Champagne Poire William – dry

Champagne Baked Pear – CBB Sparkling Wine by Jörg Geiger

The Champagne Baked Pear dry from Manufaktur Jörg Geiger is a fine, complex sparkling wine made from an old pear variety. In the glass, it has a light straw-yellow color with greenish reflections, very clear with fine perlage. The nose is fresh and inviting with ripe fruits, pear compote, and floral notes of hay and green tea. The taste is dry (residual sugar 18g/l) with a soft, fruit-driven start, harmonious pear fruit, an exciting sweet-sour interplay with a creamy, tart finish. We recommend enjoying the sparkling wine from the Champagne Baked Pear well chilled at 8-10 °C on its own as an aperitif, with foie gras and pear, and with Asian dishes with sweet and spicy components.

Champagne Baked Pear – an old pear with a noble name

As early as 1760, the production of sparkling wine from the famous Champagne Baked Pear fruit variety was documented. This "wine pear of the highest rank" is washed after harvesting and sorted by hand according to ripeness. The subsequent "sweating" is part of Jörg Geiger's secret, allowing the rich aroma of the pear to fully develop. The yellow pear is washed, ground, and gently pressed at low pressure. The sweet juice runs clear from the press, and the tannins of the pears immediately precipitate the turbid substances. The sweet juice remains overnight in the settling tank to be transferred to the vessels for the first fermentation the next morning. The slow, aroma-preserving cold fermentation in the new cellar takes almost three months. From the end of December to the beginning of January, after racking and filtration, the cuvées are assembled. This is where experience, skill, and expertise come into play. After bottling, the second fermentation begins with the residual sugar and champagne yeast. The sparkling wine remains in the bottle for at least nine months before it is riddled and disgorged at the end of the traditional bottle fermentation process.

The Champagne Baked Pear is likely an old Württemberg variety. It originated as a chance seedling, like almost all old fruit varieties. In the tree nursery of Duke Carl Eugen, the Champagne Baked Pear was propagated in large numbers due to its high value, to be spread throughout the state of Württemberg by the promoter of agriculture. According to Lucas, around 1850 it was widely found in the Filder region near Stuttgart, in the Neckar and Rems valleys, and in many areas of the state. The tree established itself in medium altitudes from 300 to 450 m above sea level, especially in microclimatically favorable conditions on warmer soils. Today, we find the trees particularly in some communities along the Albtrauf. Schlat, with its location favorable for fruit cultivation, has preserved a vital stock due to the people's connection to their Champagne Baked Pear trees and the knowledge of the fruit growers. The main stock in Schlat is now between 90 and 120 years old, a small part is in their middle age of 30 years, and the new plantings of the last five years still have to grow before they come into significant yield after 20 years of standing. A standard tree follows its natural urge to grow first, and only then bears fruit. Here, the tree is truly planted and built up for the next generation, sustainable management is required.

Pear Sparkling Wine from Manufaktur Jörg Geiger

In 1999, Jörg Geiger was awarded the Innovation Prize of the Steinbeis Foundation and the Economic Development Agency in the Göppingen district. Slow Food Germany recognized the pear sparkling wine from the Champagne Baked Pear as the first representative of Southern Germany in the Ark of Taste, as a regional and culinarily valuable product worthy of protection. The commitment to revive old traditions through innovations, thereby preserving and promoting our cultural landscape with its characteristic giant trees, was honored with the Cultural Landscape Prize in 2001.

On May 16, 2007, the first German "Presidio" support group was recognized by the International Slow Food Foundation for Biodiversity. Presidia are projects aimed at protecting small producers and preserving artisanal quality products. Their goal is to guarantee a future for food alliances by bringing producers together, finding new markets, and promoting taste and connection to the territory. In 2009, the 2008 "Pear Sparkling Wine Brut" was named "Favorite of the Year 2009" by the Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung.

Manufaktur Jörg Geiger received special recognition in 2010 for its activities in traditional orchards with the presentation of the "Promotional Award for Traditional Orchards" from the Stuttgart region. In Stuart Pigott's brilliant little wine guide, a new title was awarded: Fruit Wine Producer of the Year 2010 – "For his impressive wines made from apples and pears, but above all for his ingenious sparkling wines from the Champagne Baked Pear, Jörg Geiger was already quite well known, but still not well known enough!"

Manufaktur Jörg Geiger in Schlat is one of the 24 chefs and producers who have contributed to the Genussland No. 1 in Germany. Awarded a star by the state of Baden-Württemberg at the New Stuttgart Trade Fair.