The balance of the virtual wine tasting conducted by Snooth with the guest Matthew Kaner who was really into German wines.  Matthew is the wine director and partner in several wine bar in the Los Angeles area, and I imagine that it might be difficult trying to feature European wines in California.  We were half way though the event and we were having fun, especially after I had given myself a quick bit of research on the German wines.

The third wine of the evening was Weinreich Basisweiss Grauburgunder Trocken 2017.  Grauburgunder is the local name for Pinot Gris, which make sense if you break down the German name into two parts.  If you notice the first three wines all had the term trocken, which just means dry, as the wine has not been sweeten, which can be done.  This wine was another Qualitatswein and it is from the Rheinhessen.  The Rheinhessen starts where the Pfalz ends and between the two districts, it accounts for almost half of the vineyard acreage of Germany, mostly shipper’s blends as in Liebraumilch.  The winery is located in the village of Bechteim and they have fifteen hectares of vines.  I found the wine to have a soft straw color with a soft nose.  The wine as it warmed up a bit, it opened up with some layers of interest, with some good acidity and a nice long finish.  My Bride agreed with my observations, but she described the wine as crisp and refreshing.

The last wine of the evening was Weingut von Winning “Winnings” Riesling 2015 which was a Qualitatswein from the Rheinpfalz.  Weingut von Winning was established in 1849 and they are one of the founding members of the VDP (Verband Deutscher Pradikats -und Qualitatsweinguter or The Association of Germany Quality and Pradikat Wine Estates).  Weingut von Winning has sixty-four percent of their production in the Pfalz and sixty-six percent is in Riesling, so it is a grape that they know quite well.  As in the other wines of this tasting this wine was also a soft pale straw in color.  The nose on this wine showed a bit of the terroir or some influence as there was a trace of petrol, but not in a manner to turn away from.  I found this wine was very easy to drink with a nice finish that was enjoyable.  My Bride was just taken aback in a good way, as she is not partial to Michigan Riesling wines and she thoroughly enjoyed this wine.  She hadn’t expected such a big difference and she was quite happy.  There was some discussion that I found interesting that they felt that this wine could enjoy some extended time in the cellar, and I was of the opinion that only the Pradikat wines had long life.  All in all, we were very happy with the wines and the experience and we discovered an area that definitely enjoy some further exploration and I thank Snooth for the experience.