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10 undiscovered wine gems from Germany

Posted by Fiona Beckett (Google+) on June 20 2008 at 07:21

“If you think you know German wine, drink again” ran the slogan of an advertising campaign in the UK a few years ago. Consumers, it seemed needed persuading but a succession of good vintages, the enthusiastic advocacy of wine writers such as Jancis Robinson and the appearance of a broader selection of German wines on the lists of an increasing number of London’s top restaurants seems to be finally stimulating an appetite for these most underrated of wines.

But the process is slow which is why I and an international group of food and wine journalists recently found ourselves on a trip to Germany’s southernmost wine regions to see some of the up and coming talent for ourselves.

The topography of southwestern Germany certainly differs from northern regions such as the Mosel, Mittelrhein and Ahr: the north has vines growing on steeper slopes along the river valleys, whereas the south has much more variable topographical conditions, from flat farmland to gentle rolling hills - and some impressively steep valleys too!

More crucially, the southwest is home to some of Germany’s most promising young winemakers. The up and coming “Generation Riesling” has experience of viticulture from both inside Germany and abroad.

Germany has enjoyed consistently good vintages since 2001, due in no small part to that looming meteorological albatross - global warming. As Ernst Buscher, a spokesman for the German Wine Institute told me, global warming is having a generally beneficial effect, helping grapes achieve a level of ripeness they haven’t always done in the past. (even though there are worries that the distinctive Kabinett style will become an increasing rarity)

It’s also made it viable for many more of Germany’s top producers to convert hectare after hectare of conventionally grown grapes to organic grapes. With support from the EU, Germany is now at the vanguard of the organic wine movement, and the GWI predicts there will be 5000 hectares of organic production by 2013, almost half the total vineyard area.

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