I attended San Francisco tastings for two years sponsored by Wines of Germany  / German Wine Institute and private importer Terry Theiss before being invited to Germany.

I accepted the invitation, not for a free trip to Germany but because I wanted the “real” scoop.  At industry events, I prefer in-depth interviews/ conversations with winemakers to tasting 100+ wines; however, the whirlwind environment doesn’t support the drawing of a solid picture.

Stateside, I had been told two things that I wanted to check out for myself: 1) German wine making was environmentally friendly and 2) there is a movement for modernizing German wine labels. Like a journalist on the hunt, I looked for signs indicated truisms, partially true or false.

I am a proponent of all grape growers being responsible stewards of the environment and I prefer my wine to be made in a style that treats the wine gently with little or no additives or industrial processing.

In Germany, I visited a dozen wineries in three regions and attended a tasting of approx. 350 German wines. (329 at the formal tasting, and the rest at the party the night before.) I received literature from the German Wine Institute as well as the wineries. Bottom line, the picture was not unlike the US. Some wine makers are very dedicated to natural wine making, including adhering to the principles of organic farming, while others don’t discuss it. For me, I found it disturbing that large amounts of sulfur are added to many Rieslings. This goes against my preference to let grapes express themselves with minimal interference. *

On the label issue, I would like to see exported German wines with interesting and understandable labels so that more Americans would pick up a bottle and try it. German wine labels are written in German, i.e., Pinot Blanc is Wiessburgunder. Additionally, the labels sport highly complex legal and traditional descriptions, making it impossible for an untutored consumer to figure out who made the wine and where it was made.  No English translation (even of the grape) and too many references re: villages, regions, dry, off dry, and sweet add up to…lower sales of German wines in America.

There was good news/bad news on the export front.  Apparently some distributors are advising wine makers not to translate their labels for the US market and they are not importing their best wines. For example, I tasted two relatively nice Pinot Noirs from a winery that exports, yet he only sends the cheaper, non-reserve to the US at the advice of his distributor.  I met several wine makers in the same boat.

The good news is that I believe there is an exciting movement among modern German wine makers who are more than willing to make their wines more accessible, by translating, simplifying, being environmentally responsible and making natural wine.

There are so many wine enthusiasts and wine drinkers in the US who would love to try foreign wines (e.g., Australia, South America, South Africa).  It’s true we are not getting the best of what those countries make (yet), but I can only imagine that the next export step will be higher-end wines.

In conclusion, a BIG thank you (Danke!) to the German Wine Institute for inviting me and being wonderful hosts.

Tags: germany, wine