2016 Von Winning Estate Riesling Trocken
Pfalz, Germany
Regular price $24.99
Sale Price $19.99
Here’s the thing that people don’t really understand…Riesling is very rare in that it makes beautiful wines at every point along the continuum of dry to sweet. I’ll argue that no other grape is as versatile, and continually delicious, as Riesling.
Once one accepts that premise, Riesling becomes easy to love. Yes, some Rieslings are sweet. And alongside of that fresh and joyfully fruity sweetness lies floral notes and/or herbal expressions and/or hints of minerality and of course, cleansing and invigorating acidity.
Many more are dry (or Trocken, if the wine is German, like this one), and they are typically shimmering with intensity; the acidity all but threatening to overpower the fruit that is without the sweetness to hold it back. But that lip-smacking acidity is still not alone, for lurking around the edges is that trademark floral freshness and whispering fruit flavors, colored by sweet herbs.
Pfalz has been the epicenter of modern German wine-making, which embraces a return to tradition rather than a leap into the future. And Von Winning personifies the ‘less is more’ approach; holding some of the finest and oldest vineyard sites in Pfalz and a sparse, gravity flow winery, use of only indigenous yeasts and natural fermentation, the wine is made with gentle restraint and an eye towards elegance. Yes, the wine is dry, (see the back label, ‘Trocken’, as big as day), but that’s really not the point. The wine is beautiful and soulful and bright and rich and versatile. And delicious.