¶ Welcome to German Riesling Terminology
Hi and welcome to Wine with Meg and Mel . We are here to help you navigate the world of wine . I'm Mel Dillacruz , joined by Master of Wine Meg Brotman . Meg , what are we doing ?
Well , I'm sitting up very straight because I've been told that my posture was crap and you couldn't see my mouth . We are doing , we're going to do .
Because we're recording , because I need to put videos on social media .
Yes , Sorry , we are doing German Riesling , specifically focusing on the words yes , I think , isn't it the ?
terminology yes , the labelling terms . So we did get a message and I'm sorry , friend , I can't find the original . I can't remember if it was dm or email or whatever , but I remember there was a message from someone saying that , um , they , I don't know if they'll do it , I think they must be doing wesset .
And the thing that they were struggling with it's hard was all the terminology yes , when you have to learn terms like schrock and bierenosch , lazy , it's not that easy .
No , german language is hard to start with , but just be grateful that you don't have to learn ambergibierte , because we used to have to teach that in WSET . So that's basically a number on the bottle of wine qualitetswein ambergibierte saying that it's been tasted and that it's been approved . We don't do that anymore . It's a QBA wine , anyway .
Well , if you are looking to get into German Rieslings and want to know what all the different labelling turns are , this will be the episode for you . But first , Meg , what are you being drink ? Oh , I had .
You sound excited . I did I just . I do love Aldi and I know that I talk a lot about it , but I had a . I'm just trying to find it . I photograph it now so that I know what I'm doing . Hang on , I'm just scrolling through the photos . A 2023 limited release Chardonnay from Margaret River , 13% alcohol , and the brand was Blackstone Paddock .
Okay , so it was an Aldi wine that they had sent us and we didn't do it in the episode because I think we did the episode for quick Christmas drinks from Aldi how to drink well without breaking the budget . You'll have to have a look at the price . It was again , which is what we said in the Aldi episode Margaret River .
It's like someone said bottle me a Margaret River wine .
Yeah .
And this is just the skill of their buying team . That would be a good job . I reckon . Buying for Aldi It'd be tricky , it'd be clever .
It actually would be very hard and it'd really test your skills . It would . They make all their wines exemplify a place . Yeah , but doing that at a price range that they can sell it for $8 is some crazy stuff .
I imagine this is probably more than $8 , but it was just delicious beautiful , balanced oak , some peach sort of character , nectarine , moderate acidity . I don't know if it had malo . I didn't feel like it had malo I didn't feel like it had malolactic characteristics , but it wasn't a high acidity from a cool climate .
I feel like healthy wines don't often have high acidity .
You're probably right , because it's more general public kind of yeah , approachable wine , really , really delicious , and again , one of those wines that I think , if you're looking into ageing wines , put it down for five years .
Yeah .
It's not going to be the greatest wine , but it's going to show you some of that complexity of aged Chardonnay character .
You heard it here first McBrutman MW says that you can age Aldi Chardonnay . Yeah , for sure . Anyway , we love an Aldi Reco because he lives .
I know it's just crazy at the moment . I'm sorry , it's ridiculous and I'm one of these people that just ignores prices pretty much , but I'm just like , oh no , I know , the price is everything . Yeah , I've even reverted to going back to Costco . That is sad , I know .
Okay , fun fact .
OIV World Wine Production in 2024 is estimated to be the lowest since 1961 . production in 2024 is estimated to be the lowest since 1961 . Yeah , even lower than the previous record low in 2023 . It's not well . It's obviously changing economic conditions , in that people are drinking less , but also climactic conditions .
There's been a lot of drought around , there was a lot of frost , there was a lot of storms . It's good . I think we need to be in balance , but you know , you see that Bordeaux is ripping out . What's it ? 8,000 hectares or something crazy that they're ripping out . Oh my God , I mean they've got 124,000 hectares . Okay , so it's big .
But yeah , I think we need to get back to that balance and just concentrate on I sound French , but that regionalisation where this is good for the volume , and I'm talking even countrywide .
Regionalisation . Yeah , those French . They're not very good at their regionalisation , are they ?
Well , they are . But you know , the Languedoc shouldn't have so many bloody wines that they do , and they should just focus on doing wine well at a good price . But yeah , we are definitely drinking lower .
But the US , interestingly , they maintained their harvest levels and I know that they're ripping out vines in the Napa , so I don't think they're getting the message .
No , no , no Things is .
Well , the tariffs are going to hit them pretty hard . Anyway , we won't go into that .
I could talk about that for hours . No , but I have a feeling that our next wine news we might be who knows ? Anyway . So let's get to it . Do you want to give us the overview first ?
Right . So the Germans have 13 wine-growing regions , right from which you can make quality wine . So qualitats fine . Within those 13 regions , they rank the quality of the wine based on the sugar level at harvest . It's got nothing to do with how sweet the wine is , it's just got to do with the ripeness of the grapes at harvest .
Right , so even if it is picked with a higher ripeness , it could still be fermented to completely dry . Yes , so we are talking about sugar at harvest .
Harvest , not sugar in wine .
Despite how it comes out as the final one , the finished product .
So the lowest level is Cabernet . With a K , it equates to about 11.5% . They work in Erkshla , which is a different scale of sugar that we measure , but I'm equating it to Bome or
¶ Understanding German Wine Quality Levels
percent of alcohol to make it easier . But it does vary region to region , so Mosel will be different to Rheingau , but I'm going to say about 11.5% . So I'm using Riesling as an example . This applies to all the grape varieties that are called a Tetz vine . Riesling at 11.5% . What's your flavour profile ?
Riesling at 11.5% . What's your flavour profile ? Riesling at 11.5% ? Lime lemon , like pithy , grapefruit , floral notes , green apple , green apple , high acidity . Yeah , yeah .
So 11% , you know generally Not a lot of concentration , generally light bodied .
Yes , but yes , yeah , yeah , yeah , yeah , yeah , I see where you're going with this . So if it was Australia and I saw 11% , I'd say , yeah , this hasn't been picked very ripe . It's going to be super citrusy and mineral and stuff , exactly .
But gotcha , yep , but if they leave the sugar in the wine , the alcohol on the label will naturally be lower , because for Qualitats wine you can't add sugar to sweeten the wine when the wine has finished fermentation , so you might want to leave the wine with some sugar in it . So what we have here is a Schloss Vollrads cabinet Riesling Semi-Dry .
Yes . So , Harb Trocken , Should we do a quick overview ? We're going to talk about what six ? Should we talk about six terms ?
Yeah , we'll keep going , we'll keep going . So as you move up the ripeness scale , you start with Cabernet , then you move to Spatlaise . Spatlaise just sort of means a little bit sort of later harvest . Riesling is riper , so your fruit profile may start to be moving into a little bit of apricot .
There'll still be some green apple but you may have some red apple . So more riper characters . They can be dry . Spadlese wines can be dry . Then you move to Auslese . Now in Germany they have pretty much long dry summers . Most Auslese wines have a little bit of botrytis fruit in them . That's not the point .
But because they've been hanging out for so long it's getting colder . It's later in the harvest . Sometimes there's a little bit of botrytis , so you may see some marmalade , but it's the ripeness of the grapes at harvest . So Spätlesie is around 13% , auschlesieies around that 14% .
So most ouch lazies are actually have some residual sugar in them , not added , just finished ferment . Before it's dry They'll have marmalade , pineapple , maybe apricot , ripe , ripe Riesling character .
Then you move to Trocken .
Beren aus . Schlese Beren aus Schlese so beren basically means betritised yeah , betritised grapes , so this is a definite sweet wine . Well , beren means berry , doesn't it ? I don't know German . It's Petrido's grapes , so you're going to have that marmalade . It's going to be a rich , pretty unctuous wine .
Trocken Berenau Schlese is Petrido's grapes that have dried out , so they've sultanate . So you've got Berenau Schlese and then trocken , which means dried , dried Berenaslese , and then Trocken , which means dried , dried Berenaslese , so sultana grapes . So even more concentration of sugar . And then the last one is Icvine . Although does Icvine sit before Trocken Berenaslese ?
I think it might Icvine . In my head it's at the end . Yeah , it might be , I can't remember . Icvine is when the grapes have frozen on the vine , but they haven't been affected by botrytis , and that is key , all right . So you've got Birrenau Schlaeser , trocken , birrenau Schlaeser as botrytis grapes .
You then have this amazing expression of pure Riesling , where it has frozen , because the water has frozen , it's concentrated the sugar , so you press it frozen . So I'll give you an example Normal yield from a ton of grapes is 700 liters of wine . Yield from ice vine is 50 liters per ton .
Yeah , yeah , it's bonkers .
So it's basically you're just pressing out sugar . Yeah , but it has no botrytis . So it has this amazing Riesling . It's like a Clear Valley Riesling with low alcohol , usually about 6% high levels of residual sugar , but no botrytis character . So none of that marmalade .
It's so beautiful it is so beautiful , it's hideously expensive .
It is such a wonder , like it is just one of those things that oh yeah , so the key to remember is that it is based on the ripeness of the grapes , the sugar level in the grapes , all right .
Now Can I do a quick recap ? Yep , just so everyone's following , because I feel like that was a lot of information . Let's separate them into , say like three categories . So you've got six . Your first three aren't necessarily maybe a little bit , but first three aren't necessarily noble rod , they are botrytis .
So you've got cabinet auslese , cabinet , spätlese , auslese , cabinet , spätlese , auslese , and so they're the first three that you remember . So you remember K-S-A . I just remember by the first letter . That's how I did it when I learned . Yeah , so your acronym .
If anyone remembers Tony Abbott , if you say it all out loud , the first letter , it sounds like Kiss Abbott , and I would never want to kiss Tony Abbott . So that is how I always remember the right order that they go in it's kiss Abbott . So if you can remember those three separate .
And then you remember your beer and Oshlaizee and your chocolate beer and Oshlaizee just remember that the longer one is the riper one . And then ice wine is such a cool thing that you should be able to remember .
Yeah , and ice wine sort of does sit apart , but we're talking about sugar levels in the grapes at harvest , so hopefully breaking it down that way helps , but then that doesn't mean that the wine is sweet . So we currently have , like I said , the Schloss Wohlrad's Winkel Riesling 2022 , cabinet semi-dry Rheingau .
So they're telling you on the label because the Germans know that none of you understand labels 10% alcohol . So my guess this has probably got about 18 grams of oh , so semi-dry in Germany is higher than semi-dry in the Loire . I think it can be 18 to 25 . It's all based on different climatic zones , but I can't remember that . That was a
¶ Cabinet Riesling: Entry-Level Ripeness
long time ago , people . It's got 10% alcohol . This is the key . If you want to buy German raisins and you want to include the sugar and they haven't told you anything , look at the alcohol on the back . If it's 13 , wine's dry .
If it's an 11.5 and it's Spatlese or Auslese , it's going to have some residual sugar because they've got a pick riper but they don't ferment all the sugar out , so this says semi-dry . This is the acidity . What they've done here is they've left that sugar in because they've gone .
holy crap if we don't no one's going to have any enamel on their teeth . And this is probably the point where I mean , if you've listened for a long time , you know this . But it does need to be myth busted that , like sweet wine , can be amazing wine .
I think a lot of people who are new to their wine journey don't realise that that is superb and that would age so well .
So these people are VDP producers , so in Germany they have this very . I really hate this symbol .
You can't just do that without commentating what you're doing . Right , Meg is showing the camera . Can you see there's a ? It's like an eagle . Not necessarily all this is going on . I'm going to choose 30 seconds . Go and have a look .
Look up VDP emblem . So VDP means , to translate , it basically means true German producer . So it's like a qualification system . I'm not going to use verbogen deutscher , blah , blah , blah , but basically it means you've got a high quality producer . So it's like a crew , a classified producer , anyway . So this is 5.9 drinks per bottle .
Would age beautifully , I think 33 to 35 . It's yum , it's so yum . These guys are big , yeah , you know , but they're good . Yeah , although it needs a good German fatty sausage to have with it , it does . It's so like floral and musky , yeah , although it needs a good German fatty sausage to have with it .
It does it's so like floral and musky .
Yeah , alex , just got back from Prague .
Is Elliot home ? No , oh , oh right , alex still Prague holiday .
Dublin Heading off to Sweden next week , and then just booked a trip to the Milano in April .
Oh my God Must be nice , elliot . Your son Took the trip to the Milan in April .
Oh my God Must be nice , elliot Travelled all that way to do six hours a week of contact , he's having the best time . Yeah , well , he's just figured out life , hasn't he ? Hey , he saved up the money , so I don't care , it's on his coin I will join .
If he ever starts a cold , I'll join in . He's just got things figured out .
The rest of us can really learn from him . So now we have the same producer , schloss Volrads Spatlese Riesling , and I think it's the same vintage . I think it's 2023 . So what we've done ? So the first wine had sort of green apple lemon , a little bit of minerality , a little bit of white flowers . It's quite simple in its fruit flavour profile .
Yep , we've moved up the ripeness spectrum , which means not only have we got more sugar in the grapes to turn into alcohol , we also have riper fruit . So we should be looking at some apricot . Apricot is exactly it Apricot kernel . This is a 2021 . Can you just turn it around to see the alcohol , please ?
Yes , it is Eight . Okay , oh , yeah , there it is 8% .
So this is going to have sugar , because it tells me on the label , spatelese , it's ripe , it's about 13% you know what's interesting ?
You know how , in Australia , wines can smell so fruity than when you taste them in their bone tray . So far these German Rieslings . They don't smell as sweet as they taste . It's like the opposite .
Okay , you can't smell sugar , okay .
You can smell ripeness , but you can smell fruit , yes , and fruit registers in your brain as sweetness , yes , which is why people get confused . So these don't have like . For me , I think there's so much minerality and still citrus that they don't smell like they're going to be . It's not like when you smell like a Gewurztraminer .
No , that's right . Yeah , yeah , and it's like if you smell a Petridae semion , you can smell that marmalady fruit . So it's giving triggers to your brain , it's giving signals to your brain that this is going to be sweet . The thing is , this has probably got 8% , 13% , 5% , 50% .
It's probably got about 50 grams per liter of residual sugar . Wow , that's
¶ Spätlese Riesling: Mid-Level Ripeness
a lot . That is a lot .
It doesn't even taste like 50 grams of sugar , but all it is is it's just a little wave to knock back the acid .
And this is where German Rieslings are so effing delicious , because you register the sugar but all it's doing is ameliorating the acid and it's giving a little bit of weight to the palate , but you've got a riper fruit spectrum so you are a little bit . I get a little bit of like dried mango in there as well .
Yeah , and I guess that is what makes it different to your mum friend who drinks Gossip's Moscato . Exactly , I thought you were saying no . Then I was like , oh , exactly .
People equate sweetness to sickliness . Yes , yes , this is . Oh , it's just just . I love these styles of wine bream um creek out of tassie . We're doing I don't know if they still do , we're doing a style like this and it was about 10 and a half percent alcohol and I fought so hard once in a wine show to get it up to gold .
I don't think they want anything , you know , bigger than gold , but it's just one of my favorite styles of wine . Like this would be one of my desert island not necessarily this particular producer , but one of my desert island wines .
So look at the ripeness level that they're telling you on the label and then look at the alcohol on the back and just work on literally cabinet 11 percent , and just work on literally Cabernet 11% , spratlaise 13% , aushlaise 14% . It varies between regions , but that's kind of a good way to do it .
The other thing about these two wines is they're from the Rhine Gow , so the Rhine Gow is the only part of the Rhine River that actually runs east to west . It doesn't run north to south .
So if any of you have been there , it's very steep hills , absolutely stunning and for me , produces the most mineral rieslings in Germany Mosel and Na , a little bit more floral . You move further down to the . Oh , this is from Nick's no this is from Dan Murphy's .
Oh , that's weird . I can't find it . Do you remember how much it cost ? About $35 as well . That's so crazy . It is it's $35 . Okay , so people , if you haven't tasted this , it's like drinking something so special , it's like gold . It goes in your mouth and you just know it's special , don't you ?
No matter how educated you are in wine , I think anyone who tastes it that could recognise it's something special , and this is what amazes me .
When we show these styles of wines in WSET , people's eyes are just because you can see them going oh , this is going to be shit . This is going to be nana wine , yes , and you see their eyes just light up . Yeah , the same with Barolo . Barolo is not a friendly wine , no , but when people taste it , they can kind of , they just kind of get it .
And this is , yeah , you just get it . I love , I absolutely love German Greece thing . I just All right . Okay , what's next ? The next one we have .
We need the .
Coravin . We need the Coravin . I just keep trying to drink that and also it's a slow alcohol . It's 8% . I could knock that bottle off tonight and feel absolutely fine tomorrow . Guys , don't stab your finger in the Coravin and we are promoting safe .
Drinking ? Yep yeah , just smash a bottle , just don't drive home , just do it when you're already home yeah , yeah , I don't go out anymore , I just stay home and drink , it's much more fun .
Well , the thing is , you know , right ? So the next thing we have let's not go there . Well , yeah , I just thought , nah , nah , don't give away too many of your trade secrets , carry on , okay , even though I do overshare pretty much .
Yeah , you do overshare . When I was talking to someone the other day who said you were a bit scary when they started Level 3 with you and they're like on the podcast she looks like a you know , she's so chill .
Because they're putting in their belief system . I'm not scared , I am blunt , but I'm not scary you are blunt . This is true . Okay , so what we have here is a 2019 Clemon Bush Auschlese from the Mosel right . So Auschlese riper fruit , it's 2019 , so it's going to have a little bit of possibly age character . The germans don't really love the kerosene .
This is only seven and a half percent , so we know alcholese is coming in riper , so potential of 14 percent . Just so you know , one percent of alcohol is 18 grams per liter of sugar .
Yeah , so if you work on 20 , so we're gonna have , oh my god , 80 grams you smell that and you smell three things , and you smell it again , you smell three more things . It's like you keep smelling and it just keeps changing and evolving and there is so much in that glass to To be fair it was $149 .
Can that explain some things ? It was $139 or something . I wanted something . I wanted something . Ashley's is hard to find . I had been at the Prince on Saturday , but anyway I should have bought it there , but anyway .
It's so funny how much your personal taste impacts this podcast . When I was like get us some Mellos , you came in . They're all $9 . I'm like
¶ Auslese: High Ripeness with Complexity
get us some German Riesling , you come in with a $150 bottle .
I mean , where's your mother-in-law ? Fuck it , life's short .
Okay , well , this is something absolutely very special . You can tell straight away .
So that's much sweeter , but it still finishes fresh and that is definitely ripe apricot dried apricot dried .
Pineapple dried mango , the first thing I get is sea spray . That is the first thing I get . I go sea spray , a bit of minerality and then all those things come through . There's a salty spray .
Yeah , but this is the thing 7.5% alcohol , and so it's sweet . It's specifically sweet , but it finishes Like if you're doing a dribble test , you're doing a level three dribble test thing . It finishes with so much acid that it's fresh and delicious and these are the best wines to drink before a meal .
Yeah , so the dribble test is when we're testing acid in a wine . A way to objectively help you assess is if you have a taste . You spit or swallow and then lean your head forward with your mouth shut , and just that movement of like triggers your glands , I guess , to acid , what's the word ?
To salivate , salivate , and that is how you can tell how acidic a wine is .
And it takes away your bias , because you might be a lemon loving kind of person . Yeah , so it takes away the bias . You can just actually start measuring how much spit you've got in front of you . I say that .
Keep your lips closed . All you people who signed up to this wine course thinking you're going to be fancy , you are in for a shock .
Wine tasting is really unattractive . We had you know old Bon from Germany complaining about the slipping and slurping .
Oh , we slurp , we measure our saliva .
So here we have an Alschlese , 7.5% alcohol , toffee Residual sugar , so ripe . But to add insult to injury , we've got one more Apple , one more label term .
I haven't even tasted it yet . Sorry , you keep going . I'm just like having a moment with you .
Yeah , I'll just leave you to enjoy your moment with your Riesling . So the Germans decided , a few years ago now , that they were not focusing enough on single vineyard wines . And why should the French only have , you know , the Cru , the single vineyard wines like Burgundy ? So they have developed a system called Grossgewach .
So it basically translates as Grossgewach what I don't know , it's a very spitty language . It translates as Premier Crew , okay . And then there's Grosslager no Grosslager , premier Crew , so this's Gross Lager . No Gold Crew , premier Crew , so this is Gross Lager . So from Mosul .
So I'm guessing Marienburg , which is Marienburg Auschwitz , is the name of the vineyard , of the vineyard . So to have the classification by vineyard you have to be a VDP producer , so you have to have the kind of crazy eagle dude on your capsule and then you have the vineyard .
But I mean , that is , I love it because it's kind of a daggy blue bottle , like it's real . It's quite old , 70s .
So is that the one that we're having now , mm oh .
I mean , the packaging does not scream quality . No , it doesn't .
Not at all . It's very simple . I didn't realise that's what it was . I thought when you were getting out the fancy one it must have been yeah , truck and beer and Auschlese or something .
It's our Auschlese Riesling 2019 . It's Auschlese , so it's 20 , it's six years old 2019 . Not a hint , not a hint , nothing , nothing , nothing of kerosene .
No , you're right .
And not a hint . Nothing , nothing , nothing of kerosene . No , you're right , and that's the other German reasons . Don't tend to develop the kerosene character . My understanding is that the kerosene character tends to develop in sunburnt grapes more rapidly .
No way , that's crazy .
So in hot climates , and in hotter vintages because they don't have that . Yeah , because when I was at uni you know that kerosene character was the big thing . Yeah , we wanted that , we wanted that . But now if it comes in , like I said , if it comes in too early , it's considered a bad thing and it is associated with warmer vintages .
If it starts earlier in the development , it's associated with warmer vintages . Okay , so earlier in the development , it's associated with warmer vintages .
Okay , so we don't have kerosene , but maybe let's go through what were a few of the other things that we did . Now , aged whites , we had like a toastiness , like a dairy yogurt type thing , but see , I just don't know .
Even the toastiness isn't that strong , it's not very aged .
This is the thing , you could call a marmalade . Yes , you're right , marmalade , but you could stretch to a preserved lemon , but probably not yeah .
And maybe a dried apricot . Yeah .
Yeah , so it's there , oh , and kind of an apricot yogurty character . Yeah , okay , but yeah , it's very different .
We're looking for it . It's not the first thing that hits us when we taste the wine . Yeah , that is bloody delicious . It's unreal . We'll have to 50-50 that bottle because you know it's a bit of a treat for everyone . So that's , I hope you understand . It's based on the ripeness of the grapes . Yes , yeah , hope you understand .
It's based on the ripeness of the grapes .
Yes , yeah , hopefully that helped , and if you're ever in a Wesset exam , just think to yourself . I don't feel like kissing Tony Abbott and that's all you need to know . Are you concerned that I've been teaching like I'm part of the group ?
teaching our wine leaders of tomorrow . No , I think it's great . That is .
That's what I'm in it with , but I think you might need to find a more current reference than Abbott , because he's been a woman . Yeah , that's true . I'm really stuck with it . It just sounds like it when you say it or don't kiss an Abbott , what's an Abbott , one of the heads of the monastery , kind of things . Oh , yeah , okay , don't do that .
Okay , that's all we've got for you , unless it's Stanley Tucci in Conclave . Yeah , okay . Next week I presented Meg with a theory , and that was is Nebbiolo the next Sangiovese ? So it felt like after Pinot Noir , everyone started getting around Sangiovese Everyone kind of . In Australia . It became the next big alternative grape that everyone kind of knows .
And now all of a sudden , neb and Neb is everywhere it is . So it seems to be the next big thing that people are getting around . So is Neb the next Sangiovese ? We will find out next week . Until then , enjoy your next glass of wine and drink well .