Germany is said to be the classical country of white wines. Unfortunately German white wine is often equated with Riesling only. But the mother country of the most famous Riesling wines in the world has far more to offer than Riesling.
Dry or semi-dry white wines are especially recommended to accompany food.
Dry does not mean sour, but not sweet. The acidity of a wine depends on the grape variety and its ripeness.
Generally the acidity of Riesling is higher than that of other white grape varieties.
See also the page about acidity.
In contrast to many recommendations that only dry wines go well with food, sweet wines are delicious companions for many dishes.
The moderate sweetness of an off-dry wine is pleasant if you do not like a wine too dry. Sweet wines are interesting companions for sweet-and-sour, for opulent and for hot and spicy dishes.
Last but not least sweet wines go very well with sweet and fruity desserts and with cheese. Furthermore they are wonderful just on their own, to relax, to sip while reading or to enjoy together with family and friends. They are popular party and summer wines, just for their pleasant taste.
See also the page about sweetness.
Dessert wines are the most exclusive and dense sweet wines. They are classical companions for any kind of sweet desserts. They also go well with meat pâtés and with cheese. Furthermore these wines are excellent and exclusive Apéritifs. Last but not least they make prestiguous and high quality presents.
The intense sweetness of the dessert wines is due to the extremely high level of ripeness the grapes must reach. This is the reason why they cannot be produced every year anew and why they can be harvested in small quantities only.
Whilst the fermentation, the natural sugars of the grapes mutate to alcohol. The dessert wines do not fully fermentate but keep some of their grapes' natural sweetness unfermented.
The variety in taste of white wines is very large. Several new breeds complete the assortment of old, classical varieties.
Mainly the varieties differ in the taste and intensity of their bouquets. Some among which is the Riesling have delicate and discreet flavours, while others are fruity, flowery or spicy and very intensive.
These wines have a fine, delicate fruitiness. Mostly they are bottled dry or semi-dry. They are very versatile and suitable to accompany nearly any kind of food, because they do not push themselves to the fore.
White varieties with discreet flavour are:
The bouquet of these wines is highly developed. Some have intense fruity flavours, e.g. Huxel and Scheu. Others have very spicy flavours such as Gewurztraminer and Sieger.
Depending on each wine’s own special flavour they are delicious companions for sweet-and-sour or for hot and spicy dishes.
Only few wine enthusiasts appreciate dry bouquet wines. Therefore they are rather rarely bottled as dry wines.
Much more often bouquet wines are sweet in taste. The sweetness and the intense flavours complement each other. The wines are wonderfully tasty and delicious to enjoy with and without food.
White bouquet varieties:
We enjoy to cultivate very special grape varieties. Even if they are difficult to grow and demand special care, they are worthwile because of their wonderful tastes.
Usually white wines are suggested to be enjoyed cooled at a temperature of 12–14° C. This is a recommendation only. Do not hesitate to find out the temperature which pleases you best to enjoy your wine.
