This time of year, even though Ancestry DNA keeps upping my English percentage, I’m usually enjoying some Oktoberfest activities, such as the Cannstatter Volkest and Brauhaus Schmitz’s Oktoberfest at the 23^rd Street Armory. This year, of course, the celebrations were only virtual.  In honor of Oktoberfest, my wine pick for this month is from Germany.

At a small get-together in late September, a friend brought this delicious Reisling to share over grilled wursts:  Schloss Vollrads 2018 Riesling Qualitatswein from the Rheingau, about 45 minutes southwest of Frankfurt, Germany.  One sip, and I was transported back to September 2006, when I visited several village wine festivals (highly recommended) in Southwestern Germany prior to Oktoberfest in Munich.

Weingut Schloss Vollrads released its 800^th vintage in 2012. The first recorded sale of wine from these vineyards was in 1211, when the Baron Greiffenclau family sold wine to the St. Viktor Monastery in Mainz (most of Germany was then part of the Holy Roman Empire). The castle and vineyards, originally planted by Romans, are situated above the village of Oestrich-Winkel, and face South over the Rhine River.  The award-winning winery only makes Riesling, but makes 12-15 varieties of wine from the grape, depending on the vintage.

The Riesling I enjoyed was off-dry (9.5% ABV), perfect for sipping on a warm autumn day. The wine is straw yellow in color, with green apples, green citrus and honeysuckle on the nose, and mellow and peaches on the palate. A perfect balance of acidity (almost an electric tension) and sweetness sent me back to the green, fluted bottle several times. $18 at Wineworks.  Prost! Zum Wohl!