Weegmüller Scheurebe Trocken, Pfalz, Germany 2018 (from £17.70, corkingwines.co.uk; strictlywine.co.uk) German winemakers are behind so many of the world’s finest white wines. Many of them – the majority probably – are made from the country’s most recognisable variety, riesling. But there’s much to love for those many wine drinkers who for some reason are allergic to riesling’s sharp, quicksilver charms. One very underrated variety is scheurebe, a prejudice, perhaps, borne of the variety’s origins: while riesling has a pedigree going back to the middle ages, scheurebe emerged from a grape-breeding institute, the work of one Dr Georg Scheu, in 1916. A century on, there isn’t all that much about (1,400 hectares or so to riesling’s 24,000ha), but what there is can make some delightful wines. Weegmüller’s dry white from the Pfalz, the south western German region where scheurebe is at its best, shows off the characteristics that can make it such a pleasure: intensely, clean and pure grapefruit and orange citrus with a seasoning of peppery spice. Horst Sauer Escherndorfer Lump Silvaner S Trocken, Franken, Germany 2018 (£19.49, rannochscott.co.uk; cellarselected.com) During the 20th century, scheurebe also made its way west from the Pfalz to the Franconia or Franken region, an historic German wine producing zone that has been somewhat overshadowed in recent years by the famed riesling havens further north in the Rheingau and Mosel. At the Wirsching estate, they’ve had scheurebe since 1952, and the old vines (“alte reben”) used for their Wirsching Iphöfer Kronsberg Scheurebe Alte Reben Trocken 2017 (£25.35, thewinebarn.co.uk) make for a gorgeously rich dry wine with that racy grapefruit tang underpinning fleshy peachy and tropical fruit. Franken is actually better known for another white variety beginning with S. A wine of subtle charms rather than big fruit flavour, top quality Silvaner like Horst Sauer’s example from one of the best vineyard sites for the variety near Wurzburg, has a gentle blossomy prettiness and a springtime river raciness all its own. Dr L Grey Slate Riesling, Mosel, Germany 2018 (£7.49, Waitrose) As good as silvaner and scheurebe can be, riesling remains the most versatile and endlessly fascinating of Germany’s white grape varieties. There is something irresistibly, irrepressibly vibrant and refreshing, light-feeling yet full of flavour in a modern dry style such as Bibo Runge Debutant Dry Riesling 2018 from the Rheingau (£17.95, southdowncellars.co.uk), with its overlapping waves of exotic fruit and jangling acidity. The slightly sweet, verging on medium dry style is also particularly appealing at this time of year, with that little tickle of sugar only just noticeable thanks to the balancing acidity, but meaning it matches Thai or Vietnamese herbs and spicing, as well as a punnet of strawberries. Those qualities are on display in two Mosel wines from the consistently good Loosen family on offer at Waitrose until Monday: the Dr L Slate Riesling and the superbly spicy yet graceful Dr Loosen Ürziger Würzgarten Riesling Kabinett 2018 (£11.99).