The wines of the Mittelrhein, Rheingau, Rheinhessen, and Pfalz, while diverse in microclimate and tradition, all feature the Riesling grape in their best sites and are all bottled in tall brown flutes. The Mittelrhein, which runs from just south of Bonn to just north of the confluence of the Rhine and Nahe, is dominated by slate slopes and wines with certain similarities to those of the Mosel. Across the Rhine from its intersection with the Nahe begins the Rheingau, a stretch of river running east to west and exposing gentle riverside slopes and steep hillsides farther back, both of which generate some of Germany’s most famous wines.

The Rheinhessen, south of the Nahe region and across the Rhine from the Rheingau, is still better known for its high volume of interesting wines from flatlands and grape crossings than it is for its handful of top Riesling sites. But the latter--particularly the steep red shale slopes down to the Rhine--are justly famous. The Pfalz, which begins south of Rheinhessen and is in effect the northward extension of Alsace’s Vosges foothills, is the warmest and driest of Germany’s Riesling regions, supporting fuller-bodied wines that are typically dry. Like the Rheinhessen better known until recently for quantity than for quality, the Pfalz's handful of top villages and vineyards have nevertheless always been among Germany’s most cherished, and the entire region has undergone a substantial turnabout in reputation over the last two decades.