German Wine

Eighty years ago the top wines of Germany were priced at the same level as a great Bordeaux such as Lafite. Today the overall reputation of German wines has slumped to a dismal level. The German wine industry itself is largely to blame, having bent over backwards to produce vast quantities of extremely cheap sugary wines to please an undemanding market.

Yet Germany remains the source of some of the greatest white wines in the world. Its secret weapon has always been the Riesling grape. This astonishingly versatile grape variety is capable of producing rich dry wines or gloriously honeyed sweet wines. Those grown in northern regions such as the Moselle have the additional benefit of being very low in alcohol - with half the level you would encounter in a burly red from southern Europe - yet amazingly long-lived. Good Riesling can age in the bottle for at least 20 years, becoming more rich and complex as time goes by. Although bone-dry Rieslings are produced in the Moselle, they can taste tart to those unaccustomed to the style, and most visitors prefer slightly sweet wines such as a classic Kabinett or Spatlese, where a hint of sweetness is perfectly balanced by the wine's refreshing acidity. The ultra-sweet wines made from Riesling, such as Beerenauslese or ice wine are, unfortunately, both rare and very expensive.

Riesling is never aged in small barrels that would mask the complex flavors that arise from the soil on which it is grown. Travel along the Moselle river and you will see the vineyards planted on steep slate soils that give a wonderfully racy mineral tang to the wines. In the Rheingau, where the vines are planted on a series of slopes facing due south across the Rhine, the varied and often rocky soils give different nuances and complexity to the wines. Unlike the Moselle, the Rheingau is a region of largely princely and monastic estates, many of which are open to visitors. Rheinhessen is an often overlooked region, as its plains are the source of Germany's least distinguished wines, but along the Rhine, above villages such as Nierstein and Nackenheim, are red-soiled vineyards that produce wonderfully zesty Rieslings, both sweet and dry.

Riesling thrives in regions where natural acidity is best preserved. Elsewhere in Germany you will find considerable diversity. In Franconia, especially around Wurzburg, Silvaner as well as Riesling produce bone-dry whites of power and concentration. Further east in the Saxony region around Dresden, the Müller Thurgau grape gives robust whites for everyday drinking.

Baden is a particularly enticing region, stretching for a couple of hundred kilometres south along the Rhine on the opposite bank to Alsace. This too is a dry wine region, and one of the few areas where good red wine can be made. Gutedel (Chasselas) is a local white speciality, but the Burgundian varieties such as Pinot Blanc and Pinot Noir deliver far more interesting wines. They also offer a perfect match to the fine regional cuisine.

The Rhineland Palatinate lies midway between the Riesling zone and the southern zones, and its wines reflect this. Villages like Forst and Deidesheim are the source of fine, sometimes dry Rieslings, but you can also find rich whites and sometimes reds from the Burgundian varieties, as well as thrilling sweet wines from varieties such as Rieslaner.

The problem for the wine-loving visitor to Germany is that one is spoilt for choice. If anything, wines are made in too many styles - in Baden and Württemberg you can even find sweet red wines produced to appeal to local tastes. Fortunately, most estates and cooperatives welcome visitors and allow you to taste extensively before you buy.

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