German Wine and Food
Conventional wisdom says German wine doesn't go
with food. There is indeed a grain of truth in this, but one glance at the wide
spectrum of varieties, ripeness and dryness levels of these wines shows that it
cannot be the whole story. There is no argument about the fact that "serious"
dry reds or dry Grau- and Weissburgunders from Germany go well with food, just
like their counterparts from elsewhere. With Riesling, esp. in its sweeter
forms, the matter is more interesting, which is why I will concentrate on this
variety here. The crucial factors to be observed here are sweetness, acidity,
and overall intensity of the wine in question.
Wine without Food
Anyone who has ever organised a wine tasting will have
noticed that in such a context, where wine is drunk more or less on its own,
sweeter wines tend to steal the show, despite most peoples insistence that they
only like dry wines. When food comes into play the odds are reversed. The
sweeter styles of German wine thus tend to be most naturally enjoyed on their
own, with occasional exceptions. This may well be part of their unpopularity
with a wider public, who only know wine as a partner of food.
At the lower end, where residual sugar is relatively low, a Kabinett for
example makes a lovely aperitif, as well as great sipping through the evening,
and so does a mature Spätlese. Higher up, for BAs and the like, one might try to
match them with desserts, but this can be tricky. The balance of sweetness and
acidity of the wine is shifted by the counteracting sweetness and acidity of the
food, usually not for the better. Because of their high acidity, good German
dessert wines are less in need of food to refresh the palate, as it is often
appropriate for more cloying expressions of sweet wine. In particular with
increasing maturity, their intensity, complexity, and balance of such elexiers
makes them often stand most happily on their own.
Wine with Food
Dry(ish) German Riesling can be a wonderful food wine.
Their acidity makes them often quite severe on their own, but provides palate
cleansing refreshment when paired with food. Beware though that too high acidity
is also a danger factor when pairing Riesling with food: instead of just
cleansing the palate it can wipe out every other taste in sight. The range of
food German Rieslings can be served with is quite large, and the intensity of
flavor is a crucial factor here. Many dry Spät/Auslesen stand up to almost
anything, including many forms of red meat, game for example, and even sausages
with Sauerkraut, but they overpower more delicate dishes. A lighter Riesling,
balanced by a hint of residual sugar, may often be the better choice, in
particular when the dish has some (often unnoticed) natural sweetness of its
own. The Rheingau "Charta" organisation promotes halbtrocken Rieslings as
partners for food quite successfully. Hot food also tends to go better with low
alcohol wines that have some sweetness rather than fully fermented bone dry
versions. Off-dry fruity Rieslings are often excellent partners for moderately
hot & spicy cuisine from far eastern countries.
At the sweeter end, young Spät- and Auslesen may appear less overly sweet
with certain cakes, which can enhance the enjoyment. Fully mature wines with
residual sugar taste less sweet, and can partner mildly savoury foods, such as
patees, successfully. Cheese can also be a good match, even for very sweet
wines. Still, the finest Auslesen and above should not have to share the
limelight with anything else.
The space for experimentation is enormous, though I wouldn't recommend any
Rieslings to go with *very* hot curries (or any other wine for that matter) and
with various Mediterranean dishes or chocolate (stick to Banyuls, Madeira etc.).