Creative Writing | Guide to Wine | Genealogy

German Wine

It is easy to write off German wines. For many of us, our first taste of them has - quite understandably - been our last.

Thin, mean and tasteless, in the 70s poor quality German wines fuelled institutional functions, where their only attraction appeared to be that they were cold and wet - and very, very cheap. But it's easy to understand how they became so popular. Thirty years ago the world of wine was a very different place. The Australians were still making sweet reds for local consumption, sanctions hampered the export of South African wine and Chile's economy was in disarray. What were the options? In that straitened era Bordeaux, Burgundy, Sancerre and Pouilly Fumé were beyond the pockets of most consumers, much of the output of southern France was undrinkable cooperative produce and Italian producers were swamping the market with thin, tasteless Lambrusco, Soave and Valpolicella. In that context Germany's wines seemed relatively attractive. Served teeth-chatteringly cold they seemed just about palatable.

MORE BAD NEWS

But poor quality is just one of Germany's catalogue of woes. In the brave new wine world where the fashion is for dry styles of wines with a hint of fruitiness and with labels that are easy to understand, the idiosyncratic style of many German wines and their ludicrous gradations of style and quality and austere-looking labels make them a marketing executive's nightmare. However energetically one might trumpet the revival of interest in Riesling, most consumers still remember their first taste of German wine and opt instead for the sunny flavours of Chardonnay.

It gets worse. In the same way that they have exploited classic French grapes such as Sauvignon Blanc, Shiraz, Semillon, Cabernet and, of course, Chardonnay, New World winemakers have also succeeded in making Riesling with greater appeal and approachability than have winemakers in its spiritual home.

A LITTLE HELP FROM YOUR FRIENDS

Free-thinking drinkers don't give a fig about the whims of fashion - or something as trifling as an ugly, incomprehensible bottle. But, equally, they don't want their path to vinous nirvana to be hampered by a wine region that amounts to one giant red herring. Don't even try to master the litany of Tafelwein, Landwein, QbA and QmPs. Instead enlist the help of wine merchant. If there's one thing that wine merchants love, it's an underdog - and top of their list of underdogs is Germany. For very nerdy wine merchants, one of the great attractions of German winemaking is its impenetrability. They will love showing off their intimate knowledge of the subject. So use it.

TASTE TEST

In the interests of filleting it is essential that you limit yourself initially to just one grape: Riesling. Ask your friendly merchant to suggest wines that fit the following descriptions and then compare them against each other.

Cheap German Riesling + good-quality dry German Riesling + good-quality medium sweet German Riesling + good-quality dry Australian Riesling + good-quality expensive New Zealand Riesling + Sauternes + inexpensive Australian Chardonnay

COMPARE AND CONTRAST

Stripped of their off-putting labels - and your preconceptions - consider the styles of the wines in front of you. If at first you find the flavours a little off beat, imagine drinking them in a variety of different situations - perhaps with Asian food or ice cold on a summer's evening. The more you immerse yourself in their flavours, the less alien they will seem.


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