German Scheurebe and Grauer Burgunder Offer Tasty Options For Food And Wine Pairings

Snowstorm or sunshine, German wines are fantastic choices for any time of year. Here we test-drive two unique bottles.

Amateur Chef On The Loose

Most of the delicious food featured in this blog is prepared by my wife, aka Green Dragon. When she is in town, my daughter, a vegan baker and chef, will also cook up a storm.

Every so often, though, I will rattle a few pots and pans. I’ve been a cook in three different restaurants, so I’m not entirely without skills. My wife might disagree.

When she was out of town for a couple of days, I decided to surprise her with a gourmet treat prepared by yours truly. It was designed to go with a delicious German wine.

A Pair Of Exotic Grapes

We were able to sample two cool German white wines. The first, destined to be paired with my culinary masterpiece, was the 2012 Weingut Weegmϋller Haardter Herrenletten Grauer Burgunder Spätlese Trocken Alte Reben, Pfalz. Phew, that’s a long name. The short story is that this is German Pinot Gris. Throughout most of Germany it is called Grauburgunder, but in Pfalz it is known by the slightly different name Grauer Burgunder.

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The other wine was what I originally thought was a Riesling. It was in a Riesling style bottle, it said Kabinett on the label. Not looking too closely at the label, I thought I was pouring one or our favorite grapes – Riesling. I was delightfully surprised that it was Scheurebe (shoy-ray-beh). The wine was a 2015 Geil Bechtheimer Scheurebe Kabinett, Rheinhessen. More on that in a bit – I’m sure you want to read about my cooking first!

My Culinary Masterpiece – Pork Loin Perfection

To go with the Grauer Burgunder, I prepared Slow-Roasted Honey and Parmesan Pork Loin, Bacon and Cheddar Potatoes and a Corn, Black Bean and Pepper Medley. The entree was the difficult part, but once the prep was done, most of the rest of the work was done by the crock pot. Over a six hour period, the giant slab of meat cooked down to a tasty, browned roast of delectableness with a fantastic glaze. From the juice I whipped up a tasty sauce to go atop the meat.

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After slaving over a hot stove (something my wife reminded me she did most days of the week!) we were ready for the feast and a glass or three of Grauer Burgunder! The Weegmϋller had a great depth of flavors as well as a touch of fruitiness for which Pinot Gris is known. The glaze on the roast was slightly sweet and so there was a nice interaction with the pork and wine.

The Grauer Burgunder had herbal notes – something I hadn’t experienced before in a Pinot Gris – and delicious minerality. This is a wine that would pair well with almost any seafood, too.

Scheurebe: A New One On Us

I’m an unofficial member of the Wine Century Club – I say unofficial, because no one from that organization has responded to my dozens of emailed applications. At any rate, to become a member, you have to taste at least 100 different grapes.

I’ve done that and then some. Never have I encountered Scheurebe – but I’m sure glad I did.
Scheurebe is grown in all wine regions, but has some importance in Rheinhessen, where the Geil bottle is from. It was thought to be a cross between Riesling and Silvaner. Later the Silvaner connection was disproved, so Scheurebe is a cross between Riesling and an unknown variety.

For this pairing, I hung up my apron and let my daughter Rachel (of Earth N Oven) work her magic. Rachel, a vegan baker and chef, prepared homemade pot pies – vegan for her, and chicken for Green Dragon and me.

The Scheurebe worked wonderfully with the meal, with enough acidity to cut through the creamy innards of the pot pie and a satisfying touch of sweetness. The flavor notes include honeysuckle and citrus. A cream-based soup or a spicy dish would pair nicely with Scheurebe, a grape that we’ll be on the look-out for in the future.

German whites, like the Grauer Burgunder and Scheurebe featured here, are versatile food wines. No matter if you are being hit with a March Nor’easter or luxuriating in Spring sunshine, there is a Germanic wine to pair perfectly with your cuisine. 

Full disclosure: These wines were received as a marketing sample.

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Wines of Germany Offer Decades Of Satisfaction

Decades ago Green Dragon and I took the first steps in our wine odyssey. It started with German wine. Years later, a pair of wines from Deutschland deliver that “lovin’ feeling” once again.

That First Sweet Sip

Many calendar pages ago, I was a crusading newspaper editor and reporter in West Virginia. I wanted to impress my beautiful date by taking her to a classy event – a wine tasting.

That young lady was the Green Dragon, my future wife. To say that we were wine newbies would be an overstatement. This one evening would be the beginning of a lifelong love affair – that includes my wife too.

We attended a wine tasting hosted by Les Amis du Vin – the friends of wine – held at the Paramount Arts Center in Ashland, Kentucky. A wine distributor was there and with a wide array of German wines. He also handed out a booklet, “A Short Guide to German Wines.” As I was going through some old boxes last week, I found the booklet after many years – like a miner finding a large gold nugget.Those wines and that booklet made us lovers of German wines to this day.

Our palate wasn’t well developed, but we knew what we liked – sweet white German wine! We started there and the little booklet, featuring a cartoonish character in lederhosen, gave us excellent information on how to enjoy the wine and the different quality levels.

Evolution Of German Wines

Germany is consistently among the top 10 wine exporters in the world. Globally, tastes change – just like our palate gravitated to drier wine. Winemaking in Germany has evolved too – today about two-thirds of the country’s wine production is dry.

Although Germany produces many wines, it’s reputation is built upon world-class Riesling. These wines are complex with the ability to age – a rarity among white wines.

I’ve gained an even greater enthusiasm for German wine (if that’s possible) with my recent discovery of VDP wines. This is the designation for the Association of German Pradikat Wine Estates (for which the German acronym is VDP). The group, founded in 1910, is an organization of Germany’s leading wine estates. In 2002 they announced the first classification system for vineyards, modeled after Burgundy. We recently tasted two VDP Rieslings: 2015 von Winning Ruppertsberger Reiterpfad Riesling Trocken, Pfalz, and 2014 St. Urbans-Hof Nik Weis Riesling Kabinett, Ockfener Bockstein, Mosel.

A Satisfying Pair

Mosel is the most famous German wine region, known for its high acid Riesling. The St. Urbans-Hof winery uses traditional methods that have been customary in the Mosel and Saar valleys since Roman times. This includes the “heart-binding” trellis system whereby the canes of the vine are tied into heart shapes.

This Kabinett is golden in the glass. On the palate the wine has a rich texture, thicker than most still wines. The flavor notes are all citrus with lemon at the forefront. This is a sweet wine. A good way to get an indication of the sweetness of Riesling is to look at the percentage of alcohol. The lower the alcohol, the sweeter it is because the winemaking process basically converts sugar to alcohol. This is a satisfying bottle that retails for $22.

The Von Winning Trocken (dry) Riesling is from Ruppertsberg, which is known for producing some of the finest Riesling in Pfalz. We were fans of this winery based on their “Winnings” Riesling, an exceptional value we tried last year.

While the Bockstein is all citrus, the Ruppertsberg Trocken is all about tropical fruit. The lower residual sugar and precisely balanced acidity makes this a standout wine. It is a rich and opulent wine with flavor threads of honeysuckle and pineapple. We enjoyed this with some bratwurst during a cookout. The Von Winning paired outrageously well with the sunny afternoon, brats, music and dancing on our patio! It retails for $35.

German Riesling is one of the world’s best wines. Grab a glass. Like us, you may find a new passion that will last decades.

Full disclosure: These wines were received as a marketing sample.

Von Winning 2014 “Winnings” Riesling, Pfalz

Von Winning Winery was founded in 1849. Today they produce some of the best dry wines in Germany.

A Chance Purchase

Green Dragon and I recently popped into Zinful, in their new “tasting boutique” location on Louisiana Avenue in downtown Perrysburg. We chatted with owner Joyce Franzblau and I wanted to pick up a bottle as a sign of support.

Normally I spend much time perusing labels, comparing shelves and contemplating before buying a bottle. Since we were on a tight schedule, I paid for what looked like a promising Riesling and we were on our way.

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Winning Roots in Pfalz

Pfalz, formerly known as Rheinpfalz, accounts for about 25% of Germany’s wine production and trails only Rheinhessen in production. Von Winning uses sustainable practices in the vineyard and a minimalist approach in the cellar – using natural fermentation, omitting fining agents and minimizing the handling of wine, often without filtration.

Von Winning also has the goods to create world-class wines. Vineyards in are located in Ruppertsberg, Deidesheim, and Forst, some of the prized sites in Pfalz.

They sum up their philosophy as “respect for the wine” from the flowering fo the fruit to the finished bottle. Von Winning has not created new winemaking methods, but rather resurrected traditions that serve them very well today.

As Charlie Sheen Would Say, “Winning!”

When Charlie Sheen ran off the rails a couple years ago he said he was “addicted to winning” in addition to a grab bag of crazed jargon. This wine, however, makes me think he might have been on to something.

We opened the Von Winning “Winnings” with no great expectations. A wrinkle brow of disbelief hit me with the first sip. This is really good Riesling.

For about $16, I was expecting a simple, slightly sweet German Riesling. What I got was a beautifully balanced wine that danced between crisp acidity and elegant citrus flavors. A pop of sweetness then resolves into a nice dry finish.

I was surprised to find such great quality at this price. How do I describe the feeling? Take it from Charlie: It rhymes with “winning!”

Rating: 3.5 of 5  Value: 5 of 5