins keep it from feeling heavy.

Have you been drinking more Austrian reds lately? 🍷

#StLaurent #AustrianWine #WeinviertelWine #AustrianRedWine #RedWineTasting

THE ROSÉ QUEEN OF BURGENLAND MAKES WHITE WINE TOO.

THE ROSÉ QUEEN OF BURGENLAND MAKES WHITE WINE TOO. And I finally got to taste one. 🍇 So let’s talk about Weisser Schotter 2023. ⬇️

I've known wines from @piastrehn for quite a while, but there is one thing I have somehow never done: tasted one of her white wines.

🍷Pia Strehn is probably best known as the “Rosé Queen” of Burgenland, and for very good reason. She and her brothers Patrick and Andy have turned their family winery in Deutschkreutz into one of Austria’s most recognisable names for rosé. The family has been making wine here for four generations, and today the 53-hectare estate is farmed organically.

So when my husband gave me this bottle as a gift, I was very curious to see another side of her winemaking.

🍇 Weisser Schotter is a white cuvée of Grüner Veltliner, Sauvignon Blanc and Welschriesling. The vineyards are in Deutschkreutz, where the Strehn family works with a fascinating mix of soils, including limestone, gravel, and loess, with loamy and sandy components.

👉 The wine is fermented and matured in stainless steel, keeping the focus firmly on the fruit, freshness, and character of the varieties rather than oak. The name “Weisser Schotter” itself refers to the gravelly side of the terroir.

🍷 The nose immediately shows the Sauvignon Blanc character: green and slightly pungent, with even that classic “cat pee” note, alongside yellow and white flowers, ripe yellow apple and pear, plus a touch of white pepper. On the palate, it becomes a little more citrus-driven. Fresh and medium-bodied, with a slightly creamy texture and flavours of peach, yuzu, lemon and yellow apple. It is youthful, but already perfectly ready to drink.

☝️ What I find particularly interesting here is the blend. Grüner Veltliner brings its familiar freshness and peppery character, Welschriesling adds another layer of crispness, while Sauvignon Blanc gives the wine that distinctive green, aromatic lift.

📍That is what I enjoy most: sometimes you don't need to look for a new winery to discover something new.

Have you tried a white wine from Weingut Strehn? 🍷

#WeingutStrehn #WeisserSchotter #BurgenlandWine #AustrianWine #WineT

🍇 GRAPE TALK: EPISODE 52: Crémant. Champagne’s ove

🍇 GRAPE TALK: EPISODE 52: Crémant. Champagne’s overlooked sparkling wine cousin. 🍾 Let’s break it down. ⬇️

☝️Save this post for your wine studies and the next time you're choosing traditional-method sparkling wine!

1️⃣ Crémant is quality sparkling wine made outside Champagne using the traditional method. The second fermentation happens in the bottle — just as with Champagne. Most comes from France, but there is also Crémant de Luxembourg 🇱🇺.

2️⃣ Crémant has strict production rules. Grapes must be harvested by hand, whole bunches are pressed, and the wine must spend at least 9 months ageing on its lees. That's shorter than Champagne's 15 months, but Crémant can still be complex and finely textured.

3️⃣ There isn't just one style of Crémant. 🍇 Alsace is fresh and fruit-driven, often with Pinot Blanc or Riesling. Bourgogne is fuller and creamier, often with Chardonnay and Pinot Noir. Loire brings Chenin Blanc, Limoux can include Mauzac, and Luxembourg can showcase Riesling and Pinot Blanc.

4️⃣ Crémant can be serious value for money. 🍾 Well-made examples can often be found around €10–20, while Champagne generally costs more. You're still getting traditional bottle fermentation and lees ageing — just without the Champagne appellation.

5️⃣ Crémant has a fascinating history. The name was once used in Champagne for lower-pressure sparkling wines with a softer, “creamy” mousse. Today, it refers to protected quality sparkling wines from designated regions in France and Luxembourg.

👉 So, Crémant isn't “cheap Champagne.” It's a category with different grapes, terroirs and regional styles — united by traditional bottle fermentation.

🍷 Next time you're looking for bubbles, try a Crémant from Alsace, Burgundy, the Loire, Limoux or Luxembourg.

Which Crémant would you try first? 🍾

#GrapeTalk #Cremant #CremantDeLuxembourg #SparklingWine #WineEducation WineKnowledge WineStudies FrenchWine WineLover WineGeek

THE SPARKLING SIDE OF LUXEMBOURG I DIDN’T KNOW. 🍾

THE SPARKLING SIDE OF LUXEMBOURG I DIDN’T KNOW. 🍾 I knew very little about Luxembourg wines before tasting the wines of Domaine Kox. Seven Crémants later, I was wondering why I hadn’t explored this region sooner. ⬇️

☝️One of the things that surprised me most was how different the seven Crémants we tasted could be, even though they all came from the same protected designation.

🍇 Crémant de Luxembourg is made using the traditional method, meaning the second fermentation takes place in the bottle, and the wine spends at least nine months on its lees before disgorgement. But within that framework, there is plenty of room for variation.

The @domaine_kox selection was a great example. Auxerrois, Riesling, Pinot Blanc, Chardonnay, Pinot Gris and Pinot Noir all appeared across the different wines, while dosage and lees ageing also changed the style considerably. We tasted everything from a fresh Zéro Dosage with just 1 g/l residual sugar to a Crémant aged for four years on its lees, as well as a Rosé de Saignée.

👉 And this is what I found most interesting: Crémant de Luxembourg is not one single style. The grape varieties and winemaking choices can completely change how the finished wine tastes.

🍷Domaine Kox itself is also a fascinating example of how tradition and experimentation can work together. The Kox family has been growing vines in Remich for generations, while today the estate is also experimenting with kvevri, PIWI varieties, and vitiforestry.

👉 I’ve just published a full article about Domaine Kox and the diversity of Crémant de Luxembourg, including all seven Crémants and three still wines we tasted, plus more about the Luxembourg Moselle and its grape varieties.

🔗 Read the full article via the link in my bio!

Have you ever tasted Crémant de Luxembourg? 🍾

#CrémantDeLuxembourg #DomaineKox #LuxembourgWine #LuxembourgMoselle #Crémant #SparklingWine #WineEducation #WineTasting #WineDiscovery #WineWriter #EuropeanWine #WineLover

MY WINE DIARY: THE BEST WINES FROM JULY–AUGUST 🍷 M

MY WINE DIARY: THE BEST WINES FROM JULY–AUGUST 🍷 Mid-summer took me mostly to Hungary, with a little time in Prague, and that made for a very Central European wine diary. ⬇️

👉 Save this post if you are always looking for your next bottle!

Over the past two months, I tasted plenty of wines, but these six are the ones I would happily recommend again. Different grapes, regions, and styles, from a floral Hárslevelű from volcanic Somló to a bold Syrah from the Balaton-felvidék and a mature Crianza from Toro.

☝️ What I especially enjoyed about this selection is how different the wines are. A white wine made from Merlot, a lesser-known Moravian grape, an Olaszrizling that showed me another side of the variety — and several wines that reminded me just how diverse Hungarian wine can be.

✍️ In my latest Wine Diary on the blog, I share my tasting notes, more about the producers and regions, and why each of these wines stood out to me.

🍷 The wines (swipe through for more information!):

🔹️ Kancellár Birtok – Nagy-Somlói Hárslevelű 2021 🇭🇺 @kancellarbirtok_somlo
🔹️ Sazü – Core Syrah 2024 🇭🇺 @sazu_____wines
🔹️ Rejiji – Bionda White Merlot 2023 🇭🇺 @rejijiwines
🔹️ Dubicz – Sárhegy Olaszrizling 2023 🇭🇺 @dubiczbor
🔹️ Konečný – Neronet 2024 🇨🇿 @vinarstvikonecny
🔹️ Rejadorada – Novellum Crianza 2019 🇪🇸 @rejadoradabodega

📍 On the blog, you’ll find the full article, with detailed tasting notes and more about the grapes, producers, and wine regions behind these bottles.

👉 Link in bio. 🔗

Which one would you try first? 🍷

#WineDiary #HungarianWine #WineTasting #WineDiscovery #WineLovers WineEducation WineBlog WineWriter CentralEuropeanWine Somlo Villany Matra BalatonWine MoravianWine ToroWine Harslevelu Olaszrizling Syrah Neronet WhiteMerlot

🍇 GRAPE TALK: EPISODE 51: White Wine Making. How d

🍇 GRAPE TALK: EPISODE 51: White Wine Making. How do grapes become white wine? 🍷 Let’s break it down. ⬇️

☝️ Save this post for your wine studies and the next time you're tasting a white wine!

There are several ways to make white wine, and each choice influences the colour, aroma, flavour and texture. Here are a couple of things to know:

1️⃣ Reductive winemaking: The grapes are gently pressed, and the juice is separated from the skins before fermentation. The juice is usually fermented in stainless steel, with oxygen exposure carefully limited. Yeast converts the natural sugars into alcohol and CO₂. Cooler fermentation helps preserve fresh, fruity and floral aromas.

2️⃣ Skin contact: Instead of immediately separating the juice from the skins, grapes can macerate for several hours, days or longer. The skins contribute colour, phenolic compounds, texture and flavour before the grapes are pressed.

3️⃣ Barrel fermentation and ageing: White wine can be fermented and/or aged in oak barrels. The size, age and type of oak, as well as time in barrel, influence the final wine. Oak can add vanilla, toast and spice, while also changing the wine’s texture and structure.

4️⃣ Yes, you can make white wine from red grapes! 🍇 Most red grapes have colour in their skins, while their juice is usually clear. Gentle pressing and quick separation from the skins can therefore produce a white wine. This is how styles such as Blanc de Noirs are made — literally “white from black” grapes.

These techniques can be combined. A winemaker might press grapes immediately, ferment the juice in oak, age it on its lees and carefully manage oxygen exposure — all for the same wine.

👉 So white wine isn't simply “made from white grapes.” Grape variety matters, but so do pressing, skin contact, fermentation, oxygen exposure, vessel choice and ageing.

Now that you know how white wine can be made, look at your next bottle differently. Can you figure out which techniques were used? 🍷

#GrapeTalk #WhiteWine #Winemaking #WhiteWineMaking #WineEducation WineKnowledge WineStudies WineScience WineStyles LearnAboutWine

A CHARDONNAY THAT SHOWS A DIFFERENT SIDE OF THE GR

A CHARDONNAY THAT SHOWS A DIFFERENT SIDE OF THE GRAPE. 🍇 And the one that made me think about just how much winemaking can change this variety. ⬇️

I've tasted wines from @etyekikuria.winery several times before, and they are one of those producers I can always rely on for consistent quality. The winery also has a strong relationship with Weingut Esterházy in Burgenland for many years, which makes the connection between Etyek🇭🇺 and the Austrian🇦🇹 wine world particularly interesting.

👉 This time, the MSV Konkrét Chardonnay 2024 caught my attention.

📍Made from Chardonnay grown in Etyek-Buda🇭🇺, from the Öreg-hegy vineyard in Etyek and Nagy Látóhegy in Alcsútdoboz. The vineyards sit on limestone-based soils, with deep brown forest soil and loess, giving the wine a lovely mineral backbone.

🍷 In the glass, it shows a pale lemon colour. The nose is light and fruity, with citrus, green apple and a subtle touch of sweet spice. On the palate, it becomes a little more intense: fresh and lively, with citrus, almond and mineral flavours, followed by a soft creaminess and a long, slightly salty finish.

👌There's an interesting detail behind the texture: the wine is fermented entirely in concrete and then spends 12 months on fine lees, followed by another three months of ageing in bottle. So there is no oak here, but there is still plenty of texture and complexity.

☝️ This is exactly why I find Chardonnay so interesting. We often think of it as either the crisp, unoaked style or the rich, buttery, oak-aged one. But there is a whole world in between.

🍷The MSV Konkrét is a great example: fresh and citrusy, but with enough lees ageing and structure to give it a more rounded and complex personality.

✍️ I actually wrote a Chardonnay guide: Everything You Need to Know About the World’s Most Versatile White Grape. I look at the role of climate, oak, malolactic fermentation and lees ageing in shaping Chardonnay from all over the World.

📖 Read the full guide: link in Bio! 🔗

Now you can add photos in the comments, so show me your favourite Chardonnays!

#Chardonnay #EtyekiKúria #EtyekBuda #HungarianWine #Hungari

IT TOOK A HUNGARIAN HEAT WAVE TO REMIND ME HOW GOO

IT TOOK A HUNGARIAN HEAT WAVE TO REMIND ME HOW GOOD ROSÉ CAN BE.🍷 And this bottle was worth the wait. ⬇️

I've been in Hungary 🇭🇺 for almost two weeks now, and with temperatures climbing every day, it finally felt like the right moment to open a proper bottle of rosé.

📍Vylyan Pincészet @vylyan_pinceszet in Villány isn't new to me. I visited the winery years ago and have always associated it with its excellent red wines. This time, though, I was curious to see what their Kakas Rosé 2025 had to offer.

🍇 Made from Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Pinot Noir, Kékfrankos and Kadarka grown in the Gombás and Mandolás vineyards, the grapes are gently pressed without skin maceration to preserve freshness and elegance. Each variety is fermented separately at cool temperatures before being blended just before bottling.

🍷In the glass, it shows a beautiful vibrant cherry colour with great viscosity. The nose is bursting with raspberries, strawberries and cherries, followed by a refreshing touch of orange, grapefruit and delicate red blossom flowers.

The palate was the biggest surprise. Instead of the light, simple style many people expect from rosé, this is creamy, medium-bodied and much more gastronomic. The juicy red berry flavours return alongside lively freshness and well-balanced alcohol, finishing long with a fresh raspberry-filled aftertaste.

☝️This is the kind of rosé that deserves a place at the dinner table, not just beside the swimming pool. It has enough freshness for a hot summer day, but also enough texture and depth to pair beautifully with grilled vegetables, seafood, lighter pasta dishes, or even roast chicken.

🤗 Sometimes it's nice to revisit a winery you already know. You might end up discovering a completely different side of it.

Have you ever tried a gastronomic rosé like this? 🍷

#Vylyan #Villany #HungarianWine #RoseWine #Rosé WineTasting WineEducation WineWriter WineBlog WineLover DiscoverHungarianWine SummerWine

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