Epcot Food & Wine Festival is a great opportunity to discover new wines. Among the 28 wines and champagnes I sampled last week, here are three new interesting discoveries from Germany, China, and Portugal.

Germany’s Kloster Pinot Grigio

You don’t see many Pinot Grigios from Germany. This one was served at Epcot’s Germany Weinkeller and comes from the Rheinhessen, the largest of Germany’s 13 wine-producing regions. It’s 100% Pinot Grigio grapes fermented in stainless steel and stored in stainless.

  • Aroma: Clean and fruity.
  • Taste: Crisp citrus with a hint of nut. Soft yet medium-bodied (more so than your usual Italian Pinot Grigio).
  • My thoughts: I really enjoyed this wine. I’m a Pinot Grigio fan so it was fun to find one from Germany.

China’s Dragon Hollow Chardonnay

We’re hearing a lot these days about China’s growing consumption of wine. Well here’s a wine made in China. This was the wine served at the China International Marketplace. Their website says they are the first premium wines produced in China. No pesticides, clean water, and modern winemaking technology are used. And the Ningxia Helan Mountain Eastern region where the wine comes from is the same parallel as Napa and Bordeaux.

  • Aroma: Granny Smith apple and alcohol.
  • Taste: Clean tart apple with a hint of almond.
  • My thoughts: It was exciting to try this wine and while it has potential, particularly as an un-oaked Chardonnay, it doesn’t yet fully live up the website’s description. I found it overall flat after the first sip and pretty high in alcohol yet its only 12.9%.
This is a fun one! Port is a Portuguese fortified wine produced exclusively in the Duoro Valley in northern Portugal. Croft has been making Port for four centuries and now created something totally new..a rose style. Typically Port is thought of as a heavy after-dinner drink. Croft Pink is best served chilled or over ice AND perfect for cocktails. This was served at the Intermission Café hosted by Kobrand.
  • Aroma: Berry and floral.
  • Taste: Raspberry and cherry with some heat, due to the almost 20% alcohol content.
  • My thoughts: WOW! This a great new spin on the classic Port which I don’t usually drink. I preferred Croft Pink with bubbles…soda water or Prosecco. Try adding a lime too.

More to come on Champagne and additional Italian wine discoveries. Cheers!