No other wine country repays attention to detail the way Germany does. Plenty of us are familiar with the specificity of German wine labels, but few realize the focus, heritage, and love behind them. German wine is in the midst of a stunning transformation. It is moving from safe toward thrilling — and at blinding speed. Riesling reigns supreme, but there’s been a significant shift in the direction of Spätburgunder and Chardonnay that is very much worth tracking.
Pinot Blanc is neither a distinctive cépage nor a particular grape variety – at least, not from the viewpoint of ampelography or genetics. And what there is of pure Pinot Blanc worldwide is nearly all rendered in German-speaking growing regions where it is typically known as Weissburgunder.
For over a year, we’ve been living with a pandemic that has shut down more than just our senses of taste and smell. It has…
If there is an underdog in Germany’s largest winegrowing region, Rheinhessen, it is Scheurebe. Vinified sweet for many years, Scheurebe — pronounced SHOY-ray-beh — largely…
It’s hard to believe now, but Germany was once a divided country, and the East was a strange microcosm of icons of that era: Sandmännchen, Jungpioniere, and FKK-Kultur….
When Westphalia and Württemberg meet on the table good tastes are bound to happen.
The Pfalz is Germany’s second-largest wine region (by volume) — and perhaps its biggest surprise. The south-of-the-Alps feel of abundance and harmony stems from geographic…
A fresh crop of Masters of Wine was announced late last month: Ten individuals who have grasped the holy grail of wine education. Among them is Moritz Nikolaus…
Piri Naturel is Christine Pieroth’s independent line of natural wines in Germany’s Burg Layen. Her wines bring a breath of fresh air to more straightforward Nahe’s wine scene.
While artists throughout the ages have longed to catch time in a bottle, it is winemakers who have indeed come closest to achieving this noblest of…
Curing fish is a bit like baking cakes: unless one follows a particular recipe to the letter, the final result inevitably contains an element or…
Why does biodynamics matter? Respekt-BIODYN is the ongoing effort of 25 growers from German-speaking wine regions to answer that question. Though there are many forms…
We British are not the world’s most noted linguists, but that doesn’t seem to put off some of us from drinking “German-speaking” wines. That said,…
