Triomphe d'Alsace, 2011 vintage, bottled today



From this: Grape bunch 3 Sept. 2011

Having picked and fermented my grapes (T. d'Alsace and Brant) on 4 Sept 2011, fermented and racked the juice in January 2012  and left the last demijohn with 100% T.d'Alsace in peace and quiet until today to ensure completion of a potential malolactic fermentation process, I was excited to see if it would prove any better than the 50-50 Brant/T.d'Alsace mix that I bottled in March 2012.

It does.

To the result: Triomphe d'Alsace, bottled 26 April 2012

There's nothing of the aggressive and slightly "brown" taste introduced by the Brant grape.



T.d'Alsace is clean, fruity and pleasant.

The colour is a deep ruby red, almost port colour with a slightly violet tone, which is no wonder, considering the grape's character as a "teinturier", and of course being very young.

The glycerine curtain draws a track down the side of the glass and the taste is one of fresh, young, well behaved plonk - - -  oops - did I say that?
OK - it is not a Mouton Rotschild nor a Corton - it is a Triomphe d'Alsace, but it carries its name with pride.

My problem now is whether I should leave it to rest in the bottles (a miserly 6 + 3 glasses for today!) or just enjoy the 5 and keep one for later (a number of years perhaps, as suggested by my friend and wine specialist Evy Halling).

That problem will be resolved when 3 or 4 bottles have gone the way wine usually goes: let temptation, decision making and discipline commence the battle in a couple of weeks!

But I am now, in my own mind, a fulfilled and content wine maker.
Wolf Blass, eat humble pie.
As Spielberg said: I made this!!!
.

New Paintings April 2012



Jorgen Faxholm: Branches in Green Park, London
Oil on 35x55cm canvas

  I have long wanted to try something different, so here goes.
The branches in the wintery Green Park of London was inspired by a photo by my friend Adam.
While painting, my daughter Iryna said: "STOP. That's it. Can I have it as it is?"
Who can resist a compliment like that?

She was right. The Japanese impression of naked branches, overlaid on a background in Lemony/Ochre Yellow (and a little Titanium White), divided into a couple of minimalistic Rothko squares was enough.

Hmm - well, I shall try another composition, including some unique 'needle-flowers', omitted from this picture.
Let's see what it brings.
But I am happy with the colours!




Jorgen Faxholm: Reflections, Chiswick House Lake
Oil on 50x70cm canvas

 During a walk to Chiswick House Park I took a couple of photos of the ripples on the surface of the lake, just using my little Panasonic Lumix camera. Using PSP7 and changing the colours to B/W, while increasing the contrast, some rather unique swirls and patterns appeared.
The strange thing was, that you couldn't see them with the naked eye.
I turned this into a painting, as shown here.

This is definitely an avenue with which I want to experiment - next time using just B/W and perhaps one background colour (Sunshine yellow or red).

The Angler; Danish island. Oil on canvas, 50x70 cm; 2012



Jorgen Faxholm: coastal landscape of a small Danish island, 2012

 If one waits long enough, little Danish islands like this one will disappear into the sea.
The southern part of Denmark already represents a partly drowned landscape, sinking steadily since the end of the last ice-age, fastest since 7000 BC.
In the shallow waters south of Funen (Fyn) one can observe submerged stone barrows and find drowned stone-age settlements. The deepest settlement is found at -47m in the waters between Funen and Sjaelland.
Thoughts about present climate change?

Danish Farm in Summer Dress; oil on canvas 50x70 cm - 2012.

Jorgen Faxholm: Late summer, a field of barley, beets and green, juicy grass

Here's a summer-view of the same old farm I painted in the mid of winter.
In Denmark even a summer's day can be rather chilly - something I have tried to indicate with the colour-palette.

There's little more to say about this landscape.
Let the painting talk.

Bottling Triomphe d'Alsace and Brant wine 11-4-2012

Finally
Having waited patiently for the malolactic fermentation, one of my 2 demi-Johns has now been emptied into 6 bottles - and a bit.


6  1/2 bottles Triomphe d'Alsace + Brant 11/4/2012


I racked the wine in December 2011, discarding the 'depot' and have observed progress with excitement.
Not a huge harvest, but the sugar content was promising and alcohol is around 12%.
Not a bad result - if I may say so?

The other demi-John still shows sign of life, so I have to wait until there is balance in the u-tube, proving fermentation has stopped.

The reason for the difference is probably, that the now bottled one was a 50-50 mix of Brant and Triomphe d'Alsace, while the last demi-John is a pure Tr. d'Alsace.
It is interesting to watch the difference.

And taste?
mmmmmmmmmmmmmmm.!!!!

One bottle wil be put away for some years.
It was my friend and wine buff Evy Halling, who suggested that I take a bottle every year and store it.

When I bottled the 2010 harvest last year, Simon (friend and neighbour) knocked on the door at exactly the right time. It became an unforgettable bottling session, still talked about - but so were all meetings with Simon, who passed away October 2011.
I have used previously emptied bottles, cleaned them, stuck them in the oven at 220 C for 1/2 hour - filled them and corked them without worrying about branding. It is a pain in the proverbial to remove commercial ettiquettes - I think they use araldite these days, so I didn't worry!
With one exception: the bottle without label will be artistically embellished by "the wine grower cum artist" himself to be put away for some years.

Meanwhile, the vines in front of the house and in the patio are now producing leaves and the first sign of what will be flowers and grapes are showing. 3 Chardonnay have been added to the portfolio, but it will take a couple of years before they produce grapes.
The wonders of nature - - -