I Love German Wine and Food - A Nahe Riesling Kabinett

If you are looking for fine German wine and food, you should consider the Nahe region of southwestern Germany. You may even find a bargain, and I hope that you'll have fun on this fact-filled wine education tour in which we review a local Riesling Kabinett, a wine made from grapes that haven't fully ripened.

The Nahe wine region is a relatively small area that runs along the Nahe River, a tributary of the famous Rhine River. This region, a neighbor of many other German wine regions, lies at the other end of Germany from the capital of Berlin. Nahe ranks seventh in total wine production and vineyard acreage among the thirteen German wine regions. While about 90% of its production is white wine, its red wine production is on the upswing. Its three most important white grapes are Riesling, Mueller-Thurgau, and Silvaner. A mere 2% of Nahe wine is the bottom of the line Landwein. Some three quarters of the local wine is medium quality QbA wine, wine that permits chaptalization, which is adding sugar to the fermenting mix. The remainder is higher quality QmP wine which interdicts this somewhat controversial process.

Bingen is a city of some twenty five thousand people in the Rhine castle country. It developed largely because the local Nahe-Rhine river intersection was unnavigable. It was also the crossroads of Roman trade routes. Bingen has been and still is a commercial wine center. If you are in the neighborhood check out the annual Winzerfest in late August and early September. Other attractions include the Basilika St. Martin built at the end of the Eighth Century replacing a Roman temple and the Rochuskapelle (St. Roch chapel). You may want to stay at the luxurious Johann Lafer's Stromburg hotel and eat at its restaurants, one of which has a wine list featuring some 200 Nahe wines. To get there you drive through the beautiful Binger Wald (Bingen Forest).

Before reviewing the Nahe wine and imported cheeses that we were lucky enough to purchase at a local wine store and a local Italian food store, here are a few suggestions of what to eat with indigenous wines when touring this beautiful region. Start with Ochsenschwanzsuppe (Ox-Tail Soup). For your second course enjoy Spansau (Roast Suckling Pig), an autumn dish. As a dessert indulge yourself with Frittierter Vanille-Pudding mit Nougat und Mangosauce (Fried Vanilla Pudding with Nougat and Mango Sauce).

OUR WINE REVIEW POLICY All wines that we taste and review are purchased at the full retail price.

Wine Reviewed

Prinz Salm Schloss Wallhausen Riesling Kabinett 2006 9.5% alcohol about $18.50

Let's start by quoting the marketing materials. Here is an excellent opportunity to discover the Rieslings of Nahe. The first mention of this acclaimed winery was in the year 1200! It has remained in the Salm family's hands to this day, making it the oldest, continuously family-owned estate in Germany. The estate produces vibrant Rieslings with lovely aromas of lime, tangerine, and mineral tones. Terrific with pan-seared scallops.

My first pairing was with breaded turkey cutlets, brown rice, and Turkish salad. The wine was lightly sweet, pleasantly acidic, and quite round. This was one fine wine. Frankly, I was tempted to finish the bottle then and there. I didn't mind the sugar at all, even though the food did not call for sweet wine. With slightly sweet, homemade plain cookies the wine became more acidic and lost its sweetness.

The next meal consisted of fried chicken liver with green beans. The Riesling was applely and very pleasant. It was lightly acidic but a bit short.

The final meal was a store-bought barbecued chicken breast, potato salad, and Caponata, an Italian eggplant dish including tomatoes, onions, celery, and green olives. This wine was light and in fact feathery, delicate, and subtle. Personally, I am happy to drink a low-alcohol wine. It became more acidic when paired with the acidic Caponata. It became somewhat sweeter when facing the potato salad.

The first cheese pairing was with an Italian Mozzarella di Bufala, a Mozzarella made from the milk of Water Buffalo. This cheese brought out the wine's sweetness and feathery quality. This was a rare wine and cheese pairing that I actually liked. The second pairing was with a French Morbier that was starting to smell. The cheese had an aftertaste but the wine remained fine.

Final verdict. This is my second Riesling from the relatively unknown Nahe wine region and the second winner. I'll be looking for more.