Riesling
What is it??
Riesling is a white grape with flowery aromas and high acidity. It is very common, in the top 20 grapes grown around the world. Riesling also is knwon as "terroir-expressive", which means it takes a lot of its character from the climate and soil [1]. Rieslings from cooler climates, such as Germany, have apple and tree fruit flavors. Slightly warmer climates can also induce citrus and stone fruit flavors. However, Riesling grapes grown in South Australia have a characteristically lime flavor, which is not present in many other Rieslings [1].
The primary flavors listed in the wine book are lime, green apple, beeswax, jasmine, and petroleum, oddly enough [4]. The petroleum notes generally come from aging. Additionally, some of the factors (high sun exposure, water stress, high acid content) that are thought to induce the production of the compound responsible for the petrol notes are also factors integral in the development of high quality Rieslings [2, 3].
This week was much anticipated, since Riesling has been Molly's favorite style of wine since she started drinking alcohol. Suggested food pairings are spicy Indian or Asian foods. We paired the wine with Thai takeout from Blue Orchid, our favorite local Thai restaurant.
Molly's Rating and Tasting Notes
9.6. For me, this wine is up there with the best wines I've ever had. I get peach and pear on the nose, some honey, pear, and apple on the tongue. Perfect balance of acidity and sweetness. Crisp like a leaf in autumn. I would absolutely recommend this to anyone interested in a white wine.
Ryan's Rating and Tasting Notes
8.4. On the nose, there are scents of green apple and pear. There isn't much there, but it's a nice sensation, like a delightful summer breeze on a warm afternoon. On a first sip, I get hit with an acidity followed by substantial sweetness. On subsequent sips after adjusting to the acidity, the sweetness shines even more and it becomes quite the easy sipper. On the tongue I get strong notes of green apple, peach, and honeysuckle. More subtle flavors I get are pineapple and minerality. Even deeper down, I get Neosporin, possibly put there to heal a hurting soul. Overall, it is a nice, easy, not-too-complex wine that is very easy to drink. Would definitely come back to as a nice casual drink.
References
[1] J. Robinson (ed). "The Oxford Companion to Wine," Third Edition, Oxford University Press, 2006.
[2] Owen Bird (2005). Rheingold - The German Wine Renaissance. Arima Publishing.
[3] P. Winterhalter (1991). "1,1,6-trimethyl-1,2-dihydronaphthalene (TDN) formation in wine. 1. Studies on the hydrolysis of 2,6,10,10-tetramethyl-1-oxaspiro[4.5]dec-6-ene-2,8-diol rationalizing the origin of TDN and related C13 norisoprenoids in Riesling wine". Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry. 39 (10)
[4] Madeline Puckette and Justin Hammack. Wine Folly: The Master Guide. Avery - A Penguin Imprint, New York, NY, 2018.
[5] Riesling https://winefolly.com/grapes/riesling/ Wine Folly. Accessed March 2023.
Suggestion of what we should try next?
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