Are you tired of the same old same old when it comes to your summer wine choices? Time to try something new! Let’s discover 3 refreshing white wines from Germany and some fun facts you probably didn’t know!

First up: RIESLING
Riesling is a classic, but so so misunderstood. Did you know somms all over the world go crazy about German Rieslings? There’s so many reasons to love it! The most important thing you should know is that Riesling can be sweet, but also DRY! So many people think that Riesling is only sweet (which is also very delicious). If you like a dry style Riesling, look for the word Trocken on the label. This means dry. The Germans are very serious about their wine and give us tons of information of the label, but it definitely takes some schooling to understand it! Another term commonly used is labeling the level of ripeness of the grapes picked at harvest. The longer the grapes stay on the vines, the sweeter they get. Here are the terms in order from driest to sweetest:
-Kabinett
-Spätlese
-Auslese
-Beerenauslese
-Trockenbeerenauslese
-Eiswein
Keep in mind that the winemaker might ferment to different levels, so a Kabinett level Riesling grapes could still be vinified to a slightly sweet wine, and a Spätlese Riesling grapes could still be vinified to a fully dry Riesling (in that case, it would be labeled Spätlese Trocken). It can be know confusing if you don’t know the terms, right!? A lot of German producers are starting to indicate the style on labels in English or even put a sweetness scale on the label which makes it a lot easier for us! Another term that is super important to know is the GG (Grosses Gewächs). This essentially means Grand Cru. These grapes are coming from the best vineyard sites and undergo strict quality assessment.
When it comes to food pairing with Riesling it’s quite unique! Depending on the style you’re drinking, German Riesling can pair perfectly with a wide variety of cuisine, partly due to the iconic high acidity. I like to pair Riesling with Asian cuisine, spicy foods and sushi! Due to the generally lower alcohol on German Rieslings, it pairs perfectly with spicier foods. Alcohol tends to make spicy foods burn more!

I really enjoyed this “Bone Dry” Riesling which you can currently find on www.Wine.com for $24.99.
Von Buhl Bone Dry Riesling 2020, Pfalz
Use promo code GERMANY10 for 10% off your purchase of 6 bottles of German wine or more.
This Riesling is very refreshing with notes of lemon, lime zest, white peach, and white florals. It had high acidity-meaning it makes your mouth water a lot. Perfect for a hot summer day!
Second white wine from Germany to be sipping on this summer is:
PINOT BLANC
Pinot Blanc is such an underrated grape IMO! I don’t hear a lot of people talking about Pinot Blanc which is a shame! It just screams summer!!! This one is full of refreshing citrus and apple flavors. Balanced with a beautiful minerality and high acidity.
This wine pairs perfectly with all those summer cheeses like havarti, mozzarella, and feta. Can someone say Caprese salad!? Or watermelon and feta salad with PINOT BLANC!? Um yes please!
Fun fact: the Germans may call Pinot Blanc “Weissburgunder” so be on the look lookout for that! It’s just the German name for the grape. Another fun fact: Germany has the highest number of plantings of the grape in the world!

You can find this one on www.Wine.com for $24.99 as well.
Weingut Wagner Stempel Estate Pinot Blanc 2020, Rheinhessen
And the 3rd German White Wine you should know about is:
PINOT GRIS
Yes, Pinot Gris and Pinot Grigio are synonymous, but a German Pinot Gris and an Italian Pinot Grigio are quite different! This Pinot Gris is packed full of stone fruit flavors like peach and apricot with a ripe citrus like lemon curd. It also has beautiful floral aromas and refreshing minerality and acidity. I find German Pinot Gris to be much smoother than other regions’ as well. I’d pair this with a summer peach salsa, or some brie with apricot jam. It would also go great with seafood and pastas. I’m drooling!
Fun fact: the Germans refer to Pinot Gris as “Grauburgunder” or “Grauer Burgunder” so you might see that on the wine label.

You can find this delicious German Pinot Gris on www.Wine.com for $18.99.
Freiherr von Gleichenstein Hofgarten Grauer Burgunder Trocken 2016, Baden
Remember to use promo code GERMANY10 for 10% off your purchase of 6 bottles of German wine or more!
I hope you enjoyed diving into the key white wines of Germany with me! If you’d like to dive even deeper into the Wines of Germany, follow @germanwineusa on Instagram and be sure to follow me at @bythestem to learn all things wines, food pairings and wine travel!
Prost!
Love, Your personal sommelier, Casleah
I’m Here To Keep You In The Know About All Things Vino!
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