Rheingau - the cradle of the Riesling grape

The Rheingau is one of Germany's most respected and recognized wine regions. Located on particularly steep slopes along the Rhine, well protected by the Taunus mountains.

The climate, combined with a soil consisting of slate and sand, provides optimal opportunities to produce an exorbitantly good Riesling. Riesling is produced in many varieties and with different sweetness.

As much as 84% ​​of the vineyards in the Rheingau are planted with the Riesling grape and 11% are planted with Pinot Noir. A grape that has gained more traction in recent years and the area today produces a fantastic Pinot Noir wine - or as it is called in German: Spätburgunder.

A variant of the well-known Riesling wine is the -formerly sweet - Spätlese, which actually came about by chance. Legend has it that the monks at Schloss Johannisberg were waiting for permission from the castle's owner to begin the year's harvest. This permission had to come with a rider from the bishop in Fulda. However, the rider was delayed for more than two weeks and in the meantime the monks could only see that the Riesling grapes were attacked by rot. What the monks did not know was that these fungi that attacked the Riesling grapes were botrytis fungi, which turn an acidic Riesling grape into a sweet grape if the conditions are right and the grapes are harvested late. So when the monks belatedly set about harvesting and making wine from the spotted grapes, the taste had developed into a more intense sugar concentration than had previously been seen (and tasted). With this, Spätlese (late vintage) was invented and over the years the late harvest method was developed.

At Schloss Johannisberg you can see a statue of the late horseman.

Today, Spätlese is produced more and more like a dry Riesling (trocken), where fermentation continues uninterrupted and the last residual sugar is fermented out of the wine.