German Wines
Most German wines exported to the United States are made from Riesling, which can produce wines ranging from completely dry to tooth-achingly sweet. Other grape varieties consumers might encounter include Gewürztraminer, Scheurebe, Sylvaner, and the three Pinots: Pinot Blanc (Weissburgunder), Pinot Gris (Grauburgunder) and Pinot Noir (Spätburgunder). Our guide to German wine labels will help you understand these sometimes confusing entities.
Wine Enthusiast’s German wine reviews can steer you to the styles you prefer, from any of the 13 German wine regions, including Mosel-Saar-Ruwer, Rheingau and Pfalz, among others. Search our German wine guide — a comprehensive database of more than 2,000 German wine ratings — for more details on individual wines.
Ayinger Celebrator Doppelbock
- $3
Celebrator is an iconic doppelbock, regularly earning awards and accolades from competitions and journalists. It pours a dark mahogany color with flecks of rich amber when held up to the light. The bouquet immediately entices with seductive notes of toffee, caramel, toasted cinnamon-raisin bread, dried plum and fig, all laced with threads of molasses and sweet…
— L.B.
(6/1/2012)
Killepitsch
- $25
The special-edition bottle is modern and trippy, purple with pink lettering and a cartoony Keith Haring-esque design. But the recipe for this traditional herbal liqueur dates back to the mid 1800s—“a taste of old Dusseldorf.” Old or new, it’s complex and delicious, with a Cognac-like dried-fruit and spice base—raisins, dates, cherries, figs, cinnamon, sarsaparilla…
— K.N.
(10/1/2012)
Von Othegraven 1999 Kanzemer Altenberg Auslese Riesling (Mosel-Saar-Ruwer)
- Cellar Selection
- $50
The juice here comes from old vines from the steepest portion of the Altenberg slope. Still quite young, showing a hint of diesel with some botrytis as well. Clean, slatey, unbelievably intense bouquet with dense floral, citrus rind, and mineral scents. The fruit is ripe, full, perfectly harmonious and long. It finishes with just a kiss of honey. Delicious right…
— W.E.
(8/1/2001)
A. Christmann 1999 Ruppertsberger Reiterpfad Auslese Riesling (Pfalz)
- Editors' Choice
- $50
This spectacular boutique estate swings for the fences with this unctuous, botrytised, intensely concentrated auslese. Exceptionally clean, with brilliantly vivid tropical fruit, it’s perfectly balanced—powerful yet still elegant. Young and rich, it shows layers of concentrated, ripe fruit that lead to a tightly focused finish. Grab it up while you can.
— P.G.
(12/31/2001)
Dr. Pauly Bergweiler 2001 Urziger Wurzgarten Trockenbeerenauslese Riesling (Mosel-Saar-Ruwer)
- Cellar Selection
- $265
The color of polished brass, this extraordinary dessert wine boasts delicate floral scents layered over intense aromas of dried apricots and orange-blossom honey. It’s immensely sweet and viscous, yet balanced, thanks to a lime edge to the flavors of honey and apricots. The finish lingers, coating the mouth in a web of complex flavors. Cellar Selection. —J.C.
— J.C.
(3/1/2003)
Dr. Loosen 2001 Erdener Treppchen Eiswein Riesling (Mosel-Saar-Ruwer)
- $200
Dr. Loosen is one of the great estates of Germany, able to produce wonderfully expressive wines. Here is a hugely sweet wine, delicate and fresh, with flavors of maple syrup and mangoes. Enormously complex wine in flavor, but there is nothing—a mere 6.5%—in alcohol. —R.V.
— R.V.
(3/1/2003)
Dr. Pauly Bergweiler 2001 Graacher Himmelreich Eiswein Riesling (Mosel-Saar-Ruwer)
- $100
Acidity combined with sweetness dominate this wine, whose freshness contrasts nicely with its intense sweetness and overwhelming acidity. It should age indefinitely. —R.V.
— R.V.
(3/1/2003)
Hans Lang 2001 Hattenheimer Wisselbrunnen Beerenauslese Riesling (Rheingau)
- Online Exclusive
The 45-acre Hans Lang estate is run by Johann Maximilian Lang from the winery in Hattenheim. With this Beerenauslese, he has been able to extract all the best elements of botrytis. It is beautifully intense, full of ripe, sweet fruit, with tangible flavors of raisins and honey. The palate is silky smooth, voluptuous, opulent. There is enormous intensity.
— R.V.
(1/1/2004)
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