Sommelier, author, and educator, Hillary Zio, is helping us celebrate Riesling’s 586th birthday by shining a spotlight on this delicious varietal and its home of Mosel, Germany. Read on for her rundown of Riesling, including helpful tips on how to find hidden gems of this oft-misunderstood white wine.
Exploring Mosel
When exploring Germany’s most renowned winemaking region, the Mosel, you are bound to leave with a newfound appreciation for the Riesling grape. The dangerously steep slopes along the picturesque Mosel river contain some of the most fascinating soil in the world. Blue and red volcanic slate provides ideal drainage and heat retention in this cool-climate region. Today, Riesling grapes make up over 60% of all the vines planted in the Mosel. No matter your current stance on this varietal, tasting a Riesling produced in the Mosel is an unparalleled experience in itself.
Many wine drinkers, especially In America, often associate Riesling with intense sweetness. This unfortunate reputation can be explained by what was being imported back in the 80s and 90s. The taste of the time centered on sweetness, and for the same reasons you’ll find a Dunkin’ Donuts in nearly every American town, buyer demand drove the supply of sweet Riesling styles from all over the world upward. At the time, wineries in America and abroad would either stop fermentation early or add sugar to meet expectations of sweet Riesling fans. In actuality, the majority of Riesling produced in the Mosel is dry.
Like many of the world’s best winemaking grapes, Riesling can be made in a variety of ways, from sparkling to still and bone dry to very sweet. Understanding your tolerance for acidity (and sweetness) can help you distinguish which style is best for you or the dish you intend to pair it with. The sweetness levels, from driest to sweetest, are: trocken, halbtrocken, feinherb, lieblich, and süss. These are not to be mistaken for the quality levels, however. Much like in Burgundy, quality depends on regional specificity, from the most sought-after vineyard plots to the all-encompassing and unspecific regional wine.
Find Your Style
Some bone-dry styles, even in the Mosel, are so high in acidity (due to the cool climate) that some people find them difficult to drink. For that reason, an off-dry style like 90+ Cellars Lot 66 Riesling is a great option. The acidity and off-dry style create a rhythmical balance on the palate. The mouth-watering sensation is comfortable and refreshing.
Tasting notes of white peach, nectarine and pear arise on the nose and across the palate for me when tasting Lot 66 Riesling. While quite affordable, this wine exceeds most other halbtrocken Rieslings I’ve tasted within the same price point, in terms of quality. It’s just barely sweet and low in alcohol, so I would recommend pairing it with blue cheese or Prosciutto and sipping on a warm afternoon.
Surely a Riesling drinker would agree when I say that it is inarguably one of the most food-friendly wines you can drink. The grape flourishes alongside an array of dishes from appetizers to dessert. Perhaps the most memorable Riesling pairing I experienced was an off-dry style with spicy, Korean Barbeque ribs. A close second would be salmon tartare, followed by the classic blue cheese and apple — as you can see from those three dishes alone, Riesling is incredibly versatile.
If you have a misconception about Riesling, I urge you to try a style you haven’t tasted, and make sure it’s from the Mosel. Of course, there are several countries producing this extraordinarily grape, but the many versions in Germany are sure to make a Riesling lover out of you.
Celebrate Riesling Day by snagging a few bottles of Lot 66 Riesling at ninetypluscellars.com.