SFGate.com Article on Riesling in the U.S.A.

I cut my wine teeth on Riesling, so at times I feel like somewhat of a Riesling evangelist ... maybe we'll even convert Robin some day!

From today's Wine Country section:

In the eyes of California's few remaining Riesling producers, Riesling is the variety people love to hate.

The less consumers know about wine, these vintners say, the more likely they are to view Riesling as invariably sweet and terribly unfashionable and to fear that enjoying a glass would expose them as rubes. For most of the past 20 years, California Riesling has ceded the spotlight to the state's more glamorous white varieties, such as Chardonnay and the currently chic Pinot Grigio.

Full article here: Riesling's California comeback. Wineries race to meet rising demand for domestic Riesling..

Kind of interesting that nothing east of the Mississippi interested the author. Agree with the observations from some of the interviewees that Riesling is best when at least a tad off dry.

We love Riesling to the point that wife objects when I buy any other white. However, most bone dry ones we've had whether from Alsace, Australia, or even my beloved Finger Lakes have overtones of petrol.

i agree that the bias in favor of ca and against everything else is the most curious part of this article. for most of us the idea of producing riesling in ca is just laughable. other curious things:
a vocal and capable ca proponent of riesling - scott harvey - isn't mentioned. neither is navarro.
the old saw about alsace riesling being dry is still being repeated dispite the fact that most are not.

Kind of interesting that nothing east of the Mississippi interested the author.

Carl,

With the exception of Dan Berger, isn't that usually the case from the Left Coast???

the old saw about alsace riesling being dry is still being repeated dispite the fact that most are not.

Admittedly it has been a loooong time since we've had one, and the last one was about eight years old and though dry was still enjoyable but smelled like a gas tank.

the old saw about alsace riesling being dry is still being repeated dispite the fact that most are not.

Fully agree--have been saying it to anyone who would listen for the past twenty years. About a decade ago I measured the sugar in some of them--let's say it was measurable!

Carl Eppig (Middleton, NH wrote:
Kind of interesting that nothing east of the Mississippi interested the author.


Carl,

With the exception of Dan Berger, isn't that usually the case from the Left Coast???

Oooo, you guys are soooo envious.

Let's see: West Coast newspaper, located in the very heart and soul of west coast wine country, writing about wines that might interest and be readily available to it's core constituency of west coast readers.... what oh what should they be focusing on, I wonder????

You guys want an article on your wines, either get a better marketing system, instill some distribution around here on those wines, or bribe a newspaper writer to get you some press, for godsake.

Or you can kvetch, like somebody cares.

the old saw about alsace riesling being dry is still being repeated dispite the fact that most are not.

Fully agree--have been saying it to anyone who would listen for the past twenty years. About a decade ago I measured the sugar in some of them--let's say it was measurable!

And would that include Trimbach, Thomas?

I think Trimbach is pretty much the representative that most people see when they encounter Alsace around the US, and Trimbach is the most resolutely dry in its style.

Certainly, if anyone is drinking (or attempting to drink, since I can't) Z-H wines these days, sweetness is the par. Lots of sweetness. And according to the winemaker, that's just the wine naturally expressing itself. Yeah. Right.

the old saw about alsace riesling being dry is still being repeated dispite the fact that most are not.

Fully agree--have been saying it to anyone who would listen for the past twenty years. About a decade ago I measured the sugar in some of them--let's say it was measurable!

And would that include Trimbach, Thomas?

I think Trimbach is pretty much the representative that most people see when they encounter Alsace around the US, and Trimbach is the most resolutely dry in its style.

Certainly, if anyone is drinking (or attempting to drink, since I can't) Z-H wines these days, sweetness is the par. Lots of sweetness. And according to the winemaker, that's just the wine naturally expressing itself. Yeah. Right.

Interesting. About fifteen years ago I asked the ZH winemaker about the sugar levels (I had already tested the stuff) and I got the same answer.

Trimbach wines have been on the drier end of the spectrum. My experience over the years with them, however, includes a lot of TCA. Given a choice, I'd take the sugar...

Carl Eppig (Middleton, NH wrote:
Kind of interesting that nothing east of the Mississippi interested the author.


Carl,

With the exception of Dan Berger, isn't that usually the case from the Left Coast???

Oooo, you guys are soooo envious.

Let's see: West Coast newspaper, located in the very heart and soul of west coast wine country, writing about wines that might interest and be readily available to it's core constituency of west coast readers.... what oh what should they be focusing on, I wonder????

You guys want an article on your wines, either get a better marketing system, instill some distribution around here on those wines, or bribe a newspaper writer to get you some press, for godsake.

Or you can kvetch, like somebody cares.

LOL. We won't talk, either, about the notorious parochialism of East Coasters-especially New York!

Although I do not drink much Riesling, I am very glad it is so readily available at our local stores. And as that article mentioned, Washington Riesling has quite a bit of consumer appeal.

About two weeks ago, my wife made some homemade white chicken chili for dinner. I just could not imagine a better match than a lovely bottle of Riesling for this meal. So, out came a bottle of 2005 Seven Hills Columbia Valley Riesling ($11). I was not disappointed. This wine was crisp, aromatic, refreshingly clean, and it had just a small amount of residual sugar.

For a real treat, get a bottle of the Chateau Ste. Michelle Eroica Dr. Loosen Riesling ($24-25). This is a more elegant bottle with beautiful fruit and minerals. Now that I think about it, I haven't had this wine for a few years. Time to get some more.

-- Clark

Clark:

I agree that the Eroica is a pretty decent bottle of Riesling....but it fared only so-so in the "West Coast Riesling" panel tasting that accompanied the article in question.

It received a decent two-star rating, but the comments on the wine were not exactly inspiring---especially when the wine was ciited at $22 (and I've seen it higher). Interesting that the CSM $9 bottling received as good, if not better evaluation!

Of course, it's all relative. You know, any given Sunday and it's all a matter of taste at the moment blah blah blah.

When I first tasted the CSM Eroica, it was from the 2000 vintage, and it was simply outstanding. However, I recall that the 2001 vintage was not nearly as good. So, it seems there is some potentially significant variability from one year to the next with this wine. That's probably why I hadn't bought it the past few years.

-- Clark

Clark:

I agree that the Eroica is a pretty decent bottle of Riesling....but it fared only so-so in the "West Coast Riesling" panel tasting that accompanied the article in question.

It received a decent two-star rating, but the comments on the wine were not exactly inspiring---especially when the wine was ciited at $22 (and I've seen it higher). Interesting that the CSM $9 bottling received as good, if not better evaluation!

Of course, it's all relative. You know, any given Sunday and it's all a matter of taste at the moment blah blah blah.

Well, Eroica didn't do too well in a Riesling seminar I attended that included Germany, Alsace, Washington, and New York.

On its own it seems to please. Next to real Riesling it seems to pale.

Personally, I found it cloying. Of course, it may not have been the same vintage as the one you guys are talking about.

I think the last statement of the article says it all!

Salute

last one was about eight years old and though dry was still enjoyable but smelled like a gas tank

You say this as if it is a bad thing.

Personally, I found it cloying. Of course, it may not have been the same vintage as the one you guys are talking about.

Like Tom, I've tried them from the very beginning. Their initial wine was okay, and I really want to like them -- I can't. I find most New World offerings without the requisite acidity to balance the wines, no matter what sugar level we are talking about.

I think the last statement of the article says it all!

I'll second that emotion and provide the quote from the article, to wit:

"Washington state is laughing all the way to the bank," says Eileen Fredrikson of Gomberg, Fredrikson & Associates, a wine industry analyst.

Whether California, with its abundant sunshine, can produce Rieslings comparable to those of the Old World remains in dispute and may not even be the right question.

"California is not Europe," says Smith. "We have our own climate and terroir, and we have to learn to make wines our way. Nobody makes a better German Riesling than the Germans do, and nobody makes better Smith-Madrone Riesling than we do."

I have never been enamored by U.S. Rieslings simply because the Riesling I learned to drink came from Rhenish Hesse, the Rheingau, and the Mosel-Saar-Ruwer regions. To make matters worse, my first vintage was 1969. It's been pretty much downhill from there.

For me, there is no intrinsic lack of quality in U.S. Rieslings. They're just not German Rieslings. You can like one or the other or both. Each needs to stand on its own merits. I have yet to warm up to a U.S. or even an Australian Riesling. Gewürztraminer is a different story, oddly enough.

Can't we all just agree, that in EVERY single case, Europe makes better wine than North America?




Prost!
Bill

"Washington state is laughing all the way to the bank," says Eileen Fredrikson of Gomberg, Fredrikson & Associates, a wine industry analyst.

Ahhh. how things change.

I was a judge at the Tri-Cities Wine Festival Competition back in the mid-80s. At the end of the judging we were asked to pick the top five whites, top five reds, and our vote for the Sweepstakes Red and White.

We did a Winemakers Panel Tasting Discussion, then a Consumer's Panel Tasting Discussion, wherein we tasted all wines, gave discourse (what we liked, why we liked, why we voted the way we did).

Winemaker's seminar went fine. Consumer's seminar was quite exciting. First, we were lambasted---by the consumers and quite volubly----for not picking Chardonnays for all five whites. (We had the temerity to single out a rather good Chenin Blanc.) And when it came to the Sweepstakes, we endured an onslaught of criticism, sometimes vituperative and very loud, because we selected for the honor a CSM Late Harvest Botrytised JR (hey, it was a stunning, gorgeous, almost faultless wine; and that's coming from someone who first learned to drink in the vineyards of the Mosel and Rheingau, mind you).

Seems the good folk in WA didn't want to single out their state for Riesling, because Riesling wasn't what garnered sales and boosted the industry. They wanted Chardonnay----and furthermore, the Chardonnay they wanted...demanded....yelled for and about...was heavy-up, full malo, oak soup Chardonnay. That's what in-the-know consumers wanted,without a doubt. Certainly not Riesling.

I remember one comment from an older gentleman who, during his comments, had managed to work his spleen up to the point where his face was turning an interesting shade of mauve. He said "Comparing this Riesling to that fine Chardonnay (the oak soup I mentioned) is like comparing a Cadillac to a backhoe!." I confess I still don't quite know what that means, but I sure got the message. : Don't give awards to Riesling; you're wasting an award if you do.

As I said, how times change.