Sturm!

Yes, they have officially started selling Sturm for the season! Sturm, for those unfamiliar with the wine-making process, is wine in its very first fermentation of the year. It's a lot like a mix between a grape cider and a grape beer, with the possibility of as much alcohol content as the wine it will become, but tastes just like juice, so you don't feel like you're drinking wine. Thus the name, "storm," which refers most undoubtedly to the hangover you get the next day...like a hurricane in your head. However, since it is only produced for a few short weeks, typically September through October each year, it is a rarity and an indulgence.

Sturm is almost always a white wine, perhaps because of the climate of Austria and the preference for white wines in this region, it is the most abundant. However, I have also seen red sturm, though I personally prefer white. Red sturm can be awfully heavy, whereas white sturm is lighter and, by contrast, more refreshing. Also, because of the yeast content, sturm has a lot of B vitamins!

Known as must in English, the drink appears in other wine-making cultures. But, I ask you, where else but in Vienna would you find sturm sold in such disparate places as: 1) a traditional Kaffeehaus, 2) a ritzy restaurant in the Museums Quartier, 3) a street festival, and 4) an Aldi (Austrian = Hofer)? If you have an idea, let me know.

Le Bâtonnier

view from top of Mont Royal

A Québec wine from the vintner Denis Paradis, bought from a vendor on the streets of Montréal  for the somewhat unaccustomed price of $20 CAD, Le Bâtonnier, or “president of the Bar” (i.e. lawyer) in French, is a depart from the usual. A tart North American wine, made from grapes grown in Québec, the fruits are young-tasting, with notes of cranberry, and fluffy…like the wine equivalent of angel food cake.

Normally, I prefer a more full-bodied red, but the cranberry tartness and the young sweetness make it a great summer wine. When you don’t want anything too dark. Goes well with goat cheese, a pear and nut salad, or other summery dishes.

The price was a bit steep for the quality – my one critique was that the “oak barreled finish” seemed like a cop out for not knowing what else to do with the wine. Then again, red wines are meant to be aged…thus, the problem if you are drinking a young one.