Dr Loosen Riesling Dinner

When Dr Erni Loosen comes to town with his Rocky Horror Riesling Show, the lucky attendees are treated to a presentation that is full of humour and insightful comments, reflecting his deep knowledge of our world of wine and his specific focus and creating outstanding wines from Riesling.

Dr Loosen has not limited his interest just to Germany. Over the years. Dr Loosen has collaborated in projects in Washington State with Chateau Ste Michelle; with Jim Barry making LoosenBarry Riesling in South Australia and more recently in Burgundy forming a new Negociant house. Dr Loosen was recently in Auckland and held both trade and consumer tasting, including a dinner at The French Café.

Snapper, sweetcorn, turmeric, kaffir lime, watermelon radish with Dr Loosen Wehlener Sonnenuhr 2020.

On a glorious summer night in Auckland, Chef Jono Beattie's elegant menu featured two local fish and a menu with a slight Asian-inspired twist.

During the dinner, Doctor Loosen spoke of the importance of aging Riesling. The Vintage + 10 (years) aging philosophy of his grandfather enables the wines to develop in bottle. ‘After 10 years, the tertiary aromas are final and the aromas don’t change,’ says Dr Loosen. That is why these wines still taste fresh after 30 or 40 years.

Dr Loosen discussed the importance of long hang time to enable the grapes to fully ripen – 100 days, even 120 days before picking. This longer ripening will prevent the development of petrol aromas that often appear in Riesling after 2 – 3 years.

Kingfish, almond, kohlrabi, ginger, tamarind.

On a recent visit to Pegasus Bay Winery in North Canterbury, I was impressed to learn from Edward Donaldson that they are considering a 6th Riesling to add to their range of Riesling styles. This demonstrates that there is a market for Riesling in New Zealand.