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EP 881 Dry German Riesling Tasting

Gary Vaynerchuk nerds it up with some very interesting and high end Rieslings from Germany.

Wines tasted in this episode:

2006 Heymann Lowenstein Schieferterrassen RieslingMosel Riesling
2009 Leitz Riesling Alte Reben Rudesheimer Berg KaisersteinfelsRheingau Riesling
2008 Keller Klaus Westhofen Kirchspiel Riesling Trocken GgMosel Riesling

Links mentioned in todays episode.


Latest Comment:

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Any Riesling fans, if they have not already, should go out and get and read “Reading Between the Wines,” by Terry Thiese. It’s a lovely book, and 3/4ths is spent in some way celebrating German Rieslings.

Great show! Happy New Year – 2011 !!

Tags: review, Riesling, white, wine, wines

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  • I know right, no laid back friday couch! I have a feeling this was not filmed on Friday 🙂

  • Anonymous

    No….. but even when he films the shows all on one day he should still do the Couch!!!!

    The Couch is in da house!!!!!!!

  • Anonymous

    Actually The G man is from Belarus….. it’s a Country between Poland & Russia. That’s why we…….the two G’s …….get along so well. I’m half Polish.

    I have to make it over to Austria…. I hear it’s very clean and very beautiful.

  • Yeah baby! 🙂 Btw. funny to hear the word “Riesling” from you as an american/russian guy 🙂

    Btw. you have another boy called “Nico” in Austria 😉

  • njc2o

    second!

    broke my streak ;[

  • Steve_r_vb

    sweet an old school episode.

  • castello

    top 5!

  • johnfarrin

    Right behind you Cas.

  • Randall

    Ohh… Myy… Gaawww… We’ve found the ONE European that doesn’t like “football”… 😀

  • Enjoyed the show. How about an Australian Riesling show? Some great wines in the Clare and Eden Valleys.

  • winecrazy

    Oh!!!! No couch!!!

  • Steve_r_vb

    pretty cool episode. i am still looking for a reisling to blow my socks off i may have to try the leitz it sounded pretty fantastic at a fairly reasonable price. still no iron sheik reference :(. still a pretty interesting episode.

    qotd: i think the us has a shot. but in all honesty probably argentina

  • jeffsjeff

    My favorite type of wine, my favorite type of show. Please stop with the guests, GV. If you're out of town or unable to sit down one-on-one, I'd almost rather nothing than the pat-on-the-back guest shows. It used to be a special treat where we'd learn something, now it's just a notification that you're traveling or otherwise too busy to tape a show (which is perfectly fine, but if you're too busy, you're too busy).

  • I haven't been around in a long time! Great way to come back.

    QOTD: World Cup winner? Eh, I think Germany or Brazil, anyone can win this thing I think.

  • njc2o

    QOTD: USA! USA! USA! USA!

  • Randall

    “I had to call in to work for a week…”
    HI-Freakin’-Larious!!
    😀

  • Randall

    Bbrrrr…

  • Solid episode. If I find it by the glass, I definitely will try the Leitz. Dang, too much money for me. A sugar daddy maybe in order :P.

    QOTD: Gotta go USA. Second choice. Chile.

  • nice one, back to basics, and some great wines , will try to find that Leitz

    QOTD: seeing today Portugal vs. Brazil it was interesting and both give us great game ,

    disgrace were Spain and Chile, and hope that today?s fraud will bite them in the ass latter

  • paryb

    Riesling nerding it up FTW!

    QOTD: USA USA USA!

  • QOTD: BRAZIL!!!!!!!

  • redrider21

    Great, Great show! Very informative. Love the nerdom.

    QOTD: Argentina, it's Messi's time to shine.

  • Just Jack

    Good old school show even though I'm not a huge Riesling fan unless they are bone dry

    Off topic but I'm just going to post over here from now on. I'm done with the Cindy stuff. They are too pissy and thin skinned over there (although there are some exceptions of course). Folks are much nicer here. There was a debate over there all day over a pricing issue and the way folks responded just took all the fun out of the whole Cindy wine buying experience for me. It just left a terrible taste in my mouth. Kind of like that Picpoul I had last week. To tell you the truth I kind of feel the way I did when I found out Santa wasn't real. I still remember it. I had to call in to work for a week I was so devastated.

    QOTD: I would have to turn in my passport if I don't get behind our boys.

  • QOTD: I think Brazil wins the world cup just because my first memories are of watching games at 3am with my dad when they won in the 90s. I don't have a German Riesling story except that I knew that they were dry and I impressed a girl in the wine section at the grocery store and got her phone number in the process! Gary, thank you for that.

  • Yes! Thanks Gary for doing this show! I'm Nico, the responsible guy for this stuff on the thunder show!
    The 2006 Heymann Löwenstein “Schieferterassen” is their basic wine, out of a solid but not great vintage. The 07 and 08 versions are much better.
    Leitz – no questions. Great wine!
    The 2008 Keller Kirchspiel GG (Großes Gewächs) needs at least 3-4 hours in the decanter to show its beauty! Decant it baby!

    @QOTD
    Germany!

  • oh, do some old wine shows too, man! Rieslings from the turn of the century or earlier would be a great treat. Missed Alsace. 94 p!! Can only get the 2008 of that wine in my country.
    The Keller sells for 56 , a bargain 🙂
    Let me on the show and I help you with the pronunciation 🙂
    Masterful, hmm I just had a CdP that was like that.
    QOTD: I don't like the soccer world cup, and even more when Argentina wins.

  • Thnx Baby!

  • hows the Keller Westhofen Morstein?

  • wineot

    Thanks for the German Show GV. You should probably do one once a month. Cheers!

  • Lurkerawake

    Love Riesling. Great to get a three bottle show with lots of wine talk. Leitz is a great producer. Have been tasting them for a bit now and giving them as gifts, I will have to get to the 09 here pretty soon.

    I wanted to throw a shout out to Upstate New York Riesling, while we are on the topic. Lots of great white wine coming from the area, very german-like growing weather = good dry riesling.

    QOTD: The Netherlands v. Brazil quarterfinal game will decide won wins the cup.

  • castello

    No real German Rieslings that I remember but when you said like the best water ever. That's what I remember back in the 70's about some of the Mondavi/Krug Rieslings/Sylvaner/Johanisberg types of wines. In for three.
    Go Ghana! Kidding.

  • NeilMc

    QOTD: Rooting for USA!!!!!!!!!!!!

  • QOTD: I want Germany to win, but it looks like Brazil is the team to beat, yet again.

    First Riesling experience was a 2007 Riesling/Gewurztraminer blend from the Pfalz winery, Reichsrat von Buhl. I got it for a farewell diner during my last few weeks in Germany, and I have yet to try a wine that tops it. I'm sure there's better, but it showed me that German wine is the real deal. The wine had all kinds of tasty fruit (my young palette said Apple), floral notes from the Gewurztraminer and a nice bit of acid.

  • WineWoman

    QOTD: U–S–A!!, U–S–A!!! You had a Leitz Riesling on a while back, but didn't get the play on words because you were saying Leets instead of Lights. The wine was called Leitz Out. Not much of a Riesling story, but the Josef Leitz selection sounds delicious, and I think I would rather buy that instead of the half-price Barolo on Cindy—quite a deal to pass up!!

  • RichieHell

    Yeah! We have not hade Rieslings in ages.
    QOTD: Can't say yet. Ask me again in a few days.
    I had the Leitz at a tasting a few days ago and loved it. I totally see what you mean Gary. Killer wine. I might get a bottle or two for a special occasion. But the best Riesling I have had latley was the 1990 Theo Loosen Riesling Auslese. Need I say more? Riesling Auslese from 1990 says it all I think.

  • castello

    Was that the Felines Jourdan Picpoul? I'm afraid to open it by myself. Should i wait and try it with a wine friend or suffer by myself.
    Don't leave Cindy. We need JJ to keep us inline over there.

  • jason carey

    That Keller needs a few years before you can evaluate .. methinks..
    Argentina will win.

    Not Riesling but Scheurebe 1989 Muller Cattoir changed my life.. Oh yes it did.

  • I AGREE!

  • I too would love to see an Australian Riesling show. Haven't tried a german Reisling but the Leitz definitely has my attention.

    QOTD: who cares about world cup when there's great wine to drink 🙂

  • SamKw

    I also happen to think that your tasting of the Keller perhaps did not do the wine justice. Remember, top-tier rieslings often take several years to round out. Think of it this way – you wouldn't take a barrel sample of a classified-growth Bordeaux and lambast it for not being very drinkable. Of course it wouldn't be, it's not ready.

    QOTD: My money is on Argentina. Really solid showing on all three matches played so far. Individual players in top form AND great teamwork.
    I wish South Korea would win, but that's not going to happen in a billion years (okay, maybe not a billion years but for years to come anyway).

  • Phaser

    Nice show,

    QOTD: lots of Rieslings made here in Michigan. They are very good and worth a look.

  • LurkerKing

    World Cup Winner: USA!

    Riesling… Meh

    -Captain Lurks-a-lot

  • LurkerKing

    Lurkers unite!

  • Nice show, you had me at “Riesling”. Have never had any wines from Leitz, but have had a lot of Riesling that Theirry Theise brings in, and they all have been pretty darn good.

    QOTD: Netherlands

  • JayZee13

    Nice show and it was “back to basics”. I really enjoyed it. That Leitz Reisling sounds fabulous. I may have to find some. BTW, since you mentioned the “Thunder Cruise”, is there going to be a wine cruise in 2011?

    QOTD: Brazil will win. My only German Riesling story is this.
    Several years ago I visited Bonn, Germany on a business trip. The gentleman who owned the little wine shop in my town, a suburb of Cleveland Ohio, said, “You have to go visit Dirk Richter. He's right in that area.” Dirk Richter is a Riesling producer in the Mosel at Wiengut Max Ferd. Richter. Anyway, when I e-mailed Dirk and asked about a visit, I was only available on the weekend. He replied that a visit would be fine, but that he would not be present because he was going to be… in Cleveland, OH! A bizarre coincindence and a bit of a problem as Dirk's assistant, who was a lovely woman, did not speak any English. No one in my group spoke much German. Still, we agreed that I could bring a group of 8 people for a tour and wine tasting that Saturday. We drove out to the winery and Dirk's assistant gave us a very nice tour, in German, that we understood very little of, although one of my British colleagues who came along attempted to translate and did a decent job. Then she took us up to a large room where we sat at a long T-shaped table and tasted about 15 different Rieslings. The vast majority were too sweet for my palate, but it was still a wonderful experience and Dirk Richter was a wonderful host, in absentia.

  • Just Jack

    Hey Castello, that is the stuff. I got three and drank one. Here is what I posted about it at the time:

    The nose is Welch's white grape juice all the way. A little hint of apple but not real generous on the sniffy sniff. Up front you get a little fruit but nothing to write home about. It completely falls apart on the mid palate. I mean there is nothing there. No fruit, no acid, no tannin structure. Just when you think the mid is heading nowhere fast, this huge wave of a kind of petrol, green vegetal thing just gobsmacks you. I wish I could describe it better but I can't really. The crazy thing is that it goes away as fast as it comes on. the finish is not real generous. Not terrible but just so so. The whole wine is consistent except for that single one or two second wave of whatever it is. It definitely expanded my palate (respect and thanks for that GV). That is a good thing. Trying to figure out if I want to have this again is a little tough though. I have 2 more so I am sure I will be dragging them out whenever a true geek comes over. I wish I could do a mass tasting with all the vayniacs right now. It is just so dam weird. I also can't rest until I find another Picpoul to compare it with. If this is the norm it would make Picpoul the easiest wine on the planet to ID double blind. It is that distinctive

    If your wine friend is someone “special” and you have hopes of dinner and a movie I would pazzz. If they are geeky and you want to share a unique flavor I would share it. Like I said originally, I would love to taste this with all you guys to get some feedback. Whatever you do drink it soon so you can let me know if I had a bad bottle or if you get the same thing at all.

  • Ne1ca8s

    Great pronunciations bro! They were spot on. You are getting really good at this. Ha ha.
    This is an example of a great show with tones of wine knowledge spilling out. Love this one.
    qotd: USA

  • mikeyworld

    On this side of the pond 7/10 is the 7th October, but I can't make the party anyway… so will be with you in spirit.. keep it up you omnipresent beast…

  • BaroloDude

    i think that LEITZ is pronounced “LIGHTS”…. with the E and I, or I and E, you pronounce the second vowel in long form in german. My name is that way. Now maybe LEEEETZ breaks the rules, and if so , nevermind.
    Sounds great though, gotta try some.

  • orangebottle

    Great show, I love how you break it down like this. You didn?t go with Keller Klaus although that has the profiles that you like. You tell it like it is. the wilderness of the wine world is pretty cool today.
    QOTD: i hope USA but i think Argentina is going to do it this time.
    Line of the day: was ? I was so competitive and I fight it off ' by Gary.

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