The flavor of sour plum in wine of Metohija
Discover the of Metohija wines revealing the of sour plum flavor during the olphactive analysis (nose) and during the gustative analysis (mouth).
Kosovo is a region of south-eastern Europe, once an autonomous province within the former Yugoslavia. Until the outbreak of civil war, Kosovo had a substantial area of productive vineyards. Many were then abandoned, and the industry is still in the early stages of recovery.
This is a disputed land, claimed as sovereign territory by Serbia but seen as independent by the ethnic Albanian majority who live there.
Kosovo was governed by the United Nations until 2008, when the government of Kosovo was formed.
The effect of the conflict on the wine industry was amplified because Kosovo's pre-war exports were heavily focused on a single wine brand aimed at a single export market. Amselfelder ('blackbird fields'), a Sweet red wine made from Pinot Noir and Gamay, was a massive success in Germany.
The Kosovan wine market was disproportionately dependent upon it.
Millions of cases of Amselfelder were shipped to Germany each year, and the brand was at its peak when war broke out.
The logistics of wine production and export are nearly impossible in wartime, so for almost a decade those vineyards which remained undamaged were largely abandoned; the brand disappeared entirely.
Its place in the German wine market was taken by several similarly styled wines from other regions. Amselkeller, a red from Valencia in Spain, was the most successful rival, appearing just 18 months after the start of the Kosovan war.
In 2001, George W. Bush was sworn in as the 43rd President of the United States. Meanwhile in the UK, Tony Blair led the Labour Party to its second landslide victory. A lot can change over the course of 20 years. According to many Rhône winemakers and wine collectors, this is how long a bottle of Hermitage should lay undisturbed until you open it. Is it really worth the wait? I recently tasted 11 Hermitage 2001s – seven red, two white, two sweet – to test the 20 year hypothesis and see how these ...
It’s easy to forget that the southern Rhône’s four most prevalent red varieties aren’t indigenous. Grenache, Carignan and Mourvèdre all appear to originate from Spain; Syrah made its way down the river from the northern Rhône. Of the long tail of other grapes, most have their roots closer to home. Plantings have dwindled in recent years, but today local varieties are experiencing renewed interest. One that’s finding a lot of fans – both in the Rhône and further afield – is Counoise. Scroll down ...
There are few things better than whiling away the hours picnicking in a sun-drenched vineyard, sampling fantastic wines. That’s just a taste of what can be expected on our exclusive Rhône Valley wine tour this June with Walls. We’re down to the last handful of places following the popularity of last year’s trip so if a luxury wine tour is on your radar for this summer, now is the time to book. This year we’re promising a more refined itinerary with carefully selected doma ...