hope & grace wine blog

Lagrein! (lah-GRINE)

My wife is giving me a sour look over the table as if I’ve offered her something inedible instead of a virtuous and interesting wine with a story to tell. I implore upon her to taste it. It’s Charles Hendricks’ latest effort to expand the palates of us common folk with a varietal of hope & grace not found in your local grocery store.

She tries it, savors it, smiles, and so a relationship with something new emerges. Now mind you, Lagrein is something unusual, something to be savored and appreciated. It’s not a cab, not a merlot, it’s something else entirely. Entrigued? I was, so I started to dig further. Ask a sommelier what a Lagrein is like and you’re likely to get a mouthful of other Germanic wines that most in the United States have never heard of. The Legrein is an unusual breed, rarely making the jump across the pond to take root in an entrepreneurial vintners vineyard, yet here hope & grace is making this wonderfully new adventure.

Lagrein is a Tyrolean Wine. Wife gives me a blank stare as if I’m speaking another language… because I am. Tyrol is a historic region that spans Northern Italy and Austria squarely in the Eastern Alps and Dolomites. The region is now called Alto Aldige (www.altoadigewinesusa.com). The language spoken in the region is primarily German and not Italian and the white wine grown there will sound familiar; riesling, gewürztraminer, pinot grigo. Lagrein doesn’t grow in the Alps of course, but clinging to the hills and walls of the valleys of the southern region of Alto Adige. The grape is related to Pinot Noir, and Syrah.

Eric Asimov of the New York Times describes Lagreins as  “wines that can be deliciously plummy, earthy and chewy, dark and full-bodied but not heavy, with a pronounced minerally edge” The bright flavorful wine carries some acidity making it a perfect pairing with red meats, game, aged cheeses, and speck a regional version of a cured ham slightly smoky with a low salt content.

It’s another hope & grace wine that one happy club member explained, they would bring to a party put on the table among other standard “party wines” and watch people drink, just to see their faces go through the exploration of something new. Then almost always look at the bottle, and ask “what is this?” “where can I get some?”

Wife is on glass number two as I ramble on. What might she ask if she were more interested in historical references than purely enjoying an excellent glass of wine? She might ask “why haven’t I heard of Tyrol?” But, the answer is we probably all have. The Tyrolean Hat (Included image) is something that might look like a common hat from the Alps, paired with lederhosen , and so it is. Most have just never heard it referred to as Tyrolean. The Tyrolean hound, while cute, is also a breed rarely seen state-side.

This mysterious and interesting bottle of wine is now poured completely, my wife and I enjoying the new flavors we find. My wife asks if we will be getting more, will hope & grace wines continue to make this great new wine… to that all I can answer is, the future is uncertain, but we can enjoy the wine now. 

Dr. Rob Morgan

(Interested in trying some? Get hope & grace Lagrein Here)