There are two main characteristics among German Riesling wines that clearly differentiate them from other white wines. First, German Riesling wines are light. With an alcohol content ranging from six to twelve and a half percent, they have, on average, twenty to thirty percent less alcohol than wines from other countries. The second crucial factor is that they are multi-dimensional. They can be vinified complete dry, medium dry with a slight hint of antural fruit sweetness, or lusciously rich and sweet.
Like all German wines, German Rieslings are classifed on the basis of ripeness of the grapes at timeof harvest. More than 90 percent of German Riesling wines are sold as Qualitätswein, with the assurance that each has passed analytical and tasting tests carried out by panels of government exxpterts. There are two divisions of the Qualitätswein category.
Qualitätswein bestimmter Anbaugebiete (QbA) - wines from one of the 13 approved German quality wine growing regions that ripened sufficiently to assure tht the wine will have the taste and style of it’s region.
Qualitätswein mit Prädikat (QmP) - meeting all the requirement for QbA wines as to origin and legal approvals, these are the higest quality wines with “special attributes” (Prädikat). There are six levels of Prädikat, each denoting a higher degree of ripeness:
Spätlese - literally the late harvest wines, harvested at least one week after the main harvest, producing a riper, more intense wine. May be produced in dry, medium dry or sweet styles.
Auslese - wines made from selected bunches of overripe grapes, even more intense in taste and aroma. Auslese wines are usually sweeter than Spätlese wines and are often considered sppropriate as dessert wines.
Beerenauslesse (BA) - a lucious, sweet dessert wine made from individually picked, overripe grapes, often affected by botrytis cinerea, the noble mould that concentrates the grape must. BA’s are rare, and cannot be produced from every vintage.
Eiswein - a rich, concentrated wine made from fully-ripened grapes that were left on the vines long past the main harvest to be picked and pressed while frozed at 8 degrees Celsius or lower. Eiswein is characterized by unusually high amouts of fruit sugar balanced by ripe acidity.
Trockenbeerenauslese (TBA) - the rarest of Germin wines, made from dried, raisined, botrytised grapes, individually hand-picked. TBA’s occur only once or twice in a decade.
clearly differentiate them from other white wines. First, German Riesling wines are light. With an alcohol content ranging from six to twelve and a half percent, they have, on average, twenty to thirty percent less alcohol than wines from other countries. The second crucial factor is that they are multi-dimensional. They can be vinified complete dry, medium dry with a slight hint of antural fruit sweetness, or lusciously rich and sweet.