Ask anyone about wines from Germany and a Reisling would almost always pop out of nowhere.
It seems that Reisling is the only grape varietal people know to exist in Deutschland. I can't say they are to be blamed though since of all the Old World wine-producing countries, Germany is perhaps the least glamorous. When compared to her more illustrious siblings France and Italy, alot of connoisseurs snub their noses at the large amounts of mediocre sweetish white wine that has been unleashed to export markets over recent decades.
But I like German whites. The mid-range ones that is when I am in the mood for something light and fruity. And since I am not one to enjoy a dry French Chardonnay, its either almost always a Riesling from Rheingau, a Bacchus from Rheinhessen or this one I tried last night, a Gewurztraminer from the Pfalz region.
This chappie is an aromatic wine with a delicate floral scent. Distinct notes of lychee, blackcurrant and bramble coat the palate, being very characteristic tastes of the Gewurztraminer grape. With a smooth and fleshy mouth feel, this wine pares well with spicy food but we had it with a fantastic cheese platter instead and noticed how it went down so well with the black-pepper chedder.
The thing about Old World wines also is that the labels can sometimes be bloody confusing. We are so used to the New World Varietal Labels that when we are confronted with a old-school Geographical Label, we find ourselves desperately trying to look for the grape variety which is sometimes tucked away in the melee of romanized alphabets.
As a sort of German Wine Label 101, let me point out how one should read a 'neo-Nazi' label.
Pfalz - One of 13 specified quality Wine-producing regions in Germany. Of which Rheinhessen, Rheingau and Mosel-Saar-Ruwer are some of the others.
Gimmeldinger Meerspinne - The name of the brand or Producer
Gewurztraminer - Grape Variety
Spatlese - means 'late harvest' and medium sweet. And 2nd on the rung after Kabinett (medium dry) but before Auslese (sweet), Beerenauslese (very sweet) and Eiswein (intensely sweet) or Ice-wine if you like.
Rudolf Steigelmann - The Vineyard or chappy in-charge of the vineyard
Highly reccomended this one. And at 40 bucks a pop, quite affordable too.
Labels: Wine