David M. Bueker wrote:Lars Carlberg wrote:I think it's good that some growers, especially on the Mosel, are confident enough to avoid putting "dry" on the label, even if the wine is dry. It makes people taste first, before dismissing a wine.
Lars,
that may work for people such as you or perhaps me who buy lots and lots of the wines, and so purchasing "test" bottles to see what a wine is like works fine. For the general consumer, who buys a few bottles of Mosel Riesling (or any Riesling for that matter - they make some good Riesling in other parts of Germany, or so I am told by knowledgable tasters), the more information the better. Asking them to buy test bottles where a producer could easily give them information about which ones to buy to suit their perferences, especially for a niche category (and yes, dry German Riesling is a niche category outside of Germany) is frankly not a smart marketing strategy, no matter how you might feel about it. Of course German Riesling labeling has never, ever been accused of good marketing, so I suppose it's not really surprising that people are still confused about what's actually in the bottle.
David -- Agreed. It's a mess and unfortunate, but more and more producers are doing their own thing and sometimes, but not always, for good reasons. I've raised the same points with numerous producers. If you don't know their wines, it creates problems, especially in export markets. Some producers are frustrated with the old Prädikat system and are trying to find ways to better market their wines. The 1971 Wine Law is outdated and was generally wrongheaded to begin with, but certain interest groups, such as large-scale bottlers, like it this way. That's why the VDP has been making their own changes, which is influencing non-members as well. To complicate matters even more, the EU has new wine-labeling laws. It presents an opportunity for further change, if the bulk bottlers and lesser producers go along with it. As for what's in the bottle, your average person has no clue, regardless if it's Immich-Batterieberg C.A.I. Riesling "Kabinett" or Willi Schaefer Graacher Domprobst Riesling Kabinett.