Wine lesson - Riesling

Wine lesson – Riesling

Riesling is a grape variety that originates in Germany, but is grown all over the world in cooler climates.

My husband Ray loves German white wines, and Riesling, with all of its varieties, is one of his favorites. From the dry and young Riesling, to the sweet Eiswein (so-called ice wine because it is left longer on the vine and picked after a freeze), he enjoys these sweeter wines. I enjoy them too, though I generally prefer a dry (less sweet) wine.

We’ve tried the sweet dessert wines of the beerenauslese (BA) and trockenbeerenauslese (TBA) class. Ray will swirl the glass, both to open up the wine and also to observe the “legs” that run down into the glass – the sweeter the wine, the thicker the legs.

The Finger Lakes region of New York was one of the earliest producers of Riesling in the United States. Ray’s family is from Buffalo, a couple of hours from the area, and has a family connection on his mother’s side to the Widmer Winery.

Try Riesling from Germany and the USA, as well as other countries, and make notes as to which you like. As your palate becomes more refined, you’ll be able to express what you like/dislike about the various wines you drink.

Merlot

Learning about wine is as easy as drinking a glass and noting whether you like it or not.

I like red wines, Merlot or Shiraz. When I was looking for a Merlot to have as my go-to wine, I sampled many bottles of Merlot, in different price ranges. The one I liked best wasn’t the most expensive; it was about $7 per bottle, several years ago. I like yellow tail, from Australia; it has fruit and spice notes, which I like, and I discovered I like all their wines. I like a dry wine generally, although when I eat sushi I like plum wine, which is sweeter. Fruity (plum, strawberry) and with a deep flavor, I like Merlot with cheese, heavy pasta, and poultry.

I usually make a note in a pocket reference about the wines I like, so I can buy it again.

Learn about wine

Learning about wine is as easy as drinking a glass and noting whether you like it or not. If you do, note what you liked about it. The more wine you drink, the more you’ll find out about what you do or don’t like. Write down the wines you like, the price (if you have it), and where you had it - this way you'll be able to have it again.

I was in Napa years ago, and in one day we visited six wineries. Note: don’t have wine and cheese for lunch when you’re visiting six wineries in one day. I jotted down which wines I liked on info sheets from each winery; once home, I never got around to putting all my notes together in one handy reference.

The best thing about tasting so many wines in one day was that I found out what I liked (Chardonnay) and didn’t like (oaky Chardonnay). If you can, take advantage of a wine tasting to see what you like.

I like a dry, full-bodied Chardonnay. It’s good paired with cheese, sandwiches, pasta and seafood. Take it along with you to enjoy at a picnic!