Often misunderstood, this dry riesling shines with gorgeous aromas and fresh flavors
With scents of apple and lemon drops, this affordably priced riesling from Washington is a refreshing change of pace.
Riesling is white wine’s answer to merlot, in the sense of being a misunderstood grape whose wines are unfairly under-appreciated.
Both of these grapes make exceptional over-performing wines that rank highly on sensory traits that people love. Yet their reputations are undermined by a perceived lack of quality that has more to do with snobbery and groupthink than it does with how the wines taste.
Riesling comes from Germany and its wines were considered the world’s finest whites until the early 20th century, They range in style from fully sweet to bone dry. The grape adapted best to cool climates and while German rieslings commanded top prices, neighboring regions such as France, Austria, and northern Italy produced their own excellent variations, often in a drier style.. Today, Americans associate riesling with a specific low-alcohol, high-sugar German style that appeals more to beginners than to those who preferdrier wines. As a result, most American wineries make their rieslings that way, too.
Riesling tastes simply fantastic when fermented dry, featuring gorgeous aromatics, bracing minerality, and food-flattering superpowers that put its unoaked competitors, like sauvignon blanc and pinot grigio, to shame. That’s why this proudly dry and affordably priced riesling from Washington is such a refreshing change of pace. Its aroma is somehow both subtle and piercing, with scents of apple blossoms and lemon drops. On the palate, flavors of crisp Asian pears and white tea resonate for quite a while after each sip, in the long, cleansing aftertaste that is one of riesling’s most distinctive attributes. Try it with cold dishes, from cheese and charcuterie to sushi and tomato salads.
Pacific Rim Dry Riesling, Columbia Valley, Washington
$9.99, 12.5% alcohol
PLCB Item #8775
Sale price through 11/28 – regularly $11.99
Also available at:
Gloucester City Bottlestop, Gloucester City; $8.96, bottlestopnj.com
Canal’s Bottlestop in Marlton; $9.96, canalswine.com
Kreston Wine & Spirits in Wilmington; $9.99, krestonwines.com