Last: Riesling – the white for all seasons and all foods (almost)

Calgary Herald

4 days ago

When I started my career in the wine biz, over 30 years ago now, riesling was the one grape that had eluded me. It was like bebop jazz, I knew it existed, but that didn't mean I had to like it. I eventually came to love both, sometimes together, and now I regard riesling as the Miles Davis of the wine world. The problem, initially, was that, like many, all I had tasted were the cloyingly sweet, mass-produced examples, such as the one with a depressed nun on the label. Cheer up, sister, a little less sugar and a bit more acidity will fix things. The light went on when I was in an Indian restaurant in London and noticed the wine list had an extensive riesling section. They were pouring a good Kabinett by the glass, and my server suggested it would go nicely with the spicy chicken dish I had ordered. It did, of course, and it was one of those aha moments that left me wanting more.
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Years later, on my first media trip to Germany, I noticed the locals were mostly drinking dry (trocken) rieslings, and many had at least a decade of age behind them (the wines; the patrons were considerably older). The searing acidity found in the younger wines had melded into a basket of peaches and Meyer lemons, and the wet-stone minerality and vibrant acidity seemed to tie it all together. I couldn't help but notice that even the top wines from the very best producers rarely exceeded $75, and that still holds true, whereas the fancy white Burgundies I had come to appreciate were eroding what little disposable income I had. I had found my white grape; affordable, age-worthy, and the perfect foil to exotically flavoured foods.
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If there's a defining word that appears in riesling descriptors, and numerous other wines, it's minerality, but what does minerality taste like? Many years ago, I was visiting Ernie Loosen, of Dr. Loosen wines, one of the most famous riesling producers in Germany's Mosel region. It was raining lightly as we strolled through his vineyards, and we were discussing that very flavour profile. He told me to pick a piece of the blue slate that proliferates many vineyards in the Mosel and give it a lick. In the back of my mind, I wondered how many journalists he had convinced to do this, if for no other reason than sheer entertainment value. But there it was, the stony, flinty combination of rain, soil, and a hint of salinity. It's almost more of a sensation than a flavour, but when combined with the classic stone fruits, citrus, and piercing acidity inherent to German riesling, you have wine that sates the palate on multiple levels.
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Riesling is a grape that requires cooler climes to allow its trademark acidity to shine through. As such, places like Germany and Austria are ideal, and here, in Canada, the Okanagan Valley and the Niagara Peninsula can produce some excellent examples. In the Okanagan, Tantalus's Old Vine Riesling is a stellar example, winning scads of awards, and, from Ontario, Cave Spring Vineyard is another solid choice. Their ice wine is always a contender for Canada's best.
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In Germany, the epicentre for benchmark riesling, the key regions include the Mosel, Rheinghau, Rheinhessen, Nahe, and the Pfalz. At one time, the Rheinhessen took a back seat to the others, but now producers like Keller (considered by many to be Germany's best, and arriving in Alberta soon), Wittmann, St. Antony, and Wagner-Stempel have pushed the region to the forefront. The Rheinhessen is also their largest wine region, both in terms of area and volume, although we tend to see more wines from the Mosel in terms of selection in Canada.