New Jersey Wine Restaurant and Shopping Guide - Monmouth County

Pier Village New Jersey- Pier Village is a top destination in Monmouth County for shopping, restaurants and oceanfront condominiums
Red Bank Restaurants - For a directory of all restaurants located in Red bank New Jersey, visit www.brianpasch.com.
Undici Restaurant - Undici Restaurant is located in Rumson New Jersey on River Road, serving Italian food.
Restaurant Nicholas - the best restaurant in New Jersey for five star gourmet dining. Reservations are recommended at Restaurant Nicholas in Red Bank NJ.
Monmouth County Dining - find great restaurants in Monmouth County New Jersey on www.brianpasch.com
Asbury Park Information - restaurants and retail shops in Asbury Park New Jersey.
Hall Winery California - visit the Hall Winery and experience great wines like the Diamond Mountain Cabernet.
Winery Scarecrow Cabernet - read the latest reviews including the 2005 Scarecrow Cabernet; a new California cult wine.
NJ Internet Marketing - the best agency for Internet marketing and search engine optimization in New Jersey.
Infiniti Car Dealer NJ - Circle Infiniti is New Jersey's best Infiniti car dealer, located in Monmouth County NJ.
2004 Dalla Valle Cabernet - read the latest wine review of the 2004 Dalla Valley Winery cabernet by Brian Pasch.
Sickles Wine and Cheese Classic - buy tickets for the 2008 Wine and Cheese Classic to benefit Holiday Express

Please wait while the page loads

BrianPasch.com

Site Menu

Brian Pasch Expert Wine Reviews

What's New

11-03-2008 - Marie Belle Chocolates in New York City
11-01-2008 - Economic Crisis Affect Wine Collectors
10-15-2008 - Recent Upheavals in Montalcino
08-13-2008 - Montalcino Wine Tasting Results
08-15-2008 - Unclaimed Property Search in NJ
08-13-2008 - Montalcino Wine Tasting Results
06-15-2008 - Restaurant Nicholas Our Top Pick
06-01-2008 - Mollydooker Wine Event - August 23rd
05-10-2008 - 2004 Dalla Valle Cabernet
05-05-2008 - 2005 Scarecrow Cabernet
05-05-2008 - 2004 Maiden Cabernet Review
04-25-2008 - 2005 Ghost Block Cabernet
04-19-2008 - 2005 Meander Cabernet
04-18-2008 - 2005 Maybach Materium
What's Old Not So New
Archives

Graf Hardegg Winery - Estate Wines from Austria

Graf Hardegg Winery Austria When I was first invited to attend the Austrian wine tasting at Bella's Restaurant in Atlantic Highlands I was actually very happy for the invite. Basically, I know very little of Austrian wines and the opportunity to sit with a winemaker and understand his passion for Austrian wine was not to be missed.

The wine dinner featured two wineries from Austria; Graf Hardegg and Stadlmann. The winemaker from Stadlmann got tied up in New York and could not make the dinner but Peter Malberg, winemaker from Graf Hardegg held the attention of the guests with his wit and storytelling. The photo in the upper right corner is me with winemaker Peter Malberg on the right.

The two wines that stood out from the Graf Hardegg portfolio were:

2005 Graff Hardegg Riesling vom Schloss
"The Schloss (Chateau) wines come from our vineyards surrounding Schloss (Chateau) Seefeld, where grapes have been cultivated since the Middle Ages. These "honest" wines are produced without modern oenological intervention - as they have been produced since time immemorial. This preserves our autonomy, intensifies the character of the variety and promotes drink ability." from winery website
2004 Graf Hardegg Weisse Reserve 2004
"The Schloss (Chateau) wines come from our vineyards surrounding Schloss (Chateau) Seefeld, where grapes have been cultivated since the Middle Ages. These "honest" wines are produced without modern oenological intervention - as they have been produced since time immemorial. This preserves our autonomy, intensifies the character of the variety and promotes drink ability. We take particular pride in this wine crafted from old vines made from the very best grapes from our vineyards. This wine shows elegance, finesse and harmony and is suitable for long term storage." from winery website

Both of these wines should be in any collectors cellar and they are very reasonably priced at around $20

per bottle. It is very hard to find great wine values around $20 a bottle let alone a great one from Austria. Add these two wines to your shopping list; contact your local retailer to order these wines for for enjoyment.

My Favorite Wines of Graf Hardegg

The 2005 Graf Hardegg Riesling von Schloss translated means "Riesling from the chateau" and comes from 32 year old vines. The wine is a blend of selected lots from their estate and only 25% of the parcels were exposed to oak barriques. This was the favorite wine of the night among attendees and had a wonderful crispness and a long velvety fruit finish. This is a white wine that you should experience for yourself because it defies comparisons and at the same time demands your attention to sip it again and again. Only 1,200 cases of this wine were made. The wine is available in New Jersey through Frederick Wildman.

The 2004 Graf Hardegg Weisse Reserve is a blend of four grape varietals; Chardonnay, Riesling, Veltliner and Viogner. This was my favorite white wine of the night; wonderful flavors, a crisp mouth-feel and a very long finish. This wine shows the talents of winemaker Peter Malberg in creating a wine that wine age and mature with elegance. This wine was the only white wine that shows signs of oak aging but the tannins were completely in balance. As much as I enjoyed the wine I expect that it will only get better with 3-4 years of aging.

The food at Bella's was perfectly matched with the wine so I give Bella's an "A" for wine and food pairing. I strongly suggest that readers track down a bottle of each of these wines and give them a try. I think you will be pleasantly surprised on how good these two white wines taste!

Brian Pasch - March 11, 2007