On Sunday night, 100 keen Riesling fans gathered at the King's Cross branch of Caravan, our regular tasting venue, to sample a selection of Grosses Gewächs Rieslings selected by our German specialist Michael Schmidt. You can download a full list of the wines here, and below you can watch a short video of the behind-the-scenes preparations for the event, and see pictures of the night. Jancis and Julia's tasting notes on the wines will be published next week, a week we are devoting to dry Rieslings in general.
As these expressions attest, some bottles were easier to open than others! Hilke Nagel of the VDP, who were our extremely efficient partners in this enterprise, is on the left.
With Kathryn Hemming on photography duties, Richard was free to check the bottles for condition ...
... while Julia got down to the serious business of tasting.
The mood in the kitchen was more light-hearted as the Caravan team prepped a fantastic selection of Riesling-friendly canapés and pizzas.
Soon enough, the crowds arrived ...
... for our entirely self-pour tasting.
Jancis welcomed the lucky attendees ...
... Hilke then provided some background on her association of top German wine producers ...
... leaving Michael to fill in the specifics about the wines available.
It seemed as though a thoroughly good time was had by all. Full report next week.
