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| How to read a German Wine Label With Harald Ziegler of Weingut Ziegler in the Pfalz. |
| Erzeugerabfüllung means "Estate-Bottled" |
Alcohol content is a key indicator of sweetness in German Rieslings. Alcohol
is created when yeasts eat sugar. The less sugar in a wine the "drier" it tastes.
Use this rough guide to judge how sweet your Riesling will be:
13% = Dry. This is a powerful wine that was likely picked when the grapes
were at a "Spatlese" level or higher. These are likely to be labeled "trocken"
meaning dry in German.
12 -13% = Dry, but softer. Some wines at 12% will begin to have touch of
perceptible residual sugar.
11-12% = Off dry. Expect a round soft wine. All else being equal, this is a
category that shines with spicy food, be it Thai, Chinese, or Vinegar based
Barbecue from the Southwest US.
Below 11% the wines will become sweeter and sweeter, but with healthy
acidity they can still be wonderfully balanced and not at all cloying. Ziegler's
Auslese Gimmeldinger Biengarten is a great example of this.
is created when yeasts eat sugar. The less sugar in a wine the "drier" it tastes.
Use this rough guide to judge how sweet your Riesling will be:
13% = Dry. This is a powerful wine that was likely picked when the grapes
were at a "Spatlese" level or higher. These are likely to be labeled "trocken"
meaning dry in German.
12 -13% = Dry, but softer. Some wines at 12% will begin to have touch of
perceptible residual sugar.
11-12% = Off dry. Expect a round soft wine. All else being equal, this is a
category that shines with spicy food, be it Thai, Chinese, or Vinegar based
Barbecue from the Southwest US.
Below 11% the wines will become sweeter and sweeter, but with healthy
acidity they can still be wonderfully balanced and not at all cloying. Ziegler's
Auslese Gimmeldinger Biengarten is a great example of this.
Weingut Ziegler makes Pinot
Noir, too.
Learn more about "the rise of
German spätburgunder" from Eric
Asimov of the New York Times.
Noir, too.
Learn more about "the rise of
German spätburgunder" from Eric
Asimov of the New York Times.
Visit the Ziegler's website. It is in
German but has some lovely pictures
as well.
http://www.august-ziegler.de/
German but has some lovely pictures
as well.
http://www.august-ziegler.de/
Click here for the Wines of Germany
guide to German labels.
Click to read "The Wine Doctor's"
wonderful reference to German wine
labels, regions and producers.
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