Is Spatlese Riesling sweet?

Is Spatlese Riesling sweet?

Spätlese Spätlese means “late harvest” and grapes have a sweetness level of 76-90 Oechsle (172–209 g/L sugar). Spätlese wines are rich and usually sweeter than Kabinett, although if you see “Trocken” on the bottle you can assume it’s in a dry style with higher alcohol.

What kind of wine is Riesling Spatlese?

sweet white wine
Spatlese (meaning “late harvest”) is a sweet white wine style with about 172–209 grams of sugar per liter. Spatlese wines are made from fully ripe Riesling, Grauer Burgunder, or Weißer Burgunder grapes.

Which wine is sweeter Auslese or Spatlese?

Spatlese wines, richer and often sweeter than Kabinett, pair well with spicy and smoked fare, shellfish and poultry. Auslese refers to hand-picked grapes that are sweeter, with some botrytis cinerea, or “noble rot.” They go with tropical fruit, caramel, and, yes, blue cheese.

What is the driest Riesling?

In order from least to most ripe (and, consequently, usually driest to sweetest as well), the Prädikatswein categories are: kabinett, spätlese, auslese, beerenauslese (including eiswein) and trockenbeerenauslese (or TBA for short).

What is Spätlese Riesling?

Our subject this year is spätlese, perhaps the most appealing expression of German riesling, except for the others I’ve mentioned. The term spätlese (pronounced SHPATE-lay-zuh) refers to the degree of ripeness at which the grapes are harvested.

What is Spätlese in wine?

The term spätlese (pronounced SHPATE-lay-zuh) refers to the degree of ripeness at which the grapes are harvested. In the German system of ripeness classification, the grapes with the least amount of sugar are destined for kabinett wines.

What does “Spätlese halbtrocken” mean?

For that reason, German wine labels may offer an additional designation indicating that a spätlese is almost dry (spätlese halbtrocken) or that it is bone dry (spätlese trocken). To make matters even more complicated, some producers of dry riesling opt out of these ripeness designations and use a completely different nomenclature for their wines.

Why is Riesling so good?

Riesling has a naturally high acidity to it, which gives the wines a zesty liveliness that balances the sweetness, leaving the wine refreshing and invigorating. The best of these wines are not merely balanced but thrillingly so, like a teeter-totter on the point of a skyscraper.