With this article we begin our study of Riesling, one of the “Big Six” grape varietals that are frequently made into wine. Riesling has a long and noble history, and it enjoys a strong, loyal following of wine enthusiasts.
Riesling’s characteristics
Although Riesling can be made in a number of styles, there are certain core characteristics that typify a Riesling. On the nose, you can almost always detect clear aromas of green apple. This scent can be accompanied by honey, white flowers, and fleshy fruits like pear or peach. Of course, as I’ve indicated before, your sense of smell may pick up certain things that others do not detect. It’s all perfectly fine, so do not worry if you’re picking up aromas of minerals or even a little petrol–those are common to some Rieslings as well.
On the palate, Rieslings can run the range from crisp and light to thicker and intense. This factor is influenced by the amount of residual sugar in the wine. One constant characteristic is high acidity, which you can identify as your salivary glands increase production. It’s this high acidity that makes Riesling such a food-friendly wine. The flavors tend to mirror the aromas, and well-made Rieslings will have a wonderfully long finish.
German Rieslings
Germany is the home to Riesling, where it has been grown for hundreds of years. Many of the vineyards in use today have been growing Riesling for centuries, continuing a long tradition.
German Rieslings can be intimidating at first. The labels seem to be almost impenetrable with their gothic script, and anyone unfamiliar with the German language might feel lost as long German words stare back from the wine label. Once you understand the German system of wine classification, though, it becomes much easier. (It’s almost a stereotype to think of Germans as highly organized engineers who would classify everything. The quality of automotive brands like Mercedes-Benz, Audi and BMW seems to reinforce that stereotype.)
The German wine classification system
In Germany, wines are classified in terms of their quality, and within the top tier they are further classified in terms of their residual sugar. Being familiar the system (which really is not that hard once you spend some time on it) will help you understand the level of quality and dryness/sweetness in the wine.
At the base, Germans have tafelwein, or table wine. This is your basic, every-day drinking wine, and it is usually not exported to other countries. Similarly, Germans can opt for landwein, or country wine. This is also a basic drinking wine, but one that is produced within a certain region. Like table wines, country wines are typically not exported.
The next level of quality is known as Qualitätswein bestimmter Anbaugebiete, which is fortunately abbreviated as QbA. These wines are often exported, and you can find them in almost any wine shop. The quality of these wines is significantly better than a tafelwein or landwein.
The top tier of quality is known as Qualitätswein mit Prädikat or QmP. In 2007, this category was renamed as Prädikatswein, although many wine labels still bear the QmP designation. Within the QmP tier, wines are further classified based on the level of residual sugar in the wine. We will tackle that system in the next article in this series.
Did I miss something? Make a mistake? Is the explanation perfect? Leave a comment and let me know!