Final tasting notes on German wines in Horseheads

German wines were a big hit at GCP Discount Liquors in Horseheads last week.

More than 50 wines from 21 German wineries were poured for visitors throughout the afternoon on Friday. It was a great opportunity to sample several styles of German Rieslings as we met with men and women representing their family's wineries.

Andrea Freifrau Langwerth von Simmern told us about her two children, ages 5ì and 3ì, as she poured her wine samples. She said that she has told them that they too will someday be making trips abroad to sell the family's wine.

The von Simmern wines are produced from grapes grown in the Rheingau region of Germany. The Langwerth von Simmern 2002 Riesling tasted very similar to many Rieslings produced in the Finger Lakes. It had the expected grapefruit taste as well as apricot and peach flavors that are also present in many locally produced wines. It finished with a refreshingly clean taste.

Descriptive German words such as "kabinett," "spaetlese" and "auslese" began to appear as we worked our way down the tasting list. These terms describe the sugar level at the time of harvest for each wine. The wines must meet certain standards to qualify for the rating name on the bottle. A spaetlese wine has more sugar at harvest than a kabinett. An auslese rated wine has even more sugar than a spaetlese wine at the time of harvest.

The word spaetlese in German means late harvest. The grapes are left on the vine after they are ripe to increase the sugar and fruit content of the grapes. Although spaetlese wines have higher sugar levels at harvest, the intense acidity in many of the wines cuts the sweetness that one would expect to taste. The acid and fruit flavors balance well with the higher sugar level.

The Langwerth von Simmern Hattenheimer Wisselbrunnen Riesling Spaetlese provided a fine example of the balance between acid and fruit. It is also important to note that it is possible for a spaetlese wine to be as dry or drier than a kabinett wine. Extending the fermentation process converts more of the sugar to alcohol, resulting in a wine with a higher alcohol level with less residual sugar.

Winemaker Gunter Thies shared a different wine from the Franken region of Germany. His Schloss Hallburg 2002 Silvaner Kabinett had many of the mineral and stony characteristics one might find in a dry German Riesling.

Gunter said that many of those flavors could be attributed to the chalk and minerals found in the soil from that part of the country.

When I asked how he could afford to be away during harvest time, he said that he has a good team. Harvest is usually later in the year, so this trip originally was not expected to be a conflict. Because of the extremely hot and dry summer, the harvest is actually a couple of weeks earlier in Germany this fall.

"I am in contact every day," added Gunter, describing how he checks on the progress of this year's harvest.

Several of the representatives noted that much of their sales are directed abroad. Don't be surprised if you begin to see more good quality German wines in the United States.

Jeff Richards' wine column appears Saturdays. For comments or questions, he can be reached at 607/271-8279 or 800/836-8970, ext. 279, or e-mail: thewineguy