Germany!

Onward across Europe! I chose Germany for our next country of concentration for multiple reasons. First, as I mentioned in my last post, we were visiting a brewery while on vacation. Technically, we visited two, although we only had a tour of one. (And who doesn’t think of barmaids, lederhosen, steins and Oktoberfest when thinking of Germany?) That one is Stone Brewing Co. in Escondido, CA. The tour was quite interesting, given all the time I’ve spent in wineries, reading about wine and the somewhat “intimate” knowledge I have about how wine is made. Connor was so fascinated by the bottling line that he shed tears when it was time to go. You may know Stone for one of its more famous beers: Arrogant Bastard Ale (we, affectionately, call it The Destroyer, for it’s large size and alcohol content).

I do not like that beer.


We started our visit by eating in the onsite restaurant (with almost the entire family- a small, intimate group of more than 30 people!). I cannot say enough good things about the food there. So delicious. And yes, I had a beer. Unable to know what I would possibly like, I did what any sensible wine drinker would do. I asked the waiter to choose for me by explaining “I’m a wine drinker...”. He did well, although it was a Belgian drink, not from Stone. And in case you’re wondering, we also visited Coronado Brewing Company for dinner, an island staple. I had the Orange Avenue Ale there. Nice and citrusy, not a bad beer for me!

But, I also chose Germany, The Land of Beer, because as the Northern-most country able to grow wine grapes, they produce mainly white wine (85%) and the bulk of that is Riesling. Now I think that riesling is arguably the best white grape out there as it is distinctive in its aromas and flavors, and does well as a dry wine, a semi-sweet wine and a dessert wine. What’s not to like? Plus, Germany offers wines in a wide array of styles running the gamut from dry to dessert.

So, for today’s lesson we are going to cover the levels of Prädikatswein (Germay’s word for “wine’s of distinction”). (And, my apologies, but things are not working properly with forvo.com tonight and I cannot embed pronunciations of these awful German words!) These are important to know if you’re choosing German riesling, and while they will also likely dictate price, it is sweetness that I’m worried about. Also note two other things that you might see on a German wine label: 1) Tafelwein=”table wine”. A low designation, and rare in the U.S. anyway. 2) Qualitätswein bestimmter Anbaugegiete (and I thought French was hard!) or QbA. I saw a few bottles with this at Trader Joe’s. Save your money for the Prädikatswein- tons of selection under $20.

Here we go:
First, I want to mention wines labeled Trocken. These are dry wines, no residual sugar. Dry riesling? Yes, please. And then, in ascending order of quality, price and the ripeness of the grapes when harvested:
Kabinett= light semidry, normally ripened grapes.
Spätlese= medium body, late harvest.
Auslese= ”out picked”. Grapes are selected out from particularly ripe bunches.
Beernenauslese= “berries out picked”. Grapes are picked out individually. These wines aren’t made every year, and are, most certainly, dessert wines.
Trockenbeernauslese= Grapes are same as above, but are dried into raisins.
Eiswein= Very sweet wine made from grapes left to freeze on the vine.

We started with a Kabinett from Mosel. It was very light greenish-yellow in color. On the nose it smelled full, of lemon and a bit of sugar. With riesling, I feel like I can tell if it’s going to be sweet by how it smells. It actually was quite acidic, it was almost like it had tannins- I got that same feeling I do from tannins (but also Lemonhead candy), with a slight sweetness. I thought it seemed rather full in body with a creamy texture. A good wine, since I rarely meet a riesling I don’t like, but average.

Next lesson, where I promise to talk less about Southern California beer and more about German wine: German wine regions!