Spot Trocken on Rheingau Labels
Trocken on the label means a dry wine, the most common Rheingau style today.
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Wine Regions
The Rheingau is a short, sunny stretch of the Rhine that makes some of Germany's most famous Riesling. Here is what makes it special and which bottles to try first.
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The Rheingau sits in western Germany, just west of Frankfurt and Wiesbaden. Here the Rhine River, which mostly flows north, takes a sharp turn and runs west for a stretch. That turn gives the Rheingau its secret: a long band of vineyards on the river’s north bank that face due south toward the sun. Behind them, the forested Taunus hills block cold northern winds. In front, the wide river reflects light and evens out temperatures. Together these give a cool northern region enough warmth to ripen Riesling slowly and fully. Soils change as you climb. Slate and quartzite dominate the steep slopes around Rüdesheim, while deeper loess, loam, and gravel lie lower down and farther east. The result is Rheingau wine that tends to be a little broader and more powerful than the delicate, featherlight style of the nearby Mosel.
Riesling is the heart of Rheingau wine, planted on the large majority of its vineyards. Expect aromas of white peach, apricot, lemon, and green apple, a streak of high acidity, and a stony, savory finish. With age, good Rheingau Riesling develops honey, toast, and the petrol note that Riesling fans love. The region’s second grape is Spätburgunder, the German name for Pinot Noir. It is the specialty of Assmannshausen, a village on steep slate slopes at the western end of the region, where it makes elegant reds with red cherry, raspberry, and earthy spice. Small amounts of other grapes appear, but if you are starting out, the Rheingau is really a Riesling region with a red sideline. Learning these two grapes covers nearly everything you will see on a shop shelf.
Rheingau Riesling comes in every sweetness level, so the label matters. Trocken means dry, and dry wines are now the majority here. Feinherb or halbtrocken signals off-dry. Then come the Prädikat ripeness terms, which describe sugar in the grapes at harvest, not necessarily sweetness in the bottle. Kabinett is light and often a touch sweet. Spätlese (“late harvest”) is riper and richer. Auslese uses selected very ripe bunches. Beerenauslese and Trockenbeerenauslese are rare, intensely sweet dessert wines made from shriveled, noble-rot grapes, and Eiswein comes from frozen grapes. Top dry wines from classified vineyards may be labeled Grosses Gewächs. If you are unsure, check the alcohol: under about 10 percent usually means noticeable sweetness. Our guides to reading a wine label and dry vs. sweet wine go deeper.
German labels usually name the village, so a handful of names will take you far. Rüdesheim, at the western end, has steep, rocky slopes that give powerful, mineral Riesling. Just beyond it, Assmannshausen is the red-wine village. Geisenheim is home to one of the world’s best-known wine research universities. Johannisberg and Winkel are famed for elegant, aromatic Riesling, while Oestrich, Hattenheim, Erbach, and Kiedrich are known for rich, structured wines from mid-slope sites. Eltville is the region’s largest town. Out on its own to the east, on the Main River near Wiesbaden, Hochheim makes full, earthy wines; its name is the source of “hock,” the old British word for Rhine wine. On a label, a village name often appears with the suffix “-er” followed by a vineyard name, such as Rüdesheimer Berg Schlossberg.
Start with a dry, village-level Rheingau Riesling trocken. It shows the region’s ripe stone fruit and firm acidity without a high price. Next, try a Kabinett to see how a little sweetness and low alcohol balance that same acidity. Dry Rheingau Riesling is a fine match for roast pork, schnitzel, trout, and chicken in cream sauce, where the acidity cuts the fat. It also loves asparagus, a German spring obsession. Off-dry Kabinett and Spätlese are brilliant with spicy Asian dishes, from Thai curries to Sichuan stir-fries, because the touch of sugar cools the heat. Sweeter Auslese pairs well with fruit tarts and blue cheese. Try the local Spätburgunder with duck, mushrooms, or game. Serve the whites at 45 to 50°F and the reds slightly cool, around 58°F.
The Rheingau is one of Germany’s easiest wine regions to visit. It is roughly an hour from Frankfurt airport by car or train, and the river towns sit close together. Rüdesheim is the busiest stop, with its narrow lanes of wine taverns, a cable car up to the vineyards, and boat trips into the dramatic Rhine Gorge to the north. For a quieter day, walk or cycle through the vineyards between Eltville and Hattenheim and stop at a historic former Cistercian monastery near Kiedrich. Many family wineries pour wines in their courtyards, especially in summer. Late spring through October is the best time to go, with harvest usually from late September into October. Order a glass of trocken Riesling, a plate of local bread and cheese, and look down at the river that makes it all possible.
| Style | Character | Try It With |
|---|---|---|
| Riesling trocken | Dry, ripe peach and lemon, firm acidity | Roast pork, trout, asparagus |
| Riesling Kabinett | Light, low alcohol, often lightly sweet | Thai curry, sushi, spicy stir-fries |
| Riesling Spätlese | Riper, richer, sweet or dry | Duck, Sichuan dishes, ham |
| Riesling Auslese and sweeter | Honeyed, intense, long-lived | Fruit tarts, blue cheese, foie gras |
| Spätburgunder (Pinot Noir) | Red cherry, raspberry, earthy spice | Duck, mushrooms, venison |
Trocken on the label means a dry wine, the most common Rheingau style today.
Riesling under about 10 percent alcohol usually tastes noticeably sweet.
Good Rheingau Riesling ages for a decade or more, gaining honey and toast.
Learn Your Taste
Answer a few simple questions and discover styles that fit your palate.
Take the Wine QuizBoth. Most Rheingau Riesling today is dry, labeled trocken, but the region also makes off-dry Kabinett and very sweet Auslese, Beerenauslese, and Eiswein. Check the label for trocken or feinherb, and look at the alcohol level.
Rheingau Riesling is usually riper and fuller-bodied, with peach and apricot notes and more dry styles. Mosel Riesling tends to be lighter, lower in alcohol, more delicate, and more often lightly sweet, with green apple and slate notes.
Yes, a small amount. The village of Assmannshausen is famous for Spätburgunder, which is Pinot Noir. It makes light to medium-bodied reds with red cherry and earthy notes that pair well with duck and mushrooms.
Grosses Gewächs, often shortened to GG, marks a top dry wine from a highly rated single vineyard. In the Rheingau it usually means a premium dry Riesling built to age, priced well above village-level bottles.
Simple dry bottles are best within three to five years. Top dry wines and sweet Spätlese or Auslese can age 10 to 20 years or more, gaining honey, toast, and petrol-like aromas as they mature.
Hock comes from Hochheim, a Rheingau town on the Main River. British drinkers used the word as a nickname for Rhine wine in general, and you may still see it in older wine writing.
