This Sunday Read is about Riesling – again, you might sigh. Yes, again, I’d say. I am posting this because I sometimes get asked what Riesling I recommend, and I am always a bit at a loss, mainly because I don’t know well what Rieslings are available in the US. I get most of my Rieslings straight from Germany, so I also am not very well versed in pricing here. Add to that that I mostly drink German Riesling, and a few Michigan Rieslings, but I am by no means a diverse drinker when it comes to that grape.
Gregory Dal Piaz, whose writing I like a lot, and who is somewhat of a supporter of Riesling, starts his really interesting piece on why the grape is having such difficulty in the markets. He compares it to Shiraz/Syrah when explaining that different styles can be confusing, and then moves on to talk about one of the curses of the grape: too uninspired, sweet wines. I think that is something many of us can relate to.
He does not stop there, though. He tries to explain what a good Riesling is, and also encourages us to try around globally, because well-made Rieslings are still rather cheap and are made around the world, not just in Germany and Austria. The article finishes with a 40 Riesling list that Dal Piaz tried for the article, ranked by him. His tasting notes are informative and well written, so this is a list that might actually help those that are wondering what Rieslings to try. I will definitely will try to hunt down some of the wines he tasted…
Happy Sunday!
the winegetter 
You love Riesling so much! Isn’t it a national bias?… just joking :) I’m ashamed that I know our Riesling wines so little… On my table, you will find more often Austrian, Serbian, even Israeli Riesling, but very rarely German one. and there is even no explanation for that!
I need to change it as soon as I’m back in Berlin. Then I’ll read all your posts about this great variety again :)
Hahaha, I am not even sure it is a national bias, given in what quantities German wine consumers buy cheap Italian and Spanish wines…I think Riesling is having a hard enough stand, but to me, it is just the most versatile and delicious grape. :)
for whites, I agree :)
and for reds, Germans cannot be biased considering how bad the majority of German reds is – no other option but buying from abroad hahaha…
Aaaaaah, don’t be THAT dismissive…there are German reds out there, but I usually go abroad, too when it comes to red.
Well, I was talking about the majority of them :) Sometimes I cannot believe that Spätburgunder has something to do with Pinot Noir :p
Sometimes? It has happened quite often to me. But then again, when I try some of those California Pinot Noirs, I also cannot believe they have something common with French Pinot Noir. It is just a matter of finding the good stuff.
If you want to try very reasonably priced and consistently good Riesling from the Mosel, then order some of Reuscher-Haart’s wines. Let me know if you want more tips, we can also email about that.
You are right about Pinots! And thank you for the recommendation – I’m gonna try this wine as soon as I’m back in Germany, and will also ask you for more info about good Riesling :)
Love a nice dry Riesling. Thanks for liking my recent blog post! Cheers.
Thanks!
I should have read this before my Chateau St. Michelle Friday night!
:)
Im
…a red drinker, but I am loving Riesling when it gets hot out, (if that ever happens this year!) Thanks for investigating!
Thank you so much! I cannot wait for it to get warmer, too, although I drink my Rieslings all year round…:)
There are some great Dry Rieslings from the finger Lakes. I highly recommend trying those! I love a good dry riesling!!!
Yes, I have been meaning to try Finger Lakes Rieslings. I hope to head there sometime this year or next, but should look for more of them here…one does not see them much in Michigan though, because of the Michigan wines.
I agree Finger Lakes Rieslings are great but the ones from Sar and Mosel are at least the same good!
Thanks for sharing that! I cannot wait to try them.
Happy Easter :)
I red this post after it was published (I subscribed to Piaz on Snooth). I guess Piaz is right that there will always be an argument about Riesling but there certainly are some good ones :)
Still I find it hard to imagine to take a Riesling to a party. Some wines (Pinot Grigio, too for example) are still associated with low quality – even though it’s not always true.
Happy Easter, Julian!
My argument would be, and take that with the right amount of winks, that you go to the wrong parties! :)
Nina and I bring Riesling to parties all the time. We try to bring off-dry Rieslings most of the time and have yet have a host roll their eyes on us. Mostly, people approach it with an open mind and are usually surprised how much they like them. :)