Choosing Wine – Liking Wine

Theory and Experiment: Riesling - an interesting old European grape

The world of wine used to be a pretty simple place. Wine-making was a parochial affaire and a winemaker would be unlikely to know much about the wine style from over the next range of hills, let alone from over the barrier of country and continent.
How things have changed! The classic wines are still there – but every year brings new alternatives. It all makes a very exciting picture, but a confusing one for the uninitiated as great wines are bursting out all over the place.
RIESLING, an old white vinifera, gained ranking among noble grapes through the great Riesling wines of Alsace and Germany. Unfortunately the name has suffered a lot of misuse on wine labels. Riesling is no sun worshipper. It is however something of a snob: Only in best vineyards does it ripen consistently. Every element of topography can effect the wine: The steepness of the slope, the amount of sun reflected from adjoining rivers (e.g. Rhine), the nearness of wind-sheltering forests and mountains and – more than for most other grapes – the soil constituents. Riesling a sensible but most sophisticated grape.
Let`s compare wines from one vineyard, from different years, and different qualities: Confusing tastes – and confusing names, e.g. “2007 Niederhäuser Hermannshöhle Riesling Trockenbeerenauslese”.