Body is the impression of a wines weight, density, or its ‘mouth-feel’. Some wines feel weighty, or full bodied, while others feel light bodied. Wine runs the gamut from light to full, with most falling somewhere in between.
ACIDITY
Low
Moderate
Balanced
Crisp
High
Acidity is a foundational component in wine. In fact, low acidity, or ‘flabby’ wine (as the term suggests) is a negative. You can sense acidity mainly on the sides of your tongue. Acidity generally ranges from balanced to high. Crisp acidity adds freshness, making your mouth water. Acidity is a necessary element and helps to balance other components.
SWEETNESS
Dry
Off Dry
Medium Dry
Medium Sweet
Very Sweet
Most wines are characterized as dry to off-dry, but there are some grape varietals, like Riesling, that run the gamut from dry to sweet. The tip of the tongue mainly detects sweetness, which is why it is often the primary characteristic detected. Sweetness is derived from residual sugar that did not ferment into alcohol.
ALCOHOL
12.5%
Alcohol is the by-product of fermentation. Differing grape varieties have differing potential alcohol levels, but regardless warmer areas result in riper grapes resulting in higher alcohol. Alcohol level is an objective number, but its affect on its palate impression is largely determined with how well integrated and balanced it is with other components.
Prager is one of the O.G.'s of Austrian Riesling, and this is an attractive example.
GRAPE VARIETAL(S)
Riesling
100%REES-ling
Riesling is one of the greatest, long-lived white wines in the world, highly expressive of the nuances of its respective terroir. The wines are generally relatively low to moderate in alcohol with crisp acidity and full of flavor and extract. Stylistically, it can vary from bone dry to quite sweet, and with age can develop intense aromatics. Because Riesling is so expressive of the terroir from where it is grown, it can show a potential mix of floral, fruity, intensely mineral, smoky and/or spicy aromas and flavors depending on the soil, climate, and exposure.
Weingut Prager was founded as far back as 1715 but, under Franz Prager and Toni Bodenstein, who married Franz’s daughter Ilse, the winery was elevated to one of Austria’s highest levels of quality.
Prager is 17.5 hectares of 60% riesling and 40% grüner veltliner planted at extremely high densities of 15,000 plants per hectare. These high-altitude terraced vineyards of rocky soil are subject to a cool microclimate that provides for a long growing season. All grapes are hand-picked, eliminating any botrytis, and fermented in stainless steel.
The winemaking motto at Prager is: “from rock to wine.” The focus is to exhibit the best expression of the soil, climate, and exposure of this unique terroir.
Lime
Peach
Mineral
