We have always been Riesling fans at our house. Dry, sweet, and everything in between, this high-acid aromatic grape is a favorite.
We are also fans of sustainable wines, so organic leans into our wheelhouse. In this case, we can bring you details on a budget-friendly, delicious, and organic Riesling from the Rhienhessen in Germany.
Before we dive into the wine, how about a bit of background.
About Riesling
Riesling dominates the vineyard plantings in Germany, and the quality of the variety from this country is accepted globally.
Considered the most “noble” grape in Germany, Riesling is a high-acid grape that is frost resistant.
Its high acidity lends itself to sweeter wines, the acidity balancing the nectar-like quality when it is fully ripened.
You will find Riesling available in multiple levels of sweetness from the drier Kabinett level wines to Spätlese wines that are slightly sweet through Auslese, Beerenauslese, Eiswein, and Trockenbeerenauslese, the sweetest level in the Pradikat levels, which organize the German Quality levels. These quality levels have to do with ripeness. In many areas of Germany, the finest grapes are left to ripen further to create these sweet wines. In fact, vineyards may be hand-harvested grape by grape to get the perfect ripeness level for each wine.
While renowned regions like the Mosel and Rheingau are celebrated for their quality, they often come with a hefty price tag. Today, we dip into an affordable organic Riesling from the largest wine region in Germany, Rheinhessen.
Rheinhessen:
Riesling is grown in many of the regions in southwest Germany. You will hear about the Mosel and the Rheingau, but we are stepping just a little further out.
Located in Southwest Germany, Rheinhessen clings to the east side of the Rhine River. This region is on a low plateau with a warm, dry climate, as opposed to the steep hillsides you find in the Mosel. This warm, dry climate makes it ideal for organic vineyard practices.
Art of Earth
We received this 2022 Art of Earth Organic Riesling sample bottle from Mack and Schühle. The Art of Earth brand searches the planet for organic vineyards to make wines of various varieties that are traditional to each region. The wines are grown and produced without pesticides or herbicides.
Art of Earth 2022 Organic Riesling Q.B.A.
Okay, let’s start with the initials. Often, you will see this written as QbA, which stands for “Qualitätswein bestimmter Anbaugebiete,” or more recently, simply “Qualitätswein,” the second highest level in the German Quality system. This indicates that the wine is from a specific region. For instance, with this wine, all the grapes came from the Rheinhessen appellation. It also indicates that the wine has been vinified “dry.”
All of the grapes for this wine are grown organically, and the wine is listed as gluten-free, non-GMO, and vegan.
The wine spends 3 to 4 months on its fine lees (dead yeast cells) before bottling in January.
The word “Trocken,” meaning dry, is used with German wines and indicates a wine with less than 9 g/L of residual sugar. This wine falls in that category with 7.7 g/L of rs. Alcohol by volume is 11.5%.
Tasting notes:
Pale lemon in color, the aromatics are filled with lime, apple, petrol, lemon, and pith. I get tart green apple, pineapple, lime, lemon, and other citrus on the palate.
Pairings
Tropical Shrimp Ceviche
At our first tasting, we paired a tropical shrimp ceviche. This was shrimp marinated in lemon, lime, orange juice, and fresh ginger, tossed with mango, pineapple, sweet red and yellow peppers, cucumber, and red onion. We seasoned it with salt and pepper, topped with lemon zest and served it with white corn chips. (recipe below)
It paired well, and Michael and I made short work of what seemed to be a rather large bowl of ceviche.
Riesling-inspired brats, sauerkraut, potatoes and slaw
I wanted to update a traditional Brats and Sauerkraut meal. Playing into lime just didn’t feel like the right way to go, so I decided to incorporate the tartness of apple.
Now, don’t get too excited here. No, I did not dive into fermenting my own sauerkraut. But…if you want the essence of sauerkraut, just maybe a bit more nuanced, I have a recipe for you to try with some delicious add-ins.
I bought fresh sauerkraut from my grocery refrigerator section, rinsed it, let it soak in a bit of Riesling for about 20 minutes, then warmed it with diced golden apple, duck fat, ground mustard, and salt and pepper. It retains that sourness, but it is more nuanced.
I wanted something richer and creamier for the potatoes, and I mashed them with roasted apple, cream cheese, and thyme to make a lovely bed for my brats.
I sliced and fried the brats in butter and duck fat. I would have used bacon, but we were out.
Finally, I topped all of this with a fresh, crisp slaw of Honeycrisp apple, celery, and sweet peppers in a vinaigrette of apple cider vinegar, lime juice, honey, ginger, and olive oil, seasoned with salt and pepper and topped with lime zest.
The dish’s components balanced nicely (I was really fond of those potatoes!) and paired easily with the wine.
This is not a tough wine to pair with. It is affordable at $11.99 with a screwtop and is perfect for a weeknight dinner. Bonus points: it is organic and punches above its weight class for the price.
Robin Renken is a wine writer and Certified Specialist of Wine and WSET 3 Certified. She and her husband Michael travel to wine regions interviewing vineyard owners and winemakers and learning the stories behind the glass.
When not traveling they indulge in cooking and pairing wines with food at home in Las Vegas.
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