Not long ago…

I used to associate Riesling with peach tea. Lipton, to be more precise. Ultra-fragrant, kinda sweet, and heavy. What definitely didn’t help was that I don’t like peaches at all… one more reason to shove it to the very bottom of my preference list. That was until I started choosing more carefully, doing my homework, and realizing I’d judged it too soon and totally wrong. One of the most versatile and resilient grape varieties, Riesling “was born” in chilly Germany, its first documented mention is from 1453 in the Rhine region, in a small town in the Rheingau area called Rüsselsheim.Germany still holds the crown, producing over 45% of the world’s Riesling, but you’ll find the grape, most often as a single-varietal wine, in France (Alsace, to be exact), Austria (especially the Wachau region), and also in the US (Washington state) and Australia (in the two famous valleys, Eden and Clare).

We’ll get into how crucial the terrain is for Riesling, but in short:

Super versatile in terms of the huge range of styles it can be made in, from sparkling to dry, off-dry, semi-sweet, and sweet.
Even though it’s rarely aged in oak, it has fantastic aging potential thanks to its high acidity (from the cooler temps), sugar levels, and the way it can pick up complex notes of ginger, honeycomb, beeswax, and that famous petrol or kerosene aroma (sounds weird, I know… but that’s how you’ll spot some of the best examples).
Versatile again because it pairs easily with tons of dishes (from white meats, salads, and soft cheeses to Asian cuisine and foie gras), and expressive because it perfectly captures and conveys the characteristics of where it grows (aka the terroir).

• Soil: most common is slate-clay (known for trapping and holding daytime heat, helping the vine survive when temps drop at night), which gives delicate, almost smoky mineral notes, but you’ll also find volcanic soils, loess, and limestone.
• Acidity: high because of the cooler climate, but this is a grape that loves the cold.
  On one hand, you get delicate green fruit and citrus notes the cooler it is, and on the other, intense peach and tropical fruit aromas the warmer it gets* (of course, winemaking techniques play a role too).

What fascinated me about wine-growing Germany was the dramatic positioning of the vines.
To maximize sun exposure, they’re planted on super-steep slopes, usually facing south and often right along rivers (for the mirror effect).
The higher up they are, the deeper the roots go, pulling in all the slate’s characteristics complex wines with prices to match .
If the terrain demands it, vines are planted vertically instead of horizontally, again for maximum light and sun exposure (VSP – Vertical Shoot Positioning).
What I found really interesting is how different the vine training itself is in Germany compared to warmer countries (like Spain or France)… the trunk is taller and the canopy is directed upward… to catch… you know what .

Conclusion: it all revolves around the “sun” … you’re probably realizing now just how crucial warmth is in cloudy, rainy, chilly Germany, especially since even the German wine classification system centers on ripeness or the “sweetness” in the wine, meaning sugar levels and maturity, namely:

• Kabinett – made from fully ripe grapes and can come in various styles, from dry to sweet, but generally, when you see “Kabinett” on the label, it usually means a sweet wine.
• Spätlese – literally “late harvest,” with higher sugar than Kabinett. You’ll find dry, off-dry, and sweet versions here too, with more concentrated, intense aromas.
• Auslese – Selectively harvested, very ripe grapes, often affected by noble rot. Usually off-dry or sweet wines with complex, super-concentrated aromas (botrytis – more details here “They Call It “Noble Rot” )
• Beerenauslese – We’re talking extremely ripe berries, most often botrytis-affected, hand-selected to make the most premium dessert wines (very high sugar with aging potential).
• Trockenbeerenauslese – The pride of German sweet wines in terms of aromas, sugar, and body. Made exclusively from hand-picked berries shriveled by botrytis right on the vine, with a price that reflects its rarity. Note: “trocken” here means dry (as in shriveled berries), not the wine style.
• Eiswein – Icewine, or in Romanian “vin de gheață,” is basically a Beerenauslese + ice. A dessert wine from naturally frozen, shriveled grapes harvested and pressed while still frozen. Usually no botrytis here, but the flavors from the frozen water in the grapes are truly special, super-pure fruit notes with crisp acidity.

In short, what to remember when buying or drinking a German Riesling:

• Trocken = dry.
• Halbtrocken = off-dry (sugar under 10 grams/liter), an official and precise legal term.
• Feinherb = also off-dry, but in the “elegance” version. It’s an unofficial term, not quite “slang” yet, but it refers to more refined, elegant, higher-quality wines that basically fall in the same sugar range; mostly used in Mosel and Rheingau.
• Liebling = semi-sweet, in translation and adaptation. It’s one of the 4 official “sweetness” categories and means a wine with moderate sweetness.
• Süss = sweet. Here we’re talking full-on sugar, meaning over 45 grams/liter.

All that, plus an exceptional Riesling I tried in school (WSET 2), convinced me to visit one of Germany’s oldest estates: Maximin Grünhaus.
Located in one of Germany’s 13 wine regions (Anbaugebiete), Mosel – Maximin Grünhaus has been making wine since Roman times… from 966 AD to be exact and it’s one of the oldest vineyards (Weingut or Weinkeller in German) in the WORLD (goosebumps, I swear…).

The estate has a rich, downright royal history, and as you can imagine, it all starts with a monastic order,the Benedictine Order of St. Maximin, originally established in the city of Trier (which also happens to be Germany’s oldest city ). They received the current property, located in the village of Mertesdorf, as a donation from the Frankish king Dagobert .We know that during the Middle Ages, monastic orders played a crucial role in developing and preserving viticultural techniques and expertise, and this is exactly the case here: the Maximin order’s connection to the vineyard that bears its name lasted a full 1000 years, right up until Napoleon’s era, when in 1811 the property was sold at auction for 84,700 francs (a fortune back then).

Since 1882 and up to the present day, the estate has stayed “in the family”, specifically under the continuous ownership of the von Schubert family, who not only preserved the monks’ winemaking traditions but also poured massive investments into technology, turning it into one of the most modern and innovative wineries around. After a nearly 5-hour drive from Hanover and with a tasting reservation made 4 days in advance (a heads-up for fellow enthusiasts ), I arrived in one of the most dramatic landscapes I’ve ever seen: as far as the eye can reach, thousands of steep vineyards stretching endlessly across the hills of the Ruwer Valley (a tributary of the Mosel River), and right nearby, a winding road leading up to the abbey. The estate is absolutely stunning, idyllic, picture-perfect views from every possible angle. Check out the flood of photos below.

But by far, I was blown away by the aroma differences across the 7 Rieslings I tasted—different vintages, made in various styles (oaked and unoaked), sparkling, dry, and off-dry, all sourced from the estate’s three distinct parcels:

• Herrenberg (the largest, 19 ha), which stands out with intense mineral notes, fuller, more robust aromas.
• Abtsberg (14 ha), lending the wines a sleek, elegant character, delicate citrus and herbal notes (especially sage), but it’s also the steepest slop, so it demands its dues, meaning maintenance and harvest are incredibly labor-intensive.
• Bruderberg (the smallest plot, just 1 ha, tucked at the base of the slope in a shadier spot, producing wines with more pronounced floral and intense notes).

Other interesting observations:

• “Curse and blessing” all at once: I’ve repeatedly mentioned “chilly Germany” because it’s one of the northernmost wine-producing countries, right on the edge of the “wine belt” between 49° and 51° North latitude.
• Bringing up global warming again, it’s already making an impact in Germany, and we’re seeing many estates starting to plant more red varieties (e.g., Pinot Noir is taking over).
• The vast majority of German vineyards are on extremely steep slopes (reasons detailed above) with inclines of 60–70%, which means a ton of manual labor.
• There’s a saying: “Anyone can make wine in warm regions, but not everyone can make wine in harsh, cool climates.” That’s why German oenologists are now lending their expertise to countries outside the northern belt (e.g., Poland, Denmark).
• In the Mosel, it’s common for rows of vines to belong to multiple owners—not entire parcels or plots like usual. Why? The Napoleonic Wars caused hyper-fragmentation of vineyards, leading to lots of heirs fighting over… sun, terroir, etc.
• This fragmentation goes further with the “Einzellage” (single-vineyard) system: one vertical row can belong to one owner, the next to another. So a vineyard might literally own just a few rows of a plot.
• We’re familiar with France’s “Grand Cru” designation, especially in Bordeaux and Burgundy, but Germany has a similar terroir-based system:
• Grosse Lage (equivalent to a Grand Cru vineyard) – the highest classification, referring to premium plots in the best locations: south-facing, sun-drenched, near rivers, usually producing exceptional wines with unique character and high aging potential.
• Grosses Gewächs (GG) – dry wines from selected parcels that go through a rigorous quality assurance process and require multiple approvals.

If in Mosel my perception of Riesling was starting to shift, in Rheingau I officially “converted” .
A bit late, I’ll admit, considering I lived in Frankfurt for 3 years and never once thought to explore places like Rheingau, Pfalz, Rheinhessen, etc . But hey, it’s never too late, right? Just 25 minutes west of Frankfurt, one of Germany’s 13 wine regions starts showing off its treasures: Rheingau (roughly “Rhine district”, the “gau” suffix giving away its old ties to the Frankish Empire). We pull up the map again to get a clearer picture of the topography, because here too, the terrain leaves a serious mark on the wines. This is where the Rhine takes a sharp turn, probably blocked by the “Taunus mountain”* and switches its course from east to west.

(*I call it a mountain, though it’s not really a mountain in the true sense. I remember my colleagues telling me how they’d go “hiking” in the Taunus, but when I finally saw it, I was shocked, and kinda disappointed, to find just a little hill (I’m used to the Carpathians, after all). But hey, don’t judge a book by its cover, Taunus may be small, but it holds some serious treasures inside… you’ll see )

The road into the heart of Rheingau (I decide to spend a night in Rüdesheim) is absolutely stunning—it tempts any driver to pull over at least once just to marvel at how beautifully the Rhine sculpts the landscape.
Like in Mosel, you’ve got steep hills packed with vines lined up almost militarily, spectacular islands and alluvial formations… pure magic, I tell you .

Basically, between Wiesbaden and Rüdesheim you’ll find 90% of Rheingau’s vines, a tiny area of about 3,000 ha (to give you an idea, that’s roughly the same size as the entire Jidvei estate, Romania ).
Rheingau accounts for just 3% of Germany’s total wine production, but those few percent deliver some of the purest, highest-quality Rieslings in the country… or even the world (the main reason I’d been looking for any excuse to “detour” here ).

TERRAIN & SOIL

Back to the map: we’re right on the 50° N parallel, smack in the “wine belt.”

All of this turns Rheingau wines into true gems, unbelievably complex, with an aging potential of over 15 years (white wines aren’t exactly famous for maturing… but Rheingau casually shatters that preconception).

ONCE UPON A TIME…

No surprise, it all goes back to the Romans, who spotted the potential after conquering the Rhine territories (I mentioned their legacy in the Mosel article too).
They brought “Vitis vinifera” from the empire’s capital, along with grape-growing know-how, and strategically planted vineyards near Roman fortresses.

Fast-forward through centuries of history after the fall of the Roman Empire: the vines stayed, passed into the hands of monastic orders (some even French in origin ), who not only tended them year after year but also started experimenting with varieties and winemaking techniques.The result? Refined, characterful wines that perfectly express the region’s terroir. And YES… this is where Riesling was actually born .

VARIETIES

Riesling still rules, covering over 80% of Rheingau’s vineyards, with the rest being Pinot Noir (Spätburgunder) and a few more demanding local varieties.

Despite its serious pedigree, Riesling only appears in records in 1453, mentioned in Rüsselsheim (a small town also in Rheingau), and it’s the result of a cross between two varieties: Traminer (an ancient, well-known grape) and Weisser Heunisch (widely planted in the Middle Ages but very rare today).Rheingau Riesling characteristics are almost… intimidating at first glance. They’re described as austere and robust, powerful and intensely mineral thanks to the terroir.More reasons to dig into the region’s most celebrated estates, and I found:

• Schloss Johannisberg – officially the world’s first 100% Riesling estate (1720), and also one of the oldest vineyards… first documented in 817 AD. Checked off my list , but sadly only seen from the outside, on that day they were hosting a festival and I couldn’t get in at that hour. Still, the estate is stunning and worth at least a visit.

• Schloss Vollrads – another medieval castle with over 800 years of winemaking history, owned for centuries by the von Greiffenclau family, then (fun fact) taken over in 1997 by a bank?!
  They boast creating the German classification system and, of course, producing the very first Kabinett wine in 1716. I learned the 80 ha are planted exclusively with Riesling, and the massive estate includes a restaurant, wine bar, and terrace.
  I really wanted to tour the cellar and do a tasting, but no one replied to my emails.
  Once I got there, I realized walk-in tastings were possible at the wineshop, but sadly it was too late, as I was already driving back home.

• Georg Breuer – To be honest, this was my first stop and the very first winery I reached out to after listening to the “Wine for Normal People” podcast, specifically the Rheingau episode where host Elizabeth Schneider invited Theresa Breuer to talk about Rheingau Riesling… and more. I was instantly charmed by Theresa’s passion, how she explained the terrain’s impact on the wines, how she started her career at just 21, and her take on both the region’s past and future.

I’d booked a Friday 5 p.m. tasting at their wineshop in Rüdesheim (cellar tours are apparently only for groups of 5+), plus a 7 p.m. dinner at the winery restaurant. They even recommended the estate hotel in the email (Ruedesheimer Schloss), which looked decent at first glance, but it was fully booked, so I found something nearby instead. For the tasting, I headed to the wineshop at Grabenstraße 8, 65385 Rüdesheim am Rhein—impossible to miss. They have a spacious tasting room, shop, and best of all, parking (don’t be like me and park two streets away).

The lady who greeted me—Katharina, if I remember right—was super friendly and incredibly knowledgeable about all things Rheingau. She offered me a 7-wine tasting package, all Rieslings, of course .

We started with the entry-level range, Sauvage 2024. I’ve told you before about wineries’ “starter” lines: light, no-frills wines designed to please the masses. I didn’t have high expectations, but I was seriously impressed by the citrus freshness, obvious minerality, and clarity… plus it was perfect for the scorching heat outside. So I left with 3 bottles .

We continue…

With a 2023 Riesling that’s a total departure, floral and perfumed with golden apple notes. It’s all thanks to 2023 being a scorcher in Rheingau compared to the super-cool 2024. I have to stress: this was a different Riesling. The aromas were perfumed, sure, but so delicate, elegant, and subtle compared to what I’ve tasted in other regions or even in Mosel. We swing back to 2024 with an “Estate” Riesling (or Village Riesling) that won me over instantly. Turns out it comes from a flat parcel, not on a steep slope, facing south and soaking up tons of sun. Again, super elegant and balanced, with rounder, gentler notes and aging potential up to 6 years.
I also try a dry Lorch. It’s a vineyard with wild terroir: insanely steep slopes dominated by quartz and slate. Katharina tells me the vines’ roots go down as deep as 20 meters here, and honestly, I taste exactly that in the glass: complex minerality, grapefruit, nectarine, plus subtle smoky and wet-stone (think damp cement) vibes. The 2023 (warmer year) and 2024 are equally mineral, but 2024 leans more into green apple, lemon, and a hint of petrol. And because we save the best for last, I discover Terra Montosa, Breuer’s Grand Cru equivalent. Three Rieslings from 2020: Patientia with fine buttery aromas, another 2020 Berg Roseneck that I declare the most suave, delicate, and feminine Riesling of the bunch, and a “warm” 2023 in the glass, dominated by metallic aromas, yet still very elegant.I leave deeply impressed by the quality of the wines, the design of the wineshop, and the hosts’ knowledge. I invite you to discover more on their site (https://georg-breuer.com) or in the Wine for Normal People podcast, where Theresa shares the story of Rheingau Riesling.

ACCOMMODATION

I mentioned earlier that I couldn’t book the Breuer family’s hotel, so I picked something close to the winery and within budget (I’d set a limit of 100€ per night). I went with Weinhotel des Riesling Zum Grünen Kranz: a single room for one night, no parking, no breakfast, 84€.

The photos below speak for themselves. To my disappointment, I don’t think I’ve ever had such a “student dorm” vibe in Germany before, especially at that price.

I’ll zoom in on the little town itself, Rüdesheim, which is absolutely worth it from every angle. It’s tiny but super charming, with postcard-perfect scenery and vines literally spilling into the streets. It’s fully geared up for visitors, packed with restaurants, bars, and wine-focused activities. It gave me one of the coolest wine experiences yet: a cable-car ride right through the vineyards .

That evening, I was determined to hike up one of the hills in town, hoping to catch a sunset through the vines.
I made it just in time (note: days are pretty long in Germany in June, and I was there a week after the summer solstice) to soak in a soft, glowing light show and snap some of the most stunning, watercolor-like scenes. That is, until I spotted two little wild boars casually munching at the edge of a vineyard. Suddenly it hit me: wait, aren’t wild boars kind of dangerous? So I hightailed it back to the “dorm” like a kid caught sneaking out.

Final notes:

• Tastings are offered in English too, but German is the main language.
  Winery staff reply quickly to emails and calls, but you still need to book ahead (watch out for weekends and public holidays).
• Costs are reasonable (0–30€, depending on the event and winery).
• Transport to and between wineries isn’t provided, so make sure you either stay nearby, have a designated driver, or make good use of the spittoon (Germany’s blood-alcohol limit is the same as France’s: 0.5 g/L).
• You’ll find plenty of wine hotels in the Rheingau area worth checking out, plus loads of other sights and activities beyond just wine.

Other interesting notes:

• You’ll still need a car to reach the vineyards, so plan carefully: how, when, where, who’s driving, etc. (It’s 10 km between Georg Breuer and Johannisberg, so unless you’re up for a serious hike, better take the car)
• There are tons of wine-themed events, especially in summer and fall. Check ahead, because many wineries open their doors and you get to taste some gems
• The area is super touristy, prices skyrocket if you leave bookings to the last minute
• Book tastings in advance by email or phone