There’s No Reason Not to Have a Riesling

By Tamara Lesnar
Staff Writer

As the days get hotter I find that I prefer a light crisp wine to drink; heavy reds just put me to sleep. One summertime favorite is the wonderful Riesling. The vine picks up the flavors of its soil and brings them forth in the grape, giving us a tasting experience that is crisp and lively. You will find upon your first sniff a floral bouquet with accents of citrus and minerals. The Riesling grape loves cooler temperatures and ripens slowly.

These conditions make this grape susceptible to the noble rot Botrytis cinerea. Noble rot acts on the skin of the grape, causing it to wither. The sugar content of the grape becomes concentrated. This reaction is what gives the Riesling its sweet (off-dry) flavors. Don’t let this scare you away from trying this grape variety as it comes in a dry version as well.

These wonderful wines are celebrated throughout the world. Germany is renowned for its delicious Rieslings. In Germany’s Mosel-Saar-Ruwer region, you will find that these wines produce a tasting experience of citrus, orchard fruit, and honeysuckle with a racy frame. These wines tend to be light-bodied. As you move on to the Rheinhessen, Rheingau and Pfalz regions, you will find that these wines have characteristics similar to the Mosel region but they increase in body and become spicier. Yum! The raciness of the wine allows it to be paired with many foods including spicy foods.

So you want to try some Riesling and you walk into the liquor store and bam, you are bombarded with wine designations and it’s confusing. How do you pick? Here is a little class, Label 101. Look for a label with a quality classification of “Qualitatswein mit Pradikat” (QmP). This tells you that this wine has not gone through chaptalization- the process of adding sugar to the juice prior to fermentation that increases alcohol levels after fermentation. Next we need to look at the ripeness levels. These designations represent the graduating ripeness in ascending order:

Kabinett: light wine made with fully ripened grapes. It has a Potential Alcohol of 8.8% by volume. This wine pairs well with light foods or quaffing. It can be found as a dry, medium-dry or sweet wine.

Spatlese: a late harvest wine with more intense flavors and a Potential Alcohol of 10% by volume. This wine pairs well with richer foods or by themselves.They can be dry, medium-dry or sweet.

Auslese: these are noble wines of select picking. They are selected when the grapes are very ripe. They have a Potential Alcohol of 12% by volume and often resemble dessert wines. They are sweet but may be found in dry and medium-dry styles.

Beerenauslese (BA): berries that are of select picking. These berries are hand selected and are overripe. These wonderful dessert wines are rich and can be enjoyed alone or with desserts. They have a Potential Alcohol of 16.4% by volume.

Eiswein: an Ice Wine. This wine has the intensity of a BA but is harvested and pressed while the grapes are frozen. They are unique with sweetness and a fruity acidity. Their Potential Alcohol is 16.4% by volume.

Trockenbeerenauslese (TBA): dry berries of select picking. The berries are dried on the vine almost to raisins and are overripe. This produces a wine that has an Alcohol Potential of 19% by volume. TBAs taste rich, sweet, and honey-like.

Beerenauslese, Eiswien, and Trockenbeerenauslese wines are a treat and are more expensive. If you get a chance to taste these fine rare wines, do not pass it up. These wines are collectables. The high sugar concentrations produce a wine that has long storage stability.

Other areas produce fine Rieslings. Alsace produces Rieslings that are in the dry style. They offer the taster a full-body wine with distinct petrol aromas and nice acidity. The Selection de Grain Nobles are famous and are just as expensive and rare as the German’s BAs and TBAs. They too are collectables and because of their sugar concentration they have great shelving stability.

Other areas that produce Rieslings are California, Oregon, Washington, New York’s Finger Lakes region, Canada, New Zealand, Australia, South America and South Africa. You may find them labeled as Johannisberg Riesling, White Riesling, or Rhine Riesling. So open up a bottle of Riesling!

My Two Picks for the Week:
Chateau Ste. Michelle Indian Wells 2007. $16
Inniskillin Ice Wine VQA Niagra Pennisula 2006 $40

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