2007 ~ No. 4    

Oh Riesling, My Riesling

To many people, Riesling is a sweet wine to be avoided at all costs. To a different group, the unheralded, underappreciated Riesling is the best, most amazing grape out there.

The reason is simple: No other varietal is as versatile. It is crafted in every style from so bone-dry it will take the enamel off your teeth to so sweet, honeyed and rich it will make you swoon. Or take the enamel off your teeth, depending on which group you fall into.

The origins of this grape are unknown, though it is believed to be indigenous to Germany. Its first documented appearance is in 1435, in a storage inventory listing the purchase of six barrels of "riesslingen" from a vintner. Riesling next turns up in Alsace, where it was first planted in 1477 and today comprises 20% of the region's vineyards.

Vintners in new world discovered Riesling much later. It was cultivated in Australia in 1838 and not planted in New Zealand until the 1970's! Meanwhile, German immigrants brought the vines to America, where winemakers in New York's Finger Lakes region were among the first to cultivate the vine. On the West coast, Riesling made it to California in 1857 and Washington State in 1871.

One of Riesling's quirky characteristics is its ability to reflect terroir. In other words, the grape takes on characteristics of the environment, particularly the soil, in which it grows. Riesling from a cool climate with flinty soil will feel crisp with a slightly stony quality, while the fruit grown in a warmer climate with richer soil will be rounder with zestier flavor. Even wines from similar regions such as Germany's Mosel and France's Alsace will have their own unique qualities due to soil and climate differences.

There are some traits Riesling reflects regardless of where it grows, including intense flavors and aromas, citrus flavor and a distinct minerality. As the wine ages, a touch of petrol will emerge in the nose.

Enjoyable on its own, Riesling is also a versatile wine to pair with food. Try it with white fish, salads, seafood and pork. It's also one of the few white wines that stands up well to spicy cuisine.



The Inside Scoop

To get an insider's perspective on German wines and the scoop on the latest vintage, we turned to Jonathan Schwartz, Portfolio Manager for Terry Theise Estate Selections for Michael Skurnik Wines, a New York importer and distributor. Excerpts from our conversation:

Q: Over a hundred years ago, German wines used to rival those of Bordeaux in terms of prestige, then fell out of favor. How would you characterize these wines today?

A: If you examine wine lists to 1960, German wines fetched very high prices, often more than Latour or others. Post-1960, however, there was a backlash against residual sugar and an influx of wines such as Liebfraumilch that tarnished the reputation of German wines. Today, German wines are favored more by people who get their information from outside traditional sources such as the mainstream wine press. In addition, sommeliers who know how well these wines go with food keep them on their lists.

Q: Perhaps one reason the general consumer doesn't gravitate towards German wines is that the labels can be very confusing. Any suggestions for helping the layman figure out which wine to select?

A: The wine labels seem intimidating but are easy to figure out once you learn the rules. [See next article for more.] My recommendation is to go to a wine shop and ask for what they have from Terry Theise Selections. Search out a wine from the Kabinett level, preferably one with a screwcap that is under $20 and from a recent vintage. Enjoy it alone or with a lighter-style food. Chinese takeout or Thai food works well.

Q: You just returned from visiting numerous estates in Germany. What are winemakers anticipating for the 2006 vintage?

A: This year in particular, you have to know where in the country the wine is from. The whole wine region was hit with bad storms in October, which caused the rapid onset of Botrytis [a fungus]. The challenges for winemakers were to harvest quickly, carefully select the grapes, and figure out how to deal with Auslese-level ripeness when they wanted to make a dryer style wine. Generally speaking, wines from Mosel and Nahe are the best, with okay quality from the mid-Rheingau and Rheingau. The grapes in Pfalz and Rheinhessen were hardest hit, so these wines aren't the best quality.

Q: Conventional wisdom says that white wines generally don't age well - but that's not always the case with Riesling. Why is that?

A: Riesling ages incredibly well because of its high acidity and residual sugar. In Germany, I've had Kabinetts from 1953 that are perfect. But, if you have a German Riesling with a Stelvin closure [screwcap] and keep it at a constant temperature, it can hold for a minimum of 15 years, even an inexpensive bottle.

Keep in mind that wines change as they age, getting more minerally and losing their fruit notes. Not everyone likes this, so figure out where you fall on the spectrum. Many wine stores have older vintages, so try an older bottle and see what you like. A lot of restaurants also have older Riesling for reasonable prices, another way to see if you like how it will age.

Q: For someone who simply doesn't like Riesling, what are some other grapes from Germany they could try?

A: Weissburgunder, Blauburgunder, Pinot Blanc, Pinot Gris. You know, there's a myth that there's no good red wine from Germany, but that's not true. They just drink most of it! It's worth seeking out their Pinot Noir.

Also, if you like Riesling, look for grapes that are a cross with Riesling, such as Kerner or Scheurebe.

Q: Finally, any specific producers to look for?

A: Oh, look for the Terry Theise label! He's been there for 20 years, has personal relationships with all the growers, and tastes all the wines personally. Try Selbach-Oster from Mosel or Leitz Dragonstone from the Rheingau. I encourage people to purchase wines with a screwcap or glass cork so you know it's quality. And avoid the instinct to just get something simple, a wine that just says 'Riesling.' Look for a vineyard designation, as the wines will be of higher quality.

FWC Insider's Tip: If you're a collector or just a fan of German Riesling, Jonathan recommends buying as much of the 2005 as you can, as winemakers there consider it the best vintage they've ever seen.



Understanding German Wine Labels


With all the umlauts and funny-looking letters on a bottle of German wine, it seems much easier to bypass them in favor of, say, anything else. Believe me, I understand. The details can become very nitty-gritty, so at the risk of oversimplification, here's a guide to some of the key words pertaining to dryness/sweetness levels that you'll see on the label.

German wine laws classify their grapes according to their ripeness at harvest, as indicated by the sugar levels. The riper the grape, the more sugar it has - and thus, the more extract and flavor as well. The four main categories are:

Tafelwein, or table wine
Landwein, or land wine
Qualitatswein bestimmer Anbaugebiete (QbA), or quality wine from a defined region
Qualitatswein mit Pradikat (QmP), or with a distinction (To be renamed Pradikatswein after a 2007/2008 transition period.)

QmP wines are typically further refined into one of several categories, again from the lowest sugar levels at harvest to highest:

Kabinett - these wines are generally very light, with lower alcohol
Spatlese - a richer wine with more intense flavor
Auslese - typically a light, sweet wine, but can be dry as well
Beerenauslese - a fuller dessert wine
Trockenbeerenauslese - an even richer dessert wine

The final style of German wine is Eiswein, a sweet dessert wine made from grapes that have literally frozen on the vine.

Generally speaking, the lower the sugar level at harvest, the dryer the wine in the bottle. But here's where things get a little tricky. Sugar levels at harvest don't necessarily correlate to the final sweetness of the wine, as the winemaker can choose to ferment the wine until all the sugars are removed - or leave some in for a sweeter taste.

The exceptions, of course, are Beerenauslese, Trockenbeerenauslese and Eiswein, given the high levels of sugar in the grapes when picked. Chemically speaking, there is only so much sugar that can be fermented out!

Thus, from the Tafelwein through the Auslese levels, consumers may see one of two additional designations that indicate the dryness level of the wine. The first is Trocken, which means dry and refers to wines with a maximum residual sugar (RS) level of 9 grams/liter of wine. The second is Halbtrocken, or half-dry, with an RS of no more than 18 g/l.

Residual sugar, as you might suspect from the name, is the amount of sugar that's left after a wine is fermented. However (you knew this was coming!) another quirk of Riesling is its high acidity - a trait that balances out the RS and can make the wine taste dryer that it actually is.

Before you give up altogether, here is some perspective on what "dry" and "half-dry" really mean:

Brut Champagne is typically less than 5 g/l, and most red wines are fermented to less than 2 g/l, though anything at less than 10 g/l is considered dry. Moderately sweet wines start at 20 g/l, though one of the world's sweetest wines - Hungarian Tokaji, must have a minimum RS of 250 g/l!

So, with this guide and Jonathan's tasting advice, you can stride into a wine store or restaurant with confidence…or at least a sense of what you're looking at on the label!