If Only If Only 2023

Franken's most serious grape, refusing to be serious.

Ben: Silvaner is the grape Franken puts on its most formal bottles. The two ex-chefs grow it and then skip the costume: ten percent alcohol, a night resting on the grape skins, then a big untoasted cask plus one acacia barrel — so it comes out light, cloudy and quick, everything the formal bottles aren't.

In your glass: Light, cloudy, alive: a low-alcohol white with zero sugar, a zippy snap, and a touch more texture than a supermarket white — that's the unfiltered, hands-off style, not a fault. The untoasted wood seasons it without any oak vanilla. Pick it when you're curious about natural wine but want the gentle door in; skip it if crystal-clear and classic is what you're after — and that's fine.

Serve it: An hour in the fridge. — Likes air — even better twenty minutes after opening, and still good tomorrow.

You’ll probably love it if: You like your classics rebellious — Franken's most serious grape, refusing to be serious.

Skip it if: Want a calm, classic white → Pinot Blanc Goldkapsel (€14.30). Same growers, one rung easier → What Time Is Too Late To Go To Bed (€20.70).

About the name: the label never explains it. My reading — a “what if?”; their own page answers: “No regrets? Most of the time.”