As soon as I heard about Drei Riesling, I was sure I would like it. A wine made specifically to counteract the sweet German Rieslings that often appear on the American market? Sign me up, please.

Label
"Direct from Deutschland, this dry Riesling is sourced from steep vineyards in the Mosel Valley. Featuring crisp refreshing flavours and natural mouth-watering acidity, Drei defines drinking pleasure and is a great companion with food and friends."

My Thoughts
Drei's initial promise did not disappoint. Its clean taste, refreshing acidity, make it easily the best Riesling I've tried for this blog. Once they're distributed in the US, you can be sure it'll be a staple in our house.

Stats

• Alcohol: 11.5%
• Residual Sugar: unknown
  
• Vintage: 2008
• Appellation: Mosel
  
• Price: €7.95 (not yet available in US)
  
• Rating: 9
  
• Value (Rating/Price): 0.67

Last week I reviewed an inexpensive Riesling bought at Whole Foods. I knew it was from Mosel and had a low alcohol level (9%), but I didn't know much more than that. Drinking that taught me a good lesson: avoid nondescript Riesling and favor those that list the residual sugar or at least give some kind of cue about its sweetness.

So you might be confused to find me posting yet another review of a nondescript German Riesling this week. This one was in fact bought before I had posted the other review, and if I had known I probably wouldn't have gone near it.

Yet I was pleasantly surprised. This wine was from Trader Joe's, not Whole Foods, and from the Rheingau, not Mosel. It's the 2007 Riesling Spätlese (late harvest) Riesling made under the Edition Maximilian label. The producer is Weingut Hans Lang--but note that their site is only available in German right now.

Label
"When late harvested German Riesling rapes are fully ripe, they yield an outstanding aroma unmatched in the world." Their website elaborates that the Riesling, and others in the "Gutsweine" category, are for "täglichen Genuss," or everyday enjoyment.

My Thoughts
Everyday enjoyment is exactly what this Riesling delivers. Unlike last week's Riesling, this had a little more acid-y zing to counteract the residual sweetness. The flavors were uncomplicated, but this isn't a celebration wine or one you'd serve with a big meal. Just an ordinary, weeknight kind of wine.

Stats

• Alcohol: 9%
• Residual Sugar: unknown
  
• Vintage: 2007
• Appellation: Rheingau
  
• Price: $8.99
  
• Rating: 6
  
• Value (Rating/Price): 0.67
  

About a week ago my wife bought a German Riesling during a trip to Whole Foods. It wasn't expensive but wasn't the cheapest Riesling out there either.

This selection comes from the Trittenheim area of the Mosel valley in Germany and is produced by Römerhof Weinkellerei. More on Römerhof in a moment.

Label
"The Romerhof Riesling is produced from hand-picked grapes grown on steep hillsides along the Mosel River, where the sun-filled days produce a wine loaded with apple and pear flavors and balanced by a crisp finish. It is an ideal match for Asian cuisine, firm cheeses, and seafood."

My Thoughts
The bottle didn't indicate the residual sugar, but whatever the actual sugar content, the wine tasted too sweet because it was unaccompanied by any acid or much flavor. I picked up some green apple flavor, but that was about it. The flavor wasn't particularly unpleasant, if sugar is pleasant for you, but I think you could do better for the money.

Ultimately, I learned two lessons from this wine:

1. Look for residual sugar content on the label.
   
2. Don't buy wine made by a company that describes itself as a "supplier" of wine (a descriptor used by Römerhof).

Stats

• Alcohol: 9%
• Residual Sugar: unknown
  
• Vintage: 2009
• Appellation: Mosel
  
• Price: $8.99
  
• Rating: 3
  
• Value (Rating/Price): 0.33
  

It's been a while since my last Riesling Project post. I usually make it my goal to post once a week, but as many fellow bloggers can sympathize with, my day job (you know, the one I actually get paid to do) and other factors have kept me away.

One of those other factors was a trip to the Finger Lakes region in New York. We enjoyed some spectacular scenery and weather, and though I had been there several times before, I was struck by how ideal that region is for growing Riesling: lots of rock formations, moderate climate, and plenty of water.

I'll hope to get back in the routine next week. In the meantime, enjoy the picture posted above, taken near Taughannock Falls on Cayuga Lake north of Ithaca.

According to the Wine Lover's Companion:

Today, in order for a wine to be called Liebfraumilch, it must meet the following provisions: be a wine "of pleasant character"; contain a minimum of 18 grams of residual sugar (1.8 percent); be made only from müller-thurgau, sylvaner, kerner or riesling grapes; be of QbA quality; not be labeled with Prädikat designations such as spätlese or auslese; and come from one of the four German regions of rheinhessen, pfalz, rheingau and nahe (in practice, almost all of it comes from the Rheinhessen and the Pfalz). As with most wines, the quality of Liebfraumilch can vary dramatically from producer to producer.

I've made it no secret in past reviews that I don't like sweet Rieslings. I generally have a low tolerance for sweetness, plus I rarely eat foods spicy enough to counteract all that residual sugar.

So when I received the 2009 Sweet Riesling from Pacific Rim as a sample, I was skeptical. But because I like Pacific Rim overall and trust them to make a good sweet wine, even if it's not one that fits my personal taste, I decided to go ahead and review it. I was surprised how much I liked it.

Label
"Our Columbia Valle Sweet Riesling—fermented with wild, native yeast—is fragrant and moderately sweet with flavors of pear, pineapple and peach. . . . Our Sweet Riesling brings harmonic balance to all fiery fare, from Thai to Szechuan to Caribbean cuisines."

My Thoughts
The sweet, floral scent of the wine was prominent when I poured the first glass. Though not incredibly complex, I did enjoy layers of green apple and peach.

I actually enjoyed this wine with a pizza made with spicy tomato sauce, and the sweetness really didn't bother me unless I took too many sips without some food to tone down the sugar. And with just 9% alcohol, this makes for an excellent mid-day wine to pair with any flavorful food.

Stats

• Alcohol: 9%
• Residual Sugar: 8.4%
  
• Vintage: 2009
• Appellation: Columbia Valley
  
• Price: $10.00 (received as sample)
  
• Rating: 7
  
• Value (Rating/Price): 0.7

Life has been busy, and with two sets of parents in town for our son's baptism recently, the blog has had to wait. But we're settling into our normal routine now, and to catch up I'll begin an occasional series of head-to-head Riesling reviews. Today's theme is East Meets West, and we'll look at Rieslings from Washington State and Virginia.

The Virginia selection comes from Gray Ghost Vineyards, and the Washington selection is the "Naked" Riesling from Snoqualmie.

Labels

• Gray Ghost:"This elegant, off-dry Riesling has classic floral aromas followed by concentrated flavors of green apple and red grapefruit. The lively acidity gives the wine a well-balanced finish with hints of spice. Serve with fish, poultry or pasta dishes with white sauces."
• Snoqualmie: "Organically farmed and produced, this Riesling offers bright aromas of apricot and spice, with a hint of mineral carried through on the palate. The off-dry finish is clean and soft and the pure elegance of the varietal is fully captured in this bottling. A perfect aperitif or wine pairing with assorted cheeses."

My Thoughts

• Gray Ghost: As I began to sip this Riesling, I didn't get much in the way of flavor. Sure, I got some generic floral aroma and spice, but I also got a watery taste, and that's the "flavor" I most dislike in wine. Thankfully, as it warmed in the glass the wine took on fruity flavors, and the finish was pleasant. The finish redeemed the slow start, but I wouldn't pay $19 for this again. Don't take that as a complete negative, though--I'll certainly be tasting the other wines Gray Ghost has to offer.
• Snoqualmie: This wine is clearly in the major leagues. Yellow in the glass, its sweetness and fruit combine for what would be a lovely balance to any spicy food. For me, it's too sweet to be enjoyed on its own or with mild food, but that's not a criticism of the wine itself. And for $9 cheaper than the Gray Ghost wine, the value by comparison is unmistakable.

You can see then, that the Washington wine won pretty easily. Riesling may not be a wine that we should grow a lot of here in Virginia since what's available from the Pacific Northwest and Germany is so often better and so much more available for such reasonable prices.

Stats

• Gray Ghost:
  • Alcohol: 12.0%
  • Residual Sugar: <unknown>
  • Vintage: 2009
  • Appellation: Northern Virginia Region
  • Price: $19.00
  • Rating: 5
  • Value (Rating/Price): 0.26
    
• Snoqualmie:
  
  • Alcohol: 12.0%
  • Residual Sugar: 2.78 g/100mL
  • Vintage: 2008
  • Appellation: Yakima Valley
  • Price: $9.99
  • Rating: 8
  • Value (Rating/Price): 0.8
    

About Gray Ghost
Gray Ghost is a family-owned winery in Amissville, VA. They've got a lovely, low-pressure tasting room where you can purchase wine by the glass. If you're ever in Northern Virginia, you really should go pay them a visit.

About Snoqoualmie
Located in Prosser, WA, Snoqualmie prides itself on being a sustainable/organic winery, though not all of its wines are organic. Look for its "Naked" line of red and white organic if that's an important issue for you. The Vineyard is owned by Ste. Michelle, which explains its good packaging and wide distribution.

But today, I've been pondering one particular takeaway from the project: which Rieslings we should keep stocked. And though I don't know specific answers yet, I'm getting an idea of which regions need to be on our rack. We don't have a lot of wine storage--we might have room for five to six Rieslings--so I need to be selective.

Washington State tops the list. I'd like to keep at least two from there, probably one from Chateau Ste. Michelle and Pacific Rim. Oregon Rieslings aren't readily available around here, so as good as I've heard they are, I don't see them having a regular place at our table.

Next, of course, are German Rieslings. Their quality for the price you pay is unmatched. I haven't yet developed any go-to brands, but I'm sure that will come as the Riesling Project progresses.

The final two will be from the Finger Lakes and Virginia. The Finger Lakes would probably rank higher, but right now their price to quality ratio doesn't often fit with my budget. Virginia Rieslings are also usually more expensive than their German and Washington State counterparts, but I live near many of the vineyards and want to encourage theme to keep producing great wine.

Those are my suggestions, and they're admittedly focused what's available here in the Washington DC area. What do you recommend for your area?

Having reviewed Riesling from Washington, Germany, and even Virginia, it's high time for me to take up a selection from the Finger Lakes. For this purpose I recently picked up the budget-friendly 2008 Riesling from Fox Run Vineyards.

It's time for the next installment of Thursday Trivia, a weekly feature where I look at easily answered Riesling questions.

This week's question: Since Riesling and Gewürztraminer are both German names and both often come in long, skinny bottles, are they related to one another?

They're not:

• Riesling grapes are usually what you think of as a white grape, while Gewürztraminer grapes are shades of red.
• Riesling dates back to the 15th century or so, and while Gewürztraminer has a long history dating back to the Middle Ages, the grapes don't appear to be genetically related.

So there you have it. For more information on these two varietals and their individual histories, I highly recommend the Riesling and Gewürztraminer articles on www.whitewine.co.uk.