Planning events for the nonprofit at which I work can be a lot of fun – particularly when I have a chance to pick the wines! When we decided to do an Oktoberfest theme for an upcoming dinner, I was both delighted and daunted. I knew that finding a good quality Riesling at a price that would fit our nonprofit budget would be tough.
Finding the right Riesling for a group with a mixed interest in, not to mention knowledge of, wine is a challenge. Choose one with too much petrol or gun oil and risk turning people off before they have even tasted the wine. Choose one with too much residual sugar and risk having people put down their wine after one taste. Recently, I was unceremoniously reminded of a poor Riesling selection I made last year for another event. During the in-store tasting, the wine seemed like an excellent quality for the price, but at the event it was sweet and flabby. Unfortunately, I am not the only one who remembers that wine! As with rosés, some people have to be convinced that Riesling can be one of the most rewarding and wonderful wines – delicate, complex, and beautiful, and often low in alcohol.
Luckily, Glenn and Rodney were willing to help. I selected five German Rieslings for our tasting. Four of them were around $15 with one outlier on sale at $5.99. We tasted all of them blind on the first night; and I tasted them again the next day. Below are our tasting notes, in the order in which the wines were tasted.
2007 Sybille Kuntz Spätlese Dry
German Table Wine
Pale gold in color, the Sybille Kuntz has a pungent nose dominated by gun oil. Lots of minerality and slate here tempered by peach and nectarine. Glenn described it as having “an almost classic expression of Riesling in the nose.” Lime juice and stone fruits dominate the palate. This wine is not only dry, but also has some bitterness. High acidity and a long finish. This wine is still developing and could improve in coming months or even years. I enjoyed it more on the second day.
At Vinodivino for $16.00.
2009 St. Urbans-Hof
Mosel
Qualitätswein/VDP
Pale, with a light green hue, the nose of the St. Urbans-Hof was odd, with some chemical odor that none of us could place. While the nose was off-putting, the odor appear on the palate, which was exotic with notes of ripe peach, lime, and a hint of petrol. Some residual sugar was evident here, giving the wine a medium plus body. It has a long-lasting, mouthwatering acidity. Glenn, Rodney, and I liked this wine, and ranked it in the top two of the tasting.
At WineNation purchased on sale for $14.99.
2007 Studert-Prüm Kabinett
Mosel, Graacher Himmelreich
Prädikatswein
Of all five wines, the Studert-Prüm had the most petrol on the nose, with ripe fruit. But on the palate it was restrained, bordering on boring. Medium plus body due to the residual sugar, which was not balanced out by good acidity. It had a short finish.
At Martignetti’s for $17.99.
2008 Stone Fruit
Pfalz
Qualitätswein
This wine was partly why I decided to do this tasting blind. I was curious to see how it would compare to the higher priced wines in the tasting, but didn’t want any of us to be influenced by its price or bulk wine appearance. To my surprise, it was well-received. Glenn called it a “pretty little wine.” It is restrained. Glenn and Rodney both liked this one. When I tried it on the second day, I found it unremarkable. Restrained is an understatement, but it probably would go well with food since it is pretty dry and has decent acidity.
At Julio’s Liquors purchased on sale for $5.99 ($7.99 regularly).
2008 Weingut Dr. Heyden Kabinett
Rheinhessen, Oppenheimer Kreuz
Prädikatswein
On the first day, the nose was restrained, with floral and stone fruit notes. But it started to open when I tried it the second day and found slate, minerals, smoke, and tropical fruit on both the nose and palate. It is fairly dry, with modest residual sugar, and a peach pit bitterness. The mouthfeel is rich and it has a lasting finish. This was my favorite of the five on both days.
At Vinodivino for $15.00.
Unfortunately, none of these wines match what I am looking for and I just would not excited about serving any of them. It comes back to worrying about the pungency of some and the sweetness of others. If I were able to increase the budget to $25 per bottle, I am confident that there are German Rieslings that would match my expectations. Since I would rather not be reminded next year of a poor Oktoberfest selection, I will be heading back to the wine shop for round two.
Riesling, Oktoberfest, Sybille Kuntz, St. Urbans-Hof, Mosel, Studert-Prüm, Graacher Himmelreich, Stone Fruit, Pfalz, Weingut Dr. Heyden, Rheinhessen, Oppenheimer Kreuz
