As a devout Riesling lover, I am always on the lookout for a fresh or exciting pour that I’m not familiar with. What I love most about Riesling is how different it can be depending on where it’s grown, sweet v. dry, and every other variable that makes it so diverse. Just when I thought I had it figured out, I was introduced to a new level of Riesling, and I knew I had to share.

Last night I had the opportunity to drink the Von Winning 2017 Ungeheuer GG and was equally impressed with the wine as I was the history of what makes a “GG” Riesling. From the village of Forst, Ungeheuer is historically one of the most famous and expensive sites for Riesling in the world. Fun fact: A bottle of Ungeheuer Riesling was used to toast the official opening of the Suez Canal in 1869! The site combines limestone from an ancient coral reef, volcanic basalt and sandstone soils, making a wine with power, structure and immense complexity.

The wine has a pronounced nose and palate. Apples, spice, and oak on the nose. Notes of vanilla, ginger, pineapple, and oak throughout. Balanced with a long finish, and interesting due to the fermentation in oak barrels, which gives it the creamy feel as opposed to the standard steel used on most Rieslings.

What gives a Riesling the GG designation? The term “Grosses Gewächs” is used to identify some of the finest white wines of Germany and is specific to dry wines. The designation is not an official part of German wine law but was conceived by a group of top producers in the early 2000s and refined as recently as 2012 as part of a plan to identify the best vineyard sites. All Grosses Gewächs comes from a Grosses Lage (‘great site’), the best vineyards according to the German VDP classification system that is overseen by a group of producers called the Verband Deutscher Prädikatsweingüter (VDP). Like the grand crus of Burgundy, these wines take the name of the vineyard and not the village. But the VDP is an invitation-only, industry body numbering around 200 producers and, as stated above, its rules are therefore not officially part of German wine law. To make the GG grade, yields must not exceed 50 hectoliters per hectare, and the grapes must be physiologically, fully ripe, and hand harvested. Referred to as simply ‘GG’ on labels, these wines are released on 1 September of the year after harvest.