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My patron saint is called Peter, so he is the disciple who denied his Lord even before the cock crowed three times. Does the biblical tradition rub off on me whenever and wherever I deny Germany's number one white wine, the Riesling, as if the rooster were constantly crowing? My German wine friends are convinced that I am not wandering through the wine world as Peter, but rather as Paul, or even better, as Saul, and that I should therefore be converted at some point. No opportunity to do so remains unused.

The wine region of Germany% that probably every Swiss knows: the Moselle.

But the conversion has not yet taken place. Until today, I have always denied my secret love for Riesling. This is not so much due to Riesling as to my socialisation. In Switzerland, Riesling is also called Dorin, Fendant or Perlan, depending on which canton it comes from. Even dry Rieslings with a residual sugar content of less than 8 per mille are still too sweet for me. What should I do? I don't want to lose my German wine friends. Converting them to "Chasselas" or even "Räuschling" is far more difficult than getting me closer to Riesling. Behind their attitude is a huge portion of conviction and an almost unimaginable steadfastness. Has the German Wine Institute now succeeded in breaking my intransigence? In any case, I think I can already hear a warning voice: "...why, why are you persecuting me?"

One of the many attempts at conversion. Here by Marcus Hofschuster% the chief taster of. Wein-Plus

No, Ruler Riesling, it is not a persecution. Rather a very slightly different sense of taste. Perhaps just resistance to an attitude that makes German Riesling the king of all white wines. It may be that it is the greatest, most beautiful, best and strongest. Or as the advertising puts it: "Playful and light on the Moselle, mineral-elegant on the Rhine, hearty and juicy in the Palatinate, fine and fragrant in Baden and Württemberg." What a lot I've missed so far! My friends have taken me to Riesling in the Rheingau, Franconia, the Moselle, the Palatinate and Württemberg. So far (almost) without success. Now it's off - probably the all-important attack - to Rheinhessen. Well prepared and documented by the German Wine Institute, which has opened an office in Zurich and is now also trying to convince me of German wine: "Switzerland is a growing market for German wines." It is above all Rieslings and Pinot Noirs that should delight the Swiss.

Two of my wine friends are doing some persuasive work for Riesling at the Hensel winery in Bad Dürkheim (Pfalz).

The addressees of this attack are "not only wine professionals but also private wine lovers". So also me! Perhaps the desired "conversion" does not work through the palate, but through knowledge, facts and figures. So now I know that Germany, with an area of around 21,000 hectares, is the largest Riesling-growing region in the world, that more than 60 percent of all Rieslings are German. In other words, Riesling is truly German. Whether this increases my desire for Riesling, I don't know. I only know that I now understand my German wine friends better. They have been wine-socialised with Riesling, just as I was with "Chasselas". However - and this gives me pause for thought - the enthusiasm for white wine in Germany is declining from year to year. Whereas 16 years ago, 58 percent of wine consumption was still white wine, red wine has long since overtaken white wine with 53 percent (white wine 38%). However, Riesling is defending itself heroically (at least in terms of vineyard area), having increased continuously since 1980, while Müller-Thurgau has fallen from 26.2 to 13.5 per cent and Silvaner from 10.2 per cent to almost half (5.2 %) during this time.

Another persuasion. This time at the Schnaitmann winery in Fellbach (Württemberg).

Well, Germans are not really wine drinkers - in case of doubt, they prefer beer. Statistically, "only" about 20 litres of wine are drunk per capita per year in Germany, while in Switzerland it is almost 40 litres, and in France and Luxembourg well over 50 litres. All these figures are interesting, even exciting, but can they initiate my conversion to Riesling, does the desire shift from the brain to the palate?

Now a next desperate attempt has been launched: A tasting by the "German Wine Institute", disguised as a "press talk" is supposed to finally bring about the long overdue seduction, cleverly arranged as a "dream pairing of Riesling and Pinot". Pinot Noir! Yes, we German-speaking Swiss also have something to say about that, but not about Riesling. But how do you pull off a "conversion ritual"? So now I know: first a Spätlese, dry, "Alde Gott Winzer", 2007, from the "wine and flower village" of Sasbachwalden in the Black Forest. A cooperative wine, then, with a good name. A flowery affair, fresh, racy, uncomplicated and everything you would say of a "simple" Riesling. At least, that's how I registered it in my "conversion notes". But then it became far more sophisticated. Again Riesling Spätlese, dry, "vom Buntsandstein", Weingut Ökonomierat Rebholz from the Palatinate. Now my notes are already becoming more confusing, difficult to decipher. Yellow fruit, or is it just the colour that reminds me? Citrus fruits. Drier than I imagine Riesling to be. I also think I recognise wood, a bit cool, for me - the Rieslingignorant - even a bit "frosty", woody. The understanding comes gradually, but the love does not.

Keller family in Flörsheim-Dalsheim (Rheinhessen)

Third attempt: Riesling Großes Gewächs, "Westhofen Kirchspiel", 2006, Keller Winery from Rheinhessen. The notes become sparser. A sign that I am not only analysing but beginning to enjoy? This citrus scent, juicy, succulent, and a finish like a slow train that just won't disappear on the horizon. I think: we must visit Keller when we go to the wine region of Rheinhessen in a few days. But we still have - after the reds - a Riesling to go: Auslese, "Saarburger Rausch Nr. 3", Weingut Forstmeister Geltz-Zilliken, Saar. So an old wine, for a Riesling - according to my modest criteria - a very old one. But I am willing to be taught a lesson. Even Rieslings - if they are noble sweet - can mature and after 15 years they are probably a little quieter, more reserved than impetuous youngsters, but - says my palate - far more complex. Half with astonishment, half with horror, I realise that I have become involved with German Riesling after all. And - that it doesn't hurt so much, whether dry or sweet, old or young. But I have not (yet) been converted and so I am still "waiting in vain for divine inspiration.

Cordially

Yours/Yours

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