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Sparkling wine

Sprudelnder Sekt

Be it New Year’s Eve, a party or brunch, a Formula One or a horse race – whenever people are bubbling over with joy, it’s hard to imagine them without a glass of bubbly, the sparkling crown jewel of winemaking.

  • 8 - 10°

    are ideal drinking temperatures

  • 3,5

    bar minimum

  • 9 Monate

    Fermentation in the bottle

  • 0-3g

    residual sugar content correspond to "brut nature".

German gourmets are the world champions of Sekt consumption. And that’s why many wine estates have established Winzersekt as a fixed component on their list of offers.

 

Extra Effort brings Extra Flavor

Classic fermentation in the bottle: At the beginning of the production of Sekt, sugar and a special kind of yeast, able to withstand great pressure, are added to the base wine. This initiates the second fermentation, producing the CO2 that will later make the Sekt sparkle so pleasantly in the glass. The pressure exerted by the carbonic acid needs to amount to at least 3.5 bar – up to 6 bar can be achieved. In the original method of Sekt manufacturing, the so-called Méthode champenoise, and in classic bottle fermentation, the second fermentation takes place in the individual bottle. 

In a dark and cool cellar, Winzersekt lies and matures on its yeast for a minimum of 9 months, sometimes for years. After this, the bottles are placed upside down into so-called riddling racks. For a period of four weeks, they get turned daily and set ever more steeply upright at the same time. At the end of this laborious process, all the yeast has collected in the bottle’s neck. The bottle necks are then immersed in a brine (a freezing cold solution) to make the yeast freeze. If the bottles are opened now, the pressure from the carbonic acid ejects the yeast clot. The technical term for this process is “disgorging”.

Since the term “Méthode champenoise” has been exclusively reserved to the products of the French Champagne region for many years, Sekt manufactured by this method in Germany uses the term traditional or classic bottle fermentation.

Designations of styles

The designations for the styles of Sekt as defined by German Wine Law are different from those of wine, because the natural carbonic acid content of Sekt reduces the perception of sweetness. Accordingly, the permissible residual sugar levels of a dry Sekt are markedly higher than those of a dry wine.

  • brut nature: 0-3 g/l
  • extra brut: 0-6 g/l
  • brut: 0-12 g/l
  • extra dry: 12-17 g/l
  • dry: 17-32 g/l
  • semi-dry: 32-50 g/l
  • mild: over 50 g/l

Not everything that foams is sparkling wine:

Schaumwein is the generic term for moussing, i.e. foaming wines with perlage, with a minimum pressure of 3 bar.

Sparkling wine is sparkling wine whose carbonic acid is produced during fermentation and generates at least 3.5 bar of internal pressure.

Perlwein has less pressure, the carbonic acid may also be added. Good sparkling wines are fresh, light, summery-fruity and at the same time relatively inexpensive, as they are not subject to sparkling wine tax.

Secco is the modern term for trendy sparkling wines.

Crémant can be called German sparkling wines that meet certain specifications for grape varieties, harvest and fermentation.

Which wine-growing region was the first to introduce sparkling wines to the market?

Rheinhessen launched the first vintner sparkling wines in Germany more than 25 years ago.

with bulgur Cabbage stew

with bulgur

  • 200 Gramm Zwiebeln
  • 1 ganze Knoblauchzehe
  • 800 Gramm Spitzkohl
  • 200 Gramm Möhren
  • 400 Gramm festk. Kartoffeln
  • 1 EL Kümmelsaat
  • 1,5 Liter Gemüsefond
  • 5 EL Olivenöl
  • 2 EL Tomatenmark
  • 2 EL edelsüßes Paprikapulver
  • 3 TL Honig
  • nach Belieben Salz & Pfeffer
  • 120 Gramm grobe Bulgur
  • 1 Bund Petersilie
  • 4 Stiele Minze
  • 1 ganze Zitrone
  • 2 ganze Äpfel
  • 3 EL Obstessig

Finely dice the onions and garlic. Clean, wash and quarter the cabbage, remove the stalk and roughly chop the cabbage quarters. Peel the carrots, halve lengthways and cut into approx. 2 cm wide pieces. Peel the potatoes and cut into approx. 2.5 cm pieces. Fry the carrots in a pan without fat and set aside.

 

Heat the vegetable stock in a small pan. Heat 3 tablespoons of oil in a large pan, sauté the cabbage in it for 10-15 minutes over a high heat until dark brown and remove from the pan.

 

Add the remaining oil to the pan. Fry the onions and garlic until translucent. Add the potatoes and muesli and sauté for 3-4 minutes, stirring constantly. Add the tomato purée and paprika powder and fry while stirring. Add the cabbage, honey and caraway and pour in the hot vegetable stock. Season with salt and pepper. Bring to the boil, cover and simmer for 45 minutes. Add the bulgur 20 minutes before the end of the cooking time.

 

Quarter the apples, remove the seeds, cut into approx. 1 cm cubes and add 10 minutes before the end of the cooking time. Pluck the herbs and chop medium-fine. Wash and dry the lemon, finely grate the zest and mix with the herbs. Flavour the stew with vinegar, salt and pepper and serve sprinkled with the herbs.

 

Tip: The pointed cabbage must be roasted really strongly and dark so that the aromas come out well.

  • Spätburgunder / Pinot Noir (trocken)
  • Trollinger (trocken)

with honey and thyme Goat's cheese tower

with honey and thyme

  • 1 großer Apfel
  • 1 Rolle Ziegenkäse
  • 4 Scheiben Bacon
  • 4 TL Honig
  • 1 TL Thymian
  • 4 Blätter Eichblattsalat
  • frische Zweige Thymian zum Garnieren
  • nach Belieben Salz & Pfeffer

Preheat the grill to the highest setting.

 

Fry the bacon slices without fat in a non-stick frying pan until crispy and drain on a piece of kitchen paper. Leave the rendered fat in the pan.

 

Wash the apple, core it with a corer and then cut it into four, approx. 1 cm thick slices. Slowly fry the apple slices in the remaining bacon fat until just cooked, using the tip of a knife to check the doneness. Place the apple slices in a lightly greased baking dish, sprinkle with thyme and place a crispy fried bacon slice on top of each one.

 

Divide the goat's cheese into 4 thalers and place one thaler on each apple slice, sprinkle with thyme again and drizzle with 1 teaspoon of honey.

 

Bake under the grill until the cheese is lightly browned.

 

Serve the goat's cheese and apple tartlets on a lettuce leaf or, if you prefer, on a bed of lettuce (add a honey-flavoured dressing)

  • Dornfelder (halbtrocken & feinherb)

with pears, beans, parsley root and black walnuts Venison medallions

with pears, beans, parsley root and black walnuts

  • 12 Stück Rehmedaillions (a 80g)
  • 30 Gramm gebratene Speckstreifen
  • 200 ml Bechamelsauce
  • 3 EL Sonnenblumenöl
  • 8 kleine Petersilienwurzeln mit Grün (alternativ Knollensellerie)
  • 6 - 8 breite Schnippelbohnen
  • 1 große Birne
  • 4 - 6 schwarze Walnüsse
  • 100 ml Wildfond
  • 2 EL Butter
  • 2 Stängel glatte Petersilie
  • nach Geschmack Salz

Preheat the oven to 180 °C top and bottom heat. Clean, peel and trim the parsley roots. Clean the beans and cut into diagonal pieces. Blanch the parsley roots and beans separately in boiling salted water and rinse immediately in iced water.

 

Cut the walnuts into eighths and warm in the game stock. Wash the unpeeled pear, cut into eighths, remove the core and cut into thin slices. Fry the venison medallions on both sides in oil, then finish cooking in the oven for approx. 3 - 5 minutes.

 

In the meantime, toss the beans and parsley roots in melted butter and season with salt. Arrange the vegetables with the black walnuts and pear slices on large plates. Place the medallions on top, garnish with game stock, Béchamel sauce and bacon strips.

 

Tip: You can make your own black walnuts. To do this, prick the walnuts all over with a fork or skewer and place in water for 10 days. Change the water every day so that the tannic acid can drain off. Boil the nuts 3 times in salted water until they are deep black. Simmer with bay leaves and peppercorns for approx. 20 minutes until soft. Layer in preserving jars and cover with syrup. The nuts can be kept for approx. 1 year.

  • Spätburgunder / Pinot Noir (trocken)
  • Pinot Gris (trocken)

with strong red wine Wild boar ragout

with strong red wine

  • 800 Gramm Fleisch vom Wildschwein (Keule o. Schulter)
  • 80 Gramm Bauchspeck
  • 100 Gramm Zwiebeln
  • 60 Gramm Karotten
  • 60 Gramm Staudensellerie
  • 1 TL Tomatenmark
  • 200 ml kräftigen Rotwein
  • 100 ml Portwein
  • 1 Liter braune Wildbrühe
  • 1 TL Preiselbeeren
  • 1 EL geschlagene Sahne o. Sauerrahm
  • 20 Gramm Mehl
  • 1 Stück Lorbeerblatt
  • je 1 Zweig Rosmarin und Thymian
  • 4 zerdrückte Wacholderbeeren
  • 1/2 TL Senf
  • nach Belieben Salz & Pfeffer

Clean and wash the vegetables and cut into evenly sized cubes.

 

Remove the fat, skin and tendons from the wild boar meat and cut into 3 cm cubes. Season with salt and pepper and sprinkle with flour. Heat the oil in a frying pan and brown the meat on all sides. Add the vegetables and diced bacon and fry. Add the tomato purée and stir fry. Deglaze with the red wine and port, reduce and pour in the brown game stock. Add the spices to the meat in a small spice bag and leave the ragout to simmer in the oven at 160°C for approx. 1½ hours.

 

Then remove the pieces of meat, remove the spices, strain the sauce, add the cranberries and mustard and leave to reduce for about 15 minutes. If necessary, thicken with a little cornflour. Serve with the whipped cream.

  • Spätburgunder / Pinot Noir (trocken)
  • Sabrieren von deutschem Winzersekt
  • deutscher Winzersekt und Männer
  • Sektflaschen mit Agraffen
  • Sektgenuss, Sekt Stillleben

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