The Egon Müller estate in Scharzhofberg. Bernard Massard
No, this is not about a sudden and dramatic market swing to riesling. It is closer to home than that.
I have, for at least the past 40 years, been a card-carrying member of the riesling lovers club. Confession: no such club exists but if it did, I would be a member.
The turning point came when a friend shared a precious bottle of Egon Müller Kabinett Riesling. What a magnificent wine!
My love affair began in the late-1970s with a two-month tour of the Mosel wine region. I visited many wineries and even managed to get a job as a grape-picker, which was a rude awakening (1977 was a challenging vintage). If you see a bottle of Schloss Schönborn 1977 Erbacher Marcobrunn Riesling Kabinett at your local auction house – don’t buy it.
The sweet spot for riesling lovers, I discovered, is Colmar in Alsace—close to the German border. I recall visiting a German winery and asking the winemaker what he thought of Alsace wineries. “Ach, zey ave no control over zer vinemaking,” he replied. The same day I visited an Alsace winery and asked the winemaker a similar question, this time aimed at German wineries. “Zer wines are made in chemist shops’,” he snorted.
Returning to New Zealand with rekindled passion I probably hit the high point. New Zealand was starting to make some seriously good riesling and it was possible to buy a good selection of wines from top
This Article was originally published on The Real Review
