There are few wines more versatile than Riesling for pairing with food. I particularly find them perfect for my favorite take-out, Pad Thai! The cool, refreshing minerality and the sweet nose compliment spicy Asian food like butter compliments toast. The 2008 Spy Valley Riesling, from New Zealand is both light and tart, with a gingerbread [...]

Konstantin Frank turns out some of the best Rieslings made in the United States every year, and 2007 was certainly no exception. The Dr. Konstantin Frank Riesling Dry 2007 embodies the best characteristics of the Finger Lakes, its fine mineral austerity grounding a generous purity of fruit. The minerality is present in the aroma, [...]

Continuing the Thanksgiving theme…a wine type too often ignored in general, Riesling, can be a near perfect pairing for the subtle taste of roasted turkey, and particularly nice in contrast with a sweet cranberry dish. I went with the slightly riper bottling,  Donnhoff Norheimer Kirschheck Riesling Spatlese 2006. While I tend to recommend Kabinett [...]

The 2008 Rieslings are beginning to arrive (with their big scores, and big price) and now seems to be the time to enjoy the 05/06’s before they disappear. While I love the less-ripe Kabinett’s, I have always been partial to the slightly fuller, more fragrant Spatlese style of Germany Riesling. The honeyed nose, the riper [...]

Shooting Star Riesling really shows what can be accomplished with the quality grapes of the Lake County area, and a fantastic winemaking team. Have you ever smelled the aroma of grape flowers blooming? This is what this Riesling smells like; a combination of honeysuckle, citrus, and apricot. The fruit comes alive in your mouth with [...]

Until recently, Australia was known almost exclusively for exporting red wine, predominantly Shiraz. It is now becoming more widely accepted that some fantastic whites (Charonnay, Semillon, Riesling, etc.) can be found, and found for even better prices than their “national” grape. One such example is the 2005 Leasingham Riesling Bin 7. “…offering bold flavors of [...]