A little while ago, one of us here at drinkingjapan.org had the good fortune of visiting Schloss Johannisberg, which is indisputably Germany’s most famous winery. Before we get into the sensory evaluation of the wonderful Riesling purchased therefrom, we would like to consider stumbling. That’s right, stumbling. Generally, this is a negative occurrence, especially when it is the physical manifestation of tripping and flipflopping that often results in injury. But there are times when the outcome of, say, stumbling across something is far from negative. Take Emil Frey, 19th century cheesemaker working in the United States, who was told by his boss to make an American version of Limburger. He did not quite succeed in doing that, but his approximation, called Liederkranz, appealed to many a cheese lover. Frey went on to concoct Velveeta, but we won’t hold that against him. Well, what does this have to do with Schloss Johannisberg? “Legend has it that Schloss Johannisberg played an important role in the discovery of botrytized wines. Grapes affected by noble rot were allegedly first harvested at Johannisberg unwittingly….”1
SJ’s Riesling: This pale-yellow, delicate blossom of a wine has a nose redolent of muscat. Peach and citrus (specifically, grapefruit) come shinning through on the palate. Sweetness and acidity are nicely balanced, and the ABV is a relatively low 11.5%. Is this a wine for a night during the dog days of summer? You bet it is!
1Robinson, J. ed., The Oxford Companion to Wine, Fourth Edition (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2015).
Drinking Japan 