Heiner Sauer, Gleisweiler Hölle, Riesling Kabinett trocken, 2009

After exploring in some depth the potential and perception of residually sweet Riesling, we turn, very briefly, to a style of the variety that is hardly known or appreciated outside of Germany: light, basic range dry Riesling. That type of working man's white is most reliably produced not along the more glamorous Mosel, but in down-to-earth Pfalz (the Palatinate), where vineyards are less capriciously steep and the climate more dependable, and it goes by the name of Kabinett trocken. Almost every half-decent winery there produces a few of those from different vineyards, and almost every inhabitant of the region will have one on their dinner table - almost every day.

I've decided to go for an organically made one from Heiner Sauer. It has the acidic grip and the no-nonsense citrus and peach aromatics of any good Pfalz Kabinett, but also overachieves significantly by bringing herbs, a lot of tobacco (which, by the way, is actually grown quite regularly in the Pfalz), and even some creamy substance. Bone dry and with mineral bite, this is a sharp-toothed little beast. When in the Pfalz, do as the Palatines do: Drink it with sauerkraut, sausages, smoked pork chops, stuffed pig's stomach and other fortifying fare. Fatty food will nicely round out the acidity. Let's not, in the end, forget to state the obvious: great value.

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