Rieslings are often thought of as very sweet wines and most people avoid them for that reason. However, the ones featured range in sweetness and when properly paired with food they can truly be appreciated. German Rieslings have a sweet flavor up front but they finish with a bit of acidity. Many times you will taste undertones of apple, red currants and other fruit that have the same characteristics of sweet but also acidic. To truly appreciate the flavor of Rieslings, try pairing them with game, BBQ dishes, Asian foods and stronger types of cheese. The three featured are Dr. Pauly Bergweiler Bernkasteler alte Badstube am Doctorberg Riesling Spätlese, Schloss Schönborn Riesling Kabinett and Selbach-Oster Zeltinger Himmelreich Riesling Kabinett Halbtrocken.
One other thing I learned about these particular wines is that because of the high acidity they contain little or no sulfites. So what does that mean? It means that the acidity helps in preserving the wines and many times there is little need for the addition of sulfites. For those of you that may have experienced redness on your cheeks and nose you will notice that this is less likely to happen when drinking these wines because they contain only a small amount of sulfites or none at all.
I love how German wineries name their wines! First off they are generally long and may seem intimidating, but don’t let the name fool you. Sometimes they have a quirky matter of fact meaning.  For example the first wine in my flight translates to the old bathing place on the doctor’s lake.  Intimidating – I think not!
Leave a Reply