raymond

Hi guys

The German section of wines here in our Singapore stores looks somewhat
miserable....often hidden at a secluded corner with just a couple of dusty
bottles. I'd interviewed a few of our local storekeepers and the answer was
" Nobody drinks those awfully sweet stuff with meals!" Paradoxically,
drinking Coke or Pepsi is expectable and common. French is like the king and
Aussie the prince here. I'd not disagree that as far as red wine is
concerned, the French is most renown. I read recently that a bottle of
Chateau Lafitte 1820 can fetch as high as USD 20,000, even Bill Gates might
find it astronomical. Majority of people here have the notion that if one
drinks French, he knows his stuff and the preference of reds over whites is
like 10 to 2. Why? Partly because we always associate food and beverages
with health, potency or libido. Red wine looks like blood therefore it
should nourish the blood. The only thing I am quite certain is that tannin
to some extend reduces heart diseases and lower cholesterol. When it comes
to fruity, floral aroma, I must say the German whites particularly the
Riesling aren't too bad.
In fact, slight residual sugar with good acidity enhances the wine. How
would one like his apple to have every trace of natural sugar removed. Not
all German wines are sweet. The trocken style is dry right to the bones.
Apart from the price of say a bottle of spatlese which can cost almost twice
the amount of a bottle of French or Australian.Chardonnay (80% stock up in
our supermarkets), I can't find another bad point about German wines. The
German and the new world formats of labeling are a little more informative
compared to the French. Price is my only criterion when buying French wine
because they're almost always Chateau this and Chateau that, giving nothing
but the regions which I have little idea about.
Trust me, a bottle of Riesling spatlese halbtrocken goes extremely well with
Black pepper chilli crabs or barbeque crayfish - our Singapore style. What
is you guys' impression about German wines?

tom s

My impression is I'd like to try them with your version of chili crabs or
BBQ crayfish!

I'm not really into German wines, but the ones I've tasted are pretty good -
much better than American Rieslings, with the exception of our late harvest
wines which can be excellent.

Tom S

topi kuusinen

Hi Raymond,

My impression is that a good German Spätlese Riesling, dry or off-dry,
is just about the most versatile food wine there is.

The same applies for Austrian Smaragd Rieslings and, IMHO to a bit
lesser extent, for good Alsatian Rieslings as well.

Cheers,

-Topi Kuusinen, Finland

sibeer

Let me first say that I am a great fan of German Rieslings, but I also
appreciate the fine Rieslings from the Alsace and other countries. The
public has to be educated to the fact that all German Rieslings are not
sweet but can be dry to ultra sweet. Depending on the region they come from
they can be light bodied to rather full bodied. The
Riesling g**** among the other great white g****s properly reflects the soil
it grows in more than any other white g****. There is a style that should
satisfy most palates. It is a matter of educating the public, which in my
opinion the German wine industry does a very poor job of. Most people who
have never tried a fine German Riesling are much like Dopey of Snow White
and the Seven Dwarfs. He could not talk because he never tried to. Not only
are they one of the most food compatible wines but they still are great
values for the quality the give.

kmmccoy

I guess the low popularity of German wines is a double edged sword- if
it was as well known and loved as French wines of similar quality the
prices would be quite high. The QPR of Germans I've tried in the last
week have been phenomenal, even with the weak U.S. dollar. I opened a
Muller-Catoir Kabinett on Christmas eve that was terrific at $25 and a
Von Othergraven Kantzemer Altenberg Auction Auslese opened last night
had me swooning for only $12 per half bottle! My wine purchases are
about 80-90 % German and I'm not often too disappointed. Ser Gut!

anders tørneskog

"kenneth mccoy" <kmmccoy@webtv.net> skrev i melding
news:17793-41D1CF29-346@storefull-3252.bay.webtv.net...

I see that 2003 was very succesful for Müller-Catoir and the new cellar
master Martin Franzen.
The prices seem very favourable too (9Euros for the Kabinetts - the US
markup is somewhat amazing imho). My source gives 85-86 points for the
various Kabinetts

If your von Othegraven auction auslese was of the 2002 vintage then it was a
92 point wine by the draconic standards of my source, certainly a very good
wine and a ridiculously low price for the US.

Anders