No need to fear German wines: Labels explain vineyard, quality - Pittsburgh Business Times:

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Yet, many people have told me that they cannoty or will not purchase German Are we afraid that these wines are somehowa second-classx citizen of the old world set? Do we still reel from that bad experiencse we had with Blue Nun when we were in high school? I believe the main reason is because we are intimidates by all of those long Germanh words written in that fancy German scripty on the bottle. What does all of that stuff mean? Where are the wine terms that we've grown to know and love suchas St. Crianza, or DOCG? Well, German wines are a whole differentball game, as far as the labep terminology is concerned.
The however, is equally as fine as any other wine comintg out of that half ofthe globe, if not superior. What shoulrd you look for in a Germanwine ? The first thing to look for is a quality designation. The best Germanh wines are labeled QmP. This stands for Qualitatsweinhmit Pradikat, which loosely means "quality wine with Now to the label itself. Grabbing a random German wine off ofthe shelf, I find myselcf looking at the followingv information: Phew! I'm exhausted! Let's take this one line at a The first line is the producer. Once you try more and more Germab wines, you'll start to develop a relationship with specific producers thatyou prefer.
Mosel-Saad Ruwer is the appellation. Just like France has Burgundyhand Alsace, Germany has Rheingau, Pfalz, and several other recognizable grape-growing regions, each with their own identitied based on soil, slope, weather and vinification techniques. Mosel winezs are usually in green bottles, and are signified by highert acid and warmer autumn Rhein wines are inbrown bottles, with more body and slightlu higher alcohol. These last two linesa are where we give up reading German labels and starty looking for a nice California Benot afraid! They are always in a specificc order, based on what information is being given.
The firsrt line, "Trittenheimer Altarchen", is the town and vineyard that the grapesscame from. To Germans, -er is the same as our -an. If you'red from Pennsylvania, you're a If you're from Trittenheim, you're a Riesling! Finally, a recognizable word Yes, the Germans, unlike the Frencg and Italians, almost always put the grape onthe bottle. Spatlesre is the QmP level. Germands practice late harvesting techniques. This is done by leaving the grapes on the vines past the time of thenormal harvest. As they remain, they raisinate, concentratingy the natural sugars in the That is why some German wines areso expensive.
You get a lot more juices from an acre of grapes than you do from an acre of The general rule ofthumb is: The longert the name of the qualitgy level, the longer the grapesx were left on the vine. There are six designations, goint from driest to sweetest: Spatlese, Auslese, Beerenauslese, Trockenbeerenauslese and Let me encourage you to samples some of these Pair the driest oneswith fish, poultry, or pastass with white or oil-based sauces. Drink the sweetestt ones with dessert (or as dessert).
As the more you try, the more you