Leon Millot

We're off to Liechtenstein today to drink wine. Neatly wedged between Switzerland and Austria, this tiny country is a fairly prodigious wine producer given its size. In particular, before rail travel truly opened up Europe in the mid-to-late 19th century, production per capita was rivaled only by France and Italy. Once the exporting producers were more easily able to move their wines into Liechtenstein, production dropped off some.

Near the capital city of Vaduz, and frankly, the entire country is near the capital city of Vaduz, conditions are near ideal for producing cooler weather wines. A mountainous country, almost all of the plantable slopes in the country face south or southeast. This means that the grapes planted, typically between 650 and 850 meters/2100 and 2800 feet, get intense morning and midday sunlight that fades a bit during the late afternoon. Summers are dry and the chalky soils produce a natural minerality in the grapes. While nights are particularly cool, the days are significantly warmed by the summer foehn, the warm winds coming off the mountains.

Near the center of the capital is the Castle of the Prince of Liechtenstein. It's particularly notable because on the grounds are the Cellars (as in wine) of the Prince from the fine vineyards of the country within the domain of the ruling family. At those with the highest elevation, one of the interesting grapes that they grow is known as Leon Millot (if you want to find it in the US, go to the vineyards of Maine). 

By wine standards, this is a relatively new grape having first been bred in the late 19th or early 20th century. Created by crossing two grapes, neither of which are particularly familiar to me, what is particularly interesting is that one is an offshoot of Riesling and therefore vitis vinifera while the other is itself a hybrid of vitis ruparia and vitis vinestris. This is ideal for the slopes of Liechtenstein as the hybrid makes these grapes much more resistant to the often bitter cold winters of Liechtenstein.

Leon Millot is particularly adaptable to winemaking techniques. Some winemakers choose to press the grapes immediatly at crush and afford the juice almost no skin contact time. This keeps the concentration of malic acid lower and requires less malolactic fermentation. Others prefer long skin contact and therefore find it necessary to put their wines through full malolactic.

While the Leon Millot grapes are sometimes left on the vines into mid-to-late-September, this is more of an early harvesting grape. Winemakers who choose to tempt the weather and extend the harvest are seeking to produce a wine more in the style of a Syrah from the northern Rhone region of France. In the more traditional style, however, expect a wine that resembles Pinot Noir.

What you can get is an excellent wine to sip while enjoying a fall or winter fire. Earthy, woodsy, and to some having barnyard notes, these wines are loaded up with purple fruit and sumptuous chocolate. 

Pair your Leon Millot with red meat, pasta bolognese, or rich sharp cheeses like a Vermont cheddar (they also grow Leon Millot in northern Vermont ... and northern Minnesota).