The Silvaner Revolution Will Not Be Televised...

[Robert_Dentice]

Yes, I have read that there are a few producers doing good stuff with it again. I wouldn’t mind trying some, but I’ve never seen MT offered from growers here. Has anyone ever made a US MT?

In general, MT seems to have been spectacularly hated and maligned in the last 30 years. Even more so than Colombard, even.

Never tried one but I know there is some in Oregon.

[Dan_Hammer]

Oh yeah, Boxler’s is also consistently terrific.

And insanely overpriced! Thanks Kermit Lynch.

Zachy’s is a couple of $$ cheaper. I may drop by this week and buy a bottle.

[Keith_Levenberg]

My silvaner revelation came when Lyle secured a huge parcel of Wirsching going back to the early '90s. The silvaners trounced the rieslings, not even a close call. Some of the riesling vintages were tired but none of the silvaners were. These days, Weltner is as good as the grape gets IMO. Really sad about the decision to cancel the bocksbeutel though.

[David_Bu3ker]

My silvaner revelation came when Lyle secured a huge parcel of Wirsching going back to the early '90s. The silvaners trounced the rieslings, not even a close call. Some of the riesling vintages were tired but none of the silvaners were. These days, Weltner is as good as the grape gets IMO. Really sad about the decision to cancel the bocksbeutel though.

Yeah, the bottles were cool, but a PITA to ship and to store.

[Robert_Dentice]

My silvaner revelation came when Lyle secured a huge parcel of Wirsching going back to the early '90s. The silvaners trounced the rieslings, not even a close call. Some of the riesling vintages were tired but none of the silvaners were. These days, Weltner is as good as the grape gets IMO. Really sad about the decision to cancel the bocksbeutel though.

If you love Bocksbeutels I will have something very cool to show you in a few weeks!

[Ashley_Bair]

Count me in the minority of people who love bocksbeutels. Maybe it’s the romantic and the historian in me, but I am more than happy to deal with the shipping and storage issues to keep the tradition and history of the Franken alive. Sad to hear if Wirsching has in fact abandoned the bockbeutel.

Sylvaner has always been a challenge to find on a year-after-year basis from a producer I like. Most of the Franken Silvaners don’t make it to the States - it’s been a long times since I’ve seen anything from Juliusspital, Burgerspital, Fürstlich Castell’Sches Domänenamt, or Fürst Löwenstein. Wirsching, plus the entry-level Silvaners of Horst Sauer, are more readily available. Rainer Sauer and Schmitt’s Kinder are two more that I haven’t seen in a while.

Outside of Keller, I haven’t come across any Silvaners from elsewhere in Germany that I’d recommend. Elsewhere, Ostertag’s VV is quite nice, as are those from Abbazia di Novacella.

[Art_R]

Gotta love the Weltner, just absolutely excellent wine, extraordinary minerality (thank you, Lyle)…and the glass caps on the bocksbeutels are terrific stoppers on other white wines (especially with Diam corks.)