German wine is sweet, bone dry
Don’t know if you’ve noticed, but in more than 20 years of writing wine reviews, I have not recommended a single German wine. I am a huge fan of Riesling but the German stuff that flows through our liquor stores tastes more like a watered-down cooler than my beloved Riesling.
No record lasts forever and this week you are about to read, and hopefully experience, a new era of German wine available in these parts. What’s exciting is that we’re not just talking about a general improvement — this is a quantum leap, a miracle. From worst to best!
We all know that Riesling is a summer wine, but this one is too good to put on hold till after winter, which hasn’t even arrived yet. Riesling is a great daytime drink anytime of the year. For a Sunday brunch, there’s nothing better to sooth the head and body — eggs, Riesling and a nap is my idea of a perfect Sunday afternoon.
For those who might be in the dark about this wine, Riesling is a paradox. It’s very light, low-alcohol and delicate but it also has an edge, the strength of steel. It can express spring flowers in a meadow alongside an icy cold cocktail. It can feel both sweet and bone dry.
These contrasts — a lot of stuff going on that you may not pick up on your first sip — make it exciting. But most of all Riesling creates a fresh feeling. You feel energized and ready for what’s next. It is a get-you-started wine and that’s why it’s best during the daytime or with brunch.
Billy Munnelly is author, wine critic and publisher of Billy’s Best Bottles Wineletter and Billy’s Best Wines For 2005.
Visit www.billysbestbottles.comfor information about his in-home wine-tasting seminar.
To receive a free copy of Billy’s Best Bottles Wineletter, e-mail info@billysbestbottles.com.
| Uncorked |
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FYI: Mosel is a river and a region, and Spätlese is a German term for late harvest. |
