German Rieslings

[flash_uk]

The recent flood of German Riesling tasting notes has certainly reinforced my view on why I struggle with that particular category - the names are just far too long and tedious. For example, 2012 F Haag Brauneberger Juffer Sonnenuhr Auslese Goldkapsel. I mean why stop there? They could have added the GPS co-ordinates for the vineyard. The inside leg measurement of the winemaker.

[djewesbury]

This is definitely true. Some winemakers have deliberately started simplifying their labels but the rules and classifications don't help them. The label you quote - abbreviated because it wouldn't fit in the Subject line otherwise - is a good example. But once you know what part is what, it's quite straightforward:

Fritz Haag - the company

Brauneberger - shows that this comes from the village Brauneberg

Juffer Sonnenuhr - this is the particular vineyard that the grapes in this wine come from

Auslese - the style of the wine; this means a wine made with grapes that have been allowed to ripen on the vine and have been harvested late. These wines are harvested later than Spätleses and are usually naturally sweet. Auslese grapes might be picked around now and have to be hand-picked.

Goldkapsel - it has a gold capsule, which is the sign used to denote a high quality Auslese.

You chose a very simple one with geographical descriptors (no GPS needed) and the characteristics of the wine type. Thank goodness you didn't choose one with 'Erste Lage' or 'Grosses Gewächs' or 'Ortwein' in the name. These different terms all relate to the different 'quality pyramids' in operation in the different regions, dependent on whether the producer is a member of the VDP! Then it gets slightly complicated.

[djewesbury]

I think 'flood' is a regrettable term and in the context of recent apologies by government ministers you may wish to rethink it.

[flash_uk]

I think 'flood' is a regrettable term and in the context of recent apologies by government ministers you may wish to rethink it.

Deluge?

[PopulusTremula]

I'm not sure the naming convention for German wines is any more complex than that for Burgundy. Village, Site, Producer is the basic formula. Know the different styles/categories (Prädikaten) plus those for dry wines and you're off.

I still find Burgundy baffling, which in part why i have steered clear of these.

[djewesbury]

I think 'flood' is a regrettable term and in the context of recent apologies by government ministers you may wish to rethink it.

Deluge?

Thank you. Much better.

I agree with PopulusTremula (Magnus, I believe?) that this is less daunting than it looks at first. Once you know the names of even a few of the more famous vineyards you'll see these on lots of labels. Sonnenuhr and the Doctor in the Mosel are two of the best and various different companies have vines in each of these places. Different plots in the vineyards also have names (hence Juffer, a parcel of the Sonnenuhr vineyard). The label can sort of be read backwards. And the word ending in '-er' is always the name of the village: the ending is the German genitive and so shows that Somnenuhr 'belongs to' (is in) Brauneberg.

When you drink 'estate' Rieslings at the cheaper end, which are blended from different vineyards, the labels will be a lot simpler: Company name, Riesling, Style (almost invariably Trocken - Dry, but occasionally Kabinett - which kind of means off-dry (but technically doesn't)), Year. Then you may get a village wine which is blended from the grapes in that village, across multiple plots: Company name, Village, Riesling, etc etc.

Some companies - Wegeler and Dr. Loosen in particular - are simplifying their labels. Wegeler are trying to get away from the use of the genitive case and just using the name of the village as almost the only information on the wine.