A “perfect” wine is not about dryness or sweetness, about weight or concentration, but rather about balance and the harmonious collaboration of a multitude of flavors and smells that draw you in and make you want to take another sip” – Johannes Selbach
It`s not often that one gets to be in the presence of wine royalty; even we of "The Wine World" can count the occurrences on a few fingers. So, when two of German`s heavy hitters come to town it`s a BIG deal - even better: we get to do a wine dinner with them! Dönnhoff and Selbach-Oster are two of Germany`s most respected Riesling producers. We will have Johannes Selbach and Sascha Schömel, Dönnhoff`s Export Manager, in the house to talk about their iconic wines.
German Riesling – though undeservedly maligned in the U.S. these days – was revered as some of the greatest wine in the world for centuries. Riesling is a perfect wine in many ways: it can be vinified in any way imaginable, and it pairs with everything! Germany is at the extremes of wine making latitude with much of its vineyards outside of what is habitable to many wine grapes; however, thanks to its rivers, German vineyards enjoy hospitable microclimates. Pair this with slopes so steep vineyard workers need to be harnessed to the hillsides, and one begins to comprehend the miracle that is German Riesling. Two of the modern masters of these intense terroirs are Dönnhoff, from the Nahe, and Selbach-Oster, from the Mosel.
