Spotlight on the German white wines along the Mosel & Rhine rivers (Part II)

 

Germany has thirteen different wine regions. Most of them are found in the southwestern part of the country alongside the river Rhine and its tributaries. Some of the best known are the Mosel, Rheingau, Pfalz and, Rheinhessen.

 

The Mosel is by far the most famous. And with good reason. A great number of Germany’s outstanding vineyards and wineries are found here,  on the steep, almost vertical, slopes along the narrow river valley. An extreme terroir where grapes must be harvested by hand. Riesling is king here giving exceptional wines with high acidity, rich flavours of stone fruits and honey when young turning into petrol with age. Due to their high acidity, Mosel Rieslings pair great with high-acid dishes or fried foods like sushi, salads, pork schnitzel, and shrimp tempura.

 

After Mosel, the Rheingau  is Germany’s other heavy hitter. Not because of its size, it is actually smaller than the Mosel but because of its reputation of making some of the country’s best sweet wines. Dry Rieslings from the Rheingau have more power and concentration of fruit than those of the Mosel with a distinct ripe peach character and fuller bodies. They are great drunk as aperitifs or with roast chicken, pork tenderloin and meaty salads.

 

Rheinhessen is the largest of all German wine regions. All varieties can be found here at various levels of quality but the best wines are to be found at the terraced vineyards of the Rheinterrasse near the village of Nierstein.

 

The Pfalz is the driest of the German wine regions. It can be seen as a continuation of the vineyards of Alsace as it sits just in its north and enjoys a similar warm, sunny climate. This extra sunshine results in a fuller-bodied style of white wines – Rieslings as well as Silvaners – compared to those of other German regions. Some nice reds can be found here too.

 

When it comes to German wines this is one of the most frequently asked questions and a source of considerable stress for novice wine lovers. The truth is that because of their history, many still believe that most German whites are on the sweeter side. But this is not true anymore as more and more winemakers prefer to make dry wines. The best way to answer the question is to look at each bottle’s wine label. However, another problem arises now. German wine labels are quite difficult to decipher with all those 25 letter words and umlauts! But there’s a ton of useful information on them and the only thing we have to do is know what each of these words mean.

 

Kabinett wines are usually dry, light and fresh.

Spätlese wines are made from grapes that have been left on the vine a little longer to get a bit riper and get more sugar. These wines are richer and likely sweeter than Kabinetts.

Auslese wines are made from even riper grapes and are bolder and sweeter. They age very well and pair beautifully with cheese.

Beerenauslese and Trockenbeerenauslese wines are made from overripe, late-harvest grapes attacked by botrytis or ‘noble rot’. They are dessert wines, lusciously sweet with honey and dried apricot aromas.

Trocken means dry. Even if you see the word Spätlese on the label together with the word Trocken the wine is dry.

Halbtrocken means off-dry

 

A final tip: The lower the alcohol, the sweeter the wine will be because not all the sugar has been converted to alcohol through fermentation. 

 

About the author:

Maria Zioga was born in Greece but spent most of her life living abroad. She studied Political Science and Media and Communication at the London School of Economics and worked alongside the Greek Minister of Finance for 3 years. However, it was wine that captured her heart and became her passion. She is passionate about making wine accessible to everyone and loves teaching about it through fun yet informative seminars. She holds the WSET Level 3 certification and will be starting the WSET Diploma soon. In April 2019, she founded the Geneva Wine Society. She organises wine tastings and wine events in Geneva as well as online. Maria has lived and worked in various countries over the past 20 years.
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