Riesling wine clubs are those selections that when you sign up you know exactly what it is going to deliver. Riesling is made from white grapes and it can be a dry, semi-sweet or sweet wine. Rieslings are never dry in the strictest of sense of the term because of the ever present sweet note. The driest Rieslings tend to come from the USA whereas Europe produces the sweeter wines (not taking into account dessert wines).
The heritage of the Riesling grape has become clearer since the advent of DNA (Deoxyribonucleic acid) testing. Riesling is a cross between the Croatian Gouais Blanc (Weißer Henuisch) that was brought to Eastern France by the Romans during their invasion and its other parent is a cross between a wild vine and the Traminer grapes which are from the German/Italian Tyrol. Both of the parent grapes where grown in the Rhine region and it is therefore likely that the crossing took place there. There are two varieties of Riesling Roter (red) and Weisser (white) both produce white wine.
Riesling Wine of the Month Club
You can achieve outstanding results by pairing Riesling with dishes containing white meat, fish, shellfish and saltier dishes of sauerkraut and smoked hams.
Rieslings are very versatile and they are one of the better wines to pair with very spicy or oriental foods. High alcohol content increases the spicy heat of food so it is better to opt for a low alcohol wine which German Riesling designated Kabinett and Spatlese are. Kabinett and Spatlese wines are also high in acidity which also offsets the spiciness. These white wines should also be served cooled this in turn cools the mouth.
The white grape variety Riesling was traditionally grown in Germany. Dr. Ferdinand Regner, who is an acknowledged genetics expert, has proposed a theory about the Riesling vines heritage. He suggests that Riesling is a cross that has descended from two parents. The first parent is the Croatian Gouais Blanc (Weißer Henuisch) that was brought to Eastern France by the Romans during their invasion. This vine is also a parent of the Chardonnay. The second parent, he suggests, is a cross between the ancient Traminer (Savagnin Blanc) and an unknown wild vine. This is now the most widely held view of the start of the Riesling wine club story.
It is unclear where the name Riesling is derived from. It would appear that the name of this vine has been in use for centuries and the earliest written record dates back to 1435 where is appears as Rießlingen by 1552 it is being referred to in its modern form Riesling. There are places and rivers/streams in France/Germany/Austria that claim that Riesling is a derivation of their names. Other theories relate to a descriptive German root word ‘rissig’ which means dark wood grooved bark.
The name of Riesling was severely tarnished by some of the biggest names in wine making as they moved over to industrial wine manufacturing because they initially produced an inferior product. Today Riesling has reasserted itself as a premium quality wine.
The Nackenheimer Rothenberg Riesling Spatlese 2005 Gunderloch Rheinhessen QMP 2005 wine is a soft and luxurious wine from one of Rheinhessen’s most renowned estates. The wine that the estate produces is exquisite. The estate has an interesting a varied history. It was originally purchased by a banker named Carl Gunderloch in 1890. He bought it because on his journey passed the property over many years he noticed that it “collected sunlight most efficiently”. The vineyard has remained in the family to this day and because of Carl Gunderloch shrewd attention to detail Gunderloch’s Nackenheimer Rothenberg is one of Rheinhessen top three estates.
