The Riesling Project

How Riesling Should Taste

2010-11-07T17:45:00.001-05:00

As soon as I heard about Drei Riesling, I was sure I would like it. A wine made specifically to counteract the sweet German Rieslings that often appear on the American market? Sign me up, please.

Label
"Direct from Deutschland, this dry Riesling is sourced from steep vineyards in the Mosel Valley. Featuring crisp refreshing flavours and natural mouth-watering acidity, Drei defines drinking pleasure and is a great companion with food and friends."

My Thoughts
Drei's initial promise did not disappoint. Its clean taste, refreshing acidity, make it easily the best Riesling I've tried for this blog. Once they're distributed in the US, you can be sure it'll be a staple in our house.

Stats

Alcohol: 11.5%
Residual Sugar: unknown
Vintage: 2008
Appellation: Mosel
Price: €7.95 (not yet available in US)
Rating: 9
Value (Rating/Price): 0.67

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A Better Take on Cheap Riesling

2010-09-28T21:36:00.001-04:00

Last week I reviewed an inexpensive Riesling bought at Whole Foods. I knew it was from Mosel and had a low alcohol level (9%), but I didn't know much more than that. Drinking that taught me a good lesson: avoid nondescript Riesling and favor those that list the residual sugar or at least give some kind of cue about its sweetness.

So you might be confused to find me posting yet another review of a nondescript German Riesling this week. This one was in fact bought before I had posted the other review, and if I had known I probably wouldn't have gone near it.

Yet I was pleasantly surprised. This wine was from Trader Joe's, not Whole Foods, and from the Rheingau, not Mosel. It's the 2007 Riesling Spätlese (late harvest) Riesling made under the Edition Maximilian label. The producer is Weingut Hans Lang--but note that their site is only available in German right now.

Label
"When late harvested German Riesling rapes are fully ripe, they yield an outstanding aroma unmatched in the world." Their website elaborates that the Riesling, and others in the "Gutsweine" category, are for "täglichen Genuss," or everyday enjoyment.

My Thoughts
Everyday enjoyment is exactly what this Riesling delivers. Unlike last week's Riesling, this had a little more acid-y zing to counteract the residual sweetness. The flavors were uncomplicated, but this isn't a celebration wine or one you'd serve with a big meal. Just an ordinary, weeknight kind of wine.

Stats

Alcohol: 9%
Residual Sugar: unknown
Vintage: 2007
Appellation: Rheingau
Price: $8.99
Rating: 6
Value (Rating/Price): 0.67

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Lesson Learned: Stay Away from Nondescript German Riesling

2010-09-19T18:28:00.001-04:00

About a week ago my wife bought a German Riesling during a trip to Whole Foods. It wasn't expensive but wasn't the cheapest Riesling out there either.

This selection comes from the Trittenheim area of the Mosel valley in Germany and is produced by Römerhof Weinkellerei. More on Römerhof in a moment.

Label
"The Romerhof Riesling is produced from hand-picked grapes grown on steep hillsides along the Mosel River, where the sun-filled days produce a wine loaded with apple and pear flavors and balanced by a crisp finish. It is an ideal match for Asian cuisine, firm cheeses, and seafood."

My Thoughts
The bottle didn't indicate the residual sugar, but whatever the actual sugar content, the wine tasted too sweet because it was unaccompanied by any acid or much flavor. I picked up some green apple flavor, but that was about it. The flavor wasn't particularly unpleasant, if sugar is pleasant for you, but I think you could do better for the money.

Ultimately, I learned two lessons from this wine:

Look for residual sugar content on the label.
Don't buy wine made by a company that describes itself as a "supplier" of wine (a descriptor used by Römerhof).

Even though I didn't really like the wine, learning those two lessons made this experience worthwhile.

Stats

Alcohol: 9%
Residual Sugar: unknown
Vintage: 2009
Appellation: Mosel
Price: $8.99
Rating: 3
Value (Rating/Price): 0.33

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Finger Lakes Trip, My Lack of Reviews, Etc.

2010-09-11T08:51:00.001-04:00

It's been a while since my last Riesling Project post. I usually make it my goal to post once a week, but as many fellow bloggers can sympathize with, my day job (you know, the one I actually get paid to do) and other factors have kept me away.

One of those other factors was a trip to the Finger Lakes region in New York. We enjoyed some spectacular scenery and weather, and though I had been there several times before, I was struck by how ideal that region is for growing Riesling: lots of rock formations, moderate climate, and plenty of water.

I'll hope to get back in the routine next week. In the meantime, enjoy the picture posted above, taken near Taughannock Falls on Cayuga Lake north of Ithaca.

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Riesling Impostors: Liebfraumilch

2010-08-29T18:33:00.001-04:00

On a recent Riesling run I noticed several similar-looking bottles labeled Liebfraumilch, which means milk of our lady (literally, loved lady's milk). The bottles yielded precious little information about what this wine was and whether it had anything to do with Riesling, and if I was clueless about Liebfraumilch, some of you might be too.

According to the Wine Lover's Companion:

Today, in order for a wine to be called Liebfraumilch, it must meet the following provisions: be a wine "of pleasant character"; contain a minimum of 18 grams of residual sugar (1.8 percent); be made only from müller-thurgau, sylvaner, kerner or riesling grapes; be of QbA quality; not be labeled with Prädikat designations such as spätlese or auslese; and come from one of the four German regions of rheinhessen, pfalz, rheingau and nahe (in practice, almost all of it comes from the Rheinhessen and the Pfalz). As with most wines, the quality of Liebfraumilch can vary dramatically from producer to producer.

So if you're drinking Liebfraumilch, you may or may not be drinking Riesling. It's not quite accurate to call it a Riesling impostor, but if you are looking for pure Riesling, you should look elsewhere. On the other hand, if you're looking for a simple, slightly sweet white wine, you might just find a Liebfraumilch that does the trick for you. If I come across one I like, I'll be sure to recommend it here.

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Pacific Rim Sweet Riesling: Not Bad for a Sweet Wine

2010-08-23T19:03:00.001-04:00

I've made it no secret in past reviews that I don't like sweet Rieslings. I generally have a low tolerance for sweetness, plus I rarely eat foods spicy enough to counteract all that residual sugar.

So when I received the 2009 Sweet Riesling from Pacific Rim as a sample, I was skeptical. But because I like Pacific Rim overall and trust them to make a good sweet wine, even if it's not one that fits my personal taste, I decided to go ahead and review it. I was surprised how much I liked it.

Label
"Our Columbia Valle Sweet Riesling—fermented with wild, native yeast—is fragrant and moderately sweet with flavors of pear, pineapple and peach. . . . Our Sweet Riesling brings harmonic balance to all fiery fare, from Thai to Szechuan to Caribbean cuisines."

My Thoughts
The sweet, floral scent of the wine was prominent when I poured the first glass. Though not incredibly complex, I did enjoy layers of green apple and peach.

I actually enjoyed this wine with a pizza made with spicy tomato sauce, and the sweetness really didn't bother me unless I took too many sips without some food to tone down the sugar. And with just 9% alcohol, this makes for an excellent mid-day wine to pair with any flavorful food.

Stats

Alcohol: 9%
Residual Sugar: 8.4%
Vintage: 2009
Appellation: Columbia Valley
Price: $10.00 (received as sample)
Rating: 7
Value (Rating/Price): 0.7

About Pacific Rim

Pacific Rim is a well-known Riesling producer, and you'll notice their devotion to the grape as soon as you visit their website, www.rieslingrules.com. They make 10 kinds of Rieslings (including a sparkling one which I'm dying to try). For a history of the company, including its launch by Randall Grahm in 1992, visit the about section of their website.

Also see my review of their organic riesling.

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East Meets West: Virginia vs. Washington Riesling

2010-08-10T08:36:00.001-04:00

Life has been busy, and with two sets of parents in town for our son's baptism recently, the blog has had to wait. But we're settling into our normal routine now, and to catch up I'll begin an occasional series of head-to-head Riesling reviews. Today's theme is East Meets West, and we'll look at Rieslings from Washington State and Virginia.

The Virginia selection comes from Gray Ghost Vineyards, and the Washington selection is the "Naked" Riesling from Snoqualmie.

Labels

Gray Ghost:"This elegant, off-dry Riesling has classic floral aromas followed by concentrated flavors of green apple and red grapefruit. The lively acidity gives the wine a well-balanced finish with hints of spice. Serve with fish, poultry or pasta dishes with white sauces."
Snoqualmie: "Organically farmed and produced, this Riesling offers bright aromas of apricot and spice, with a hint of mineral carried through on the palate. The off-dry finish is clean and soft and the pure elegance of the varietal is fully captured in this bottling. A perfect aperitif or wine pairing with assorted cheeses."

My Thoughts

Gray Ghost: As I began to sip this Riesling, I didn't get much in the way of flavor. Sure, I got some generic floral aroma and spice, but I also got a watery taste, and that's the "flavor" I most dislike in wine. Thankfully, as it warmed in the glass the wine took on fruity flavors, and the finish was pleasant. The finish redeemed the slow start, but I wouldn't pay $19 for this again. Don't take that as a complete negative, though--I'll certainly be tasting the other wines Gray Ghost has to offer.
Snoqualmie: This wine is clearly in the major leagues. Yellow in the glass, its sweetness and fruit combine for what would be a lovely balance to any spicy food. For me, it's too sweet to be enjoyed on its own or with mild food, but that's not a criticism of the wine itself. And for $9 cheaper than the Gray Ghost wine, the value by comparison is unmistakable.

You can see then, that the Washington wine won pretty easily. Riesling may not be a wine that we should grow a lot of here in Virginia since what's available from the Pacific Northwest and Germany is so often better and so much more available for such reasonable prices.

Stats

Gray Ghost:

Alcohol: 12.0%
Residual Sugar:
Price: $19.00
Rating: 5
Value (Rating/Price): 0.26

Snoqualmie:

Alcohol: 12.0%
Residual Sugar: 2.78 g/100mL
Price: $9.99
Rating: 8
Value (Rating/Price): 0.8

About Gray Ghost
Gray Ghost is a family-owned winery in Amissville, VA. They've got a lovely, low-pressure tasting room where you can purchase wine by the glass. If you're ever in Northern Virginia, you really should go pay them a visit.

About Snoqoualmie
Located in Prosser, WA, Snoqualmie prides itself on being a sustainable/organic winery, though not all of its wines are organic. Look for its "Naked" line of red and white organic if that's an important issue for you.

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Rieslings to Keep Stocked

2010-08-01T18:37:00.001-04:00

I've been thinking recently about what I'll do after this project is done. Probably, I'll find another varietal that interests me and pursue that. Or maybe I'll focus on wine from a particular region, regardless of varietal.

But today, I've been pondering one particular takeaway from the project: which Rieslings we should keep stocked. And though I don't know specific answers yet, I'm getting an idea of which regions need to be on our rack. We don't have a lot of wine storage--we might have room for five to six Rieslings--so I need to be selective.

Washington State tops the list. I'd like to keep at least two from there, probably one from Chateau Ste. Michelle and Pacific Rim. Oregon Rieslings aren't readily available around here, so as good as I've heard they are, I don't see them having a regular place at our table.

Next, of course, are German Rieslings. Their quality for the price you pay is unmatched. I haven't yet developed any go-to brands, but I'm sure that will come as the Riesling Project progresses.

The final two will be from the Finger Lakes and Virginia. The Finger Lakes would probably rank higher, but right now their price to quality ratio doesn't often fit with my budget. Virginia Rieslings are also usually more expensive than their German and Washington State counterparts, but I live near many of the vineyards and want to encourage theme to keep producing great wine.

Those are my suggestions, and they're admittedly focused what's available here in the Washington DC area. What do you recommend for your area?

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Fox Run Vineyards Riesling: Not Abounding in Anything

2010-07-24T17:34:00.001-04:00

Having reviewed Riesling from Washington, Germany, and even Virginia, it's high time for me to take up a selection from the Finger Lakes. For this purpose I recently picked up the budget-friendly 2008 Riesling from Fox Run Vineyards.

The Label

"Apricot, jasmine and tropical fruit aromas abound in this soft and rich semi-dry Riesling. In the mouth, peach and honey flavors are enlivened by a burst of fresh lime. Let us show you why Rieslings from the Finger Lakes are among the very best in the world."

My Thoughts
I really wanted to like this wine, for lots of reasons. I have family connections in the Finger Lakes region, so I always like to see the area do well. I also think the East Coast is underappreciated when it comes to wine, and I'd love to hold this up as an example.

But I can't do that. This wine was bland and watery from the start, and as it got some air in the glass some of the advertised aromas of apricot and jasmine came through. Overall, however, the only thing that was abundant was the taste of residual sugar and water.

I should note that the bottle I bought recently was the 2008 vintage--perhaps the 2009 vintage will be better. If I can find a 2009 I'll try to pick it up and post a comparative review.

Stats

Price: $13.99
Rating: 3
Value: 0.21
Alcohol: 12%

Other Reviews

I wasn't able to find any other reviews of this wine--most Fox Run reviews I saw were of the reserve Riesling, and most of those reviewers had good things to say.

About Fox Run

Fox Run is on the west side of Seneca Lake and has 55 acres of a variety of grapes. The site where the vineyard now sits was a dairy farm until 1984.

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Thursday Trivia: Are Riesling and Gewürztraminer Related?

2010-07-22T13:22:00.001-04:00

It's time for the next installment of Thursday Trivia, a weekly feature where I look at easily answered Riesling questions.

This week's question: Since Riesling and Gewürztraminer are both German names and both often come in long, skinny bottles, are they related to one another?

They're not:

Riesling grapes are usually what you think of as a white grape, while Gewürztraminer grapes are shades of red.
Riesling dates back to the 15th century or so, and while Gewürztraminer has a long history dating back to the Middle Ages, the grapes don't appear to be genetically related.

So there you have it. For more information on these two varietals and their individual histories, I highly recommend the Riesling and Gewürztraminer articles on www.whitewine.co.uk.

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Pacific Rim Organic: Sweet New World Goodness

2010-07-17T18:22:00.001-04:00

Yesterday I mentioned the International Riesling Foundations's Riesling Taste Profile. One of the biggest proponents of this sliding scale of sweetness is Pacific Rim, and the wine I've chosen for today's review is their 2009 organic Riesling.

The Label

"Our Riesling displays aromas of jasmine and citrus. The subtly sweet profile is balanced by bright and refreshing acidity. We've crafted a wine to pair with the foods that today's wine lovers place on their dinner tables. Our Riesling beautifully complements all manner of Asian cuisines, spicy fare and flavorful, fresh, local foods."

My Thoughts

With the earthy, gray colors of the wine's packaging, you'd expect to get lots of minerality--that is, it tastes like rocks and even dirt in a good sort of way. But minerality is far from what you get here. New World aromas of green apple and citrus abound, accompanied by flowery overtones for a pleasant, sweet finish.

According to the label, this Riesling's taste profile lies somewhere between medium dry and medium sweet. That sounds about right to me, and the sweetness was a welcome antidote to the spicy red pepper sausage we enjoyed for supper. On its own, I would find this a little too sweet, but I have a low tolerance for sweetness and many might find it a pleasant aperitif.

Retailing at $12.99, I'd give this wine a 7 rating, which gets bumped to an 8 because it's organic. That results in a value of 0.61. Compare this to other reviews here.

Other Reviews

http://beyondthebottle.com/blog/2010/01/pacific-rim-organic-riesling-2008.html

http://winepeeps.com/2010/04/26/riesling-rules-at-pacific-rim/

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/wineadviser/2009606002_pacificpadviser16.html

About Pacific Rim

See and download the full gallery on posterous

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Riesling Taste Profile

2010-07-16T15:14:00.001-04:00

The International Riesling Foundation (IRF) is a young organization that's trying to do a world of good for Riesling producers and consumers alike. Check out their website for good articles on what it means for a wine to have minerality, where that "petrol" note comes from, and why many producers choose to use screwcaps (hint: it's not about making it cheaper to produce).

But probably the IRF's most important contribution is the Riesling Taste Profile, a sliding scale of sweetness that isn't directly linked to residual sugar since several other factors influence how a wine actually tastes. The scale is meant to be put directly on wine labels or on point-of-sale materials

Here's what the IRF has to say about the scale:

To help consumers predict the taste in a particular bottle of Riesling, the IRF created a Riesling Taste Profile which Riesling producers may use on their back labels, merchandising materials and elsewhere. The winery may choose among the four graphic options below, and determines where the arrow should go based on a set of technical guidelines and their own judgment.

Though I'd love to see the IRF develop a more dynamic online presence with current articles and social media interaction, their Riesling Taste Profile is a great tool for those of us who want to appreciate the subtleties of Riesling.

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Book Review: Drink This: Wine Made Simple

2010-07-11T17:22:00.001-04:00

Before starting this blog I engaged in a two-year self education course on wine. Wine was verboten for my family growing up, so I knew literally nothing about it.

A big part of that education came from books. And while some of them were more helpful than others, many of them position themselves as "irreverent" and come up short on straightforward, helpful information.

Drink This: Wine Made Simple by Dara Moskowitz Grumdahl strikes the perfect balance between wit and straightforward information. Writing to the interested novice, Grumdahl begins the book with introductory wine-buying and -tasting information, moves on to detailed guidelines for nine different varietals (including Riesling, of course!), and finishes with advice on wine budgeting and how to order wine at a restaurant.

In each chapter she starts out with "What's to Love about..." and "What's to Hate about..." and then describes the "story" of the grape. In her Riesling chapter the story includes the clearest summary I've ever read of the German wine classification system. I will surely turn to that chapter again and again.

The chapters conclude with her advice on how to conduct a tasting--which wine categories and price ranges to make sure to include and what food to have around to make the experience even better.

This book is far and away the best introductory guide to wine I've read--and is the one I'll constantly turn to as a helpful summary of the basics. After all, you can always learn more than the basics, but you can never leave them behind.

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Clean Slate Riesling (2008)

2010-07-10T16:15:00.001-04:00

Having started with a local Virginia Riesling, we're now moving to Riesling's home turf: Germany. This week's selection is the 2008 Clean Slate Riesling from the Mosel region.

The Label

"Ripe peach flavors balance lively acidity, hints of lime and characteristic mineral notes." Residual sugar levels aren't noted on the label.

My Thoughts
When I first opened the screw cap and poured a glass, I was overwhelmed by the smell and taste of slate. Maybe slate was on my mind because of the wine's name, but I think the slate came through a lot more strongly than the mostly American Rieslings I've drunk till now.

However, the strong slate nose and taste soon subsided, revealing a pleasant, refreshing peach and green apple flavor. I'd have loved to seen just a little more acidity to balance the sweetness, but paired with the right food that would probably become a non-issue.

Other People's Impressions

http://www.businessweek.com/lifestyle/content/jul2010/bw2010078_922659.htm
Coincidentally, BusinessWeek (or now, Bloomberg BusinessWeek), designated this as their wine of the week this week. They loved the wine, calling it a "perfect 10."

http://www.wineweekly.com/wine-reviews/white-wine-review-clean-slate-riesling/
Wine Weekly, a blog that doesn't seem to have been updated since 2009, points out the importer's role in presenting this wine to the American public. It's a good point--the "Qualitätswein" designation is present as required by German law, but it's hidden on the back. The minimalist label also makes this wine accessible to those intimidated by long, skinny bottles and equally long German words.

Price and Rating

Purchased at Wegmans for $9.99. Rating is an 7.5, which divided by the price results in a value of 0.75.

About Clean Slate Vineyards

I was unable to find much information about the particular vineyards used for this wine, so if you want a wine with a rich history, you'll have to look elsewhere. But if you want a consistently good, widely available German Riesling, you can't go wrong with Clean Slate.

Thanks for reading! Please drop me a note in the comments, on Twitter (@rieslingproject), or at rieslingproject@gmail.com.

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Switching my blog to Posterous

2010-07-08T12:48:00.001-04:00

Over the past few days I've been playing with the settings on Blogger, looking for a simple and clean yet customizable theme. And I was making some progress.

But recently I came across a service called Posterous that is extraordinarly easy to use behind the scenes and offers elegently simple templates for the front end.

And so rather than endlessly tweak the Blogger site, I've switched my blog from http://rieslingproject.blogspot.com/ to http://rieslingproject.posterous.com/. For a few posts I will update both blogs, but very soon I'll begin updating the Posterous version exclusively.

Though I hate switching blog addresses almost as much as I do phone numbers, my blog isn't that well-distributed yet, and I'd rather go ahead and make the switch now than suffer through Blogger ad infinitum.

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Riesling, Ratings, and Robert Parker

2010-07-06T16:42:00.000-04:00

Ask a wine blogger about ratings and you may get anything from a shrug to an hour-long discourse on the evil devices of traditional journalism (read: Robert Parker) used to exert way too much influence over winemakers. Yet to acknowledge that the influence of some reviewers needs balancing isn't to say that ratings are total bunk. Here's my three-point sermon/apology for a simple rating system and a description of the one I plan to use here.

On the Helpfulness of Ratings

What makes for good wine (or good anything) is only partly subjective. Execution is objective; taste is a mix of objective and subjective, of facts and preference.
Readers look to reviewers, including bloggers, for recommendations on what is good and what isn't. We don't all have to like oaked Chardonnay--and as it happens, I don't--but good reviewers will give a good rating to a well-made oaked Chard even if they don't like the particular flavors.
Ratings allow reviewers to quantify for readers how good a wine is. Readers are busy, and while they appreciate a lesson in history or winemaking, in the end of the day they want to know whether the wine is good or not. Ratings offer a way to succinctly convey that information.

The Riesling Project's Rating System

Wines reviewed here will get a rating based on a 10-point scale--10 being so good you can't believe what you're drinking, 5 being average, 1 being hold your nose & pour it down the drain, I can't stand the sight, smell, or taste of that stuff.

For tasting purposes, I'll open each bottle assuming that the wine will be a 5, letting the wine prove otherwise. If a wine gets a 5, you can assume that it wasn't bad and you wouldn't go wrong drinking it, but there was nothing remarkable about it.

If a wine is made using organic methods, I'll add an extra point to the final reviewed score. Affirmative action for "organicness," as it were. This is a topic that is increasingly important to me.

In addition to a 1-10 rating, I'll tell you how much I paid for a wine and give you a "value score," or bang for your buck, calculated by dividing the rating by the price. For example, suppose I paid $9.99 for one wine and $14.99 for another, but both got a 7 rating. The first wine's value would be 0.70 and the second wine's value would be 0.47.

Over time, I hope to make my catalog of ratings and values available in a single, searchable location. Because the blog is still in its early days, some tech work is still needed to get that set up.

So whether you like my rating scheme or not, I'm glad you're reading and I hope you'll send me your feedback in the comments, on Twitter (@rieslingproject), or at rieslingproject@gmail.com.

Barboursville Riesling (2008)

2010-07-04T14:30:00.000-04:00

For the first Riesling Project review I've chosen to begin in my home state with a Virginia Riesling from Barboursville Vineyards. You might not think Virginia has a typical Riesling climate, but many of the state's vineyards produce Riesling in addition to better-known Virginia varietals such as Norton and Vigonier.

The Label

"A dry white wine with a hint of sweetness. Very delicate with a charming bouquet of honey and almonds. Good balance and clean earthy finish."

My Thoughts

Refreshing, slightly tart lime is how I'd describe this wine as it first swirled around my mouth. Mineral and stone notes came forward right away, in a nod to European style Rieslings. After a few minutes I noticed nectarine tones, and as the wine warmed in the glass, a floral taste emerged and the fruity flavors faded into the background.

Barboursville's Riesling is an excellent antidote to hot summer weather that will pair well with other flavors of the season--and for me that means some nice, cold honeydew.

Other People's Impressions (i.e., other reviews)

Aside from one-liners at wine shopping sites, I couldn't find any reviews of this wine. This review, then, is my first one to write and this wine's first one to receive.

How I Got This Wine

Purchased at Barboursville for $11.99

About Barboursville Vineyards

Barboursville is located just north of Charlottesville, Virginia, was founded in 1976 by Italian winemaker Gianni Zonin, and is directed by chief winemaker Luca Paschina.

Dezel of My Vine Spot visited Barboursville back in 2007, and I won't try to outdo his comprehensive review. I'll simply summarize that Barboursville has an informative tour and a pleasant, low-pressure tasting. If you want to get outside the tasting room and let your kids run some energy off, you can take a short walk to the ruins of James Barbour's residence. That trail was snowed over during my visit to Barboursville in February--so I'll have to go back and get the full experience.

And speaking of Charlottesville, start making your plants to attend the 2011 Wine Bloggers' Conference there. Virginia has lots of unknown wine gems, and you can't ask for a more charming host city with a wonderfully walkable downtown and an abundance of history and wine.

Thanks for reading! Please drop me a note in the comments, on Twitter (@rieslingproject), or at rieslingproject@gmail.com.

An Introduction to the Riesling Project

2010-07-01T13:23:00.000-04:00

About the Riesling Project
The Riesling Project is my quest to learn more about a grape I've come to love.

When I started drinking wine two years ago, I hardly knew anything about the difference between red and white wine, let alone what it meant for a wine to have "legs," a dry taste, or high tannins.

Since then I've tried a lot of wine and have read more books and blogs--especially blogs--than I can count. In the process of tasting and reading, I've been consistently drawn to the versatility, good taste, and all-around good value that Rieslings provide.

With this new-found love for Rieslings, I decided to learn more. And that's where I came up with the idea for this blog: review at least 30 Rieslings from around the world and develop a taste for the subtleties of preparation, terroir, and vintage.

If the project is still thriving after 30 reviews, I might just keep on going. We'll see how the next year unfolds.

About Me
I'm an amateur wine lover who's out to learn more about Riesling. It's really that simple.

Since I live in the Washington DC area, the wines I pick to review will usually be ones available at stores around here--for me, that usually means Wegmans, Whole Foods, and Total Wine & More. I may also accept samples from producers if offered (see "Transparency" below).

What you can expect from me

Weekly reviews (usually).
Riesling-related articles.
Interviews with the people who grow the grapes and produce the wine.
Transparency: If a wine was given to me as a sample, I'll tell you. Otherwise, I'll tell you where I bought it and what I paid.
German lessons: An added benefit to liking Riesling is that I know a little German. Not much, but enough to explain most Riesling-related terms.

What I expect (or at least hope for) from you
One thing, really: feedback. If you follow this project, you probably know more about wine in general and Riesling in particular than I do. So please, leave comments on posts or interact on Twitter (@rieslingproject). Suggest topics, tell me when I've got it wrong, and let me know how I can better serve you as readers.

Enjoy the ride!
I can't wait to see what the next year brings as we journey through the world of Riesling.