Some Thoughts on Wine Tasting

Tasting the local produce is an obvious wish if someone visits a wine region. My hometown is surrounded by wine-growing areas - Baden on the right Rhine bank, Pfalz on the left. The state of Rheinland-Pfalz assembles six wine regions - I don't think there is any other federal state that has more wine regions than Rheinland-Pfalz - which produce some of Germany's finest drops: Mosel, Ahr, Mittelrhein, Nahe, Rheinhessen, Pfalz.

On travel forums I often read posts by people from ‚beyond the pond‘ who complain that they do not like German wines because they hate "sweet Reislings“... it’s Riesling, my dears, and a good Riesling is dry or maximum semi-dry. Well, we know what to export.. We keep the dry, fresh, crisp, fruity whites and drink them ourselves. (Just joking!)

There is subjective taste and there is objective quality. If both come together, sampling a wine becomes a great experience.

Wine tasting is a science that requires good senses and long years of experience. I know a little, and I think I am not completely hopeless at identifying tastes, but I by far do not consider myself an expert. My Dad is the expert in the family. I rely on his expertise and he is the one who regularly fills up the wine shelf in my basement. From him I picked up some pearls of wisdom. I am able to find a decent or at least acceptable wine among the trash on a supermarket shelf, and I am able to boast with my knowledge if I am surrounded by total ignorants. But in the company of connoisseurs I am keeping quiet!!!

The quality and the resulting richness in taste (or lack thereof) depends on the variety of grapes, the location, the „terroir“ (i. e. the soil and its geological components in the vineyard in question), the microclimate in the vineyard, the weather conditions of the current year, the timing and method of the harvest, as well as the winemaker’s individual, personal skills both during the growth of the grapes and the treatment in the cellar. All wineries are different and all wines are different.

That’s why I totally and absolutely refuse to give recommendations like, „you have to visit winery x and taste wine y“, or come up with stereotypes like, „all wines from the Mosel are like this and that“. Stereotypes are always too general and often wrong, and wine y may have been great in one year but next year there was a lot of rain or too much sun, or the vintner messed up something, and the same grape variety from the same winery and the same vineyard tastes notably different.

Things become even more complicated and sophisticated when the combination of wine and food is concerned. It does matter a lot which wine you combine with which food. The tastes influence each other. The perfect match will enhance all tastes while the wrong combination can ruin them altogether. A good restaurant will provide recommendations. Ususally it‘s worth following these.

Restaurants in wine places serve local wines and know the stuff they serve. A great way to taste wines with a fine dinner. Ask for wine tasting arrangements - some do things like „taste 5 wines for xx €“. Others have a fixed menu combined with matching wines – usually not cheap but certainly a great experience. Some winery owners run a restaurant or hotel where they serve their own wines.

Reading tip: Deutsches Weininstitut, the German Institute of Wine, has excellent summaries (in English) with all the basic knowledge one needs to understand German wines on their website.

Grape varieties, red and white: http://www.germanwines.de/knowledge/grape-varieties/
Quality standards and categories: http://www.germanwines.de/knowledge/quality-standards/
Viticulture and winemaking, climate, soil: http://www.germanwines.de/knowledge/quality-standards/
Taste and quality, and how to understand the label on the bottle: http://www.germanwines.de/knowledge/quality-standards/
What does „Classic“ and „Selection“ mean? http://www.germanwines.de/knowledge/selection/
Sparkling wine: http://www.germanwines.de/knowledge/wine-more/sparkling-wine/
Germany’s 13 wine growing regions: http://www.germanwines.de/tourism/wine-growing-regions/
Winery database with search funcion by name, location etc.: http://www.germanwines.de/service/wineries/ The database has 2,117 entries and it is by far not complete. But it’s a start.

The ways of handling wine tastings differ widely from winery to winery, and sometimes it is not easy to find a suitable place. Here are some general hints:

Some wineries have shops, type „open cellar door“, where you can taste and buy wine. The tasting is usually free but they will want/wish/expect you to buy something. If they offer a tasting for a small fee it's okay to leave without buying.

Wine shops that offer wine tastings can be found in all the wine towns and (larger) villages, usually along the main street.

The size and prettyness of the wine tasting room or cellar does not necessarily indicate good quality, though. The large places that also take bus groups usually aren't the best, to put it carefully. Most wineries are small, family-run businesses. The best ones are often small, if not tiny, and produce limited quantities. Their products are not found in supermarkets.

If in doubt, contact the local tourist office and ask for recommendations and addresses.

The upscale, high class wineries are often like locked fortresses. Here an appointment is essential, if you get one at all.

Experts: If you plan to visit a particular winery, contact them in advance - not on the same day - and make an appointment with the winemaker.