The weather was kind enough to cooperate for this summer white wine tasting, so we had our second-ever outdoor tasting in the back yard. And it wasn't even windy, which meant the candles helped with the darkness.
So once we crossed over into the Rieslings, I did my best to make converts of the sweet wine skeptics. I'm not sure I succeeded with any of them (imagine spicy food!), but I enjoyed it! Here's the list, with my favorites in bold.
- 2006 King Estate Pinot Gris $15.99 on sale: a reliable, widely available, consistent Pinot Gris from a big Oregon producer; one of my white wine supermarket stand-bys
- 2006 Lis Neris Pinot Grigio $19.95: so much Italian Pinot Grigio is forgettable lemon water -- but not this one! a bit of sophistication without forgetting that it's a Pinot Grigio, a hint of smoke, restrained fruit, lovely
- 2006 J Wine Company Pinot Gris $17.99: just a little too sweet for a Pinot Gris for my tastes -- that's why I choose Oregon over CA for this grape
- 2006 Cantina Terlan Pinot Grigio $17.99: a little too sophisticated for a Pinot Grigio, a hint of the sweeter, rounder, Alsatian style
- 2006 Josef Leitz Rüdesheimer Drachenstein "Dragonstone" Riesling $15.99: one of my favorite, consistent, perfect-for-Thai food Rieslings, exactly what I want when I think of Riesling
- 2005 Dr. Loosen Ürziger Würzgarten Spätlese $29.99: a step up from # 5, but not $10 extra
- 2005 Carl Schmitt-Wagner Longuicher Maximiner Herrenberg Kabinett $19.99: this is the one with the petrol aroma (a good thing!), I liked it quite a bit
- 2005 Josef Leitz Rüdesheimer Magdalenenkreuz Spätlese $19.99: the best balance of any of the Rieslings, offering a little bit of what each of the previous 3 have to offer -- minerals on the finish, a hint of petrol, sweet, but in a bracing, clean way, a deal at this price, I wish I'd bought more (got a 93 in Wine Spectator)
- 2001 Schloss Vollrads Rheingau Riesling Spätlese $23.99: passionfruit! wildly tropical for a Riesling, but beautiful wine nonetheless; K&L Wines still has a few bottles of this one left!
- 2005 Andrew Rich Gewurztraminer Ice Wine (half bottle) $21.99: a lychee explosion!
- 1997 Chateau Coutet, Barsac (Was $50) $39.99: this is one of my favorite Sauternes producers (OK, technically from across the river in Barsac), sweet, but with good acid, not cloying, was great with strawberry shortcake (thanks Tara and Andrew!), would be great with any non-chocolate dessert
