74 NOVEMBER 2019
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2017 DR. LOOSEN RED SLATE
RIESLING ($18)
The slate soils of the Mosel River
region fall into two types: blue
and red. “Riesling on blue slate
tends to be more green apple
and white peach; red slate is
more mineral-driven,” Ernst
Loosen says. This stony, orange-
zesty wine bears that out.
2018 NIK WEIS ST. URBANS-
HOF ESTATE RIESLING ($18)
The unstoppably energetic Nik
Weis makes excellent wines at
all price levels, but the quality
of his affordable bottlings is
so high, it’s hard to pass them
up. Witness this thrillingly brisk,
green-appley white.
2018 FRANZEN QUARZIT
SCHIEFER RIESLING ($20)
Kilian and Angelina Franzen
farm 5 hectares in the fear-
somely steep Bremmer Calmont
vineyard, producing intensely
focused Rieslings. This wine,
with its lime peel and dusty
mineral character, directly
expresses their elegant style.
2018 STEIN BLAUSCHIEFER
RIESLING TROCKEN ($22)
Blauschiefer literally translates
to “blue slate,” making this wine,
with its high-toned quince and
grapefruit notes, an excellent
counterpart for the Loosen wine
above.
2017 CARL LOEWEN ALTE
REBEN RIESLING ($23)
In German, alte reben means
“old vines,” in this case at least
50 years old, on some of the
steepest slopes in Germany.
The wine they produce is vividly
aromatic, with dry spice and
quince notes.
2016 SELBACH-OSTER
BÖMER RIESLING ($26)
Johannes Selbach is one of the
great names of Mosel Riesling,
and his family has been in the
wine trade for more than 400
years. This intensely dry bot-
tling, from behind the village of
Zeltingen, is savory and almost
oily in texture, a great main-
course white.
In Praise of Riesling Vivid, dry, and
intense, these German bottles are
perfect for Thanksgiving. By Ray Isle
RIESLING IS BOTH BLESSED and cursed. The blessing is that it is truly one
of the world’s greatest food wines—bright and zesty, able to pair with
almost anything. The curse is that everyone thinks it’s sweet.
People particularly think that about German Riesling, which would
come as a surprise to most Germans, who actually drink more dry
Riesling than sweet styles by a resounding margin. And when I was
traveling recently in Germany’s Mosel Valley, arguably its most famous
wine region (and certainly one of its most beautiful), I drank plenty of
dry Riesling: intense, vivid whites that seemed to distill the essence of
the cracked slate that carpets the region’s crazily steep vineyards.
And now that it’s November, I’m thinking, could there be a better
roast turkey wine (or mashed-potato-plus-stuffing-plus-green-beans-
plus-creamed-onions wine)? If your tastes run toward whites, I honestly
don’t think so. Riesling even goes with cranberry sauce, which lands on
your table with a contract out on most other wines. Here are 15 great
Mosel Rieslings, both dry versions and (lightly) sweet ones, too. Now,
bring on the bird.
DRY
Hate sweetness in your wines?
These six Rieslings are as dry
as they come.
WHAT TO DRINK NOW
