Germany is slowly becoming a force to reckon with in pinot noir and there are a good few world-class wines made there.

With growing interest in lower alcohol wines, riesling from Mosel, Rheingau and Pfalz can swing back into fashion. The Sekt fizz renaissance is also getting underway. The Spatburgunders (Germany has the world's third largest pinot noir plantings) from Ahr to Baden suit those who like softly tannic, light savoury reds.

Delicious, alcohol-free wine is a holy grail for winemakers. But if you suspend your expectations there are one or two good ones. German Rieslings are naturally lower in alcohol and a little sweeter than most. So, they're less affected by taking out the alcohol.

You used to have to go to a specialist importer to get your hands on Spätburgunder, i.e. Pinot Noir, today it can be found on (some) supermarket shelves. Importers who used to have one token German wine have broadened their offer. And thankfully Germany – while still and rightly being equated with Riesling – no longer stands for just that one variety.

Germany is the fastest-growing wine region at Justerini & Brooks … with sales up 40% over the past year. Riesling is the most popular grape, accounting for 90% of German sales, but Justerini & Brooks says that it has also seen an increase in interest in German pinot noir. It says that part of the growth is coming from top restaurants who are taking German wine seriously again.

Sweet and sour dishes bounce off the late-harvest richness of exotic German Spätlese Riesling - think of it as wine's answer to mango.

The Rheingau, Mosel and Pfalz are Germany's most famous winemaking regions. The total vineyard area may be petite in world terms, but these velvety landscapes are more verdant than the Loire, more gorgeous than Champagne, and have a perfect microclimate for crisp whites.

Riesling Sekt: A German sparkling that's underrated, under-priced and more citrusy than prosecco.

Sekt, which had lagged behind in Germany’s quality revolution, is the country’s latest category to experience a revival. It is back with a vengeance – and real quality.

With over 130 grape varieties being cultivated, Germany is certainly a wine country that's gaining more and more popularity internationally.

One of my proudest achievements to date is the success of the German Riesling, which has been particularly well received in stores.

Germany is increasingly famed for Pinot Noirs that can compete with Burgundy's.

Germany is the third-biggest grower of Pinot Noir in the word, after France and the USA. Interestingly, other big winners in the Great German Grape Lottery over the last 20 years have been fellow ‘Burgundy’ grapes.

Wines of Germany are keen to demonstrate that Germany is so much more than Riesling and Spätburgunder…So at their recent German tasting in London I decided to examine the handful of Silvaners on show and to experience the joy of Sekt.

I'm very invested in German wine…Riesling truly is one ofthe best grapes in the world.

[Germany] does Pinot Noir brilliantly and it's not too expensive either, compared with a Red Burgundy.

All those interviewed for this article, without exception, said their sales for German wines are on the rise, with Riesling largely responsible for the uplift.

When you put German wine on the front page of your wine list ahead of France and Italy, it certainly raises the profile and we have sold significantly more German wine through doing so.

German wines have never been better made. {…} Riesling. For some, it simply has too much flavour and character. I love it. I love its raciness, its breezy refreshment, its ability to go with so many foods, its crystalline precision, its stately progress to an even more complex old age; and I am thrilled that there are now so many great dry Rieslings in Germany.

One of the most-planted grapes is pinot noir and with it, modern German wine-makers are now aiming to make wines that rival some of the great burgundies; there's no reason why they shouldn't succeed.

Spätlese Riesling. These German fruity beauties are also known, by me at least, as 'The Juices of The Discotheque'. Lower in alcohol, hovering around the 8% mark, they taste like mangos dropped from heaven and offer access to fine wine for the price of a couple of cinema tickets. Book yourself in for the matinee.

Germany is the world’s third largest producer of Pinot, its prices give a lot of ‘bang for the buck’ and it now has a unique style that is no longer an imitation of Burgundian Pinot.

Germany can now produce Pinot Noir to rival the best vineyards in France.

If you are looking to brighten up your German wine range then look no further than the winners in the Wines of Germany’s Top of the Crops competition.

Everyone in the trade loves Riesling – there’s so much diversity, there are so many facets to it and it’s very easy to drink.

The great sweet Rieslings are also little-known treasures and there is nothing like a really good, single vineyard Kabinett for a night in.

There is a growing number of exceptionally good sparklers coming out of the country now…and they smash existing moulds to pieces.

The great sweet Rieslings are also little-known treasures and there is nothing like a really good, single vineyard Kabinett for a night in.

Riesling […] one of the wine world's greatest pleasures.

I am enjoying a glass of German Riesling and I don't understand why we don't drink more of this in the UK. It's fabulous.

Fortunately, winemakers all over the world are managing to capture some of the silky charm of Burgundy at more humane prices. Germany, for example, which has quietly become one of the most impressive pinot centres, does a nice line in affordable styles alongside its more ambitiously priced bottles.

Burgundy beware — Germany is the rising star for Pinot Noir.

Sommeliers have grown to appreciate the amazing quality of German Pinot Noir and value for money in the context of Burgundy. Reputations for new wines are often built in the gastronomy sector and trickle down to the mainstream some years later.

The 2018 grape harvest in Germany will go down in history as a truly outstanding vintage.

The search for good Pinot outside Burgundy, then, is all the more relevant, and the country I recommend is Germany. Wilfully obscure, perhaps, until you consider that it's the third-largest producer of the variety worldwide. Plantings have increased considerably and so has exposure, with German Pinot now on the best wine lists.

German wines offer awesome value for a highly developed stunning wine culture that produces wine which totally match this market.

There is such a great diversity in German wines. In Riesling alone you have one of the most versatile grapes known to man. [...] For people who haven’t delved into the new generations of winemakers I strongly urge that you do. Whatever your style is, I can guarantee there is a German wine for you.

Pfalz…it's a hotbed of experimentation, and has a reputation for producing impressively full-flavoured wines.

The new, drier-style wines from the Rheingau, Rheinhessen, Rheinpfalz, Nahe and Mosel are so food-friendly. These crisp-fruity, clean and minerally wines are especially suited to Oriental cuisine.

Kabinett rieslings from Mosel, a style with a delicate touch of sweetness and low in alcohol, are a world-class wine and loved by connoisseurs.

German wines are seeing a small revival at the moment, the UK on trade is re-discovering German Riesling and German Pinot Noir is also gaining traction. It is now unusual for a top restaurant not to have a German wine on its list.

Crisp and refreshing are oft-used terms when talking about white wine, but quality German Riesling is like a parallel universe for your palate.

I love Pinot Noir and I love Pinot Gris […] So imagine my giddiness when I visited what can only be described as Pinot paradise - the Pfalz and Baden regions in the south of Germany. Each is fascinating in its own right and both are home to the most amazing wines from the Pinot family.

A few bottles of German Riesling must be part of a good collection.

Of course what really matters is the quality - is [German Pinot Noir] any good? The answer is a resounding yes: you can find Spätburgunder that has an astonishing fluidity, and that, like the best burgundies, almost seems to float.

Of course, the Riesling grape is grown elsewhere […] but only Germany produces young yet dazzlingly multi-layered Rieslings of sufficient heft to match thistle with a sauce containing not just anchovies but capers and vinegar.

These new German wines, many of which are made from the Riesling grape, are a far cry from the medium sweet melanges of the past; instead, they are perfect expressions of what cool-climate white wines can be -vivacious, crisp with cleanly acidic fruit.

I have been following the evolution of German Pinot Noir keenly and was thrilled by the quality on show at the recent ABS/Ripley tasting. […] Buy German Pinot Noir now before it follows burgundy into the unaffordable stratosphere.