What others have to say
Wine tasting videos from Andreas Larsson - Best Sommelier of the World (2007 ASI) - about
Fungus resistant grape variaties - A dream for sustainable winemakers?
Grape varieties that hardly need any pesticides: Sounds utopian, but it's reality.
It's just that it is difficult to make good wine from it. We still have recommendations.
By Gero von Randow published on Nov. 6th, 2020 in the German Magazine “Die ZEIT”.
- Includes some comments about Walk wines aswell -
See download
Extract from the above article about what Gero von Randow has to say about Walk wines.
However, a wine from Ireland took the cake. You read that right. Ireland. There, the German winemaker Thomas Walk cultivates a grape variety that was originally bred in what was once Czechoslovakia and then further developed by the legendary "Reben-Becker", the vine researcher Helmut Becker at the Geisenheim university location in the Rheingau.
The variety is now called Rondo. After several attempts with other varieties, Walk only cultivates these. Rondo's vines could be attacked by so-called "downy mildew", "but we don't have that," says Walk. He does not use any pesticides at all.
What about the wine? I especially liked the 2013 Ruby. The bouquet is spicy, almost fleshy, you can also make out some cherries and a cigar box. In the taste black currants, blackberries, sour cherries, sandalwood in moderation, in the aftertaste a nuance of smoked ham. The wine matured in steel tanks is complex, but not a taste bomb, but fine and reserved. Only eleven percent alcohol. Quite old European style, one you could say, and now that I'm writing about it, I would like to open a bottle again.
I have already tried many innovations that wanted to surpass the existing. Heavier, more powerful, more loud. Higher faster further. That was almost never fun. Walks wines are different, they stand for themselves, non-conventional. That's how it should be.
Von: t m
An: info@thomaswalk-vineyard.com
Gesendet am: Mittwoch, 24. Februar 2021 21:35
Mr Walk,
Got serve your wines last week. They are very good, they were enjoyed by all. You’ve done yourself and the vineyard proud. Medal or not. I can’t wait to open another bottle.
Tomas