Riesling Taste Profile
The International Riesling Foundation (IRF) is a young organization that's trying to do a world of good for Riesling producers and consumers alike. Check out their website for good articles on what it means for a wine to have minerality, where that "petrol" note comes from, and why many producers choose to use screwcaps (hint: it's not about making it cheaper to produce).
But probably the IRF's most important contribution is the Riesling Taste Profile, a sliding scale of sweetness that isn't directly linked to residual sugar since several other factors influence how a wine actually tastes. The scale is meant to be put directly on wine labels or on point-of-sale materials
Here's what the IRF has to say about the scale:
Though I'd love to see the IRF develop a more dynamic online presence with current articles and social media interaction, their Riesling Taste Profile is a great tool for those of us who want to appreciate the subtleties of Riesling.To help consumers predict the taste in a particular bottle of Riesling, the IRF created a Riesling Taste Profile which Riesling producers may use on their back labels, merchandising materials and elsewhere. The winery may choose among the four graphic options below, and determines where the arrow should go based on a set of technical guidelines and their own judgment.
