Riesling

Riesling grapes produce gourmet dry wines that pair perfectly with asparagus, sauerkraut, poultry and seafood. The sweeter Rieslings, including the semi-dry ones, go wonderfully with spicy Asian dishes such as curries and savory chicken dishes.

The Riesling grape was already cultivated in Germany in the 15th century. It's a very aromatic grape that gives scents and flavors of citrus, green apple, apricot, peach and pear. The grape contains an antioxidant that gives a typical light smell of "petroleum", which gives a mineral touch in the taste. Traditionally, the Riesling is associated with sweet wines. The trend of recent years, however, is more towards the Trocken variants that represent dry wines.

The following quality classes are distinguished in Germany:
Kabinett: fine, light wines from ripe grapes with little alcohol.
Spätlese: ripe, sweeter, elegant wines with beautiful fruit, which are harvested a little later (more residual sugars).
Auslese: noble wines (dry and sweet) from fully ripe grapes; unripe grapes are removed.
Beerenauslese: full, fruity wines from overripe grapes with noble rot; the botrytis (noble rot) contributes to the quality; such wines cannot be harvested every year, but they can be stored for decades.
Eiswein: made from grapes with the same minimum must weight as a Beerenauslese, picked frozen at a minimum of 7 degrees below zero and pressed while frozen, so that only the fruit concentrate remains.
Trockenbeerenauslese: from shriveled, raisin-like grapes with noble rot, top of the quality pyramid, sweet and honeyed, extremely long storage.