Beverages of the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Germany

The Czech Republic:

In the divorce, Slovakia got the vineyards (2/3). However there has been somewhat more investment on the Czech side in recent years. The grape varieties are largely the same in each area. Mostly whites (75%) but there are some good reds (St-Laurent, Frankova). The whites are more exciting, look for Irsay Oliver, Gruner Vetliner from the CR. There is also Riesling, Muller-Thurgau, Pinot Blanc, Gewurztraminer (Tramin), Leanyka, Sylvaner and Neuberger.
Solvakia also has some Tokay vineyards (this area also produces Furmint, Harslevelu and Muscat Ottonel.
The Czech Republic has no tradition of exporting its wines so it’s wines are little known to the world market.
The Czech region has, like Bavaria, been known for beer.

Absinthe: Absinthe was a favorite of Van Gogh, Monet, Picasso and Hemingway. It has long been associated with a “Bohemian” lifestyle, which was one of the factors with led to it’s being banned in many countries in the 1900s. The original Pernod was an absinthe; it contained angelica, aniseed, fennel, hyssop, juniper, nutmeg and wormwood. Today Pernod is a pastis. Absinthe is again being produced in France and the Czech Republic.


Beer Types:
The area around Munich has no recognized wine regions. It is beer country.
There are over 700 breweries in Bavaria.

The Bavarian drinking song: Ein Prosit ein Prosit gemudlichkeit, Ein Prosit ein Prosit gemutlichkeit…ein, zwei, drei, suffa!

Biergartens: You are expected to order food if you sit at the cloth covered tables or you can sit at the communal benches and just drink. Don’t sit at the reserved tables (Stammtisch).

Beer Food:
Radish (radi)
Balck Bread
Cheese
Cucumbers
Pretzels
Roasted Pig Knuckles
Stecklerfish (smoked mackerel)
Obatzer: a mixture of butter, Camembert, onion, and paprika.

The Reinheitsgebot purity law (decreed by Duke Wilhelm IV in 1516) states that only four ingredients are allowed in the beer brewing process: water, hops, yeast and barley. Of the over 40 varieties in Bavaria they belong to only two types: Lager and ale.

Lager: This was invented in the 19th century in Pilzen in the Czech Republic (Pilsner). It is laagered (stored) and during fermentation the yeast settles on the bottom.

Ale: This is the oldest type of beer. It is top fermented

Popular Munich Styles:
· Helles: This lager contains 5% alcohol and is gold in color. It is considered a warm weather beer and in Bavaria it is served in a 0.5 liter glass.
· Pils/Pilsner: Same color as hellles and slightly bitter.
· Dunkles: this is a dark lager. It has a sweet flavor and is only 4.3% alcohol.
· Weizen/Hefeweizen: Also called weissbier. It has a sweet flavour. It should always be drunk from the glass as the bottle needed to be stirred up to activate the flavor and form the head.
· Starkbier Bock and Doppelbock: These are the strongest Munich beers. The range from 6-9% alcohol with a dark amber color and a strong malty flavor. Kulmbach is said to be the strongest at 9.2%. These beers are also known at “starkbeers” which originated with the Paulner monks who brewed it during Lenten “Starkbierzeit” or strong beer time.
o Most famous starkbeer is “Salvator”. It is the starkbier that is made year-round.


The German Wine Bottle:

German Wine Classification:

On a bottle the first word is the village, the second word is the vineyard. German wine is minutely classified however there is a problem with large areas (grosslagen) that sound like single vineyards. The best choice is always for a single vineyard wine. Some producers will have the word “Bereiche” appended to name of the most famous vineyard in the region (as in Bereich Bernkastel). The quality will be worlds apart. Always go with the single vineyard.

Tafelwein: basic table wine, usually low quality. Deutscher Tafelwein must be German, EU Tafelwein can be blended from anything produced in the EU (avoid).

Landwein: Similar in quality to the French Vin de Pays, not very interesting.

Qualitatswein bestimmer Anbaugebiete (QbA): A quality wine from a designated region, the equivalent of the French AC. Generally a safe choice.

Qualitatswein mi Pradikat (QmP): A true jump in quality from the QmP, thee are six levels, each level is steadily rarer, sweeter and more expensive.
· Kabinett: wine from ripe grapes. The driest and lightest of the QmPs. It will be semi-sweet unless the label says “Halbtrocken” or half-dry or “Trocken” meaning dry.
· Spatlese: Wine from late picked grapes. Usually sweet but you may see the ‘trocken’ or ‘halbtrocken’ verbiage here as well.
· Auslese: From selected extra ripe grapes and some years may contain some noble rot (this is a good thing). It can be quite sweet.
· Beerenauslese: made from individually selected grapes. The ywill be nobly rotten. The wine is very sweet.
· Trockenbeernauslese: Made from individually selected grapes that have shriveled with noble rot. Intensely sweet and long-lived. Very expensive.
· Eiswein: made from grapes that have frozen on the vine. The grapes are pressed while frozen and the water is left behind so only the sugar packed juice is vinified. Truly wonderful…with a price to match.