THE STORY OF URBAN RIESLING
A New Wine with Traditional Roots .When you care about quality there is a limit to how much wine you can grow on only 30 hectares of land, and with demand for his estate-bottled St. Urbans-Hof Riesling wines at an all time high, German winemaker Nik Weis reached that limit.
So in 2006, Nik turned to his neighbors to source the very best grapes and wine to produce his new Urban Riesling and put his name and reputation behind it. Weis carefully selected wines from the best parcels of the vineyards around the village of Mehring just a short distance up the Mosel river from the St. Urbans-Hof estate in Leiwen. Nik’s wife Daniela, the daughter of a winegrower in Mehring, along with his father-in-law assisted Nik in identifying the perfect sites and quality-conscious growers from which to source the fruit for the new wine.
“The Mehringer Zellerberg vineyard is a southern- facing site of slate soils which offers the perfect conditions for producing a typical Mosel Riesling on a high quality level,” said Weis. “Since the area is lesser-known than others on the Mosel, and because the vineyard is only slightly-steep, allowing some vineyard work by tractor, Urban Riesling also offers great value. I put my name on the label as a guarantee that the wine has met rigorous standards and reflects the traditional taste profile of top-quality Mosel Riesling wine: brilliant fruit and Mosel-slate mineral flavors, lively acidity, and ripe floral aromas.”
As a member of Germany’s prestigious VDP (German Association of Praedikat and Quality Wine Estates), Weis is restricted from using the St. Urbans-Hof label on any wine that is not grown on his own property. He is diligent in honoring that regulation and thus, Urban Riesling carries the name I. Weis as producer on the label. Urban Riesling is imported by HB Wine Merchants/R. Shack Selections, New York.
Retail price varies by market, but should be in the $11.99 range.
