German wines well worth another taste

People still look at me kind of funny when I try to explain to them that the Germans make some great dry whites. They are still remembering the days of cheap, fruity liebfraumilch like Blue Nun (which I still do not think is all that bad) and The Black Cat. Every great wine country makes wonderful light crisp white wines: Bordeaux, Loire, northern Italy, western Spain etc., but nobody makes rich fruity sweet wines like Germany.

One hurdle to enjoying these lush beauties is comprehending the labels, so here are a few quick pointers. The German wine label has the most information of any in Europe, the trick is putting it all together. First off, German wines are not categorized by its place of origin. Whereas in France wines are named after chateaus or vineyards, in Germany the ripeness level determines the quality. This can be challenging in a country so far north that it often suffers from rains around harvest. However, the last five vintages have consecutively been wonderful.

The lightest German wine is Kabinett and then Sp