19 Dec Please The Palate Pick of the Week: Familie Allendorf 2018 “Save Water Drink Riesling” Dry, Rheingau with Hanukkah Latkes

Hanukkah just ended. For eight nights, we lit the candles, opened presents and ate latkes. I love latkes which are fried potato pancakes topped with sour cream and/or apple sauce. And this year, for the adults, we added wine to the table, . And what pairs with latkes? Well, try a dry Riesling from Germany. This combination, Familie Allendorf 2018 “Save Water Drink Riesling” Dry, Rheingau with Hanukkah Latkes is the Please The Palate pick of the week.

My brother whipped up some latkes this week for a small socially distanced outdoor family brunch. Latkes are pan-fried potato pancakes made from grated potatoes and onion, an egg, and a binder, such as matzo meal. Fried in oil, they are crispy on the outside and light on the inside. Then we topped them with sour cream or apple sauce. Delicious!

But we decided to step it up this year and enjoy a bottle of wine with the latkes. The selected bottle has an eye-catching label that says, “Save Water, Drink Riesling”, so we did.

Save Water Drink Riesling is a dry Riesling from the Familie Allendorf located in the Rheingau, a small but important region in Germany. Rheingau is located just west of Frankfurt, on the Rhine River. The influence of the river helps to moderate the temperatures and the sun reflects off of the river. The majority of the vines planted in Rheingau are planted to Riesling.

The Familie Allendorf has been living in the Rheingau since the 13th Century. The wine estate was founded by Fritz Allendorf in 1955 who was also president of the Rheingau Vintners’ Association. Since 1996, his son Ulrich has continued the tradition and, along with the rest of his family, oversees 140 acres of estate vineyards.

The Familie Allendorf 2018 “Save Water Drink Riesling” Dry, Rheingau is a crisp and linear Riesling. It has notes of lime, grapefruit, and peach. On the palate, it is electric with sharp citrus and mineral notes.

The crisp linearity of this wine cut through any oiliness from the latkes, which is turn mellowed the angularity of the wine and brought the stone fruit notes out of the wine resulting in a rather perfect pairing!