Pear Sparkling Wine Green Hunting Pear

Manufaktur Jörg Geiger – Grüne Jagdbirne Sparkling Pear Wine

The Grüne Jagdbirne Sparkling Pear Wine from Manufaktur Jörg Geiger is a single-varietal sparkling wine with a fine perlage and a robust aroma of ripe pears, herbal spice with floral notes, and a slightly tart finish, created using traditional bottle fermentation. It displays a pale straw yellow in the glass and is complex and multi-layered. The pear's animating acidity combined with well-integrated tannins results in a round and creamy character with a light sweetness reminiscent of pear compote. This makes the Grüne Jagdbirne Sparkling Pear Wine a pleasantly dry aperitif. It is a fantastic food companion for lamb cooked in hay, beef fillet under a herb crust, or dishes with green asparagus or green beans, such as pears, beans, and bacon.

Grüne Jagdbirne Sparkling Pear Wine – how it is made

The Grüne Jagdbirne, also known by the synonym Metzer Bratbirne, was historically used in small quantities as a clarifying agent for fruit wines due to its high tannin content. After harvest at Manufaktur Jörg Geiger, the fruits are first left to rest in closed crates, where the ripening gas ethylene can concentrate and activate the enzymes. Only then are the pears gently pressed and cold-fermented in stainless steel tanks.

Traditional Bottle Fermentation – at Manufaktur Jörg Geiger

The second fermentation, which lasts between 12 and 16 weeks, takes place in the bottle. The Grüne Jagdbirne sparkling wine then remains in the bottle on its lees for at least 15 months to mature. Aromas of wine and yeast intermingle, creating complexity. Only at the very end of the maturation period are the bottles, which have been stored horizontally, shaken daily and tilted a little steeper each time until the yeast plug has settled in the neck of the bottle after 43 rotations. During disgorging, the final step before the sparkling pear wine can be sold, the yeast plug is removed from the bottle.