My journey continues

[wondersofwine]

And I would say don't avoid German wines (if you like white wines at all.) They aren't that difficult. Riesling is the premier grape in Germany so go for Rieslings. The label starts with the village with an er on the end to make it an adjective, so a wine from Piesport is a Piesporter, a wine from Wehlen is a Wehlener, etc. Then you usually have the vineyard or broader growing are such as Piesporter Goldtropchen (which means Golden Drop) or Wehlener Sonnenuhr (Sundial--the vineyard has a famous sundial in its midst). The variety of grape will be named (Riesling, Scheurebe, Spatburgunder which is Pinot Noir grape) unlike on most French or Italian labels. The degree of sugar in the grape when harvested is indicated by the heading Kabinett, Spatlese, Auslese, Beerenauslese, Trockenbeerenauslese, going from minimal amounts of sugar to higher amounts. If the wine is vinified to consume the sugar in fermentation and leave a dry wine, it will probably say Trocken on the label (dry.) Sometimes it will say Halbtrocken (half dry or off dry.) Kabinett and Spatlese wines can often accompany a main course (fish, veal, chicken, etc.) At Auslese and above, the wines are more suitable as dessert wines or to be sipped on their own. The growing region also appears on the label--Mosel-Saar-Ruwer, Rheingau, Pfalz, Rheinhessen, Nahe, etc. My favorite wine region is the Mosel-Saar-Ruwer but I also appreciate certain wines from Rheingau, Rheinpfalz, Nahe and Rheinhessen.