Germany | Watson's Wine

Germany

While Chardonnay is becoming more famous, and Sauvignon Blanc getting more popular, Riesling is the noble grape of Germany and recognized as the world's best white grape. One of the reasons is that it can made into different styles of wine, from very dry to lusciously sweet. In addition, it can made to a low alcohol wine (which can be as low as 7.5%, which is equivalent to half the alcohol content of wine commonly seen in market today), but most importantly , it is about the aging potential of Riesling. Riesling is well-knowned for its perfumed aroma, with notes of wild flowers to honey, as well as iron, mineral and petroleum greasy.

While there is a growing tendency to ferment Riesling through to dryness, it might be said that the best wines show some sweetness - though because of the grape's high acidity, they never taste sickly-sweet.

Germany's classification system is based on levels of sweetness. The two most basic rankings are QBA and then QMP, and the best wines fall into the following categories: Kabinett, Spatlese, Auslese, Beerenauslese and, the sweetest, Trockenbeerenauslese, made from grapes which have been affected by noble rot. A final category, Eiswein, refers to wine made from grapes picked late in the year when they are literally freezing on the vine. This concentrates not only the sugar in the grapes, but also acidity and extract.

The great reputation of Riesling is based partly on the fact it can be made into so many different styles of wine, from bone-dry to lusciously sweet, and has the capacity to age beautifully. It can also be made into light, refreshing wines with alcohol as low as 7.5%. The grape is noted for its complex aromas, which might vary from flowery and honeyed to steely, minerally and even oily or evocative of turpentine.