Hey riesling drinkers, what's with all the sulfur?

K

Kay Bixler

Kay Bixler
Lately I've been trying to drink dry riesling, some domestic, Donnhoff, Grunhaus, etc. and I can not get past the sulfur. The wines burn my nostrils and throat and end up going into the saucepan.

Is there riesling out there that is not loaded with sulfite or do you just have to wait a decade for the wine to digest it?
 
originally posted by Kay Bixler:
Hey riesling drinkers, what's with all the sulfur?Lately I've been trying to drink dry riesling, some domestic, Donnhoff, Grunhaus, etc. and I can not get past the sulfur. The wines burn my nostrils and throat and end up going into the saucepan.

Is there riesling out there that is not loaded with sulfite or do you just have to wait a decade for the wine to digest it?
Click to expand...
where you have you been the last 30 years?

Seems like you're going the Mad Wine route: http://madwine.blogspot.com/
 
Kay, try Karl Josef Christoffel.
No, I am not serious.

I am afflicted with the same problem. I have been told sulfur levels have not changed much in recent years (since this started bothering me), so I wonder if our disorderly low sulfur diet may have something to do with our tolerance levels.
 
originally posted by .sasha:
Kay, try Karl Josef Christoffel.
No, I am not serious.

I am afflicted with the same problem. I have been told sulfur levels have not changed much in recent years (since this started bothering me), so I wonder if our disorderly low sulfur diet may have something to do with our tolerance levels.
Click to expand...
Desensitized? Probably part of a Feiring plot to monopolize German wines.
 
in the dry world, you might want to try Austria; not that there aren't Germans like Lauer that might work for you. But, Prager, Nik, FXP, Nigl and Hirtzburger, among others, aren't sulfur heavy, at least to my experience.
 
Yep.
Everybody loved a Riesling we had a week ago (Grunhaus, I think) but the firecracker notes killed me. I'm told it got better.
I don't care.
Best, Jim
 
I dig sulfur. I have a little canister so that I can shake a little more into wines whose winemakers care less about them than most riesling producers. Just so I can let the wines know they're cared about, that they have value.

Sulfur = love.
 
originally posted by .sasha:
Kay, try Karl Josef Christoffel.
No, I am not serious.

I am afflicted with the same problem. I have been told sulfur levels have not changed much in recent years (since this started bothering me), so I wonder if our disorderly low sulfur diet may have something to do with our tolerance levels.
Click to expand...

Is that what it is? I used to drink Christoffel and love it, now I make a Dressner face after just one sniff. And then I read reviews, by guys who seem to otherwise know what their talking about, espousing the beautiful fruity aromas and flavors and I'm totally perplexed as all I get is a searing burn of sulfite.

Sulfur = hate.
 
originally posted by Kay Bixler:
Hey riesling drinkers, what's with all the sulfur?Lately I've been trying to drink dry riesling, some domestic, Donnhoff, Grunhaus, etc. and I can not get past the sulfur. The wines burn my nostrils and throat and end up going into the saucepan.

Is there riesling out there that is not loaded with sulfite or do you just have to wait a decade for the wine to digest it?
Click to expand...

I am slightly surprised that you say this in the context of dry Rieslings. Most of these are far less sulfured than the sweater wines. Maybe Doennhoff and Gruenhaus have a bit a heavier hand since they make lots/mostly sweeter variations of Riesling and thus are used to higher doses.

I do not remember a single dry Riesling (which is the single kind of wine I drink by far most often) with anything like even a hint of what you get when opening a bottle of JJ Pruem.

So try others!
 
This is an excellent point. For example, I was not bothered by sulfur in anything from the old MWM portfolio tasting about a year ago.

And then there are all these wonderful dry rieslings that gg and fb can tell you all about.
 
originally posted by Kay Bixler:
Okay, I'll look to Austria and Clemens Busch, Lauer for riesling inspiration.

Thanks.
Click to expand...

I would not start with Busch necessarily, these are quite strange Rieslings, though they are of high quality. Austria is a good idea and from Germany I would more likely think of Rheinhessen and the Pfalz than of the Mosel, if dry Riesling is the interest.
 
Oh, I'm definitely starting with Busch then. Anybody letting the wines go through malolactic? I want to taste those especially.
 
originally posted by georg lauer:
originally posted by Kay Bixler:
Okay, I'll look to Austria and Clemens Busch, Lauer for riesling inspiration.

Thanks.
Click to expand...

I would not start with Busch necessarily, these are quite strange Rieslings, though they are of high quality. Austria is a good idea and from Germany I would more likely think of Rheinhessen and the Pfalz than of the Mosel, if dry Riesling is the interest.
Click to expand...

Knowing Kay, 2010 Vom Roten Schiefer from CB is a perfect place to start.

I am quite thankful for this departure from the dry riesling styles you find from traditional German producers, from the likes of Keller, or most Austrian things for that matter.
 
originally posted by Kay Bixler:
Oh, I'm definitely starting with Busch then. Anybody letting the wines go through malolactic? I want to taste those especially.
Click to expand...

Hah, then this is the winery you need. Not sure he does BSA, but certainly the style is in that direction. Other producers of interest might be Heymann-Loewenstein and Van Volxem, both of which have some (majority?) wines undergoing malolactic. Another producer you might really find interesting is Kuehn from the Rheingau (who also makes one Riesling in amphora...).
 
I am quite thankful for this departure from the dry riesling styles you find from traditional German producers, from the likes of Keller, or most Austrian things for that matter.
Click to expand...

I like them too even though at this moment they fit my drinking mood still less often than the more prevalent style (not sure which style is truly the traditional...)
 
Something remarkable happened with 2010 CB GG Fahrlay.

Winegirl had a full glass. That's a full glass of riesling.

The empty bottle is currently on display in three museums in NYC. No one is sure which one is the original.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top