Wine from a friend

[StevenJ]

What do I have? A bottle of German Riesling Brut(Sparkling Wine) has sat in my basement for a few years. A friend told me it was very expensive when he handed it over to me. I have waited for the right time to open it; New Years? Before I do I would like to find out what I have.
The label reads "JAHRGANGSSEKT 1978" "DEINHARD & Co." serial#12350 of 18578 bottles??? If anyone has any knowledge about this wine please share it with me.

[This message has been edited by StevenJ (edited 12-29-1999).]

[Innkeeper]

Happy New Year!

[tomstevenson]

Can you see any mention of "Bernkasteler Doctor"? The size of the cuvee (18,578 bottles) and the remark about its price leads me to suspect that it is one of three only vintages of Sekt produced from the famed Doctor vineyard. At it's time it was the greatest Sekt ever made, and I know that it was still drinking well in 1990 (fine honeyed-petrol aromas). What it's like now, who knows? It's a piece of history for me because when I first tasted it disproved the myth that cuve close is an intrinsically inferior method of making sparkling wine. It's not; Deinhard Bernkasteler Doctor Sekt was made in a tank and it has (or had!) some of the most minuscule bubbles I have ever come across.

[StevenJ]

New Years was terrific & the information supplied by Tom Stevenson enhanced my eagerness to open my 1978 bottle of Reisling Brut. 10-9-8-7....1 "HAPPY NEW YEAR" the cork was removed but no "POP" was reported and not one bubble fizzed - it was totally flat. The Deinhard & Co. product sealed so long ago was discarded after waiting to pour for all those years. Any tips on saving wine may help another bottle out there somewhere. Feel free to post the info.