Everyone’s talking about German wine options for Oktoberfest – including the crew at WGN’s “Daytime Chicago!” Check out the segment HERE. I popped on the show this morning to share three affordalicious Deutsch wines for this 200-year old festival that originated in Munich, Germany, smack in the center of Bavaria. While beer is the featured bevvy, there are plenty of amazing German wine options – both full-strength and alcohol-free – for celebrating this traditional festival! Let’s take a look at a few, shall we? Come on!

ISH Alcohol-Free Sparkling Rosé – You’ve probably seen, thought about or maybe even tried some alcohol-free wines, and a lot of them just aren’t that great. It’s hard to make alcohol-free wine! But the people at ISH took their own sweet time and created a gorgeous sparkler from German grapes! This is a blend of Merlot and Pinot Noir grapes grown in the Rheingau region in Southern Germany. It’s made as an actual full-strength wine, and then the alcohol is removed through a gentle process at low temperatures, to retain all the flavor – while losing the alcohol.

The wine is dry, and it sings with red berries, summer plums, great acidity and energetic bubbles. It’s just flat-out delicious. I shared it – blind, in a paper bag – with some wine friends -and after I revealed it, everyone poured a second glass. It’s about $24 and you can find it online – or ask your wine shop to bring it in. Because sometimes you want a drink, but you also want to wake up bright-eyed and bushy-tailed the next morning, right?

Clean Slate Riesling – Sourced from Germany’s Mosel Valley, this lively white has a touch of sweetness – but not too much – that makes it the perfect pairing with salty pretzels and brown mustard or bratwurst and sauerkraut with more mustard (I love mustard!)

The name comes from the mineral-rich slate soil on steep slopes of the Mosel River that retain heat that helps ripen the grapes.

Scared that your riesling is going to be too sweet? Here’s a tip: Find the alcohol level on the label. The lower the alcohol, the sweeter the wine will be. Clean Slate Riesling is 10.5% alcohol. (Most dry wines are 13% or higher, to give you some context.)

You’re gonna get a blast of tasty ripe peach and apricot flavors and a zingy hit of zesty acidity that makes you want another sip. (It’s also great with Asian flavors in case you need to start planning your Asian new year celebrations early!) And you guys – it’s about $12! You can find it at wine.com and also Binny’s stores in Illinois.

Schäfer Pinot Noir – Here we have an affordalicious organic wine from a Germany family who has been making wine in the Rheinhessen region for more than 300 years! They started back in 1709 – 100 years before Oktoberfest even started in 1810, and now all of their wines are organic.

This Pinot Noir is exactly what you wnat with you sauerbrauten and your winer schnitzel. It’s dry – and busting loose with all the ripe black cherries and macerated strawberries, backed up with fine tannins and powerful structure. It’s not a California or Willamette Valley Pinot Noir and it’s not Burgundy. This is a muscular Germany Pinot Noir that stands out for its character and balance. At $17, it over-delivers! Find it at Sal’s Beverage World and other wine shops (if you ask your local wine seller to bring it in, it’s represented by Winesellers, Ltd.

Zum Wohl! That’s German for “to your health” and it’s the traditional toast when you’re drinking wine. Pronounce it like this: zoom – vole (Prost is what is said when you’re raising a stein of beer.)

Psst…. check my Instagram @lizbchicago for a few bonus behind-the-scenes shots 🙂