January can be rather dull and depressing. Christmas is over and spring is not yet here and the weather usually doesn’t help either. The short, chilly days are are spent in the vineyards pruning the vines or inside repairing machinery and equipment.

To maybe brighten up this dreary January even a little bit, we have a sneak preview of our Fritz & Frieda Muskateller for you which we will release just in time for Easter and the first sunny days of spring.

Dutch wine critic Harold Hamersma has already tasted it and here is what he thinks: (translated from Dutch)

“Fritz & Frieda. We are eagerly looking forward to it. We already tasted (no, we drank!) a wonderful Grüner from them. We're just about over the pleasant surprise of their 'unknown to the general public' Welschriesling.

And now look, they are bringing on a nearly equally unconventional Muskateller. It's grape-ey, as you would expect from a Muskat, but definitely not superficial. This is because beneath the surface of the single vineyards Stöckeln and Neudharten lies a soil structure of loess, clay, sand, and especially gravel. And that crispness, minerality, and punch is what the wine has gained from this soil composition. Combine that with hints of pineapple, a bit of lychee, marmalade, and citrus, and you'll have a pretty good idea of what to expect.

By the way, does anyone still occasionally eat the old-fashioned melon with ham?

This wine pairs really well with that. Otherwise, the Asian cuisine is waiting and longing for it.”

Rating: 9/10