Where do you find these wines in GA? Letters to Jane Garvey April 20th 2006 Riesling Round-Up

Here's some good trivia for you: Which white wine cost more than Bordeaux in the 19th century? Answer: Riesling. Yes, that's right. Riesling.

A trio of wars and some unfortunate winemaking techniques did much to displace Riesling from its lofty perch over the course of the 20th century, but today Riesling has finally awakened from a long and somewhat self-induced slumber. It's been such a stepchild in the wine world, that many wine lists, even those drafted by well-respected sommeliers and wine-knowledgeable folks, don't even spell the word correctly, a most singularly annoying slip-up.

[In case you're curious, the rule is simple: In German, the second vowel in the i-e/e-i combination leads. Thus, in Riesling the e is the one pronounced, as it's the second vowel in that combination. One says "REEZ-ling," not RISE-ling. In hefeweisse (perhaps your favorite beer), the pronunciation is HEF-eh-vise-eh, because the 'i' controls. Real simple really.]

Today many chefs and wine leaders in Atlanta and across the nation are finding a love of Riesling, and its place on wine lists is growing. While visiting Grosset in Clare Valley, Australia, last year, I asked visiting retailers from the U.S. what they were seeing in their wine sales with respect to Riesling. One reported a 10% increase in 2004 over 2003 in his German wine sales, most of that Riesling, of course. The others nodded in agreement. Since Grosset is a major Australian Riesling producer, this came as good news to owner/winemaker Jeffrey Grosset, one of the several stars of Riesling in Clare Valley.

Yet many consumers still think Riesling is by definition sweet. I had that very conversation just the other day--again. Bordeaux and Burgundy buffs tend to disdain Riesling, convinced it's sweet. And if it's sweet, well, you know, you just can't let anybody CATCH you drinking a sweet wine!!! That would just be too much. What would everybody think?

First, not all Riesling is sweet. Dry Riesling or trocken in the case of a German Riesling can be just as dry as one might want. And halbtrocken (or half dry) can cut a nice balance between sweet and dry. The delicious fruit offered by the Riesling grape is apt to make someone think the wine is sweet, that's how voluptuous it can be. Or it can be crisp, with very bright acidity, and aromas of white peaches or Mandarin orange. A notch of diesel may appear, in the aromas, especially on older vintages, although some producers disdain this (Grosset, for instance).

Sometimes the trockens, to my taste, can be out of balance, so eager is the winemaker to prove his or her mettle by making Riesling in a dry style. Acids can be high, and if they're not balanced by some sugar, they can be so acidic that acidity runs the entire sensation in the mouth. Thomas Jefferson, commenting on his trip through this part of the planet, observed that it would take 50 years for acids in the German wines he tasted to soften enough to enable one to drink the wines.

But you know what? I'm not going to turn down the sweeter styles either. In Germany several years ago with a group of writers, we were often asked what we preferred: sweet or dry?

Our answer? BALANCED. Several of us virtually uttered the word in unplanned chorus. The question is bogus really. We wanted wines that offered a tension between sweetness and acidity, and some minerality, because we also wanted complexity.

Second, Riesling is one of the most food flexible wines you can lay your hands on. Whether sweet or dry. A friend and I some time back loaded my dining room table with sundry dishes, bits and pieces of this and that, to taste with different wines. The Riesling nailed every dish on the table. That same friend called the other night absolutely exultant. His Kendall-Jackson Riesling (United Distributors) had gone so well with his filet mignon.

Riesling and beef? Yup. I wasn't surprised. On that same trip several years ago, we were offered a late-arrival supper of salad with seared beef filet and a halftrocken. Was that a revelation! The Goethe Institut here in Atlanta served a Riesling with a lean beef dish for a travel writers' luncheon. Another winner. And I've seen the Heyl (Atlanta Wholesale Wine, NDC) halbtrocken happily accompany a venison dish at Petite Auberge.

Riesling is grown in just about every conceivable wine-growing world. It has long been grown in Chile, and even northern Italy. (But that's the part of Italy that was Austria until about 1917, and Riesling is important in Austria.). Not exclusively the provenance of Germany, Riesling is important in Alsace, France, which used to be Germany.

Riesling is grown in South Africa; the quite tasty and inexpensive Buitenverwachting Riesling has been available in Atlanta (National Distributing). In the United States, it's one of several important varieties in Washington State, although Oregon and California both grow very tasty examples. It's the signature varietal of upstate New York (Dr. Constantin Frank; Quality Wine & Spirits). And it's even grown in north Georgia, where it's nearly the signature grape of Persimmon Creek Vineyard (PCV), near Clayton. The PCV Riesling is good enough to have made it onto the wine lists at two of the three Ritz-Carltons and several upper tier Atlanta restaurants.

Riesling not only drinks very nicely, it may also play a significant role as an ingredient in a dish. Perhaps the most famous is coq au Riesling, an Alsatian/German dish. To make it, just substitute a dry Riesling for the red wine in a recipe for coq au vin. The rest is the same.

When winemakers leave at the end of a busy day, they take with them for dinner either a Riesling or a rose' much of the time. (Or they drink a beer.) Do they know something you need to know? Here's a line-up of choices, each of them clearly Riesling, but the differences among them are remarkable.

Serve at 55 degrees, cellar temperature, in tall tulip-shaped glasses.

Jane Garvey

EDITOR'S NOTE: RS = Residual Sugar, i.e. the level of sugar left-over after fermentation in the wine. Expressed in terms of grams per liter or as a % of volume. Statistically, only half the population even detects sweetness in wine at 10 g/l or 1% RS.

pH in wine ranges from 3.0 - 4.0; the lower the number the more acidic.

Food Pairings: Asian fare with some sweetness: dumplings with a soy-based dipping sauce; sesame chicken; sweet and sour pork or chicken; honey/orange-glazed roast chicken or pork tenderloin; moo shoo pork; honey chicken; Chinese barbecued steaks with sweet sauteed onoins; fried chicken tenders with honey-mustard dipping sauce

Price: $11
Wholesaler: Continental Beverage

Food Pairings: Assertive and exotic flavors: Asian dumplings with ponzu dipping sauce; grilled bacon-wrapped scallops with mustard-mayonnaise; chicken tenders with honey mustard; ramaki (bacon-wrapped chicken livers and water chestnuts); mild curried dishes; grilled chicken-apple sausages. Nice with a firm, mild cheese, such as Sweet Grass Dairy's Thomasville Tomme. Winery suggests oysters, fish 'n' chips, Thai style-crispy chicken, dishes with ginger, coriander and soy. .Makes sense.

Price: $19
Wholesaler: Empire Distributing

Food Pairings: Straightforward, simple foods, gentle seasonings: Cornmeal-crusted fried oysters and shrimp; tortilla chips with roasted red pepper/sun-dried tomato dip (Whole Foods); crab legs; grilled chilled scallops; grilled chicken apple sausages; scallops and shrimp on grits with touch of garlic and a cream sauce; roasted or fried chicken; mild fish, such as crab-stuffed flounder or tilapia;

Price: $15
Wholesaler: Continental Beverage

Food Pairings: Amazing food companion, with a wide range of pairings. Creamy chicken pot pie; coq au Riesling; Thai spicy catfish (not too hot); beef-filled Malaysian pancakes and similar fare. Korean seafood pancakes; mildly seasoned Indian vegetable and chicken dishes (chickpeas and butter chicken); mild curried chicken salad with apples and raisins; Chinese fare with aromatic, but not hot, seasoning

Price: $15
Wholesaler: Grape Expectations

Spy Valley Dry Riesling 2004
Marlborough, NZ

Score: 91 Points

Tasting Notes: Medium-bodied dry white wine; medium straw. Enticing, fresh, clean aromas focused on citrus, followed by mineral-rich (stony, slate-like) citrus-caressed fruit flavors. Dry, acid-enhanced finish, with fruit and acid well integrated. High acid (.76) balanced against a bit of residual sugar (.5) creates a taut, lean, crisp wine. Zingy, snappy, fresh and mouthwatering, with a delightful long finish. An exemplary representative of the New Zealand approach to this grape. palate bruiser. Cool room temperature about 65 degrees.

Food Pairings: Steamed or fried dumplings with soy-based dipping sauce; light curried chicken salad with apple and raisin; savory Chinese fare rather than sweet, such as salt-and-pepper squid or shrimp; lo mein with vegetables or cold noodle dishes with peanut sauce; crab cakes; steamed crab legs with drawn butter; grilled scallops with mustard mayonnaise; cornmeal-crusted catfish or trout; fried chicken (with honey mustard dipping sauce good, too).

Price: $21
Wholesaler: Quality Wine & Spirits

Food Pairings: At the begging with creamy liver mousse or foie gras; braised chicken thighs with onions and garlic, grilled scallops with mustard mayonnaise; grilled chicken-apple sausages; Chinese barbecued beef steaks with sauteed onions, and at the end with strong cheeses, such as French Muenster. Guesswork here, but I'd bet on it with sautйed sweetbreads and pears.

Price: $21
Wholesaler: Quality Wine & Spirits