Riesling Riot for a Spicy Christmas / Chanukah

Treats for a festive season

Since his beloved fiancé Vyna was coming over to Boulder from Singapore for a two-week visit, the Voyager knew he would be in for some good, spicy Asian food during the Yuletide season.  And if those facts are not cause for celebration, the Voyager hardly knows what would be!

With all this in mind, I decided to carry through on an earlier promise and do a post on Rieslings from Germany and America.  I stocked up for a couple of weeks before Vy arrived, and here are the results…

We started the week with some chicken in Indian curry.  To supply the necessary accompaniment, I chose a wine from New York’s Finger Lakes region.  The wines from this part of the world are absolutely world-class, and this one was no exception…

A bracing wine from The Finger Lakes in NY

2013 Dr. Konstantin Frank Finger Lakes Dry Riesling (NY, USA): Pale yellow-gold.  Peach, Granny Smith apples, with a lovely layer of slate underneath.  What distinguishes this wine, and most Rieslings from the Finger Lakes, is the thrilling seam of acidity that runs through it.  Bracing and beautiful.  A food wine par excellence.  Konstantin Frank was the real pioneer in bringing European grape varietals to the Finger Lakes, and the long track record of this winery certainly shows.  ***1/2 - ****

Next up, we continued our culinary travels with some chicken in Thai yellow curry.  This was a pretty zesty dish, and called for something with some real snap.  Fortunately, the wine in question was up to the task…

A gem from Washington state

2012 Eroica Riseling Columbia Valley (Washington State, USA): Medium greenish-gold.  If you cut into a Granny Smith apple that had somehow been infused with lime, pear and crushed slate, you would have something close to this wine.  Beautiful, steely acidity hides any residual sugar, so that it finishes dry.  A lovely match with the Thai curry.  A collaboration between Washington state giant Chateau Ste. Michelle and Germany’s Ernest Loosen.  Superb.  ****

And this week’s Wine Face-Off pairs two excellent German Rieslings against one another.  The test dish: Vyna’s trademark Chicken Ciabatta, prepared in a wok with dried red peppers, onions and garlic, combined with roasted potatoes and rosemary along with roasted eggplant and garlic.  (We have only one rule concerning garlic in our kitchen: the only mistake you can possibly make is to use too little.)

A stunner from the Mosel region

2011 Dr. Heidemanns-Bergweiler  Bernkasteler alte Badstube am Doctorberg Riesling Spätlese (Mosel, GER):  Both yellow and green mixed in with gold.  Pure slate and gunflint at first, very shortly opening up to juicy peach and tangerine with an underlay of petrol.  Beautiful sweet fruit, lovely balance, creamy texture.  Seamless, elegant, complex Riesling – this wine has the whole package.  93 points from the Wine Spectator, and they may even have underrated this one.  Gorgeous!  ****1/2

Second place, but a very worthy bottling

2012 Dr. Loosen Bernkasteler Lay Riesling Kabinett (Mosel, GER):  Mostly greenish-gold, with some yellow tints as well.  Strong sweet pear aromas, with added lime elements as the wine opened up.  Distinct sweet notes on the attack, with a bit of minerality on the mid-palate.  Only moderate sweetness on the finish.  Nice texture, excellent with food.  Very fine wine.  ***1/2 - ****

So, a clear winner, but as is often the case, the loser faired quite well indeed.  The Dr. Loosen is missing a bit of richness and complexity compared to the Heidemanns-Bergweiler, and doesn’t have quite the same degree of acidity to balance out its sugar, but there’s no doubt that it's very well-made, and worthy in every way. Don’t let yourself be put off by any memories you might have concerning sickly-sweet Liebfraumilch or other generic Rieslings you may have tasted in your youth. Abandon any prejudices you might have about wines that have a touch of sweetness; you will do yourself a favor if you try both of these bottles with some tangy food.

And a Christmas bonus -- here's another German Riesling that's worth your time…

Simple but good with food

2012 Robert Eymael Monchhof Riesling (Mosel, GER):  Green/gold.  Pear and peach aromas most prominent, with some lime and mineral scents underneath.  A distinctive honeyed note after it had been preserved with inert gas for two days.  Soft, sweet attack, with more strong peach flavors on the finish.  Pleasant, very nice with food, but perhaps lacking the complexity of some other wines in this survey.  ***