Anne Krebiehl / 12 February 2020
Germany's wines have
undergone a renaissance
in the last 30 years and
deserve every wine lover's
attention. Anne Krebiehl MW
tells us why.
Wine map of Germany
Harvesting at Küntsler at Hochheim in the Rheingau
When it comes to buying
anything German, Brits seem
to suffer from a schizophrenic
attitude: they love and appreciate
German-built cars and washing
machines, have no hesitation
whatsoever when it comes to
German beer and, if supermarket
shelves are anything to go by, have
even embraced Lebkuchen and Stollen
as Christmas treats. But German wine?
That's still a bit of a no-no. Yet, who can
blame them? The track record is clear:
there is competence and exactitude, even
'Vorsprung durch Technik', but Germany
as a land of gastronomic discovery,
full-flavoured produce, diverse regional
cooking, scenic landscapes, unique wines
and even sensuous joy? This is simply
not how the world sees us. To every
thousand cookery programmes delving
into cucina and cuisine, tiffin and tandoor,
there might be one clichéd mention of
Bratwurst. How sad. If Germany is framed
in gastronomic terms at all, it is all about
pork knuckle, sausages and foaming steins
of beer carried by buxom waitresses.
Yawn. Then there is a vague memory
of unpronounceable, seemingly endless
strings of consonants, possibly even in
gothic lettering and – even worse – the
hangover of Liebfraumilch & Co. If I had
a pound for every stupid Blue Nun joke
I've heard as a German girl in the UK wine
trade I could retire today. Yes, the real
Germany remains a mystery to most, so
I can understand that there is a certain
nervousness.
Yet, while the world had its back turned,
this country at the very heart of Europe
has transformed itself viticulturally.
Despite an outdated, clunky and almost
impenetrable wine law, the Germans
started turning a corner in the late 1980s had a real reckoning in the 1990s and have
upped their game tremendously since the
turn of the millennium. Clearly, climate
change has helped. Today grapes ripen
reliably in every vintage when this simply
was not the case before. This means that
properly dry wines are now the rule; that dry riesling in a scintillating array of styles
is a real and enduring proposition; that
pinot noir, aka spätburgunder, takes its
rightful place in the global pinot pantheon.
Josephshoefer in the Mosel - one of Kesselstatt's best vineyards
But there's another thing at play, too.
While Germany benefits as much as any
winegrowing country from scientific
progress and superbly educated
winemakers, something has shifted in
the way Germans see themselves. All
quality producers today have travelled
to and even worked in various vineyards
across the globe only to return home
and recognise the treasure at their feet:
ancient vineyards on sun-facing slopes
situated on sinuous riverbends; exquisite
soils and a climate that had turned from
marginal to wonderfully temperate.
Right on their doorstep they had the
opportunity not just to make good wine,
but to craft something unique, expressing
region, culture, site and personality.
Following on from a generation that
still saw being a Winzer (winemaker) as
terminally uncool, this is a huge cultural
turnaround, a paradigm shift from the
browbeaten winemakers of the late 20th
century, rocked by scandal and weighed
down by an ultra-naff image. Today's
Winzers are a collaboratively minded,
energetic crowd keen to experiment and
rejoice in what makes Germany unique.
This transformation has happened across
all of Germany's 13 growing regions
which span four degrees of latitude: from
Baden's southerly slopes at 47.5°N to
Saale-Unstrut's northerly suntraps at
51.5°N.
While the parents of today's trendsetters
proved that absolute quality was possible,
this latest generation of winemakers
builds on that premise to redefine what
German wine is in the 21st century. So
what does that mean? It means a focus on
regionality, site and unique expressions of
grape varieties.
Sunset as seen from the Weiler Schlipf vineyard in Baden
Clearly, riesling is foremost in this
endeavour but not alone. Those who
have not yet given German pinot noir
a try are missing out, while the other
two pinot siblings are hits in their own
right. German pinot gris/grigio, aka
grauburgunder, is pitched between the
light, neutral styles of northern Italy and
the rich, rounded styles of Alsace, often
with pristine fruit and lovely balance.
The real sleeper is pinot blanc, aka
weissburgunder, a slender but supple
wine with as much ability to express
soil as chardonnay. Then there are the
lesser-known varieties. Those who
love subtlety should get their hands on
silvaner, especially from Franken. Those
who love translucent, chillable reds
should look for trollinger and lovers of
peppery reds should try Germany's take
on blaufränkisch/kékfrankos known as
lemberger. The fact that these wines are
unbelievable value for money is almost
a scandal, considering how handcrafted
most of them are. There is so much
to discover and enjoy. Thus for wine's
sake, let go of your present notions of
Germany, turn your gaze away from
the Autobahn towards those sun-kissed
vineyards, those steep slopes, those deep
forests with their cold, clear brooks,
those winding river valleys expanding into
orchard and pasture. Yes, Germany can
also be beautiful and languid, brimming
with flavour, joy and ease. There even is a
word for it: Genuss.
Book
Offer
London based
but German
born, Anne
Krebiehl MW is
a wine writer,
lecturer and
wine judge. Her
first book The Wines of Germany
is available at a special member price
of £21(£30 rrp) from the publishers,
Infinite Ideas. Please order online at
infideas.com using the discount code
WSGERMANY30 valid until Saturday
29th February, 2020