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About The daily Astorian. (Astoria, Or.) 1961-current | View Entire Issue (Aug. 18, 2016)
14 // COASTWEEKEND.COM UNCORKED RAMBLINGS Clearing up the ‘misunderstandings’ about rieslings By STEVE SINKLER FOR EO MEDIA GROUP How does such an amazing wine become so misunder- stood? We can blame Califor- nia winemakers for a couple of things; chardonnay that tastes like buttery oak planks and rosé that tastes like sweet pink water, but we can’t blame California for the confusion surrounding one of my favorite wines, riesling. Riesling traces its heritage back to Germany, where it is that country’s signature wine. German riesling can be made in a variety of styles, from super sweet spatlese or aus- lese to dry as a bone trocken. For decades, German winer- ies have tended to ship their sweeter rieslings to the U.S. but not their drier wines. As a result, the American wine consumer mistakenly be- lieves all rieslings are sweet. During summer, I regular- ly get asked to recommend a local white wine. When I suggest a riesling to a cus- tomer, the typical response is “I don’t like sweet wine.” My opportunity to edu- cate and right the “riesling wrong” presents itself. In fact, most Paciic Northwest rieslings are made in either dry or medium dry (slightly sweet) style, with few sweet rieslings being produced. Likewise, most great German rieslings are now made in a dry or medium dry style. Because there is such a misunderstanding about riesling sweetness levels, the International Riesling Foundation has created a scale that wineries can use on their back label to inform consumers about the wine’s sweetness. The IRF scale breaks riesling down into four categories; dry, medi- um dry, medium sweet and sweet. The pointer indicates where the wine is on the scale. For instance, a wine considered “medium dry” SUBMITTED PHOTO Despite its lavors of peach and pear, Brooks Winery’s Ara riesling is dry with a satisfying inish. PHOTO BY JOSHUA BESSEX Steve Sinkler, owner of The Wine Shack in Cannon Beach. means the wine is mostly dry ity and is packed with green but has a hint of sweetness. apple, starfruit and pear Most Paciic Northwest ries- lavors. Trisaetum helps us lings fall somewhere in the out by using the word “dry” dry and medium dry range. in the wine’s name, which Wineries that make medium lets us know that this riesling sweet rieslings usually iden- doesn’t have much, if any, tify these wines residual sugar. for consumers by Using the IRF THE using words such this wine AMERICAN scale, as “late harvest” is dry. WINE or “sweet” in the Brooks Win- name. The sweet CONSUMER ery’s Ara riesling IRF category is MISTAKENLY has a delicious typically used of BELIEVES complexity with dessert lavors, which ALL wines, such as ice include apricot RIESLINGS wines. and peach, in ARE SWEET. addition to apple While at Oregon pinot and honeysuckle. noir camp in June, one of the This lavor proile leads you breakout sessions included an to believe the wine is going amazing blind tasting lineup, to be sweet, but, again, this including three of my favor- riesling has very little resid- ite Oregon rieslings. ual sugar. Winemaker Chris I had the good fortune to Williams uses biodynami- enjoy Trisaetum Winery’s cally grown fruit for Brooks Ribbon Ridge Estate dry wine, ensuring each bottle riesling, which has nice acid- is earth friendly. Using the IRF scale, this wine is also considered dry. My favorite riesling in the blind tasting was Chehalem Winery’s Three Vineyard riesling, which offered aro- mas and lavors of ginger in addition to the more classic apple, pear and white low- ers. The spiciness combined with a crisp acidity made this riesling special. Chehalem’s riesling is considered off dry, which means there is a bit of residual sugar left in the wine, causing it to have just a hint of sweetness. This wine is considered medium dry on the IRF scale. If you’re looking for something new during the summer months, give riesling a try. Serve chilled, riesling is food friendly and goes well with cheese platters, salads and lighter fare such as seafood, chicken or vegetar- ian dishes. Winemaker Chris Williams assures me riesling is delicious with grilled rib eye, but I haven’t tried that pairing yet. It is also deli- cious with spicy foods, like Mexican or Asian fare since the fruit lavors and crisp acidity cut the heat. You can think of riesling as your mouth’s ire extinguisher. So, when you think of riesling, don’t immediately think of sweet wine; think of delicious wine. Let the IRF scale be your guide to riesling happiness. Whatever wines you enjoy, please do so in mod- eration. We’ll see you again soon at The Wine Shack. SUBMITTED PHOTO Trisaetum Winery’s Ribbon Ridge Estate dry riesling is packed with fruit lavors and a nice acidity. Steve Sinkler is the owner of The Wine Shack in Cannon Beach. He writes a monthly column about wine in the Cannon Beach Gazette. CHEHALEM / SHAWN LINEHAN The Mouth of the Colum- bia is on vacation but will be back next week. Chehalem Winery’s Three Vineyard riesling is medium dry with a crisp acidity.
