Don’t automatically think all German Rieslings are sweet like juice candies. That’s false more times than not. It seems as if labels on these wines might be some foreign code. And they kind of are… except that Germany has one of the world’s most sensible sweetness designations out there. All you have to do is learn to read it. No guessing what style of wine you’re getting. Just get the residual sugar level after fermentation and harvest date.
As you can see in the chart above, the final style of wine depend entirely on level of grape ripeness when they was harvested. This is known as the Prädikat system: Kabinett (the lightest), Spätlese (meaning late harvest), Auslese (selecting each bunch by hand for even riper fruit), and then finally Trockenbeerenauslese (sweet).
How to Read German Riesling Labels
Kabinett is low-alcohol and crisp, usually off-dry or even dry, making it a delightful, food-friendly drink. Spätlese is between medium-sweet and off-dry. It is richer and more complex because the grapes spends more time on the vine to concentrate their flavor and sugar while still keeping its acids. Then Auslese pushes it even further picking only the most ripe individual bunches with some honeylike qualities and aging potential.
After that, there are the extreme ends of the sweet spectrum. To make them requires exceptional circumstances: Beerenauslese and Eiswein. The former depends on noble rot to dehydrate the fruit and concentrate its sugar; the latter need freezing temperatures (hence “eis”) to force grapes against each other until only their water remains. Both are rare, extraordinarily sweet… And pricey.
The highest level is Trockenbeerenauslese, made with individually dried-out raisin-like berries in a concentration so intense it’s extreme. You can see that progression in the infographic, starting with dry table wines and ending with super-sweet dessert liquids, all with retained acid.
To appreciate dry styles, you’ll have to try them from a different angle. One of those words should of Trocken… Meaning bone-dry (residual sugar <9g/L). Sommeliers has taken a liking to this style, which also happens to play nice with seafood and other spicy food.
Half-dry wines are called Halbtrocken; they feature a noticeable amount of sweetness that nicely counterbalances their high levels of acidity. Feinherb is a little sweeter than halbtrocken but not quite lieblich. It can also be described as light-bodied, though this is an informal term without legal status. Therefore, this is a case where checking out the winemaker’s reputation are important.
All of this also expresses itself differently depending on region. In Mosel, they’re known for being very light, lower alcohol, and full of stony slate. These wines shines in cool years when acidity dominates. In Rheingau, they tend to be bigger, more structured wines that age better because their vineyards face south. In Pfalz, the vines sees more sun and produce fuller bodied, riper fruit that can be made into either lusciously sweet wines or dry styles too.
Beyond the weather, the type of soil there also matters. For example, slate imparts its own unique stoney minerality that you won’t find in volcanic rocks or sandier soils like loam.
People also fumble with another category: serving temperature. An icy-cold Kabinett will emphasizes its sharp acidity. Pouring a complex Beerenauslese warm will let its complexity shine. Serve ice wine cold to balance its piercing intensity. In other words, think of temperature as a dial for texture and aroma. Get it wrong, and you miss the point altogether.
German wine pairing isn’t so much a matter of rules as it is about matching energies. Dry Riesling cuts through creamy pasta or oysters. Off-dry Spätlese softens the heat in spicy Asian dishes or Thai curry. Sweet Auslese balances the heaviness of blue cheese or foie gras. Ultra-sweet tiers are at home alone, or with simple fruit desserts that can’t hope to compete with their intricate flavors.
Once you get your head around the basics, it’s mostly about psychology. Get rid of your fear of sweetness designations. Start to look at both the dryness indicator and the Prädikat level side by side. Yes there is such a thing as a dry Spätlese (and yes it is wonderful). There is also such a thing as a light, charming Kabinett (sweet, but not too much).
The system works by being transparent about vineyard treatment. It’s a snapshot of what the harvest was like that year. What the weather was like. And that kind of transparency is rare in the world of wine. Trust it, taste it. Let the acid take you where it will.