Wine: Is it a Trocken? Demystifying German Riesling (from the WSJ)

I was thrilled to read this article. Riesling has been my favorite wine for at least 20 years. Now I don't have to be embarrassed to admit it. : ) Andreas, Did you also see the article on hiking around Mt. Blanc? I was wondering if anyone here had done that hike. I found it intriguing.

4€ a bottle at Rewe for Riesling from vineyards that I can almost see from my house. If I was any kind of an oenophile, I guess I would find that poetic, and I would use terms like "salient", "shimmering" and "beguiling". But since I'm just a cheap bastard who likes easy-to-drink booze, I'll just continue to drink and enjoy the stuff for its own sake.

Riesling can be perfect for a light lunch on a sunny day. What I like about it is that often it has very low alcohol levels. I remember drinking a perfectly balanced riesling (fruit vs acidity) that was only 9% alcohol, and not too sweet at all. It is definitely a great wine. Worth spending a few extra euros for a good one. Probably the main thing that riesling has going against it is that they can be sweet, and that is not in style these days. Nothing better, however, than sitting at an outdoor cafe' on a sunny day in some cobble-stoned, old town square and eating an onion torte and sipping a nice riesling.

Carroll, the Tour de Mont Blanc (TMB) is a great hike through three countries. I haven' t yet done it, but have friends who have. The best way is probably to sign upmwith an adventure company like REI Adventures, Wilderness Travel, VBT, etc. As they will take care of all the details..And they will make sure you don't make the kind of mistakes the couple in the article did ( abandoning one's pack to try a sprint in the dark to the next lodging is a serious no-no).

Just got back from a trip to Germany a few hours ago and had Riesling almost every day ;-) Love it, especially when it's a dry one. And most German Rieslings that you find IN Germany are on the dry side. It's just so unfortunate that the ones you find on this side of the Atlantic tend to be on the sweeter side. Here, I started to choose Rieslings from New Zealand.

Cool article, although I can't imagine any Germans paying $100 for a bottle of Riesling. That said, Riesling is fine but probably my least favorite of the major German white varietals. I prefer dry verions of Silvaner, Weissbugunder, Graubugunder, or Gruner Veltiner to Riesling. Then again, I'm always drinking these at a very low price point, I rarely spend more than 7 Euro on a bottle, am often happy to do spend 4. But I definitely think North Americans visiting Germany should try as many varietals as they can to see what they like!

Although it's really a matter of taste, I've always thought that the Germans overvalue their wine.

I like to think of myself as shimmering and beguiling, with a few salient parts ;-) Andreas, next time include samples - I'm thirsty! Thanks for the article, anyway ;-)

Ooh!! such wonderful memories. My taste buds are tingling again. Having just returned from Europe, which included a week of sampling some of Germany's finest rieslings from various regions. As a South Australian where we produce some of the finest wines, both red and white, I have to say German rieslings rule supreme. We visited Schloss Vollrads winery near Rudesehim and sampled their 3 riesling varietals. A very, very, pleasant afternoon. I prefer white wine to red and love a good riesling.
The German riesling has not got quite the same level of acidity as Aussie rieslings, which is why I prefer them.

Mmmm,|I guess I will never get a job as a sommelier,,, as I have yet to have a Riesling that I really like. Yes, I have had German ones,, but , not in Germany, so perhaps what is available here is just not that good. I will have to try a few more when I get back to Germany one day!

Just because Sarah mentioned Grauburgunder, Weißburgunder wines... In the article they do mention the popularity of Pinot (=Burgunder) as well. And for those of you who really love Rieslings: Next time you're in Frankfurt take a 50 mins train ride to Eltville am Rhein. Right next to the big Kempsinski hotel there is a great Riesling sampling facility. They also serve great local food (all pretty classy but affodable). It's the Schloss Reinhartshausen winery. The Schloss today is the Kempsinki hotel. You can even do this as a half-day trip from Frankfurt.

Now, if they could just find a way to bottle wine without sulfites (or is it sulfates....), I'd be happy.

Andreas,
Thanks for the article. I have to say though, when I think of wine, my mind and taste buds always drift over to The Wachau Valley along the Donau.