BerlinKabinettCup 2013 - Kabinett 2012, Germany

Pictures: The 3 Winners and the Brandenburger Tor in Berlin

The BerlinKabinettCup 2013 took place in June 1013 in Berlin, Germany, orchestrated by Martin Zwick. 30 wines were included and ranked in the tasting. They were blind-tasted by a group of sommeliers, wine writers and wine retailers, including Alice Beckmann/Wein&Glas, Paul Truszkowski/Wine in Black, José Segura/Vinaturel, Christian S./Suff, Felix Bodmann "Schnutentunker", Manfred Klimek/WELT and Stephan Reinhardt/VINUM. All of the wines were German Riesling Kabinett 2012 wines. Mosel expert Felix Eschenauer/medienagenten put together the tasting.

Riesling

Worldwide, there are about 34.000 hectares planted with Riesling. Germany – with 22.400 hectares – accounts for 2/3 of the total. The second largest Riesling producer is Australia, with 4500 hectares. But this is only about 1/10 of the total. Alsace follows with 3500 hectares. Austria, the US with Washington State and New York State as well as New Zealand make up the remainder. But overall Riesling is really a niche wine, accounting for only less than 1 percent of total wine production in the world - but a very special niche wine.

Martin Zwick and his Berlin Cups

Martin Zwick was initially known for organizing the BerlinRieslingCup every year. While the BerlinKabinettCup reviews and rates Rieslings at the Kabinett level, the BerlinRieslingCup is about Germany’s their dry grand cru (Grosses Gewaechs) Rieslings. It typically takes place in the second half of September, following the release of the Grosses Gewaechs wines of the previous year.

This year, Martin Zwick also organized for the second time a BerlinGutsrieslingCup, tasting and ranking entry-level wines of VDP producers.

See also:
Germany’s Ultra Premium Dry Riesling Wines – The Berlin Riesling Cup 2012
Germany’s Top Wines – The Berlin Riesling Cup 2011 Ranking

BerlinGutsrieslingCup 2013– Rating Entry-level Rieslings from Germany
Berlin Gutsriesling Cup 2012, Germany

Picture: Martin Zwick and Christian G.E. Schiller in Wiesbaden


What is a Kabinett?

What is a Kabinett? That depends. In the framework of the standard classification of German wine (the Law of 1971), Kabinett has a very different meaning than in the framework of the new classification adopted by the VDP.

In the standard classification, a Kabinett is defined by the sugar content of the grapes at harvest. It is a wine made from grapes harvested with a sugar content of 67 to 87 degrees Oechsle that was not chaptalized. Such a wine can be fully fermented and become dry. These are the Kabinett Trocken wines.

Alternatively, the winemaker could stop the fermentation so that natural sugar remains in the finished wine (and perhaps add a bit of sterilized juice – Suessreserve) to produce a wine that is fruity-sweet. That could be indicated on the label as Kabinett Feinherb, or Kabinett Halbtrocken.

In sum: In the framework of the standard classification of German wine, a Kabinett could be a dry or a fruity-sweet wine, with the terms Trocken, Feinherb and Halbtrocken indicating the sweetness level in the wine.

The VDP producers have introduced a new classification, very much based on the Burgundian approach. In the their classification, Kabinett no longer stands for a certain ripeness of the grapes at harvest, but stands for a certain sweetness level of the wine in the bottle. If a winemaker harvests grapes at the Kabinett level (in terms of sugar content at harvest), but wants to make a dry wine out of it, the winemaker has to market the wine as Qualitaetswein (QbA).

Only wines that have a certain sweetness in the finished wine can be sold as Kabinett. Kabinett Trocken does not exist for VDP producers. All the wines sold as Kabinett are in a certain Kabinett sweetness range.

For the VDP winemakers, Kabinett is an indication of a certain sweetness profile. And Auslese is sweet than Spaetlese and Spaetlese sweeter than Kabinett. The terms “Halbtrocken” and “Feinherb” have become redundant in the VDP classification system.

The wines in this contest were all wines where the fermentation was interrupted to generate a wine “that dances” as Stephen Rheinhardt has put it in the Sueddeutschen Zeitung: A low alcohol wine with some remaining sweetness – Feinherb and Halbtrocken Kabinetts, no Trocken Kabinetts.

The Contest

Martin Zwick: “On Saturday June 15 I organized and hosted the "BerlinKabinettCup". I presented blind 33 Riesling Kabinett feinherb/fruity of the upcoming vinage 2012 to a group of journalists for example Stephan Reinhardt/VINUM, sommeliers, wine-dealers and Riesling-lovers. I made this tasting in order to get an impression of the vintage 2012, but also to promote Kabinett. I love Kabinett because of its lightness of being, drinking pleasure, 8% and food-versatility. Here in Germany the people are too focused on dry Rieslings and I wanted to create an awareness for Kabinett with its little sweetness in the German wine-world. We tasted such wonderful Rieslings. Soo much quality for little money. And the vintage offers stunning qualities due the lovely fruit-acidity-play, balance, grip and drinking pleasure of the vintage. I see 2012 clearly above 2011, as 2011 lacked a bit of acid.”

Ranking

1. von Hövel "Oberemmeler Hütte"
2. Egon Müller "Scharzhofberger"

Picture: Egon Mueller in Hattenheim

3. Schloss Lieser "Juffer + Zilliken "Bockstein" + Van Volxem "Rotschiefer"
4. Willi Schaefer "Domprobst"
5. Schäfer-Fröhlich "Felseneck" feinherb
6. A.J. Adam "Hofberg"
7. Urbanshof "Bockstein"
8. Markus Molitor "Himmelreich" feinherb Fassprobe
9. Weingart "Hamm Ohlenberg" feinherb
10. Julian Haart "Schubertslay"
11. Maximin Grünhaus "Abtsberg"
12. Willi Schaefer "Himmelreich"
13. Diel "Goldloch"

Picture: Christian G.E. Schiller with Armin and Caroline Diel at Schlossgut Diel in Germany

See also:
Visiting Armin and Caroline Diel and their Schlossgut Diel in Burg Layen in Germany

14. Othegraven "Altenberg"
15. KaJo Christoffel "Erdener Treppchen"
16. Maximin Grünhaus "Herrenberg"
17. Markus Molitor "Badstube" feinherb Fassprobe
18. Martin Müllen "Würzgarten"
19. Weil