Rheingau

Johannisberg to Oestrich-Winkel: the middle Rheingau, ripe, polished Riesling.

The central villages around Schloss Johannisberg, Winkel and Oestrich give generous, polished Riesling in both dry and off-dry styles. A good first stop for classic Rheingau, and for estates that also pour a feinherb.

The central villages around Schloss Johannisberg, Winkel and Oestrich give generous, polished Riesling in both dry and off-dry styles. A good first stop for classic Rheingau, and for estates that also pour a feinherb.

Riesling: three vines in four; peach, citrus, firm acidity, mostly dry.

The Rheingau has Germany's highest Riesling share. Here it is fuller and riper than on the Mosel, usually fermented dry, with acidity that lets it age. It rarely tastes of oak: estates use steel or big old casks.

The Rheingau has Germany's highest Riesling share. Here it is fuller and riper than on the Mosel, usually fermented dry, with acidity that lets it age. It rarely tastes of oak: estates use steel or big old casks.

Schnitzel with a dry Rheingau Riesling.

The acidity of a dry Riesling cuts through the fried coating and the fat, and the ripe peachy fruit stands up to a squeeze of lemon. A simple, classic match.

The acidity of a dry Riesling cuts through the fried coating and the fat, and the ripe peachy fruit stands up to a squeeze of lemon. A simple, classic match.

Assmannshausen: the Rheingau's red-wine village, silky Pinot Noir on purple slate.

At the western end of the Rheingau, Assmannshausen has grown Spätburgunder for centuries. The wines are pale-to-medium, fine-grained and cherry-scented, with moderate alcohol: Germany's Pinot Noir at its most graceful.

At the western end of the Rheingau, Assmannshausen has grown Spätburgunder for centuries. The wines are pale-to-medium, fine-grained and cherry-scented, with moderate alcohol: Germany's Pinot Noir at its most graceful.

Spätburgunder: silky red-cherry Pinot Noir, centred on Assmannshausen.

About one vine in eight. Assmannshausen's slate gives pale-to-medium, fine-grained reds with red cherry, raspberry and a peppery, herbal edge, at moderate alcohol.

About one vine in eight. Assmannshausen's slate gives pale-to-medium, fine-grained reds with red cherry, raspberry and a peppery, herbal edge, at moderate alcohol.

Celebration: a local Riesling Sekt, not imported Champagne.

Schloss Vaux's vintage Rheingau Riesling Sekt, or Robert Weil's long-aged Turmberg Brut Nature, is bottle-fermented, citrus-bright and made at home.

Schloss Vaux's vintage Rheingau Riesling Sekt, or Robert Weil's long-aged Turmberg Brut Nature, is bottle-fermented, citrus-bright and made at home.

Lorch: the quiet western end, where newer growers revive steep old vineyards.

Lorch lies at the far edge of the Rheingau, away from the crowds. A few newer estates with Lorch vineyards make organic Riesling, and Pinot Noir and Chardonnay, which are unusual in the region.

Lorch lies at the far edge of the Rheingau, away from the crowds. A few newer estates with Lorch vineyards make organic Riesling, and Pinot Noir and Chardonnay, which are unusual in the region.

Slate and quartzite in the west, loess and marl in the middle, phyllite at Kiedrich.

Rüdesheim's Berg slopes and Assmannshausen sit on slate and quartzite and give firm, stony wines. The middle and upper villages have loess, loam, clay and marl, which make rounder, fuller wines, while Kiedrich's phyllite gives stony, mineral Riesling.

Rüdesheim's Berg slopes and Assmannshausen sit on slate and quartzite and give firm, stony wines. The middle and upper villages have loess, loam, clay and marl, which make rounder, fuller wines, while Kiedrich's phyllite gives stony, mineral Riesling.

Assmannshausen red ladder: Gutswein, Ortswein, Frankenthal, then Höllenberg GG.

The village's best estates sell a clear ladder of Spätburgunder: an everyday estate wine, a village wine, a first-class-site wine from Frankenthal and the top Höllenberg GG. The village wine is the smart buy; the Höllenberg wants cellar time.

The village's best estates sell a clear ladder of Spätburgunder: an everyday estate wine, a village wine, a first-class-site wine from Frankenthal and the top Höllenberg GG. The village wine is the smart buy; the Höllenberg wants cellar time.

A classic sweeter style: Magdalenenkreuz Kabinett or a Johannisberg Spätlese.

Leitz's lightly off-dry Magdalenenkreuz Kabinett or a Spätlese from Schloss Johannisberg shows the Rheingau's older, sweeter side and goes well with spicy food.

Leitz's lightly off-dry Magdalenenkreuz Kabinett or a Spätlese from Schloss Johannisberg shows the Rheingau's older, sweeter side and goes well with spicy food.

VDP eagle plus a famous site name marks a producer's top Rheingau wine.

Estates with the eagle rank their sites. Berg Schlossberg, Gräfenberg, Steinberg and Höllenberg are the highest-ranked plots, whose dry wine is a GG; Zehntstück (Steinberg) and Frankenthal (Assmannshausen) are first-class sites one step down.

Estates with the eagle rank their sites. Berg Schlossberg, Gräfenberg, Steinberg and Höllenberg are the highest-ranked plots, whose dry wine is a GG; Zehntstück (Steinberg) and Frankenthal (Assmannshausen) are first-class sites one step down.

Hattenheim and Erbach: the walled Steinberg, Marcobrunn and Kloster Eberbach.

Between Eltville and Oestrich lie Hattenheim and Erbach: the monastic heartland. Cistercian monks have held the walled Steinberg since 1239. The wines are structured and age well; the abbey is the area's best sight.

Between Eltville and Oestrich lie Hattenheim and Erbach: the monastic heartland. Cistercian monks have held the walled Steinberg since 1239. The wines are structured and age well; the abbey is the area's best sight.

Top bottle: a Grosses Gewächs from a famous slope.

For a dinner to remember, Leitz Berg Schlossberg, Weil Gräfenberg or Kloster Eberbach's Steinberg Goldener Becher: dry, structured, built for cellaring.

For a dinner to remember, Leitz Berg Schlossberg, Weil Gräfenberg or Kloster Eberbach's Steinberg Goldener Becher: dry, structured, built for cellaring.

A few estates farm organically; Eva Fricke is also vegan-made.

Breuer farms organically, Eva Fricke farms organically with biodynamic practices being phased in, and Spreitzer farms as naturally as it can. Here it is a quality choice more than a natural-wine movement.

Breuer farms organically, Eva Fricke farms organically with biodynamic practices being phased in, and Spreitzer farms as naturally as it can. Here it is a quality choice more than a natural-wine movement.

Off the beaten path: Lorch Riesling or Pinot Noir from a small new estate.

Eva Fricke's Lorcher Krone Riesling trocken, or Chat Sauvage's Lorch Schlossberg Pinot Noir, give friends a Rheingau they won't have met, in small amounts.

Eva Fricke's Lorcher Krone Riesling trocken, or Chat Sauvage's Lorch Schlossberg Pinot Noir, give friends a Rheingau they won't have met, in small amounts.

Chardonnay: a rare experiment on steep Rhine slopes.

Almost unknown in the Rheingau, but Chat Sauvage grows it beside Pinot Noir for a Burgundy-inspired style. A talking-point bottle rather than the local taste.

Almost unknown in the Rheingau, but Chat Sauvage grows it beside Pinot Noir for a Burgundy-inspired style. A talking-point bottle rather than the local taste.

Schloss Johannisberg: hilltop castle, 35 hectares of Riesling, home of the Spätlese story.

The Rheingau's best-known single estate, with Riesling grown here for about 300 years and owned by the Metternich family since 1816. Dry estate wines and sweeter Spätlese both bear the castle's name.

Schloss Johannisberg is the Rheingau's best-known single estate: a hilltop castle with 35 hectares planted entirely to Riesling. Vines have been documented on the slope since the 9th century, Benedictine monks founded a cloister here around 1100, and the estate has grown almost nothing but Riesling for about 300 years. It has belonged to the Metternich family since 1816, when the Austrian emperor gave it to his foreign minister. The 1775 story of the delayed harvest, said to have started Spätlese, is told here. The cellars hold bottles back to 1848. The range runs from dry estate Riesling to Spätlese, with colour-coded bottlings such as Gelblack and Grünlack as its traditional signature, so ask which are open for tasting. It is a sensible first visit because setting, history and wines come together on one hill with views over the Rhine. Expect classic, polished Riesling rather than cutting-edge style.

Robert Weil: Kiedrich's all-Riesling house; Gräfenberg GG and a village wine to know.

A 90-hectare, Riesling-only estate in Kiedrich, in the former manor of Sir John Sutton. The Kiedricher trocken is the entry; Gräfenberg GG the dry flagship.

Robert Weil is the Rheingau's most famous Riesling-only house. Dr Robert Weil, a German professor at the Sorbonne, bought his first vineyards in 1867, and in 1875 founded the winery in Kiedrich, in the manor house of the late Sir John Sutton, which is still its home. All 90 hectares are Riesling, including most of Kiedrich's best sites: Gräfenberg, Turmberg and Klosterberg. Gräfenberg, mentioned as far back as the late 12th century, faces south-west on deep, stony phyllite. The house style is elegant, fruity and mineral, with wild-yeast ferments. The route up is clear: the Kiedricher Riesling trocken is a village-level wine of lime, tangerine, green apple and white flowers; the Gräfenberg Grosses Gewächs is the dry flagship; and the estate also makes rare sweet wines such as Turmberg Trockenbeerenauslese and two traditional-method Rieslings. Kiedrich is about a 30-minute drive from Frankfurt Airport.

Johannisberg claims the birth of Spätlese: nobly rotten grapes, 1775.

The estate's own story says a delayed harvest order in 1775 left the grapes shrivelled by noble rot, and the wine was so good that late picking became a style. Rheingau still makes sweeter Prädikat wines, though most output is now dry.

According to Schloss Johannisberg's own account, the messenger carrying permission to start the harvest in 1775 was delayed by about two weeks. By the time he arrived the grapes were shrivelled and covered in noble rot, which growers then did not know. The estate pressed them anyway and the wine was exceptional, an event credited with creating Spätlese and late-harvest wine in Germany. It is a founding story rather than proven history, but it explains why the Rheingau is tied to the idea of picking later for more richness. Today the fashion is for dry wine, yet houses such as Johannisberg, Weil and Leitz still make sweeter Prädikat wines in good years. Remember that a ripeness word tells you the picking level, not the sweetness, so check for 'trocken' and the alcohol.

Georg Breuer: Rüdesheim family estate; Sauvage, Terra Montosa, Berg Schlossberg.

A Rüdesheim house with sites in Rüdesheim, Rauenthal and Lorch, farmed organically. Sauvage is the dry entry, Terra Montosa comes from steep parcels, and the single-vineyard wines top the range.

Georg Breuer is a Rüdesheim family estate founded in 1880 and named for Georg Breuer, who built up exports in the mid-20th century; his son Bernhard became one of the Rheingau's most influential voices, and Theresa Breuer runs it today. It farms around 40 hectares, about 25 of them in Rüdesheim, plus Rauenthal, where it owns the whole Nonnenberg, and Lorch, all organically. Rüdesheim wines taste sunny and ripe, Rauenthal's darker and more mineral. The ladder is clear: Sauvage is a dry Riesling blended from several sites with a wild, natural-yeast character; Charm is the fruitier regional blend with a touch of sweetness; Terra Montosa, Latin for steep land, comes from steep single parcels; and single-vineyard wines such as Rüdesheimer Berg Schlossberg and Rauenthaler Nonnenberg sit at the top. Fermentations use natural yeasts and large old barrels. Start with Sauvage or Terra Montosa and keep the single-vineyard wines for a celebration.

August Kesseler: the man who revived Assmannshausen Pinot; Höllenberg GG, Daily August.

A Rheingau Riesling and Pinot estate that set out in the 1980s to revive Assmannshausen's traditional red style. The Daily August Pinot Noir is the easy entry.

August Kesseler took over his parents' estate at 19 and, with winemaker Max Himstedt, set out in the 1980s to revive Assmannshausen's traditional Pinot Noir style. The estate, based in Assmannshausen and a VDP member since 1995, farms about 13 hectares: roughly 65% Riesling and 32% Pinot Noir, on blue and red phyllite slate and Taunus quartzite. The Höllenberg Pinot Noir GG is the flagship, and the estate says it uses top-site names only when the wine meets its standard. Frankenthal is the first-class site below it. The Daily August Riesling and Pinot Noir, added in 2016, are the entry point and an easy gift. Kesseler uses small Burgundy-style barrels but aims for the cool, mineral, balanced Assmannshausen character rather than copying Burgundy. The estate sits on the Rheinsteig hiking trail and has an 18th-century cellar cut into the rock.

Older 'Erstes Gewächs' and newer GG: the Rheingau's names for dry top-site wine.

Dry, hand-picked wine from a top Rheingau vineyard carries one of two names. Older bottles say Erstes Gewächs; newer ones say Grosses Gewächs, the VDP term used across Germany.

The Rheingau was early to single out dry wines from its best sites. Older bottles carry the regional group's name Erstes Gewächs; newer ones say Grosses Gewächs, the term the VDP uses across Germany, with an RGG logo on the regional version. Either way you are looking at a dry, hand-picked wine from a top vineyard. The grapes allowed for a Rheingau GG are Riesling and, from Assmannshausen, Spätburgunder, so a GG on the shelf is nearly always one or the other. The private VDP terms and the national law now overlap without being identical, so the producer's name still tells you more than the wording. Young GGs can be tight: wait several years, or buy the same estate's Erste Lage or village wine for earlier drinking. Many estates release several GGs from different slopes, which makes a good side-by-side for anyone who wants to taste how soil changes the wine.

Chat Sauvage: Pinot Noir and Chardonnay on steep Rhine slopes, an outlier here.

A small Johannisberg estate of about 8 hectares that bets on Pinot Noir and Chardonnay from steep Lorch and Rüdesheim sites.

Chat Sauvage is the Rheingau's outsider: instead of Riesling it concentrates on Pinot Noir and Chardonnay, which the region does not usually put first. The estate is owned by Hamburg entrepreneur Günter Schulz and has been run since 2016 by Swabian winemaker Verena Schöttle, with around 8 hectares in steep Rheingau sites. Its range includes 'Le Schulz' Pinot Noir, single-site Pinot Noir from Lorch Schlossberg and Rüdesheim Drachenstein, and the Chardonnay 'Clos de Schulz'. The Pinot Noirs are known for fine tannins, and the estate offers farm-gate sales and tastings. Its farming is conventional rather than organic, so think of it as a style find, not a natural-wine one. Treat it as a way to see how the Rheingau's slate behaves with Burgundian grapes, not as the classic local taste, and book ahead, as visits are small and by arrangement.

One long south-facing hillside, sheltered by the Taunus and warmed by the river.

Where the Rhine turns west the vineyards face south, the Taunus hills block cold winds and the broad river reflects heat onto the slopes. Riesling ripens fully here, which is why the wines are riper and drier than the Mosel's.

Where the Rhine turns west the vineyards face south, the Taunus hills block cold winds and the broad river reflects heat onto the slopes. Riesling ripens fully here, which is why the wines are riper and drier than the Mosel's.

In the glass: Ripe peach and citrus with firm acidity; comfortable at full dryness

Slate and quartzite in the west, loess and marl in the middle, phyllite at Kiedrich.

Rüdesheim's Berg slopes and Assmannshausen sit on slate and quartzite and give firm, stony wines. The middle and upper villages have loess, loam, clay and marl, which make rounder, fuller wines, while Kiedrich's phyllite gives stony, mineral Riesling.

Rüdesheim's Berg slopes and Assmannshausen sit on slate and quartzite and give firm, stony wines. The middle and upper villages have loess, loam, clay and marl, which make rounder, fuller wines, while Kiedrich's phyllite gives stony, mineral Riesling.

In the glass: West: firm and stony. Middle: broader and riper. Within Rüdesheim, Schlossberg is slate-driven, Roseneck fuller, Rottland rounder

Monks and noble estates mapped the best slopes: Johannisberg, Steinberg.

Benedictines founded a cloister on the Johannisberg around 1100, and the estate has grown almost only Riesling for about 300 years. Cistercian monks of Kloster Eberbach have owned the walled Steinberg since 1239. That long record is why single Rheingau slopes carry such weight on labels.

Benedictines founded a cloister on the Johannisberg around 1100, and the estate has grown almost only Riesling for about 300 years. Cistercian monks of Kloster Eberbach have owned the walled Steinberg since 1239. That long record is why single Rheingau slopes carry such weight on labels.

In the glass: Well-known slopes with proven track records, so site names are a reliable guide

Höllenberg: terraced purple slate that stores heat for Pinot Noir.

Assmannshausen's Höllenberg is a steep, terraced, south-facing slope of purple phyllite slate, planted almost entirely to Spätburgunder since the 19th century. The slate soaks up heat by day while the Taunus cools mornings and evenings.

Assmannshausen sits at the cool western end of the Rheingau, yet it has grown red wine for centuries. The Höllenberg lies largely in a side valley of the Rhine at roughly 140-160 metres, in steep terraces held up by stone walls. Its soil is violet phyllite slate, which stores heat well, while the nearby Taunus cools the slope in the mornings and evenings, so grapes ripen slowly and keep their acidity. Six estates work the site, among them Kloster Eberbach, Künstler, Krone, Allendorf, Kesseler and Ress, and the wines share a family character: red cherry and raspberry, fine-grained tannins, white pepper and fresh herbs, with moderate alcohol rather than Burgundian weight. Spätburgunder has probably been grown here since the 15th century. Compare one estate's village wine with its Höllenberg GG to taste what the slope adds: more depth, grip and length.

In the glass: Silky red-cherry Pinot Noir with pepper, herbs and fine tannin; lasting length

Johannisberg claims the birth of Spätlese: nobly rotten grapes, 1775.

The estate's own story says a delayed harvest order in 1775 left the grapes shrivelled by noble rot, and the wine was so good that late picking became a style. Rheingau still makes sweeter Prädikat wines, though most output is now dry.

According to Schloss Johannisberg's own account, the messenger carrying permission to start the harvest in 1775 was delayed by about two weeks. By the time he arrived the grapes were shrivelled and covered in noble rot, which growers then did not know. The estate pressed them anyway and the wine was exceptional, an event credited with creating Spätlese and late-harvest wine in Germany. It is a founding story rather than proven history, but it explains why the Rheingau is tied to the idea of picking later for more richness. Today the fashion is for dry wine, yet houses such as Johannisberg, Weil and Leitz still make sweeter Prädikat wines in good years. Remember that a ripeness word tells you the picking level, not the sweetness, so check for 'trocken' and the alcohol.

In the glass: Honeyed, apricot-toned, richer wines in the sweet Prädikat styles

Most Riesling is fermented in steel or big old casks, so oak does not show.

Estates such as Breuer use large used barrels for their top wines and Spreitzer uses 1,200-litre casks; entry wines go in steel. The aim is texture and clarity, not vanilla.

Estates such as Breuer use large used barrels for their top wines and Spreitzer uses 1,200-litre casks; entry wines go in steel. The aim is texture and clarity, not vanilla.

In the glass: Pure fruit and a rounder texture; no toast or vanilla

Native yeasts and time on the lees add texture to the best dry wines.

Weil, Breuer and Spreitzer ferment with natural yeasts where possible, sometimes for weeks, and leave wine on its fine lees. That builds savoury depth in dry wines meant for the table.

Weil, Breuer and Spreitzer ferment with natural yeasts where possible, sometimes for weeks, and leave wine on its fine lees. That builds savoury depth in dry wines meant for the table.

In the glass: Texture, savoury depth, slower evolution in the glass

Assmannshausen reds go in small Burgundy-style barrels or long in big casks.

Kesseler ages in small Burgundy-style barrels, while Kloster Eberbach has aged a Höllenberg GG for 30 months partly in large wooden casks. Both aim for fine tannin, not heavy oak.

Kesseler ages in small Burgundy-style barrels, while Kloster Eberbach has aged a Höllenberg GG for 30 months partly in large wooden casks. Both aim for fine tannin, not heavy oak.

In the glass: Silky structure with light spice; moderate alcohol

Top Rheingau Sekt is made like Champagne, with long time on the yeast.

The second fermentation happens in the bottle and the wine rests on its yeast: around 20 months for Weil's Brut Nature, four to six years for its Turmberg, and years at Schloss Vaux. More time brings brioche over the citrus.

The second fermentation happens in the bottle and the wine rests on its yeast: around 20 months for Weil's Brut Nature, four to six years for its Turmberg, and years at Schloss Vaux. More time brings brioche over the citrus.

In the glass: Fine bubbles, citrus fruit, bread and brioche notes

A few estates farm organically; Eva Fricke is also vegan-made.

Breuer farms organically, Eva Fricke farms organically with biodynamic practices being phased in, and Spreitzer farms as naturally as it can. Here it is a quality choice more than a natural-wine movement.

Breuer farms organically, Eva Fricke farms organically with biodynamic practices being phased in, and Spreitzer farms as naturally as it can. Here it is a quality choice more than a natural-wine movement.

In the glass: Lean, precise, site-focused wines; low-intervention in the cellar