¹  I've since learned that there were problems with drought in parts of Franken, a region that I have yet to make the time to visit.

² Note that when discussing botrytis, there can be a thin line between “noble” rot and grey rot. The former is when the berries are benignly desiccated by mould and prized dessert wines can be attempted, whereas the latter precludes the pursuit of any quality wine from the affected grapes. The rains of 2025 catalysed both kinds of botrytis, and everything in between.

³ In addition to visiting 17 German growers that Metrovino works with directly (15 of whom have Riesling in the ground), I also sampled cross-sections of the vintage with dozens of producers at the VDP.Weinbörse.