The Franconia (Franken) region is regarded as the burgundy of Germany with the white wines renowned for their fruity, drier stye. Historically, wines from the Fraken region were bottled in a Bocksbeutel, (a Matius Rose shapped bottle pictured right). Today, winemaker Paul Fürst has moved away from the translational bottle to make the wine easier to ship, easier for display in shops and, I dare say, cost saving on the bottle as well.
As a style of wine I love Fraken wines. We tend to regard them as a 'wine merchant wines', i.e. we are the ones that tend to drink them because they are a tough sell. I hope when you try this you will love the wine as much as I do. However, please do not enjoy it too much as here is no more stock until the 2013 vintage is released next year!
Paul Fürst suddenly inherited the wine estate after his father's untimely death in 1975. Then there were just 6 acres of vines. As a testament to Paul's skill, he has managed to grow his estate through the tough years the German wine industry faced in the 90s and 00s. Today, he has 37 acres of vineyards located on prime south-facing slopes. All the work is done by hand to ensure the grapes have good air circulation and thinning of fruit.
