July 18, 2008

EUROPE | GERMANY | RHINE

Riesling Renaissance

By Nicole Cotroneo

Germany’s premier wine region gets invited to the big boys’ club.

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The wine world has not always been kind to Germany. The country’s premier varietal, Riesling, has often been dismissed as a white that’s “sweet and cheap.” But, detractors, don’t look now — the latest vintages are being hailed as the best the nation has ever produced. And to top it off, the heart of German wine country has just been crowned one of the world’s Great Wine Capitals.

Home to the German Wine Institute and situated on a sweeping bend of the Rhine, the city of Mainz has long been the country’s wine capital. Now, it’s also one of the world’s, having just been accepted into a global network of powerhouse grape regions including Napa and Bordeaux. The attention comes in the wake of a Riesling renaissance, too. Winemakers are now focusing on quality instead of quantity. And a near-perfect 2007 growing season (one of the longest anyone had seen) helped them produce some exceptional vintages.

It’s all sparked new interest in the Riesling region, which you’ll find tucked in the serpentine valleys and steep hillsides along the Middle Rhine. Not far from Mainz, on the northern bank of an east-west river stretch, is the Rheingau — or the “German Riviera,” if you must. Here, Schloss Johannisberg (vineyard pictured) has been making wine for over 900 years, since the days of Charlemagne. The winery even houses a “subterranean library” of Rieslings — a cellar full of ancient wine dating back to 1784. Plus, the estate hosts several prestigious concerts in the annual Rheingau Music Festival going on now through September 2.

One of the most romantic retreats in the Rheingau is Schloss Rheinfels (pictured), a hotel in the restored portion of the largest fortress on the central Rhine. If you can get past kitsch (staff in lederhosen), you can explore secret passageways leading through the castle ruins, and take in hilltop views of the World Heritage Loreley Valley. You’ll also be in good position for the Rheingauer Wine Week, August 8-17, featuring over 100 regional vintners, one of the longest “wine pubs” in the world, and the ever-popular Rheingau Wine Queens coronation.