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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.