German Riesling, one of my favorite whites, has a reputation from many as a sweet, inexpensive wine that no serious wine drinker includes on their list, and is seen by others as a delicate, fruity and food friendly white of world class quality…I belong to the second group!

The dry version of these wines, trocken and halb-trocken, are some of the most precise and focused white wines made anywhere in the world. Producing them is not so easy, yet they are mostly under the $20 mark. And they are not sweet! At around 12 degrees alcohol, they have nerve, fruit and power.

The off-dry versions, especially Kabinett and Spatlese, are lighter in body and rely on a delicate balance between fruit, acidity and sweetness. Simple wines…no. Not complex? No again. In fact, try a nice Mosel Kabinett or Spatlese from some of the top producers in the region, like Selbach, Prum or Thanisch and discover what you might have been missing! Need more reason? Find a good crab cake recipe, make a quick buerre blanc and serve this with one of the above wines! The sweetness of the crab is intensified by the wine, and the acidity is like the lemon you could squeeze over the dish, simply delicious…a match made in heaven!

And did I mention some of these gems will outlive most of the other great white wines of the world? I have a nice little collection of Mosel Riesling 2007, my daughter’s birth year, and I am patiently waiting for them to surprise us on her 21^st birthday!

Shayne Hebert. Follow me on Twitter @abcwineshayne