1999 Dr. Beckermann Zeller Schwarze Katz
May 15 '01
The Bottom Line Credit the Romans and the French for the rise of the German Wine Industry.
An Ancient Town in Germany
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The town of Zell in the Mosel River region of the state of Prussia was established in ancient times by the Romans, and was called in former times Cell or Cella. The Romans, as you may know, were famous for bacchanalian parties featuring heavy wine drinking, and they were probably responsible for the development of viniculture in ancient Germany.
Wine born out of Revolutionary Changes
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Monastic wine production began in the Mosel River area late in the 15th century (approx. 1481). In 1794, French troops conquered the Rhine and neighboring river valleys. Monastery and church possessions were auctioned off during a revolutionary fervor. The Zeller vineyards formerly under control of monasteries and feudal land barons were sold to private citizens (the capitalistic bourgeoisie) and the modern, commercial wine industry in Germany was born.
The Black Cat
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The famous Schwaze Katz (a black cat with its back arched and paws outstretched -- a marketing logo used for wines produced in this region) was born out of a fable. There once was a black housecat that jealousy guarded a barrel of Zeller wine that was cellared along with other wine barrels stored by different winegrowers. Wine merchants presumed that the Zeller wine must be special... how else could one explain the aggressive behavior of the black cat that protected only the Zeller wine barrels?
1999 Dr. Beckermann Zeller Schwarze Katz
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This is a value-priced, quality wine that is fairly popular in Germany and is exported to many markets throughout the world. It is not "world class" wine, but it is value-priced wine that is not heavy and can be enjoyed on an everyday basis.
This wine pours with a pale yellow/platinum color and contains a fairly high amount of carbonates. This wine is not bubbly like a sparkling wine, but there are some tiny bubbles that cling to the wall of the glass and a sporadic stream of micro bubbles does issue forth from the bottom of the bowl. The best type of glass to serve this wine in would be a Rieseling goblet: long stemmed with a narrow bowl and an outwardly extended curved rim.
If you pull this wine from the refrigertor, you probably need to have it warm up a little. My first glass was at refigerator termperature which produced dew condensation on the outside wall of my crystal. The initial nose of this wine was a sweet-and-sour gooseberry. This wine tastes fine chilled, but the true complex, peach fruitiness of this wine really comes forward as the temperature warms up to cellar temperature.
After 30 minutes, this wine had settled to an appropriate temperature (50-60°F). This wine has an acidic character and features tangy -- but not truly sour -- citrus tones mingled with peach, white grape, and gooseberry flavors.
If you do not like toasty, oak-heavy, high alcohol white wines, then this would be a perfect summertime sipper. This is a 9% alcohol by volume white wine that is perfect as an apéritif and is light and refreshing enough to serve with such dessert dishes as a peach or gooseberry tart.
Price and Availability
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I purchased this wine at Trader Joe's Market in Orange, California, for about $4.50 per 750 ML bottle. That is a very good price in my opinion, and I'd confidently recommend this wine to others if they, too, could buy it for under $5. This Qualitätswein is shipped to the U.S.A. by Domherrenbergkellerei GMBH of Trier, Germany.
A "solid performer" that I will award 3-stars due to its value price and quality.
Wine reviewed: 1999 Dr. Beckermann Zeller Schwarze Katz
Region: Mosel - Saar - Ruwer
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Epinions.com ID:
4-1-1
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 - Top 50 |
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Member: Tom Carr
Location: Southern California
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