11-07-2025
How German wines shook off their 1970s stigma – and the best ones to try
If you ask the wine trade what they drink that no one else does, they always bang on about the same two 'good value' things: dry sherry and riesling, especially German riesling. It's been like this for decades. Roughly every five years a comeback or 'revolution' is declared for one or other drink (sometimes both) but very little happens.
I can see why dry sherry, with its intense and particular flavours, might be an acquired taste. German riesling, however, fits perfectly with all the current drinking trends: lower alcohol (tick), lighter non-oaky wines (tick), citrussy aperitif styles (tick), and a touch of sweetness (many who think they don't like sweetness actually do; sugar is often hidden, so that's another tick).
Then there is the way we eat. I'm old enough to remember the 1970s and 80s when German wine was really popular in the UK, and meals often included pastry and mince, suet and stews, and Anglo-style spaghetti bolognese, all of which welcomed a slightly rough country French or Eastern European red to wash it down.
Now we are more Ottolenghi than Atora, and a more plant-based dinner rota might include poke bowls, chilli noodles or Middle Eastern mezze. Much of this matches well with the freshness of German wines, especially considering that off-dry wines complement fruity salads, sweet dressings or the heat of chilli.
Unfortunately, we also carry an ancestral memory of the German wine exported in the 70s and 80s, much of which consisted of medium-sweet wines produced in high volumes rather than to high quality standards, often made from uninspiring, damp- and cold-resistant workhorse varieties such as müller-thurgau.
Times have changed. Germany, like many other wine-producing regions, has benefited from improvements in winery technology. It has also shifted its focus away from fruity, sweet liebfraumilch blends to concentrate more on its beautiful, expressive pinot noir (spätburgunder) and pure riesling.
Germany is the world's third largest producer of pinot noir, after France and the US, and its fine-boned spätburgunder now has an ardent following among fine wine lovers willing to splash out £50 a bottle. There are some decent supermarket entry-level versions, too.
Riesling has always had an appreciative audience, just, in my view, not a big enough one. Now should be its moment.
Take Blueprint Dry German Riesling 2024, Nahe, Germany (11%, Waitrose, £7.50). This is a light, bright white with pinpricks of effervescence that drinks a bit like vinho verde, but with a sour lime and mineral twist. It isn't bone dry, but at 7.8g per litre of residual sugar, I'd call it off-dry, with a sweetness level that sits comfortably in the mid-range of the vinho verde scale. Vinho verde is hugely popular and prices have risen accordingly, so the smart money would go for this instead.
Blueprint Dry German Riesling 2024, £7.50, Waitrose
Then there are the slightly sweeter rieslings, with notes of nectarine cut through by vibrant lime juice and lime blossom. These wines are as exhilarating as they are hedonistic, with the lightness of a spritz and the succulence of stone fruit. I made Madhur Jaffrey's murgh boti – chicken kebabs – to go with an Ernst Loosen riesling, which turned out to be an excellent match. Loosen supplies most of the supermarkets and his wines are reliably pristine and good value.
As ever, if you'd like to branch out further, the indies are ready for you, and German specialist The WineBarn offers taster cases if you're not sure where to start.
German wines to try
