The Summer of Riesling is here!

Finally, after a long winter and wet spring, summer has arrived. Around this time of year I receive many pitches for "summer wines", "summer cocktails", etc, etc. Most of them are utterly stupid wines, recipes, or events.

(img src: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Riesling)

There are, however, events that I can fully get behind and use my blog to help popularize. The Summer of Riesling is one of them. What, you may ask, is the Summer of Riesling? Well, it's a way to beat the heat, drink wine, and connect with other wine lovers. Specifically, it's a celebration of all things riesling. Riesling is one of the coolest grapes in the world, period.

Grown all over the world, it can be dry, sweet, in between, or even have bubbles. Some of the major riesling production nations are Germany, France, Austria, the United States, and Australia. You'll also find riesling in New Zealand, Italy, South Africa, and Canada. Perhaps the most famous region in the world lies in Germany, in the Mosel River Valley.

Last week I received some cool information from the Wines of Germany trade group, regarding their plans for this years Summer of Riesling. Copied below is the press release, which will be of interest to riesling fans across this country.

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Celebrate Germany’s Most Famous Wine Varietal this July with the “31 Days of German Riesling” 

Over 100 leading restaurants and wine shops nationwide plan to promote German Riesling in July and consumers will have a chance to win a trip to Germany 

June 23, 2014 (New York, NY) – Wines of Germany has once again proclaimed July as the “31 Days of German Riesling” with by-the-glass specials and tastings at restaurants and wine shops across the country. 

For the fourth year in a row, Wines of Germany has partnered with Paul Grieco and his Summer of Riesling team at Terroir wine bars and Hearth restaurant in New York City for this promotion. Over 100 restaurants and wine shops will participate in the seventh “Summer of Riesling” program, and each will dedicate July to all things German Riesling. 

Participating restaurants will offer at least two German Rieslings by the glass throughout the summer, with special offers such as wine flights and food and wine pairings during the month of July. Wine shops will offer in-store tastings and discounts on bottles of the beloved beverage for the entire month of July as well. 

Leading participants include restaurants such as Gramercy Tavern and Restaurant Daniel in New York City; Prospect in San Francisco; Lukshon in Los Angeles; and Empire State South in Atlanta. A full tasting schedule and program details can be found at www.31DaysGermanRiesling.com.

To add to the celebration, Wines of Germany is hosting an online sweepstakes for a chance to win a trip for two to Germany. To enter, consumers should post to Twitter, Instagram or Vine from a 31 Days of German Riesling tasting or participating restaurant and geo-tag their location with the hashtag #31DaysGermanRiesling.

In addition, consumers can enter to win one of 200 $25 Wine.com gift cards just by using the hashtag #31DaysGermanRiesling on social media. Consumers can also enter to win both prizes via Facebook by uploading posts and photos directly to the Wines of Germany Facebook page. 

To keep the celebration going, German Wine Queen Nadine Poss will visit New York from July 7-10. Originally from the Nahe region, Nadine was chosen from amongst the 13 regional wine queens of Germany for her wine knowledge, sparkling wit and overall demeanor. During her visit to the U.S., she will host the Summer of Riesling Concert Cruise on July 8 in New York Harbor and visit local New York restaurants and retailers. 

So raise a glass to the "31 Days of German Riesling" — a new habit you'll never want to break!

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There you have it, the Germans are really making a push for you to drink German riesling this summer. I can't blame them, as some of the best rieslings I've ever tasted have been German. Keep your eyes open and check out the 31 Days of German Riesling website for information on tastings that could be in your area.

Beau Carufel

Alsatian Whites, The Perfect Summer Wines?

It's hot. Frankly, it's damn hot here in Oregon. Daytime highs are in the high 80's to low 90's. The weather is exhausting, and to rejuvenate my spirits, I turn to white wines. Not just any white wines either, in heat like this you need to drink white wines with high acidity and immense food friendliness.

Enter the white wines of Alsace. In this brief, I will explore examples of gewürztraminer and riesling that were sent as samples over the past few months.

(img src: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Alsace_topo.png)

First though, let's discuss Alsace the place. We travel to France's far eastern border, tucked up against Germany. Historically this region has been part of a millennium-long tug-of-war between the two dominant powers on the Continent. Also historically, Alsace has made stunningly good wines, especially whites.

Focusing on those whites for our purposes, Alsace is known for riesling, gewürztraminer, and pinot gris. Also grown are sylvaner, chasselas, muscat, auxerrois, pinot blanc, chardonnay, and even savagnin. Unlike places such as Oregon or California, the Alsatian vignerons often blend their wines together, in the hopes of making a better finished wine.

Wine geeks might have noticed something by now, these whites are all grapes that do well in cooler climates. They thrive during warm days and cool nights, which allow naturally high levels of acidity. Most vineyards run along a narrow north-south strip of land that forms the lower part of the Vosges mountain range, at between 175-420 meters in height. There isn't a whole lot of rainfall either, and the soils are well drained, allowing good concentration of flavor and moderate amounts of vine stress.

With that brief primer on Alsace complete, let's taste the wines!

2011 Domaine Ostertag Riesling Vignoble d'E: Pretty aromas of citrus, oranges and tangerines. Stone fruit too, pear, perfumed floral tones. Very pretty. Very dry and crisp on the palate with ripe pear and citrus notes. The acidity was very nicely integrated, which helped showcase some delightful mineral/sandy loam component. Overall I liked this wine a lot, and highly recommend it. $25.

2011 Meyer-Fonne Riesling Reserve: A little muted on the nose, but shows nice sea air and fresh lemon. Subtle green apple but it seems to come and go with each sniff. On the palate I love this wine, it's textural because of the acid but packs a lot of flavor into a lean, mean frame. Absolutely outstanding wine, highly recommended. $20.

2010 Trimbach Riesling: Softer than the previous two wines, especially on the nose. Almost nothing going on. Shows a riper side of Alsace, with notes of petrol also manifesting after a vigorous swirl. The quality is evident on the palate though, with racy acidity framing apple and pear, stone fruit, and white flowers. $18.

2011 Domaine Weinbach Riesling Cuvee Theo: This threw me for a curve, it was showing something akin to oak at first. On the other hand, it showed lots of green apple, tropical fruit, and notes of pear. It's very complex and textural on the palate, with lots of acidity but a richness from either malo-lactic or oak. Still, I thoroughly enjoyed the wine and would love to pair it with food. Recommended. $28.

2010 Domaine Bechtold Gewurztraminer Silberberg: Crazy aromas of lychee fruit and spices, just WOW. Explodes out of the glass. A great mix of sweet fruit flavors and minerality. A great note of ginger comes through on the finish. One of the most food friendly wines I have tasted in 2013. Highly recommended. $23.

2010 Domaine Bott Geyl Gewurztraminer Les Elements: Like smelling lychees soaking in a ginger infusion. Throw in some river rock and golden apple too, the bouquet is very nice. On the palate it's a bit softer than the Bechtold, and I do wish it had more acidity. The sweetness can get a bit cloying especially on the mid palate. Luckily it cleans up on the finish, with a burst of baking spices. Absolutely lovely. $20.







I think it's fair to say that I really enjoyed each of these wines. The original question was whether these are the perfect summer wines. We paired each wine with various sushi rolls, some crab, others krab, shrimp, and spicy tuna. The wines, all of them, paired exceptionally well with each different roll. I can only conclude that these are just about the perfect wines for hot summer evenings and fresh sushi rolls.

The pricing on these wines had me surprised (in a good way) too, because the wines drink like they are more expensive. At around $28, the Weinbach was the priciest, yet I found it available in the mid-20's around the country.

Alsace is a region we should pay more attention to, especially when looking for QPR winners. Please also excuse the horrid quality of the pictures, my iPhone 4 isn't doing the job anymore.

These wines were samples for review purposes.

Beau Carufel

Summer of Riesling and #Winechat, A Great Live Tasting

(img src: http://www.summerofriesling.com)

For riesling fans, this is again the "Summer of Riesling", a month-long festival celebrating one of the world's great grape varieties. I take this as a charge to evangelize about riesling, to educate wine drinkers that it isn't always sweet, as well as to recommend examples that riesling newbies might like. I'm far from an authority though, my own exploration of riesling has been somewhat late in starting.

Most of us have a riesling horror story or two, I'm no different. There are terrible examples of sweet, syrupy, low-quality riesling you can buy from grocery stores, those do a disservice to the grape though. Such wines are how I thought riesling always was, until I tried some "real" examples from Germany several years ago.

I'm lucky to have some riesling-geek friends here in Oregon, most notably Dan and Chas of Wine Is Serious Business, who've introduced me to great wines and great riesling evangelists around Portland.

Last week, during the weekly Twitter chat #winechat, a large group of riesling lovers got together to talk about the Summer of Riesling and of course, about the wines. I was fortunate to get some samples sent, of riesling from Alsace in France, Rheingau in Germany, and Wagram, Austria. I present them from dry to sweet.

2011 Fritsch Riesling Wagram (Austria): Aromas of stone fruit, white pepper, flowers, and wet gravel all combine to create an expressive, fun bouquet. The acidity is high, this riesling screams out of the glass and across your palate. I was able to detect citrus, stone fruit, and more of the firm mineral touch. Out of the three rieslings in the #winechat flight, this seemed to have the most acid and least residual sugar. I loved the texture of this wine, and how it begs for spicy food like curry. The finish is clean and tapers off nicely, lasting for an impressive length of time. $18 srp. 12.5% abv.

2009 Gustave Lorentz Riesling Alsace (France): Compared to the Austrian riesling I tasted first, this is a different wine entirely. The bouquet is much more expressive, showing aromas of honey, white flower, ripe stone fruit, and hints of petrol. I would say that this bouquet is closer to what I expect from a German riesling, it's got some of those familiar notes. The acidity here is much more integrated and less dominating than in the Fritsch, creating a wonderful textural experience. Flavors of nectarine, apricot, grass, and lime all contribute to a wonderful palate experience. A classic pairing would be spicy Thai food or even tempura sushi rolls. $25 srp. 12% abv.

2011 Schloss Schonborn Riesling Rheingau (Germany): As I swirled and sniffed the last riesling of the flight, I felt most "at home", this is the style of riesling I'm most familiar with. The bouquet screams (to me) that it's German, with beautiful notes of slate, lemon zest, honeysuckle, and intriguing white pepper. It tastes simply outstanding, with a perfectly tipped balance between sweet and tart, a tribute to the residual sugar and acidity both. There are some primary flavors of Meyer lemon, white pepper, subtle tropical fruit, and what I imagine a slab of slate would taste like. After you swallow, the finish lasts a good 20 seconds before gently fading away. I'd love to pair this with deep-fried foods, Thai cuisine, or anything with some heat to it. $54 srp. 11% abv.



These three rieslings were excellent, and worth every penny. While $54 or even $25 is a lot to spend on a bottle of wine you may be unfamiliar with, that $18 Fritsch bottle is well worth a little splurge. One sip and any notions you have of a sweet, syrupy concoction will be obliterated in a rush of fresh, clean fruit flavors and vibrant acidity. I'd recommend it (or any Austrian riesling) to people just starting to explore the grape, but who do love crisp, aromatic white wines already.

For more information on the recent #winechat with the Summer of Riesling, here's a good blog from the Austrian Wine USA's Constance Chamberlain. You can tweet with Summer of Riesling @SummerRiesling, or for more detailed information about specific regions, tweet at @AustrianWineUSA or @drinkAlsace.

The wines in this article were kindly provided as media samples.

Beau Carufel