2014 Andi Knaus Trollinger ‘Without All’

Price: $20
Region: Württemberg < Germany 
Grapes: Trollinger
Vineyard/Cellar Stats: farming organically, no sulfur added
Winemaker: Andi Knauss

It takes a great deal of courage to make a completely additive-free, no sulfur wine, and we have deep respect for those winemakers who choose to go there. These people are almost always farmers, searching for the ultimate expression of their terroir, via methodology so foreign to most in the business that it can seem crazy. Andi is definitely making a statement with this bottle, which features no front label. He leaves it off to emphasize that this wine is truly naked, “without” all the stuff that conventional wine could, and often does, contain. It’s transparent, stripped down, and above all, so delicious you could drink the whole bottle. By yourself. In an hour. (Ok fine, 90 minutes.) That is the beauty of natural wine, when done right – it should convey the very essence of grape and place without attitude or artifice. So put up your feet and relax with a bottle of this treasure from Andi Knauss this holiday season, and contemplate the virtues of simplicity. Then unscrew and drink up. It is unapologetically spritzy and tart with orange, cranberry and sour cherry notes, then moves into earth and wet leaves, like a rainy fall day. At 9.5% alcohol and without any other crap in there for your body to process, one person could do serious damage to a bottle. And still feel sprightly the next day. Trust us, we know…