Today’s post was inspired by the phenomenal wine we drank last night. It was delicious and true to its style (and my expectations . . .)
German Riesling is one of the most misunderstood wines by American wine drinkers. Among numerous fads of the 1980’s that are best left forgotten lives the cheap Piesporter crave that exposed Americans to low quality German Riesling and tarnished many opinions on this classic wine.
In fact, Germany makes the world’s best Rieslings. Although French Rieslings from the Alsace region and American Rieslings from Washington state (and even Michigan) make claims to being number one, nobody does Riesling like the Germans. When done right, German Riesling ranks as one of the best wines in the world.
Before highlighting the particular producer whose succulent wine inspired this post, a few quick notes on selecting a good German Riesling:
1. Always aim to buy a bottle that says Qualitätswein mit Prädikat (sometimes the wein is omitted). This means “Quality with Pedigree” and although the thought of Germans focusing on pedigree and purity can be alarming for neighboring nations, as a wine buyer this ensures that the quality is guaranteed by the German government.
2. Producers are über-important when selecting German Rieslings.
Although this is true for all wines, I’ve found that the disparity between great and average German producers is quite noticeable and unlike French and Italian wines – the price difference will not always crush you.
3. German Riesling is produced at various levels of sweetness.
From dry to sweetest they are: Kabinett, Spätlese, Auslese, Beerenauslese & Trockenbeerenauslese.
As you go up in sweetness, you also go up in price and ability to age.
The first two styles are great as meal accompaniments while the last three are brilliant dessert wines due to their intense sweetness.
Although I could blog all day about German Riesling, it’s time to focus on today’s muse: a beautiful Reichsgraf von Kesselstatt. This one in particular was a 2001 Spätlese from their Schwarzhofberger vineyard. Not only was 2001 a phenomenal year for German Riesling (as was the rest of the early 2000s), but this one was aged to perfection. It had a deep golden color that came through in its honeyed flavor and exhibited the numerous nuances that only a tremendous Riesling can. Simply put – it was excellent. I've tried a number of wines from this 400+ year old producer and I have yet to be dissatisfied.
I hope you get an opportunity to try this marvelous German wine. If you have been burned before by low quality German jug Riesling; I encourage you to try again, it is a noble style that shouldn’t be missed by wine lovers!
Prosit!
