Rheingau Riesling

The Riesling grape seems to acknowledge the Rheingau, a 20-mile stretch along the river Rhine (Rhein), as its true home. Yes, the grape yields fine white wines all around the globe. A great case can be made for other German regions, particularly the Mosel-Saar-Ruwer. Alsace, Australia, New Zealand, California, Oregon, Washington, and New York all offer great Riesling wines as well. Even North Carolina has proved a propitious spot for the noble grape. Biltmore has a North Carolina “Estate Reserve” Riesling well worth seeking out. However the Rheingau is almost completely given over to the cultivation of Riesling, and the tiny region offers up quite a number of the world’s finest white wines. Over centuries winegrowing in the Rheingau has become specialized to the point that the narrow band on the north side of the river looks much like a single, well-manicured vineyard dedicated to Riesling. In fact, much of the world calls the white Riesling grape “Johannisberg Riesling” after one of the tiny villages in the Rheingau.

The region offers its famous grape every favorable circumstance. Because the river turns from its northwesterly flow and heads almost straight west along the Rheingau, the vineyards are planted on prominent inclines, which benefit from southerly exposure to the sun. The soils are rocky, mineral filled, and well drained. As is so often the case, the very best sites for grapes are hardly suitable for any other crop. Although the region is relatively sunny, it is very far to the north (north of our border with Canada) so the grapes ripen slowly and need every advantage of waning sunlight in the fall. The combination of sun, soil, weather, and traditional vineyard practice offer up rich, flavor-filled, powerful wines. Great Rheingau Riesling is like no other.

The tradition of old is that these wines are at their finest in the vintages of long, sunny harvests, when the ripening offers plenty of sugar to offset Riesling’s tendency to acidity. In a cool growing region the grape retains a beautiful crisp taste even as it becomes increasingly ripe. The mists rising from the river (over half a mile wide) moderate the temperature year round and encourage certain molds that frequently offer the possibility of super-rich late harvest wines. The entire spectrum of sweetness is available in some harvests.

The German system of quality control tells a lot about a given bottle. “Qualitatswein bestimmten Anbaugebietes” (blessedly abbreviated “QbA”) is the bedrock of the quality naming system. The designation QbA guarantees a wine of a defined ripeness level (sweetness). To be QbA the natural juice must reach a certain sweetness. The winemaker can augment the sugar level within limits to yield wine of higher alcohol and body. Wines of QbA status are abundant, reliable, and flavorful.

“Kabinett” is a designation for QbA wines from fully ripe grapes. The juice for making Kabinett wines may not be sweetened. Rheingau Kabinetts distinguish themselves mostly with their mineral-laden rich character. They make fine aperitifs and are eminently suited for light luncheons or seafood dinners. They are also fine mates for traditional turkey dinner.

“Spatlese” and “Auslese” are wines made from increasingly sweeter juice. They will have all the quality of Kabinetts with added body and alcohol, and yes, generally more sweetness. “Beerenauslese”, “Trockenbeerenauslese”, and “Eiswein” are the extremes of the system. Progressively sweeter fruit is required for each designation and the finished wines are invariably rich, sweet, and thick with sugar and alcohol. These are best savored all alone.

Over the last twenty years or so, Rheingau producers have made concessions to the demand for drier dinner wines. We now see many wines lableled “Trocken”, meaning dry, or “Halbtrocken” meaning half dry. These terms apply to wines from QbA up through Auslese and further define the style (not the quality) of the wine. For example regular Spatlese will be rather sweet with moderate alcohol. Spatlese halbtrocken will be a bit less sweet and a bit more alcoholic. Spatlese trocken will be quite dry and relatively high in alcohol. The best of these wines are very fine indeed and can be refreshing alternatives to Chardonnay.

11/04

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