The Season for Riesling
With Spring in the air (well for those of us at 8,000 feet anyway) and Summer close by, lighter whites wines are sure to follow. And so too is it time for my annual Riesling Rant.
Riesling is often considered a sweet wine, and while some of the most amazing examples are sweet, Riesling can also be bone dry. Witness the wines of Alsace.
Crisp and tart describes many of the Alsatians, and although some may be fruity, they tend to have very little residual sugar.
Residual sugar is a key phrase here. RS as it is often abbreviated on a wine label, is the measure of how much sugar is left over after the wine making process. Dry red wine has no residual sugar, and dessert wines can have as much as 30%.
Riesling ranges in style from dry to sweet, and I think this has led to a little confusion over which Riesling to choose. Fear of sweet has been the deciding factor that keeps many people from exploring this most noble of white wines.
"Americans talk dry and drink sweet" is a cliche that remains as true today as when I started in this biz way back when. I think my favorite example of the sweetness axiom are the many times I have had a customer say "no that wine would be too sweet, bring me a coke."
OK, so if you are willing to get over the fact that some Rieslings are sweet, the questions become, which ones, and what do I drink them with?
Dessert wines are usually the easiest to spot. They tend towards half bottles, and are always expensive (making a dessert wine is no cheap proposition). Late Harvest is a good clue for a sweeter wine, but as in the case of my best scoring wine of all time, Hogue Late Harvest Riesling, it doesn't necessarily mean dessert wine sweet. Just sweet enough to be enjoyable.
Auslese is the German term for a wine of this sweetness, and there are many decent examples at surprisingly good prices. With German wines the key is to look for the word Riesling on the label. Other grape varieties made in an Auslese style are also fun, but do not tend to be as well balanced as a Riesling.
What food and activities would you drink a soda with? For a refreshing quaff? With a burger or a pizza? How about Asian cooking which seems to only go with beer? All of these are great candidates for the slightly sweeter Rieslings.
Hogue is in the Pacific Northwest of the US, and they are not the only Riesling producer in the area. Most of the US Rieslings are just a bit more tart than sweet. And so are the best of the Germans (again the very best are the intense dessert wines, but that is another blog).
Rather than make this longer winded than it is already shaping up to be, for detailed information on German wines, buy my book, or for a quick look at the regions go read about it on the web site.
The drier Rieslings, all the way up to the bone dry Alsatians, are great with any kind of food, but especially seafood. That tart crisp flavor works exactly the same way squeezing lemon on your fish does, to balance all of the flavors.
Chardonnay is great, but it tends to be heavy, at least as far as a white wine goes. Sauvignon Blanc is another favorite white wine grape, but it tends to be a bit monochromatic, in that it has only one flavor and not a lot of complexity. Chenin Blanc, another white grape that doesn't get enough attention, has great crispness, and deserves more consideration, but it is still no Riesling.
A Riesling, at its best, and maybe even at its worst, tends to be complex, well balanced, aromatic, and easy to enjoy.
Get out there, try a few, and let us know what grabs you.
Riesling is often considered a sweet wine, and while some of the most amazing examples are sweet, Riesling can also be bone dry. Witness the wines of Alsace.
Crisp and tart describes many of the Alsatians, and although some may be fruity, they tend to have very little residual sugar.
Residual sugar is a key phrase here. RS as it is often abbreviated on a wine label, is the measure of how much sugar is left over after the wine making process. Dry red wine has no residual sugar, and dessert wines can have as much as 30%.
Riesling ranges in style from dry to sweet, and I think this has led to a little confusion over which Riesling to choose. Fear of sweet has been the deciding factor that keeps many people from exploring this most noble of white wines.
"Americans talk dry and drink sweet" is a cliche that remains as true today as when I started in this biz way back when. I think my favorite example of the sweetness axiom are the many times I have had a customer say "no that wine would be too sweet, bring me a coke."
OK, so if you are willing to get over the fact that some Rieslings are sweet, the questions become, which ones, and what do I drink them with?
Dessert wines are usually the easiest to spot. They tend towards half bottles, and are always expensive (making a dessert wine is no cheap proposition). Late Harvest is a good clue for a sweeter wine, but as in the case of my best scoring wine of all time, Hogue Late Harvest Riesling, it doesn't necessarily mean dessert wine sweet. Just sweet enough to be enjoyable.
Auslese is the German term for a wine of this sweetness, and there are many decent examples at surprisingly good prices. With German wines the key is to look for the word Riesling on the label. Other grape varieties made in an Auslese style are also fun, but do not tend to be as well balanced as a Riesling.
What food and activities would you drink a soda with? For a refreshing quaff? With a burger or a pizza? How about Asian cooking which seems to only go with beer? All of these are great candidates for the slightly sweeter Rieslings.
Hogue is in the Pacific Northwest of the US, and they are not the only Riesling producer in the area. Most of the US Rieslings are just a bit more tart than sweet. And so are the best of the Germans (again the very best are the intense dessert wines, but that is another blog).
Rather than make this longer winded than it is already shaping up to be, for detailed information on German wines, buy my book, or for a quick look at the regions go read about it on the web site.
The drier Rieslings, all the way up to the bone dry Alsatians, are great with any kind of food, but especially seafood. That tart crisp flavor works exactly the same way squeezing lemon on your fish does, to balance all of the flavors.
Chardonnay is great, but it tends to be heavy, at least as far as a white wine goes. Sauvignon Blanc is another favorite white wine grape, but it tends to be a bit monochromatic, in that it has only one flavor and not a lot of complexity. Chenin Blanc, another white grape that doesn't get enough attention, has great crispness, and deserves more consideration, but it is still no Riesling.
A Riesling, at its best, and maybe even at its worst, tends to be complex, well balanced, aromatic, and easy to enjoy.
Get out there, try a few, and let us know what grabs you.
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