Reconsider Riesling

The first bottle of wine I ever ordered was a bottle of Riesling on a Carnival Cruise, during my senior year of college spring break. I loved it so much, that I proceeded to split a bottle with my dear friend Marisa every night of our 5 night cruise. Many college students like to forget about what happens on spring break, but I couldn’t forget my new found love for wine. I took that home with me! After college, I slowly began to venture out into other white wines, then into red, and eventually I became the self-proclaimed wino that I am today. Riesling became a distant memory that I related to an immature palate. A “Starter Wine” if you will. My perception was likely perpetuated by the negative stereotype of Riesling in the US due to the number of butchered, overly sweet Rieslings that were exported to the US in the 80’s and 90’s giving the grape a bad name.

In reality, Riesling is a very sophisticated and elegant grape enjoyed by many of the wine world’s most advanced palates. In fact, many wine critics consider it to be finest white grape variety.

It’s a grape that is renowned for its high acidity, aging potential, complexity and ability to express “terroir” (expressing characteristics of the region or soil where it was grown). While Riesling is primarily known for producing sweet white wines, it can also be fermented to complete dryness. In fact, it was a dry Riesling from Germany that completely opened my eyes back up to Riesling. When I was in search of something white, crisp and refreshing, I started seeking out dry Rieslings as an alternative to my go-to Sauvignon Blanc.

Some of the most renowned Rieslings come from Germany and Alsace, France. Other major Riesling producing regions are Austria, Australia, California, New York, New Zealand & South Africa.

Typical Characteristics of Riesling are:

• High acidity & lower alcohol
• Can range in sweetness from completely dry, off dry, sweet to dessert wine
• On the nose and mouth: fruit such as citrus, apples, apricots and pineapple, floral & mineral notes are common. As some Rieslings age, particularly German Rieslings, notes of petrol or gasoline are common and a sign of great aging potential. If you can get past the aroma, these wines are still delightful on the palate.

I decided to put Riesling to the test and organized a tasting among 6 of my friends ranging from the big red wine fanatics, to white wine lovers.  I started by asking everyone their thoughts on Riesling:

• Everyone agreed that they thought of it as a sweet wine.
• Several of us reminisced about Riesling being our “starter wine.”
• Two people were fond of Riesling and the rest shared a similar sentiment that Riesling was too sweet for their palates.

I organized a sampling of three different Rieslings ranging from dry to off-dry. I purchased all three from Total Wine. Here is the line-up and the group’s feedback:

2010 Exception Riesling from Alsace, France

• Price $22.99
• Dry & full-bodied
• Floral and citrus notes
• Taster Feedback: Everyone was equally surprised to have a dry Riesling. I was challenged by two tasters that it was still sweet, so I had them taste the wine with their nose plugged. Some stereotypes are hard to overcome! Everyone related it to a familiar white wine that they enjoyed drinking, such as Sauvignon Blanc or Chardonnay.  All but one taster enjoyed the wine and would have it again.

2012 Dr. Heidemanns Riesling QbA from Mosel, Germany

• Price $10.99
• Off-dry & medium-bodied
• Apple & peach notes
• Taster Feedback: Tasters embraced a little sweetness with this off-dry fan favorite! All but 1 taster enjoyed this wine and wanted to know ideal food pairings to try it with. Total Wine recommends a spicy shrimp stir-fry!

2007 J.J Prum Riesling Kabinett from Mosel, Germany

• Price $30
• Off-dry & medium-bodied
• Floral, peach, lime, & slate notes
• Taster Feedback: This was perceived as the sweetest of my selections and embraced by my two tasters that were already fond of Riesling. This did have hints of gasoline-like aromas, which were not as well received by the group as the previous two.

Overall everyone agreed that they would give Riesling another try and even planned to seek it out again on their own. For those of you like me who abandoned Riesling for the bigger, bolder more mature red, maybe it’s time to go back to your roots! After all, what’s wrong with enjoying a wine that was so easy to love to begin with!

Next time you are in the mood to try something different, give Riesling another try and let me know your feedback. Some ideal pairing to try it with:

• Sweet and salty
• Sweet and spicy
• Pair with Thai or Asian food
• Seafood
• Try a sweet Riesling with dessert.