Q&A

What kind of wine is Rheinhessen?

What kind of wine is Rheinhessen?

Rheinhessen produces mostly white wine from a variety of grapes, particularly Riesling, Müller-Thurgau and Silvaner, and is best known as the home of Liebfraumilch, although some previously underrated Rieslings are also made, increasingly in a powerful dry style.

Is Rheinhessen a Riesling?

In Rheinhessen, Riesling is the most important grape variety – and the Riesling prospect for Rheinhessen is quickly formulated: It is moving forward. In Rheinhessen, Riesling covers 18% of the vineyard area and with 4,738 ha it is the most important grape variety.

What is a lieblich wine?

“Trocken” (dry) denotes a wine in which all or nearly all of the natural sugar in the grape juice has been fermented, i.e. converted into alcohol and carbon dioxide. “Lieblich” (mild, sweeter) denotes wines with a residual sugar of 50 grams/liter or more.

What is the highest quality grading for German wines?

Prädikatswein, or superior quality wine. Known as Qualitätswein mit Prädikat (QmP) (quality wine with specific attributes) until August 2007, this is the top level of German wines.

What does Rhenish wine taste like?

I am not normally a fan of Red wine, Rhenish or not, but this one won me over! It was slightly dry with a bit of a smoky flavor that enhanced the fruitiness. It was a good mix of muted fruit flavors with no one particular fruit overpowering it.

Can you buy Rhenish wine?

As it turns out, yes, Rhenish is readily available.

What grape is liebfraumilch?

Liebfraumilch is a German style of semi-sweet wine. Regulations state that at least 70 percent of the wine must be made from one or more of Riesling, Silvaner, Kerner or Müller-Thurgau. The latter is most likely to be the main component of any given bottle.

Is Rheinhessen Riesling sweet?

Unfortunately for high-quality German wine producers, the Rheinhessen is the birthplace of Liebfraumilch. This cheap, semi-sweet wine has given the region a hard reputation to shake.

How do you know a German wine is a higher quality?

Each of the quality categories is determined by the level of ripeness that the grapes have achieved by the time they are harvested. Riper grapes provide more aroma and more flavor. The riper the grapes, the higher the position on the pyramid the wines made from those grapes will be.

Which is sweeter Kabinett vs Spätlese?

Kabinett wines range in style from dry to off-dry. Spätlese Spätlese means “late harvest” and grapes have a sweetness level of 76-90 Oechsle (172–209 g/L sugar). Spätlese wines are rich and usually sweeter than Kabinett, although if you see “Trocken” on the bottle you can assume it’s in a dry style with higher alcohol.

How many sweetness levels do German wines have?

Kabinett The lightest style of Riesling, made from grapes that have a sweetness level of 67-82 Oechsle (148–188 g/L sugar). Kabinett wines range in style from dry to off-dry. Spätlese Spätlese means “late harvest” and grapes have a sweetness level of 76-90 Oechsle (172–209 g/L sugar).

What drink is renish?

In short, Rhenish (or Rheinhessen) is a German wine that comes from the areas around the Rhine River, generally white or rosé, with low alcohol content (around 9%ABV).