Glasses

A glass determines how much of an aroma actually reaches you at all. With Silvaner, this is delicate — the variety is naturally quiet. No loud bouquet like Gewürztraminer. Just fine notes of green apple and herbs that dissipate in too wide a glass before they ever reach the nose.

That's why Silvaner suits a slimmer glass than the large Burgundy glass used for dense red wines: a tall, slightly conical bowl with a narrowing opening. The narrow shape holds the scant aroma together instead of losing it in the bowl. It channels it straight to the nose.

Temperature depends on the grape variety. A young Silvaner or Müller-Thurgau belongs in the glass at eight to ten degrees Celsius — cool enough to keep the delicate acidity crisp, but not so cold that the apple aroma freezes shut. Domina and Spätburgunder, Franconia's red varieties, need fourteen to sixteen degrees instead, otherwise their tannin turns harsh and the cherry aroma stays mute.

The Bocksbeutel itself takes some practice to pour. Its flat, bulbous shape sits differently in the hand than a standard bottle, with the center of gravity lower. Tilt it the way you're used to, and you'll pour faster than expected. Instead, hold it by the neck and pour slowly — the wide opening does the rest.

Finally, the amount: a white wine glass should be filled at most to its widest point, which for a standard glass is around one hundred milliliters. Above that, there's room left for the aroma that this reserved Silvaner so urgently needs in order to show itself at all.