GERMAN WHITE WINE
How Sweet It Is!
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BY RICK MARSCHALL
Nicole Weddington, wrote about the health benefits of red wine, and the opportunity to learn more about them at a wine class at the amazing wine restaurant in downtown Flint called The Cork on Saginaw Street. Fun! You’ ll see me there! This article will be at the other end of the spectrum; instead of a huge wine list, so to speak, one group of wines from one country.
The differences in German wines are … very different. Different from other countries; different between the regions of Germany itself. Different in approach; different in philosophy; different, even in their labels.
The labels look confusing to laymen – loooooong German words, many lines, strict and intricate classifications, names of vineyards, owners, pertinent sections of estates, towns, regions, year of harvest, and, of course, the grape. Most informative – and potentially confusing until explained – the labels describe the differences between the many, many grades. The quality.
So here is a little crash course for Innovative Health readers.
About French wines, and others: a personal note. First, I am not a fan of reds. The tannin tastes bitter to me. It took me a while to get used to coffee’ s bitterness, but red wine has never grown on me. Red wines are red because the skins and stems are used in the production( some white wines are made from red grapes, filtered). Second, most of the world’ s wines, especially reds, are high in alcohol; and I really don’ t enjoy the buzz so much. I drink for the flavor, or what complements food.
The final reason is a philosophical one – not the right word, but I mean an attitude toward the winemaker’ s art – oenology. French wine – and almost all of the world’ s wines(“ flowing,” so to speak, from the French approach) – is reliant on blends of grapes. Percentages. Recipes. Combinations. Of course, factors come into play each year: good and bad vintages, harvest time, the skills of vintners.
German wines – you can tell the difference from the labels – generally work the opposite way. One grape, not blends. Dependent upon the soil, the weather, the“ character” of grapes and vineyards... some of which have produced wine going back to Roman days, almost 2,000 years ago.
As a wine-lover, for me it is all about the whole package – the heritage, the history, the integrity of grape / soil / weather. The winemaker’ s skill is to cultivate, harvest, and produce the best wine according to strict historical standards. I admire winemakers elsewhere in the world, but as chemists who follow recipes, so THEIR labels will reveal 40 percent of this grape, 15 percent of another, 10 percent of so forth.
There are 13 wine regions in Germany, and only a few prominent grapes. That’ s all. Hardly any red wine production, because the climate discourages the appropriate grapes from growing. My preference( and the most respect, generally) is for Mosel wines( the Moselle River Valley, in France, where it extends) that tend to be light and fruity. And for the noblest, most complex, challenging, interesting wine:“ Rheingau” of the Rhein River valley. Its character comes partly
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Innovative Health- Winter 2017