Peter-Jakob Kuhn Riesling Brut 2010 750ml

Winery: Peter-jakob Kuhn

Varietal: Champagne Blend

The careful blending of Chardonnay and Pinot Noir varietal grapes has long been the secret to the success of the famous sparkling wines of the Champagne region. The wines of this region have gone down in history as the finest example of France's sparkling produce, and the methods of processing the grapes in this region have been imitated in almost every wine producing country in the world. There are actually seven different grape varietals allowed to be included in a Champagne sparkling wine, although grape varietals such as Pinot Blanc, Arbanne and Pinot Gris are used less and less commonly in its production. Whilst the Chardonnay varietal grapes offer their distinctive biscuit flavor and wonderful astringency, it is the Pinot Noir grapes (most commonly used for producing beautifully light red wines) which give the Champagne wines their length and backbone.

Region: Rheingau / Rheinhessen

The beautiful region of Rheingau in Germany is home to many of the country's most characterful and delicious wines. With a wine history which extends back several centuries, the wineries of this region have generations of experience and expertise when it comes to dealing with their distinctive and flavorful grape varietals, and consistently produce wines which remain popular with global audiences. With Riesling making up for the majority of grapes growing in the region, Rheingau vintners make the most of the cooler climate and high levels of moisture on the valley sides to bring out the best flavors of this grape, as well as allowing it to express the finest features of the terroir. However, plenty of other Germanic and imported grape varietals flourish there, and today the region produces a relatively large range of excellent white wines which are steadily becoming more recognized internationally.

Country: Germany

Much has changed over the past few decades in regards to German wine. Long gone are the days of mass produced, sickly sweet white wines which were once the chief exports of this fascinating and ancient wine producing country, and they have been replaced with something far more sophisticated. Whilst Germany continues to produce a relatively large amount of dessert wine, the wineries of the south of the country have reverted their attention to the production of drier, more elegant wines which really make the most of the fine grape varieties which flourish there. Many of the wineries dealing primarily with the excellent Riesling grapes have produced some truly exceptional dry and semi-sweet wines over the past few years, and it seems the world has finally woken up and noticed the extremely high quality of the distinctive produce coming out of Germany today.