Why can't you buy German wine any more?

[rogerzilla]

I don't mean Blue Nun or Black Tower or generic "hock".  Most supermarkets used to sell a decent selection of QbA wines.  Too weak for a generation of grown-up lager louts?  No shelf space because of all the New World industrial stuff?

[duncan]

Wine consumption in Germany has been increasing and they are exporting far less, I think.

Cheers,

Duncan

[andyoxon]

Have you tried Waitrose..?
Dr Loosen Ürziger Würzgarten Riesling Kabinett 2009 Mosel-Saar-Ruwer, Germany  - Waitrose Wines

Not sure whether it's in store.

[Wowbagger]

We seemed to have no trouble buying German wine when we were cycling along the Mosel last summer. We normally chose Bitburger though.

[duncan]

We seemed to have no trouble buying German wine when we were cycling along the Mosel last summer. We normally chose Bitburger though.

I too have quite a bit of German wine which I bought in Germany. Maybe Roger should just cycle over there with a trailer.

Cheers,

Duncan

[Exit Stage Left]

Lidl do a good range of German wines, including reds.

[bobb]

Wine consumption in Germany has been increasing and they are exporting far less, I think.

It has in Australia too, but that doesn't stop them exporting gallons of the stuff to the UK.

It's another classic case (no pun intended) of supermarkets dictating what we consume. There is far less French wine in supermarkets than there was years ago too. They can buy in new world wines far cheaper, so the booze aisles are wall to wall new world wines these days.

[Eccentrica Gallumbits]

I've never found a German wine I liked. I can live without the French ones either, to be honest. Apart from champagne, I find most French wines very thin, especially the reds.

[Torslanda]

Is it because the cost of monoethylene glycol has soared beyond economic use?

[rogerzilla]

You're thinking of Austrian wine.

[Psychler]

I've never found a German wine I liked. I can live without the French ones either, to be honest. Apart from champagne, I find most French wines very thin, especially the reds.

To quote Les Dawson "it's a cross between Muscadet and Hock, it's called Muck"

[mattc]

Roger, Have you tried looking in Germany?


The newspaper "experts" quite often recommend certain german wines - not as often as the other regions, but they crop up every couple of months. They're usually not cheap'uns, so I haven't bothered seeking them out!

I mainly get my plonk in supermarkets, and find the New World stuff (mainly Chile!) much nicer than Europeans down at the £3-£5 end. But I know my palate is far from educated.

[border-rider]

I've never found a German wine I liked. I can live without the French ones either, to be honest. Apart from champagne, I find most French wines very thin, especially the reds.

There's a fantastic diversity of French red, from thin to so thick you could stun a moose at 100 paces.   

Only after going to Germany did I realise how damn good German wine is.  The stuff we got here (or at least the stuff I was fed) was always nasty, though these days I've tried some of the higher-end stuff from UK supermarkets and it's been v good.

[Tewdric]

Lidl is a good source of drinkable everyday german wine.  If you want nice, Majestic always have a few good ones to try.  For example:


   Majestic Wine

[cometworm]

Ocado have some - 11 in total, out of 893, so not a huge selection - ranging from the undrinkable (Liebfraumilch at 3.79 a bottle) to some very nice ones (some top class Rieslings from Mosel and Pfalz).

[Hot Flatus]

I find most French wines very thin, especially the reds.

Stop drinking Beaujolais and Burgundy then.  

(try Cotes du Rhone or Bordeaux)

[border-rider]

+1 for Rhone, or try a Languedoc/VDP D'Oc made by a modern winemaker

Good Bordeaux is ace, but usually at a price point beyond daily drinking for me.  The more sensibly-priced stuff is usually a bit shit.

Burgundy is thin, agreed, but it's meant to be and it works well slightly chilled.

[Hot Flatus]

Burgundy is thin, agreed, but it's meant to be and it works well slightly chilled.

IMO not worth drinking unless at least 6 years old... and then it becomes so expensive it isn't worth drinking 

Great wines coming out of pays d'Oc/Languedoc, in fact as far as I'm concerned some of the most interesting stuff.

For a decent good value Rhone, try Grignan-Les Adhémar.... Malvolio, you have had it, even if you don't think you have 

[border-rider]

I have a couple of bottles of the future Grignan-Les Adhémar in the wine rack.  It's a bit of a bargain at the moment cos of the name

Warms you nicely on a cold day.

[Simonb]

(try Cotes du Rhone or Bordeaux)

Or Cahors. Bit tannin-y though.

[pcolbeck]

Great wines coming out of pays d'Oc/Languedoc, in fact as far as I'm concerned some of the most interesting stuff.

I'm with you on this one. Saint Chinian is having some what of a purple patch after years of over production of duff cheap plonk. Some good Faugères too. Even the cheap stuff from Langadoc is pretty good these days certainly better than cheap Bordeux.

[vorsprung]

Naked Grape Riesling from Waitrose is nice and not expensive

The Naked Grape Riesling 2008/09 Pfalz, Germany - Waitrose Wines

[pcolbeck]

I was in Germany at a trade show (working) years ago with a college. Another chap from a different company attached himself to us when we went for a walk around the local town. My self and my college both like wine and went into a win merchants where the awfully helpful man spoke great English and helped us select a case of reasonable priced German wines each taking the time to explain where each came from and asking us what types of wine we liked. The guy who had attached himself to our little expedition then said stand back lads I'll show you how this is done whereupon he talked loudly and boorishly at the wine shop man telling him that he couldn't put once over on him like he had on us and then demanded that he only be shown wines with a "qualitischen wine" label on them as those where the only ones worth drinking. The guy in the shop kept his temper admirably and with barely a raised eyebrow sold the smug git six bottles of the equivalent of Blue Nun.

[Exit Stage Left]

The best German wines can't have sugar added to the must. These Prädikatsweine stand or fall by the quality of the grapes, so vintage is very important. Sugar can be added to lower grades of German wine in the process known as chaptalisation. The neighbouring French wine area of Alsace can have sugar added, so an Alsace Riesling stands a better chance of being drinkable in a bad year.
So you are paying a premium for the integrity of the German wine, which is justified by the care needed throughout the chain from grower to winemaker, which is something the average supermarket buyer neither knows nor cares about.

[Mr Larrington]

I find most French wines very thin, especially the reds.

Stop drinking Beaujolais and Burgundy then.  

(try Cotes du Rhone or Bordeaux)

Or this stuff: XV du Président 2008.

Iz nice.