Eric Asimov of The New York Times has written a superb article on German Wines, highlighting one of our special estates, Schäfer-Fröhlich.
“Plunging into German riesling is like a great high dive into a pool of dazzling wines — graceful, complex and utterly delicious.
Some people gladly leap over the edge. Others hang back, mistakenly believing that all rieslings are sweet, or shrinking from the supposedly indecipherable nomenclature of German wine labels.
Regardless of where they stand, most consumers share the perception that riesling represents the entirety of German wine.
But a whole other Germany exists, of myriad reds, rosés and whites that make clear that riesling is only part of that nation’s wine story. These wines offer many of the joys that attract riesling lovers. Best of all, they also are often great values.
Yet, astoundingly, these wines are practically unknown in the United States except to a tiny band of importers who seek them out and a small group of aficionados who adore them”.
Schäfer-Fröhlich Nahe Pinot Noir Blanc de Noir Trocken 2019 $31
This is white wine made of pinot noir. How do you make white wine from a red grape, a blanc de noir? The color-causing pigments are contained in the skins. You make red wine by allowing the juice to macerate for days with the skin. If you cut the maceration short after a little while, you’ve got rosé. No maceration, and the wine is white. That’s how Champagne is made when using the red grapes pinot noir and pinot meunier. This wine has the faint whiff and flavor of flowers and red berries, yet it has the texture of a white wine. It’s vivacious and refreshing. Schäfer-Fröhlich, by the way, is one of the Nahe region’s foremost riesling producers. (The German Wine Collection, Carlsbad, Calif.)
For the full read of the article, please visit The New York Times, Wine, Beer & Cocktails