RIESLING DUALITY I: Riesling disguised as ütter yumminess

Question 1

Kabinett, Maximin Grünhaus Abtsberg, von Schubert, 2018, Ruwer – total acidity 8.5 grams / residual sugar 66 grams ($19, $22, $11.25)

Answer 1

• the vines average 40 years of age and grow gloriously in the blue, Devonian slate of the almighty Abtsberg
• the wine is fermented using indigenous yeasts, in stainless steel and Fuder casks, fermentation stops naturally

Question 2

Spätlese, Maximin Grünhaus Abtsberg, von Schubert, 2018, Ruwer – total acidity 8.1 grams / residual sugar 91 grams ($18, $21, $10.75)

Answer 2

• the vines average 40 years of age and glow gloriously in the blue, Devonian slate of the almighty Abtsberg
• the wine is fermented using indigenous yeasts, in a Fuder cask, fermentation is stopped, causing the yeast to stop working, meaning that initial sugars are now residual sugars, producing a wine with zesty acidity and joyous fruit

Question 3

Flight of Two Tastes of these Two Tasty Wines ($19)

Answer 3

• in 966 CE, the Emperor Otto I presented this estate to the monks
• more importantly, there were grapes being grown here then… that is 1055 years of continuous viticulture and vinification
• in 1802, the monks had to give up control of the property when a short French dude rolled through town
• the total size of the hillside is 84 acres
• it is divided into 3 parcels: the Abtsberg - these grapes produced wines for the Abbot, the Herrenberg - these grapes produced wines for the choirmasters, and the Bruderberg - these grapes produced wines for the monks