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 