Wine: WZG Original Schwarzriesling

First of all, a personal message. October 13th is the anniversary of my father's death in 1983. It was 41 years ago, but it still seems like yesterday. He was a difficult person to live with, incapable of showing emotions, but beneath his hard shell I recognised that he was a good man. While I lived in Birmingham I used to visit his grave every year on the anniversary. Since moving to Germany I've only managed to be in England once on this date, but I've managed to visit the grave occasionally on different dates. Wherever I am, October 13th is always an emotional date for me.

Now to the wine. This is a bottle that was given me as a birthday present by my son-in-law, but I only opened it a few days ago. It's a wine made by the Stuttgart wine cooperative, the Württembergische Weingärtner-Zentralgenossenschaft. The abbreviation is WZG. Shouldn't it be WWZG? I shan't argue with them.

Most WZG wines are bottled with labels that don't identify them on the front, making them look like generic wines. However, they also have an "Original" line of wine, slightly more expensive, which makes me suspect they have better quality. I've searched online in vain to find a description of the differences. The word original doesn't say anything at all.

Schwarzriesling is one of the most common grapes grown in Württemberg, after Trollinger and Lemberger. I can't say which is the best of the three. It all depends on your taste. All I can say is that I was surprised when I opened the bottle three days ago. The first impression was that the wine was sour. Yuck! But my palate adjusted to it quickly, and the second sip was pleasantly mild. I've never known a wine change its taste so rapidly. The second day I had the same experience. The first sip tasted sour, after which it became pleasant.

It's a good wine. I'm determined to try the other wines in the Original line. My local supermarket stocks them all.