Von Winning, Riesling Win-Win, 2009

We all have something we want to steal. Well, maybe I should not judge others by my criminal standards, but I have my eyes on a few items. For instance those two bottles of Riesling, one from 1933 and the other from the 1870s, who live in a posh wine shop in Munich. The list is longer, but I haven't actually executed any of my evil plans yet. Others sadly are more decisive: in the early hours of 17th September 2011 thieves drove a harvesting machine through the Herrgottsacker vineyards near Deidesheim in the Pfalz. I like to imagine the scene filmed with lots of flash light, fog, shades, fast camera movements and perhaps "X Files" sound. In reality it was probably more boring, but whoever drove that harvester got away with super ripe Pinot Noir grapes worth €100,000 and destined for fermentation tanks at the von Winnigen winery.

I have an alibi for that night, and I'd anyway much rather steal the finished product. Such as this Riesling made by von Winnigen and called, well, "win-win".

The phrase "win-win scenario" is, as wine translator Simon Jones correctly says in his review of the win-win, very popular in the German business world. Beyond it, actually. If applied to a wine I'd like to think it means a wine that is good enough that you happily pay the money, making producer and customer happy.

As far as I am concerned the win-win is one of those wines, and I don't say that because I have stolen it - sadly, as in the case of almost all the wines we review, I paid full price for it. And I paid it happily. The Riesling has a lovely bouquet, dusty mineral, a touch of orange and lemon peel, a whiff of grapefruit, juicy stone fruit (think more plum or red berries than the usual peach) - all generously spiced with lots of herbal aromas. On the tongue win-win has a moment of juiciness but it is mostly dry, in fact I noted a distinctly dry finish with mineral and an almost tannic touch. My friend Mike (I wanted a native speaker to drink this with me to comment on the pun) was reminded of Zwetschgendatschi (German damson cake speciality) with just the right bitterness (and acidity I'd like to add); it would have to have been a very herbal Datschi though.

Highly enjoyable as it was, I think the win-win is not a wine I would steal. The price is reasonable enough that I can continue planning heists of wine cellars with very old and much pricier treasures. And work on that alibi for last September, of course. Ideally over a glass of win-win. This may not be much consolation for the people at von Winnigen over their loss, but every little helps.