The first thing that catches your eye about the Hans Wirsching Silvaner 2010 is the playful green bottle that holds the wine.
The flattened, flask-shaped bottle is known as a bocksbeutel, or “buck bag.” It is used in the central German wine region of Franken, as well as in a few villages in northern Baden, to house the best wines.
Fortunately this particular book lives up to its cover. The pale-gold liquid inside the tantalizing bottle is mouthwatering — its lovely acidity and juicy flavors invariably making the drinker utter gurgling-happy sounds.
The white grape in question, Silvaner, is grown mostly in Germany and central Europe. When the Silvaner vines set their roots in clayey-limestone soils, as they do in the best sites of Franken, they are capable of producing full-bodied, firm wines with great natural acidity, delicious minerality and pleasing flavors.
