by Dr. Bob Ouellette

Compagnons des Bons Vins

 May 2001                                                                         17 Tasters

 Summer Choice- German Wines

 Comments- Despite the fact that the scores were lower than I would expect, we enjoyed the wines . German Rieslings are the perfect wine for summer outings on the sunny patio. We differed quite widely on our scores thereby accounting for the lower scores. Yet, no one stated that this tasting was not to their liking. Admittedly, the vintages chosen except for the 75 Auslese, were not the best of possible choices. But to their credit the cost of the wines were quite low by recent standings. I started my wine quest 40 years ago by studying German wines and also attended the German Wine Academy. Like many, I bought heavily of the 71 vintage and still possess some in my cellar. However, I can readily admit that German wines did not continue to be the preferred wine . Unfortunately, my taste shifted to red wines and dry ones to be exact. That’s probably been the story with American wine drinkers in general since the market for these wines has never been able to take hold in this country. Add to that, the labels of German wines are probably the toughest to read and understand. Finally, the degree of sweetness in these wines has always been difficult to interpret on the label for the average buyer.

As I said at the outset, summer is here. Why not try a German Kabinett or Spatlese….you’ll like them.