Incredible purity of fruit and flavour range in German wine I have a new infatuation Pll admit to. It’s with German ricsling. Tve always liked the grape. At feast, I've liked it since I started paying attention to the wine in my glass and not merely drinking, what was fashionable. Often light, with crisp acidity, some mineral, peach ‘and lychee fruit characteristics, it’s one wine I can take plea- sure in without food ... and with it too. ~ We see both dry and off- dry styles here. They pair wonderfully with light fish and shellfish dishes, And ries- ling is also one of the best matches for Asian food. :. Cantonese, Mandarin, Hunan, ple ... and show the best v we have in Germany,” said Rainer Lingenfelder, the 13th generation owner, grape grower and winemaker of the. winery of the same name. “This is the age of ‘post- chardonism’, the age of the resurrection of fruit. People are getting tired of oaked wines, We don't need oak to “fnfuse depth and character to yard-born wines, We need vin . flavour.” And these wines have got it. 8 Ata media lunch on fonday, six different Qu? : rieslings — those classified as “supenor quality wines” — were matched to a variety of : dishes at The William Tell restaurant. It was a perfect demonstration of the range : _ that the varietal is capable of. ‘ Szechwan, Japanese, Thai, : 22, . Vietnamese, and Korean’ cuisines use herbs, spices and - textures that demand wines ‘° wich bright, pure’ flavours, ” some residual sweetness, and _ lots of fruit and acidity. And since the heat of spicy food . only enhances the heat of © > ‘alcohol, many of these cuisines are best handled by pairing with lighter, lighter. “alcohol wines — like nesling. i. But now I’ve had a proper introduction to the wine, as it’s made in its native country. Grown there, it achieves an - incredible purity of fruit and ‘surprising range of flavour. © And like Isaid ... Pm infatuat- © ed. : * os This week; several German -wine producers and represen- *“tatives from estates such as" - "), Gunderiéch; Lingenfelder, Dr. . Heger,, Robert Weil; Di. : Loosen and Zilliken-Geltz ere in Vancouver to promote their wines. They’d like to dis- _ pel once and for all, the myth’ > that wines from Germany are cheap and sweet and not to be: taken seriously. ant to > educate peo- The Nackenheim Rothenburg Rielsing Spatlese from Gunderloch was rich with peach aromas and flavours, and concentrated enough to carry the flavour of © a foie gras matisse. The lean, elegant Gckfener ~ Bockstein Riesling Kabinetr, on the other hand, was beau- tifully paired with Atlantic | scallops in a saffron sauce. Others included the trock- en (dry) Ihringer Winklerberg . ~ Riesling Kabinett; a racy Rheingau Riesling Kabinett from Robert Weil; Lingenfelder’s refreshing “Old / Vines” Riesling Auslese; and - : “from the Dr. Loosen Estate in the Mosel region, a wonder- fully well-balanced Wehlener .- ‘Sonnenuhr Riesling Spatlese. - Sure, the names area little intimidating — attempting to decipher and pronounce what's on a German wine label could, at best, be described as a challenge. But . the payoff for trying can be huge. : Here are a few things | to look for on the labels for day-.. to-day drinking: -* BE The name of the winery. - Bi The name. of the vineyard’ GERMAN rieslings, including those from vineyards of the Dr. Loosen Estate in Mosel, are produced ina range of styles, are easily paired with food, and aze weli-priced. 2 os ; the grapes came from, though man. vroducers are now sim- plifving their labels by calling the wine “estate riesling.” ff Riesling. If the label doesn’t specifically list the riesling grape, the wine is probably a blend of cheap white grapes. Kabinett or Spatlese. These rms refer to how ripe the grapes were at harvest, and roughly equate to body of the™ wine, with Kabinett being the lighter of the owo. Even niper, dessert styles are: Auslese, Beerenauslese (BA) and ‘ockenbeerenauslese (TBA). @ Halbtrocken. Off-dry, and “you may sce it combined with either Kabinett or Spatlese. & Trocken. Completely dry. Again, may be combined with Kabinett or Spatlese. @ Region name. German regions include Mosel-Saar- Ruwer, Rheingau, Pfalz, Rheinhessen, Nahe and * Baden. Whew. Here’ sa headstart to get you off in the right ‘direction. The wines sampled—_ at the media lunch are all cur- rendy available from specialty government liquor stores, like * the one at Park Royal. And best of all, they’re a deal! Many of them are under $20 and none are over $30.:- .. Enjoy! N VANC. 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