July 27th, 2006 A World of Rieslings

Riesling in the 19th century easily cost the wine lover more than a good Bordeaux. That's right. Surprising, but so.

But after two world wars, Riesling fell from grace. A pity, as it's one of the most food-friendly wines one can find.

Most consumers hold to the notion that Riesling is by definition sweet. Not so fast. In Germany, perhaps the country with which the grape is most associated, the term "trocken" denotes dry Rieslings. "Halbtrocken" indicates wines that tilt toward dry, yet have some residual sugar. But it can be sweet. Indeed, Riesling swings all the way to very sweet wines--beerenauslese and trockenbeerenauslese--that are best enjoyed as dessert.

But one's perception of sweetness will depend on the balance struck between residual sugar, acidity and pH. Not infrequently, you can be surprised by a wine with high residual sugar, high total acidity, and low pH. You'll taste it, and think it's dry, when in fact it's not. But if it tastes good, who cares?

And much depends on the food you have with a Riesling. If you have a dish with a good bit of spice, perhaps something from Thai cuisine, you'll want a Riesling with some residual sugar, but still good acidity. At dinner with New Zealand's Felton Road (Cenetral Otago) winemaker Blair Walter and his wife Erin--she hails from Arkansas--at the fabulous Postmaster's Restaurant in Arrowtown, NZ, we brought along the winery's Dry Riesling and Block 1, which has a bit of residual sugar. One of the dishes had a good dose of spice, being influenced by Moroccan cuisine. (Much cooking in New Zealand and Australia these days carries an exotic edge to it.) The Dry Riesling, wonderful as it was, did not pair as well with the dish as the Block 1, which handled the spice like a champ.

Riesling is a grape that has become increasingly valued in just the past few years, and made its mark in other parts of the planet outside of Germany. Of course, its next most natural home is Alsace, a part of France on the west side of the Rhine River that has flipped back and forth between French and German ownership over the course of the last two centuries. In fact, Alsace Rieslings, some enthusiasts believe, represent the finest expression of the grape.

But Riesling will not brook confinement. The grape is grown in California--notably in Santa Barbara, Mendocino, Monterey and Napa Valley--with interesting results, and its best home in this country may be either Washington State or the Finger Lakes of New York State. Canada, especially Ontario, has taken to Riesling.

You'll find it planted in Virginia, and we've got some right here in Georgia. To obtain the good acidity it requires, Riesling needs high altitudes or at least cold circumstances at night--differences between day and night temperatures, called diurnal differences, need to be substantial--to develop Riesling's characteristic zingy acidity.

Riesling finds new homes in Australia (notably Clare Valley--Pike's, Grossett, and Mt. Horrock's especially--and Eden valleys north of Adelaide, as well as Tasmania), New Zealand, and South Africa, where it grows well in Constantia, west of Cape Town, and in Robertson, north of Cape Town. Newly arrived in Atlanta, the "Rhine Riesling" from Robertson's Rietvallei showcases what the grape can do in South Africa. South America--Chile and Argentina-- has a surprising amount of Riesling planted.

Often, I hear wine "connoisseurs" assert that thus and such a Riesling is very Alsace- or German-like, a benchmark in their minds for how Riesling should taste. That's fine, but any grape planted in different circumstances from its origins will, invariably, taste different. Why should it be valued less for that if it still tastes true to the type?

No matter where it's planted, Riesling reveals its character. You instantly know what it is you're drinking, even if you don't necessarily know where it's from. Nuances distinguish one terroir from another. But generally, you'll find flavors of white stone fruit, sometimes pear, tart green apple and perhaps some aromatic brown spices. There might be hints of lemon and lime, perhaps Mandarin orange. You'll get low to moderate alcohol, good acidity and, depending on the soil, some minerality. Rarely does Riesling see any oak--and in my view never should--so you get clean fruit flavors, unencumbered by any intrusive elements. That's the ideal package.

No matter where it's from, serve Riesling chilled but not too frosty. You'll find that it develops in the glass, opening like a flower, so give it some room to maneuver, choosing a narrow tulip-shaped glass for best enjoyment.

Does it make a difference? Well, I once shared a fine Riesling with a friend who is a wine enthusiast, and specifically a Riesling enthusiast, but isn't given to studying the subject. I poured her share into a Riedel ice wine glass, which is tall and tulip-shaped with a bit of a hip in the middle. The glass is designed specifically for ice wine, which often is made from Riesling. She loved the wine and ooed and awed over it.

Thinking I had an ideal opportunity, I took another glass--this one short bowled and with a thick rolled lip, the sort you get at many wine tastings--and poured some into it. She nearly fainted: "What'd you do to that?," she exclaimed. "I saw you pour it into that glass and this one, what'd you do?" The change was so dramatic, she was literally shocked. Her wine was dead in this other glass. So take note: Riesling deserves a proper glass.

One more thing: Riesling can age depending on the worthiness of the vintage, the acidity, and the quality of the grapes. As it matures, often it will develop a diesel oil sort of character in the aromas. Some Riesling advocates--such as Jeffrey Grosset in Australia's Clare Valley--dislike this developmental character and assiduously work to prevent that development, while many others look for it as the hallmark of a well-aged Riesling. Who's right or wrong? Not the point. You decide what works for you.

Jane Garvey

Food Pairings: Squash bisque; potato salad with minced celery/onion and chopped egg; chicken slow cooked on a bed or caramelized (Vidalia!) onions; grilled scallops or shrimp with a Dijon mustard mayonnaise; seafood or fish cooked in parchment paper with ginger-soy-sake seasoning; roast lemon thyme turkey breast

Price: $13
Wholesaler: Empire Distributing

Food Pairings: Ceviche of salmon with cucumber and cilatnro, citrus juices; good potato chips and French onion dip (surprising!); mild curry chicken salad; seafood, pork or chicken with ginger and citrus, Chinese fare of all kinds if not spicy, from egg foo yung to chicken and seafood dishes; seafood cooked in parchment paper with ginger, soy, and exotic seasonings; grilled shrimp or scallops with spicy Rйmoulade. The winery suggests it with traditional Alsace choucrout (sauerkraut) garni, but we'll wait for cooler weather to try that pairing, although it likely should work.

Price: $14
Wholesaler: Grapefields

Food Pairings: Exotic flavors: Light curried (not hot) chicken or tofu salad or cooked chicken dishes with curry, such as Country Captain; grilled chicken apple sausage; poached or soft smoked salmon fillet; grilled chicken salad with yellow fruits, light curry-flavored dressing; pork tenderloin with baked apples stuffed with sweet potato; sweet potato-or pumpkin-stuffed ravioli.

Price: $18
Wholesaler: United Distributors

Food Pairings: Reserve for delicate flavors: Good lightly salted potato chips and French onion dip; cocktail-size potatoes stuffed with herbs and sour cream; crab cakes; ceviche of salmon with minced cucumber and citrus juices; lightly smoked breast of chicken; baked mildly flavored fish (flounder, sole, tilapia); Winery suggests raw oysters with a squeeze of lime.

Price: $18
Wholesaler: Empire Distributing

Trefethen Dry Riesling 2005
Oak Knoll District of Napa Valley, CA

Score: 93 Points

Tasting Notes: Medium-bodied dry white wine; very pale straw. Initial slightly diesel-y aromas wave off to be replaced by delicate floral, citrus, white peach scents, ginger that introduce a citrus/slightly white peach-y palate, finishing with crisp tart apple. Elegant, refined, yet with juicy fruit flavors that sweep the palate with a x range of fruits. Less than 1 gram residual sugar per 100 ml, with good acidity (.81) and a wicked low ph (2.84). So the palate reads this as a dry wine. Supremely delicious.

Food Pairings: A wide range of foods: Classic potato salad; dill-cured salmon with yogurt dill sauce, crab cakes or fritters; fish or shellfish steamed in parchment paper with Asian seasonings; white-vinegar-dressed Vietnamese salads with green papaya, green mango, apple and chopped peanuts, pad Thai or other Asian noodle dishes (but not hot), mild curried fish or chicken dishes, grilled pork steak with apple chutney

Price: $18
Wholesaler: Atlanta Wholesale Wine

Food Pairings: Cured salmon with dill/yogurt sauce; grilled trout; crab cakes; seafood salad; soft-shell crab; cold shrimp with lemon and whole-grain Pommery mustard; Thai-style green papaya; mango, apple salad with peanuts; cold Asian noodle salads; poched or parchment paper-cooked fish with Asian seasonings; baked halibut or sole meuniere; grilled scallops; lemon thyme-rubbed breast of turkey, roasted

Price: $19
Wholesaler: Persimmon Creek Winery