From Vine to Glass: GERMAN RIESLING Deep Dive, Part 2

[@AttorneySomm]

To see part 1 of this video, please visit the following link: kzbin.info/www/bejne/Y32Tc52mbrWlla8

[@babydaddy8224]

I'd really like to thank you for all the terrific content you produce. Always well done, informative, and knowledgeable. Just top notch stuff sir. Thanks for your great channel. And cheers from Las Vegas!!

[@AttorneySomm]

@@babydaddy8224 Thanks very much! Truly appreciate the positive feedback. It means a lot. Had a great time in Las Vegas seeing U2 at the Sphere back in December! Cheers!

[@babydaddy8224]

@AttorneySomm hahaha, I wanted to get to see them at the sphere, but I've been fighting leukemia for the last nine months so it's been hard to do stuff like that, unfortunately. But I'm getting my last treatments this week, actually, so I'm looking forward to a bright future filled with plenty of wine and family and friends!!! I was thinking of opening something nice tonight actually. I've been eyeballing a pontet Canet 2016 I picked up awhile ago, and I shall toast to your good health sir. Sante!!

[@AttorneySomm]

@@babydaddy8224 Glad to hear that your treatments are almost over. That 16 PC is tremendous! I bought those for my cellar too. Hope you enjoy catching up! 👍🍷

[@babydaddy8224]

I kept collecting as I was sick but couldn't drink until recently so I've got quite the collection adding up here. I don't think I've ever had this much wine before actually hahaha. Great selection too. I have an 05 pontet Canet too that I for some reason want to save. I just got a leoville barton 2018 that I really want to try as well. Do you think too soon to open? I just worry it might be closed

[@margauxml]

So much information and so many insights in this video! This part 2 of your German Riesling deep-dive really goes deeply with incisive precision and expertise into this topic. Certainly the best and most detailed elucidation of and elaborations on this subject! Excellent discussion of the Nahe and the Rheinhessen, the Quality Pyramid, and the tiers of Prädikatswein. Superb explanation of the German geographic hierarchy with so many insights from both of you. Lyle Fass even mentions names of places and producers that I encounter only when I’m in Germany. The landscapes, geology, climate, and wines of the Nahe are so fascinating, and I’m very impressed that this region was discussed quite expertly in this conversation. Thank you for this outstanding content, John! Cheers and congratulations to both of you!

[@AttorneySomm]

Thanks very much Margaux! So glad you enjoyed it. Truly appreciate the support as well as the thoughtful and eloquent comment! We definitely wanted to do this topic right and there was a lot to cover. Glad it was well-received! Hope you have a terrific week! Cheers!

[@margauxml]

@@AttorneySomm My pleasure, John! Immensely enjoyed both part 1 and part 2 - extensive, in-depth, authoritative, and done really well! Cheers and happy new week ahead!

[@AttorneySomm]

@@margauxml So glad to hear it! Thanks very much! Hope you have a terrific week!

[@zacharydenka2452]

One of the best comprehensive videos on German Riesling; matches both classification and a stylistic discussion with a library of quality producers. Most other videos only do one or the other. What great content.

[@AttorneySomm]

Thanks very much! Very glad you enjoyed it. We wanted to be very thorough and give this important topic the attention and detail it deserved. Cheers!

[@laurencestewart3828]

Thanks so much for this series on Riesling.

[@AttorneySomm]

My pleasure! Very glad you enjoyed it! Thank you!

[@JRTnew]

Great video. How about a Keller tasting to see whether G-Max is really all that 😊

[@AttorneySomm]

Thanks! An excellent idea! A few years ago the 2013 was in a blind white wine tasting. It was still quite young, but was not WOTN. A Willamette Valley Chardonnay that arguably should not have been in the tasting (due to its much lower price) was the winner. Definitely would enjoy another such tasting though!

[@thomasbahr2806]

Very nice and comprehensive. Actually its not as complicated as it looks, the labels give you typically all the information you need. Most important is the Producer and the wineyard/village/fantasy name which is typically most closely linked to quality, then you have the Prädikate which tell you about ripeness of the grapes from Kabinett (slightly unripe grapes), Spätlese (fully ripe grapes) and to selections (Auslese, BA, TBA = grapes are turning more and more into raisins). Last one is trocken (no sugar/sweetness), feinherb (some sugar but balanced by acidity) to again Auslese/BA/TA/Eiswein (mostly sweet wines with succesively more sugar). As a German I am used to it and it really helps with wine shopping.

[@AttorneySomm]

Thanks very much! Yes, my hope is that non-Germans watching this series will be able to make informed and enjoyable selections armed with this information. For Americans, that is a lot of information and many of them have no clue what any of those words mean. Here most wines are labeled with a grape variety and a high percentage of consumers here make their decision based off the grape alone, perhaps with a state or region.

[@numanuma20]

Fantastic video John. He forgot about halbtrocken and Feinherb which can have 11%-12% ABV and still has RS.

[@AttorneySomm]

Thank you. Good point! We did discuss those terms in part 1, but I reorganized the video during editing and that discussion was unfortunately split up.

[@tarekhamid3882]

Hello John Many thanks for your time and effort to put together this most informative video. A confession: I’ve tried many Rieslings-driven in large part by the almost unanimous “adoration” of wine experts-- but FAILED to like it !!! You motivated me to TRY ANEW. When/if you have few minutes, would very much appreciate a recommendation or two for a top notch “ trocken spatlese.” P.S. I did my own search… and none of the wines identified were available in US!!!!

[@AttorneySomm]

Thanks very much for watching and keeping an open mind. Also, an excellent question. It is sometimes difficult to identify spatlese trocken as they are generally high-end ortwein now. Some to keep an eye out for that are on wine searcher are as follows: (1) Keller Riesling Trocken Von der Fels; (2) Kuhn Jacobis Riesling Trocken; (3) Donnhof Kreuznacher Kahlenberg Riesling Trocken; (4) Battenfeld Spanier Mölsheim; and (5) Battenfeld Spanier Spanier Hohen-Sulzen. Also, many Molitor 1 and 2 star white capsule wines are spatlese trocken. Good luck! Please let me know your thoughts after you try one or more of them. Thanks!

[@tarekhamid3882]

Hello John Thanks for your reply… and 5 recommendations for top notch “Trocken Spatlese” wines… to try. I tried to… but ran into a bump! And what I discovered may be of interest. I was planning to go for the Keller wine… but, because it was not explicitly stated that it was a spatlese … I contacted the winery to get a clarification/confirmation. And here is the interesting and possibly useful info for everybody: none of their trockens are spatlese… they are all kabinett. I now suspect that this may be true for most German producers. I wonder: since trocken spatlese is your guests favorite… can he help us unearth some of these (apparently) RARE BEAUTIES?

[@AttorneySomm]

@@tarekhamid3882 Thanks! Yes I’ll check with Lyle to get his thoughts on this and get back to you.

[@AttorneySomm]

@@tarekhamid3882 Hello: I heard back from Lyle. Lyle discussed this question with Keller's importer and learned that Von Der Fels is basically young vine grosses gewachs. As such, this is at least spatlese and possible even auslese trocken. In any event, that is a wine that both Lyle and I highly recommend from arguably the most prestigious producer in Germany. I would encourage you to try the Keller wine and/or the others in the 5 that were provided. They are excellent dry Rieslings from top producers. They are very much in the spirit of what Lyle recommended people try if they are new to Riesling and want to get started on the right foot. Cheers!

[@tarekhamid3882]

@@AttorneySomm Very much appreciate the followup… time… and effort. Will try the Keller.

[@mickeylee2624]

Loved hearing more about Germany's Riesling system! I noticed that the audio cut off at the very end of his sentence... will there be a part 3? :)

[@AttorneySomm]

Thanks very much! Glad that you enjoyed the videos! This part 2 completes the German Riesling video. That was just perhaps an example of my editing skills needing a bit of refinement.

[@mickeylee2624]

No worries, @@AttorneySomm. I love this format for topics like this that needs more time to properly explain and cover with reasonable depth. Great work and keep 'em comin'!!👏👏

[@AttorneySomm]

@@mickeylee2624 Thanks so much! Cheers!

[@bucal53]

I love the content but the audio setup is different for both of you. Mr. Somm , your audio is so clear and easily understood but unfortunately for your friend , Mr. Fass, much of what he says fluctuates in and out and he has a tendency of swallowing his words.

[@AttorneySomm]

Thanks very much. Glad you enjoyed the video! Sorry about the audio. I did my best to clean it up during editing.

[@numanuma20]

@@AttorneySommThe audio got a lot better.

[@AttorneySomm]

@@numanuma20 Thanks! Learned a new trick this week that helped a bit during editing.

[@wizlb]

This is a great riesling, do you think it’s too sweet?

[@AttorneySomm]

Are you talking about the thumbnail wine? We discuss dozens of wines in these videos. If you are referring to the wine in this thumbnail, I thought it was well balanced. It was sweet, but I paired it with spicy Mexican food and the pairing worked well.

[@wizlb]

@@AttorneySomm I didn’t look at the video I just saw the thumbnail… I have one bottle left, it is balanced

[@AttorneySomm]

@@wizlb Thanks. Yes, just wanted to clarify because we do not discuss this one in the video. I just liked the picture for the thumbnail. I had it 3-4 years ago and enjoyed it, but do pair it with spicy food - Indian, Thai or Mexican.

[@MYWINEEXPERIENCE]

👍

[@AttorneySomm]

Thank you kindly! Cheers!

[@FrängischeVerkostungsFrond]

nice video. however, its called "auslese" not "aushlese."

[@AttorneySomm]

Thanks

[@siegbert_schnoesel]

It's a word that non-native speakers always seem to struggle with. There's really no need to criticize that, because it's obvious what's meant.

[@AttorneySomm]

@@siegbert_schnoesel Thanks! We definitely did our best.