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When german Riesling is praised for its "finest perfume of fruit supported by a lightweight frame", it would seem that its ever-delicate balance must be so fragile that it would never survive contact with heavy, savoury food. Not so. To realise what Riesling can do with Sauerkraut, black pudding and liver sausage, you need to have tasted this classic german pairing* (do not, I repeat do not, take the Wine Rambler's word for anything).
For this, you need a Riesling that is dry rather than fruity, steely rather than floral, firm rather than ethereal. You need, in short, a dry Kabinett from the Pfalz. You also need good Sauerkraut and freshly made (raw, that is) sausages, of course. In what may simply be a local tradition or may have deeper and more sinister reasons of carnivore logistics, Munich butchers offer these every Friday.

This single-vineyard Kabinett from Mosbacher, a conventional**, but very renowned estate, was richer than I had expected, a little less steely and acidic too, and had more fruit and fragrance than can be expected in this category. Not to worry, though, it did more than fine. In fact, the earthiness of the black pudding especially brought out a whole new dimension of Riesling fruit. Try it, before winter is over!