The trouble with Reislings

I think Rieslings get a bad rap. In fact, it seems that Rieslings suffer from a very scetchy history in America going back to Blue Nun and a variety of poorly made ultra sticky sweet California Riesling from the 1950s through the 1980s.

Rieslings also suffer from label shock. Most Americans cannot make the slightest inference from a German wine label and a few have given up trying to figure out what is going on.

The next problem facing German wines is the mondo price rises on the product because of the Euro smacking around the dollar.

Lastly, and to confound the German wine market, is the inability of the American consumer to pair German wine with food offerings. Everyone understands, for example, Chianti with red meat or Pinot Noir with Salmon, but what in the heck does one serve with a trockenbeerenauslese, or is food actually served with this wine?

It was understood when I started retailing in the early 1960's that German wine stood for Blue Nun and that was about it. The ubiquitous brown bottle with the nun in blue was on every shelf in any self-respecting liquor store in California. Her face was as popular as the woman on the little red raison box (who I met while teaching an Elderhostel in the very early 1980's) and sold for $1.69 per bottle just about everywhere. The labels on other German wines were very ornate, turn of the century lithos that portrayed idyllic scenes on the Rhine and Mosel rivers with scrolling and flowers all over the place. This was in contrast to the very Spartan (in comparison) labels from everywhere else in the world, which just confounded the issue.

What turned the world around, especially the wine world as seen on the West coast, was the stunning 1971 vintage from Germany. This vintage produced major effects on the wine world in general and German wine novices specifically (those wishing to get a grip on German wine).

The first issue of importance was the spectacular 1971 vintage of seemingly perfect grapes throughout the Rhine and Mosel valleys. People stood up and took notice in a big way.

Also, the German government began a massive promotion in the big cities trying to educate the wine drinker that German wines came in all flavors and styles and went with many varieties of food. With this promotion of German wines we saw a very new German label arriving on the shelves that finally recognized the 20th century. For the better German wines the labels of the Kaiser-heavy Germanic script with gold and multi-coloring castle scenes went away and very crisp and readable labels arrived suitable for the international market.

All of a sudden, seemingly overnight, German wines were on fire! With the 1975 and the even more lovely 1976 Rieslings, German wines were here to stay. The pioneer German gentleman on the west coast was Werner Stuart who tirelessly promoted the finer German wines from these great vintages and was responsible for the superb German wine community that still exists today far after his untimely death in the late 1970's.

In the pacific northwest there is no better spokesman for German wine today than Ewald Moseler in Portland.

One of the best sources for beginners on German wine today is written in Hugh Johnson's wine Bible "The World Atlas of Wine." Here you will find maps, statistics and a very fine breakdown on just about everything one wishes to know about German wine. The best news is that the 2005 vintage which is on the shelves now is a stunning vintage to start understanding about German wine. There is no better time to start!

See you next week!