Appearance of the underrated grape varieties à la Neuburger with Milan Nestarec - Forks & Knives White 2019: exciting scent of sesame and tobacco, curry, yeast dough, flint and lemon tea. Then it tastes just as racy and ends with a sexy bitterness. Knives and forks out! Milan Nestarec's “Table Wine” hence the name Forks and Knives. We like the 2019 vintage a little better than the 2018, which was already awesome.
This is what Milan says about his wine:
Dance me to the end of wine
One of our most beloved and popular wines has gotten even tastier with the current 2019 vintage, as the blend now includes some grapes normally used for WTF and TRBLMKR. Gruner Veltliner, Neuburger, Sauvignon, Pálava and Riesling, with just a tiny bit of skin contact. It's just as fun as always, but with extra energy and depth.
The story behind the F&K line
The role that wine used to play in my country always pissed me off: not an essential part of almost any meal like elsewhere, but rather a binge drink afterwards / a treat for special occasions. For me & my family, wine is like food, something that should be on your table every day. Our bread and butter (literally).
This is the kind of wine I wanna make: affordable, everyday, friendly stuff. Not something for the upper class, not something you need to swirl your glass and head around, talking about viscosity or minerality for ages (no offense, but jeez do I hate this word). My wine is for drinking, not for flashing posh terms. And the Forks & Knives range is a perfect embodiment of this.
The F&K range started with the 2014 vintage. I met Fleur Godard, my French importer, in Cologne, along with Justine Saint Lo, a wonderful illustrator who also happens to be the sister of Francois Saint Lo, a great Loire Valley winemaker. Back in my cellar, when tasting the then nearly-born wine, we had a revelation: it was fate that decided Justine should make the labels, which I've kept ever since - I love their power to communicate the easy “everyday wine for any meal & table "vibe that this wine is all about.
Originally varietal wines, now all blends. Aged in stainless steel tanks and big neutral barrels of 600 and 3000 liters. All bottled under crown caps to keep all that energy in, and once again in clear bottles because, jeez, look at those colors! No sulfur added, no fining, no filtration. The normal way.