Good German White Wine

stokegal

Hi Everyone

I'm looking to purchase a bottle of wine for my grandad, i've found out that he likes German white wine and was advised to get something like a Riesling.... Now that's about as far as my wine knowledge goes, can anyone suggest a good wine, I don't really know what kind of budget I have because i don't know how much a good bottle of wine costs. I want to make it something special as he has been through a lot this year, btw - I'm giving him a cheese cheese board with this wine - I'm sure that the 2 wines don't go but if anyone has any suggestions about how to get the 2 to work together it would be greatly appriciated.

Thanks
Stokegal

IHateDida

I'm a fan of German wines too - my friends think I'm mad as they see them as the cheaper wines! But hey! But you will find it difficult to get an expensive German wine - people just wouldn't pay for it - even though personally, I don't know what the problem with German wine is.

I personally love Black Tower - its not special - but it is very easy to drink. This stuff is nice - http://www.tesco.com/wine/product/details/default.aspx?searchBox=black+tower&id=260064819 - I have a case of this in my garage at the moment - in fact my Sunday Times Wine Club friend was actually amazed when she had some! This is nice too http://www.tesco.com/wine/product/details/default.aspx?searchBox=black+tower&id=255243120 and perhaps you could get him a case instead of just a bottle at that price?

jonnylinacre

You'll be fine with the Riesling, just make sure it's chilled.......

jenie_2

Piesporter is my favourite german wine, very nice.

davetrousers

A riesling doesn't have to be German.

A good quality riesling can be a delight to drink, a cheap carp one not so. A Gewurtztraminer might be an idea too.

(Reisling is pronounced Reezling not Ryesling))

Also German wines are generally made to just be drunk and not necessarily matched with food. You may therefore struggle to match a suitable (sweet) wine with a cheeseboard.

Bongedone

ASDA have the Black Tower on 3 for £10 offer at the moment. Saw it yesterday. It may have been ros!.

pesky2

Hock is a good one and Piesporter Michelsburg although not had them for a while now moved onto Chardonnays and Sancerre

DCFC79

Hock is just vinegar in my opinion, you can get some good german wines, theres black tower, and theres more but cant think of them at the minute

davetrousers

Ok am I to understand that some people think that Black Tower is a good wine?

paulwf

The reason that many people like German wine is that it is fairly sweet...a Hock is usually 3+ out of 10 on the scale the supermarkets use compared to say an Australian chardonnay which will be 2/10. They are also relatively low in alcohol...many German wines are 8-11% alcohol whereas these days many other wines are getting ridiculously strong at the 14+% mark.

Being slightly sweeter than normal and not overpowering makes them very drinkable to some people...personally I'm not a big fan of this style

At the M&S I work at the Hock, Riesling and Piesporter are all big sellers and all fairly cheap. They do sell some expensive German wines even over £16 a bottle on the website...to me that's missing the point though, people drink them because they're cheap drinkable wines and don't want too much complexity, IMHO you'd be better off buying half a dozen bottles rather than a couple of really expensive bottles of German wine.

If it is a special present I'd avoid Black Tower...probably nothing wrong with it but it is the generic party bottle like Blue Nun and Mateus rose. I don't mean that to come across as snobby...it's just that wine as a gift carries an image beyond the actual taste.

jaredashe

Agreed, if you're buying a bottle for a special present then don't buy Black Tower. Fine for dumping on a table at a party maybe...

A german reisling would be a good bet - try to avoid anything too sweet (no Hock, no Blue Nun). Maybe I'd suggest around £10 should get you a very decent bottle - in reality it depends what the person you're buying for likes. If they drink hock then buy them that (or cut out their tongues)!