I met with Grossett in the grand entranceway at the 13th Australian Wine Industry
Technical Conference in Adelaide in mid-2006, and the fervor Grossett showed for the
organization (of which he had previously heard not a word, since it had not then been formed!)
was a bit surprising since I long ago knew that Australia has a long and glorious history with
Riesling that dates back to the earliest days of Barossa Valley’s German settlers in the early
1800s.

So strong is the Riesling culture in Australia that the subject has been well covered by the
country’s plethora of wine writers, many of whom treat the grape and the wine the way American
wine writers treat Chardonnay or Cabernet Sauvignon. Aussie wine columnists do annual
columns on the state of Riesling of the latest harvest; they track the quality level of Rieslings
from various regions and houses, and above all they wax poetic about the glories of aged
Riesling, a topic only one U.S. wine columnist has ever addressed more than once. Few ever
have.

Aussie Riesling has its own vibrant subculture in Australia, a fact little known outside the
country. Yet when first-time Australian Riesling consumers try the wines, whether the wines are
from the most recent vintage or long-cellared treasures, most newcomers are shocked by the style

of wine.

Because not only are these wines dry, they are also remarkably crisp, lean, minerally and
lemon-sour tart. Not even German wines designated Trocken (dry) are this austere. The only
parallel that fits here is Muscadet-lean, and I mean that in the most ascetic way.

Not that the wines are hard to drink by themselves, but with wines this crisp, the best
things to do with them are (a) serve them with food, or (b) age them.

Now, on the face of it, aged Riesling sounds like a distinct contradiction to the common
wisdom — that all white wines should be consumed as fast as possible. Some 30 years ago, I
believed that.

My reeducation began in the mid-1970s when I was first exposed to some German,
Alsacienne and Australian Rieslings that had been properly stored. Some of these wines had a bit
of residual sugar, and were structured properly to make it past one year.

It started for me with German Rieslings when an importer friend served me a 1967 Spätlese
that was utterly sublime. When well-made wines are aged a decade or two, any sugar in such
wines tends to become subsumed into its complexity. And the sugar isn’t as sweet.

At 20 years, the character is an astounding combination of things like petroleum (the
Germans call it “toast”), lichee nuts, toasted pine nuts, cynar, and a range of other elements too
numerous to detail.

Most American Rieslings were never made to be aged properly past a year or two because
acid and pH levels were not in the proper range, and thus most American Riesling buyers drew
the conclusion that they are made to be consumed young only.

Since that was the prevailing opinion, wineries made the wines softer and sweeter, and
the result was wines that were essentially soft, innocuous, and simple. Sure, they can be
charming. Served with a sweet Asian chicken salad with a sesame-ginger-honey dressing, they
delight on a warm spring afternoon, or a hot summer evening.

The real problem with sweeter Rieslings is that they too often lack acidity, which some
buyers equated with their drink-now mode.

Australians, on the other hand, have developed a palate for the bone-dry style of wine that
seems to dominate Aussie Rieslings. When the grapes are harvested as early as they are for that
style of wine, the natural aromas lean more toward the lime, pine, mint, juniper, stone fruit,
minerals, or even underbrush in a rain forest, which replaces guava/pineapple tropical fruit of
young Rieslings from warmer climes.

Such wines then evolve into magnificent and complex elixirs over years. Sure, it does
take getting used to. Learning to like older Riesling is a taste one acquires the way we gain a love
for mature oloroso sherry, old Rioja or Chianti, or even White Burgundy.

One reason Grossett was so keen on becoming part of the fledgling organization had little
to do with selling the wines to a broader audience. Grossett and many top Australian producers
already make and sell a lot of Australian Riesling at home and in Asia, where it is prized.

No, what captivated Grossett was that an organization seemed ripe for furthering
Riesling’s cause, broadening the awareness of Australian styles of the grape and its wines. Which
is what this article, four years after our meeting, is all about.

Today we have access to a great number of superb and reasonably priced Australian
Rieslings, offering us a chance to get wines with the structure to go the long haul. Almost all are
dry and made with bracing acidity.

Most of the best Rieslings from Australia have come into the United States over the last
decade made to sell for about $15 to $20 a bottle. A tiny handful (such as Grossett’s Polish Hill
wine from Clare Valley) sell for $20 to $30.

The culture of Riesling in Australia is so strong that it has reached into a vital second
stage of development, quality assessments based on vintage, and now a third stage, regional
distinctiveness.

Clare Valley, well north of Adelaide (about a two-hour drive), is a cooler region with
days warm enough to ripen red wine grapes, but with late afternoon breezes and evening cold to
make it a perfect climate for Riesling. It appears to be the most important Riesling area in
Australia.

A close second is the smaller and actually colder Eden Valley, which is actually a high
plain above the Barossa. About a quarter of a mile high in altitude, Eden Valley makes slightly
different but still classic Australian Rieslings with a personality all their own.

Many other regions now grow Riesling with Western Australia and Coonawarra
contributing some phenomenal efforts.

Though it has grown Riesling for a long time, Australia began to display Riesling
greatness in the 1950s, but it wasn’t until the late 1960s that John Vickery’s Leo Buring Rieslings
began to establish the regional characteristic of Clare Valley that soon become the iconic style for
which we recognize Australian Riesling. His nearly 1970s Rieslings are still being displayed to
this day to oohs and ahhs by Aussie collectors. He remains one of the top Australian wine makers
to this day.

Recent steps toward Riesling greatness in other districts, such as the Yarra Valley, Great
Southern, Gippsland, the Grampians, Adelaide Hills, Tasmania, and Orange were recognized in
the new 2010 book “Riesling in Australia” by wine maker Ken Helms and Trish Burgess. This is
a superb book that is at present available only in Australia. (Log onto http://
www.helmwines.com.au for details.)

Because it is such an acquired taste, Australia’s top Rieslings are still a relatively slow

sell on the U.S. market, but those who understand the wine’s remarkable aging potential are
benefitting from close-outs and deep discounts for what some retailers see as “old” Riesling.

It may well be time for more U.S. wine collectors to educate themselves to such glories
before prices for mature Rieslings, instead of falling, rise to their appropriate levels.

Double Gold Medals

• Belhurst Winery 2009 Riesling, Finger Lakes, New York – Best of Show/Wine of the Year
• Belhurst Winery 2009 Dry Riesling, Finger Lakes, New York
• Chateau Lafayette Reneau 2009 Dry Riesling, Finger Lakes, New York
• Chateau Ste. Michelle 2009 Dry Riesling, Columbia Valley, Washington
• Dr. Frank 2008 Bunch Select Late Harvest Riesling, Finger Lakes
• Gehringer Brothers Estate Winery 2009 Dry Riesling, Canada
• Oliver Winery 2009 Riesling, Indiana
• Tabor Hill Winery 2009 Lake Michigan Shore Riesling, Michigan
• Tsillan Cellars 2007 Dry Riesling, Washington

Gold Medals

• Chateau Lafayette Reneau 2009 Semi-Dry Riesling, Finger Lakes, New York
• Ferrante Winery 2008 Golden Bunches Riesling, Ohio
• Gehringer Brothers Estate Winery, 2009 Private Riesling, Canada
• Gehringer Brothers Estate Winery, 2009 Signature Riesling, Canada
• Hazlitt 1852 Vineyards 2009 Riesling, Finger Lakes, New York
• Jefferson Vineyards 2009 Riesling, Virginia
• Lynfred Winery 2009 Riesling, Illinois
• Mission Mountain Winery 2009 Riesling, Montana
• River Bend Vineyards and Winery 2009 Half Trocken Riesling, Wisconson
• Thirsty Owl Vineyard 2009 Riesling, Finger Lakes, New York
• Tsillan Cellars 2008 Dry Riesling, Washington
• Turning Leaf 2009 Riesling, California
• V. Sattui Winery, 2009 Riesling, California
• Vertikal German Wines 2007 Auslese Vintage Select, Germany
• Vertikal German Wines 2007 Spatlese Vintage Select, Germany
• Wollershein Winery Riesling, Wisconsin

Both authors are pioneers of winegrowing in the Canberra district, and with years of
contact with Australia’s Riesling makers through their respective roles in the eleven years of the
Canberra International Riesling Challenge.

The book explores the history of the variety in all Australian wine regions together with
insights into twenty “Legends” of Riesling making, who give personal comments on their
careers, wine making, growing the variety and their favourite wines. Viticulture and the science
of flavours are explained by Louisa Rose, Senior Winemaker at Yalumba Wines, and by Dr
Leigh Francis from the Australian Wine Research Institute.

There is a look at Consumer Perceptions and Expectations, an explanation of the
Geographical Regions and an outline of Riesling events around the world. More than 550 current
Riesling producers are listed for easy reference, together with Wine Australia’s new colour maps
of the wine regions.

Riesling in Australia is available from the publisher, Winetitles, at www.winetitles.com.au
bookstore.

During the winter of 2009 we experienced drier conditions than normal, with lower than
normal winter rainfall and slightly warmer conditions resulting in earlier bud break in some
varietals. Spring was much cooler and also quite wet with more than average rainfall and lower
than average temperatures. This resulted in uneven growth especially in the early ripening
varietals; the vines started growing and then stopped due to the cooler conditions. Due to high
wind speed and rain in this period, especially during flowering, we had quite a deduction in crop,
and the wet windy conditions were not favourable for fruit set. In some varietals we have seen a
crop loss of up to 60 %.

Early summer conditions were quite moderate and cool, the result was healthy canopies
with a small crop due to the bad fruit set. This resulted in earlier than normal ripening of most of
the varietals.

Riesling was the opposite of most of the other varietals; Riesling being a late flowering
variety and also more wind resistant, we did not see a reduction in crop. The canopy was very
balanced and the crop ripened normally. The 2010 vintage showed a little more richness than in
2009 but still very elegant fruit with lots of citrus and floral tones. The wine is also developing
very well and should be a cracker.

Taste of Spring, Eden Valley Riesling Tasting, Australia, 16 September 2010

The annual tasting of new vintage, current release and back vintage Eden Valley Rieslings is
held annually in Eden Valley, South Australia. A group of media, as well as local and interstate
trade and winemakers, are invited to attend the tasting, which makes it a fantastic opportunity to
showcase new vintage and older Riesling wines. After the tasting a light lunch, and a cleansing
ale is served to provide an opportunity for attendees to mix with trade and media to discuss the
individual wines.

Clare Valley Regional and International Riesling Focus Tasting, Australia, 29 September
2010

In association with the Clare Valley Winemakers a joint regional and international Riesling
Focus Tasting is held in Clare at the end of September. Riesling winemakers are invited to
attend the event.

International Riesling Symposium, 11-12 November 2010, Hotel Schloss Reinhartshausen,
Rheingau, Germany

The two-day program includes lectures, wine tastings, and a “Walking Wine Dinner”. Details
are available at www.vdp-rheingau.de

2011 Riesling Experience, 9-10 June, 2011 Brock University, St. Catherines, Ontario, Canada

Famed Alsatian producer Pierre Trimbach will conduct a tutored tasting of wines wine, a “Great
Lakes” panel will include Riesling producers from several states, and a Riesling-friendly
luncheon is included.

Those findings came from two related market research projects undertaken by Wine Opinions of St. Helena, CA for the IRF, with results presented by John Gillespie at the Riesling Rendezvous conference in Seattle. The online trade survey involved wholesalers, restaurateurs, retailers, and others, while the two consumer segments were interviewed in online focus groups. The overall purpose of the studies was to determine current perceptions of Riesling in the United States, its potential for growth, opinions about Rieslings from different regions, and the potential value of the Riesling Taste Profile.

The Riesling Taste Profile was developed to create a standardized, consumer-friendly way of knowing what taste to expect in different bottles of Riesling, from dry to sweet and in between. This is determined not by natural residual sugar alone, but by its interplay with acid and pH. Working with wine makers from many countries, with leadership from California wine journalist Dan Berger the IRF developed technical guidelines for four categories (Dry, Medium Dry, Medium Sweet, and Sweet), as well as a simple graphic for consumers to reference on back labels and point of sale materials. Full information about the Riesling Taste Profile, including downloadable graphics, is available at the IRF web site (www.drinkriesling.com).

Although only a small portion of the trade respondents had seen it due to its newness, when shown the graphic more than three-quarters (76%) said it would be helpful to consumers when making a purchase decision, and over half (53%) see it as a useful tool for staff in recommending Rieslings to consumers. This is particularly relevant given the large staff turnover in restaurants especially, but also in retail settings.

Among regular Riesling consumers, the Riesling Taste Profile was well received and considered very helpful, especially for novices not familiar with wine in general and Riesling in particular. Riesling non-drinkers were on balance positive about the Riesling Taste Profile, but expressed some concerns about the accuracy of the system and the possibility it would cheapen the wine’s image. However, given that the major barrier to Riesling trial by non-drinkers remains the perception that Riesling is ONLY a sweet white wine, the Riesling Taste Profile was seen by most respondents as a positive contribution to consumer confidence in purchasing.

The IRF Riesling Taste Profile is appearing on more than 15 million bottles of 2009 vintage Riesling in the U.S. market in 2010, with that number expected to grow substantially in future years. Australia’s Barossa Grape and Wine Association has endorsed the Taste Profile, and many Australian producers are expected to include in on their 2010 vintage wines to be released in the near future. Winemakers in New Zealand and other countries have also adopted it.

In some countries like Germany, at present it cannot be used on wines sold domestically, but Schloss Johannisberg has added it to its wines exported to the U.S. In South Africa, where use on the actual label is also currently prohibited, Paul Cluver Winery is using it on its point-of-sale materials. Samples of the Riesling Taste Profile’s use are shown on the IRF web site, as is a listing of wineries using it.

Additional major findings of the trade study:

• Overall, the trade has great regard for Riesling, and understand its special attributes, versatility, and uniqueness.
• The continuing widespread consumer perception of Riesling as only “a sweet white wine” remains a major barrier which may be overcome by the Riesling Taste Profile and other forms of education.
• German and Alsatian Rieslings are most respected, with California and Australian wines viewed as the least expensive.
• Continuing growth is expected due to increased consumer interest in Riesling and greater awareness of dry Riesling.

Additional conclusions from the consumer focus groups:

• Riesling drinkers buy various styles of Riesling in all price ranges, and see Riesling at all price points as a good value.
• Riesling may benefit from the “ABC” movement (Anything But Chardonnay) spurred largely by the aversion to oaky wines.
• Riesling drinkers consume it for a variety of occasions and at various times of year, especially in warmer seasons; enjoy it with food or along; and appreciate Riesling’s versatility.
• Alsatian Riesling is highly regarded among Riesling drinkers.

The studies are available for free to “Friends of the Foundation”, and for $495 to others. Information about becoming a “Friend of the Foundation” is in the “About Us” section of the IRF web site.

The International Riesling Foundation is the only global organization focused around a single grape variety, and includes a distinguished Board of Directors of more than 30 top Riesling producers from Australia, Austria, Canada, France, Germany, New Zealand, South Africa, and the United States (several states). Its mission is “to increase awareness, trial, and sales of Riesling wines through a comprehensive, integrated system of industry cooperation, research, trade education, and consumer communication.”

Media Contact: Jim Trezise, jimtrezise@nywgf.org, 585-394-3620

After a trip to speak at a New York viticulture symposium, I arranged to bring back home a number of New York Rieslings, all from the Finger Lakes, and poured them blind for the Vintage Hills Tasting Group.

This group, mainly composed of Sonoma County wine makers, meets numerous times a year in the labs of various Northern Sonoma wineries to try wines of all kinds. Recent tastings have included Alsace Gewurztraminers and New Zealand Pinot Noirs.

When I proposed the New York Riesling tasting, a number of members were very excited since they had heard a lot about the wines, but few had ever tasted more than one or two.

What was fascinating for me was not the positions of the wines after the tasting, but that the wine makers were really in love with most of the wines. Also of interest is that even where there was residual sugar ion a wine, it seemed to be perfectly balanced by great acidity.

Very little Riesling is made in Sonoma County (a lot more by percentage comes from Lake and Mendocino counties), yet the tasters gave superb tasting notes to all wines except one, which was (alas) corked.

The winning wine was 2008 Anthony Road, a dry wine that still has a succulent finish. The wine makers’ descriptors included flinty, slate, peach, petrol, and a hint of geranium. One taster felt the wine’s acidity was a tad low, but he still praised the wine for its balance.

Second place was 2008 Dr. Konstantin Franc Semi-Dry that most tasters believed would work nicely with crab or lobster. Descriptors included floral/terpene, peach, pear, and pumpkin. Main comments were that the wine might have said Semi-Dry on the label, but the acid was high enough so the wine’s finish was relatively dry.

Third was a sweeter wine from Columbia Crest in Washington (a ringer I included, and which I ranked 11th out of 12). The wine makers liked the way the residual sugar worked with the acid, and two believed the wine to be from Germany. A few of the wine makers saw the wine as atypical of the rest of the group.

Fourth overall was 2007 Sheldrake Point Dry (lime, waxy, and complex) with superb acidity, a real food wine. I have had this wine many times since its release and love how it works with Thai food.

Fifth overall, and my first place wine, was 2008 Red Tail Ridge Dry, a wine of immense spice, faintly waxy with an aroma of dried flowers, apricot and peach. The wine, from Lake Seneca’s western shore, has a trace of residual sugar and superb acidity to balance it.

Other Rieslings scoring high with the Sonoma judges were 2007 Fox Run, 2008 Lamoreaux Landing, 2008 Dr. Frank Dry, and 2008 Lakewood Vineyards.

Needless to say, Finger Lakes Riesling has arrived as a superb wine. And for the last few years, California wine maker Scott Harvey has used Finger Lakes Riesling fruit for his Jana Riesling, a great project that proves that this category has a fast-growing following.

A final comment on the Riesling tasting: One of the best tasters with the Vintage Hills group is a long-time wine maker who has experience with a wide range of Rieslings. During the tasting, a number of the tasters commented on the fact that some of the New York versions showed traces of petroleum. The comments came from a few of the younger tasters.

Finally, a tad exasperated with such comments, the older wine maker said, “You people need more experience with great Rieslings. Then you’d realize that petroleum is a fruit!”

The Riesling Taste Profile was created by the International Riesling Foundation (IRF), a global nonprofit organization formed to promote Riesling as the world’s most noble white wine variety. The need became apparent when IRF-commissioned market research by Wine Opinions reaffirmed that many consumers still think of Riesling only as “a sweet white wine” despite the wide range of tastes it can represent.

Major producers in the largest Riesling producing states—Washington, California, Oregon, Michigan and New York—will be using the Taste Profile, along with some wineries from other states and countries including Germany, Australia and New Zealand. A partial list of wineries using the Taste Profile is shown below, with the range of wines dramatically illustrating why such a consumer-friendly tool is needed.

Riesling was the fastest growing varietal in the United States in 2009, with an 8.3% increase in sales, according to data from the Nielsen Company. Widespread use of the Riesling Taste Profile is likely to accelerate that growth by making Riesling more understandable, predictable, and consumer-friendly.

(In some countries such as Canada, Germany, and South Africa there are regulatory restrictions preventing its use on labels of wines sold within the country, but wines exported to the United States may include it. In addition, some wineries like Cave Spring in Canada and Paul Cluver Wines in South Africa are using the Taste Profile on point-of-sale merchandizing materials, which is perfectly allowable.)

The Taste Profile involves voluntary technical guidelines for Riesling producers in describing their wines for consumers along with four graphic options that may be used on a back label, point-of-sale materials, and elsewhere. Several examples of such use are shown in the Riesling Taste Profile section of the IRF web site, www.drinkriesling.com, which also contains everything necessary to download and customize the Taste Profile and related point-of-sale materials.

“Riesling may be made in many styles from bone dry to sweet, and this versatility can be both a strength and a weakness,” said California wine journalist Dan Berger who spearheaded the IRF project in consultation with many Riesling wine makers. “Riesling’s many styles can fit almost any taste preference, but consumers may be put off if they are expecting one taste and get another. The taste profile will enhance Riesling’s strength by letting consumers know the basic taste before they open or even buy the bottle.”

To help wine makers consider which terms to use for various wines, the committee developed a technical chart of parameters involving the interplay of sugar, acid, and pH which helps determine the probable taste profile of a particular wine. Another key step in the project was to identify appropriate terms for describing the relative dryness or sweetness of the wine. After extensive deliberations, the four categories selected are: Dry, Medium Dry, Medium Sweet, and Sweet. (Some producers continue to use Semi-Dry or Semi-Sweet on their front labels, but the Taste Profile uses “Medium” in both cases.)

“It is important to understand that these are simply recommended guidelines which we think may be helpful, but the program is entirely voluntary,” said Berger. “We are encouraged that many Riesling producers are already using the system because it will help consumers, and therefore help the wineries as well.”

The next step was to develop a simple graphic design showing the four levels from Dry to Sweet, and
a simple indication of where a particular wine falls. This design may be used on back labels, merchandising materials, web sites and elsewhere. The goal is to have a common, simple, consumer-friendly system for identifying Riesling tastes.

With substantial input from IRF Board members who are Riesling producers, New York-based artist Book Marshall developed four options (shown below) which may be used by wineries, depending on their back label space and design. The preferred design is #1, which includes the words, “This Riesling is…” above the bar, and “International Riesling Foundation” with a logo below it.

“This is a very important project, and we’re grateful to Dan Berger and others who spent many hours on this,” said Jim Trezise, President of the IRF. “With Riesling’s surging popularity among consumers, making this versatile wine more understandable and user-friendly could accelerate its growth.”

The Riesling Taste Profile was developed in time to be available for use by northern hemisphere wineries on wines from the 2008 vintage. While several producers used it on those wines marketed in 2009, its use in 2010 will be far more widespread. There is no fee to use it, and the copyright was obtained only to protect against incorrect use.

The IRF Riesling Taste Profile is also being adopted by major international wine judgings such as the Los Angeles International Wine & Spirits, and Riverside International, competitions, as the basis for their Riesling categories.

The IRF’s mission is: “To increase awareness, understanding, trial and sales of Riesling wines through a comprehensive, integrated system of industry cooperation, research, trade education, and consumer communication.”

PDF of press release

A complainant wrote to me recently to say that my comments that there were a plethora of fascinating Rieslings from many places in the world were, in his words, mindless.

His point was that there was but one Riesling and it came from Germany, and that all others were mere pretenders. And, from what I gathered from his remarks, no others were worth drinking.

In a way, I sympathized with his myopia. There is no question that the absolute paradigm for this superb grape is Germany, with its difficult soils, its hard-to-predict weather, and its myriad of other problems not the least of which is the way certain sub-regions impact how the aromas and flavors will develop.

But to dismiss all other Rieslings as unworthy to consume is a rather narrow view, and one that indicates that the writer probably has never tried a Riesling from Austria, Alsace, or Australia with their distinctive personalities. Or any others.

It is easy to dismiss that which you have never tried. But even if this writer had tried others and found them un-Germanic, is that any reason to declare all the others mere charlatans? Those of us who have tried the great Rieslings of New York might likewise dispute the fact that a Riesling from Colorado deserved to win a major international wine tasting a couple of years ago. I was all set to dispute this result until a recent trip to Colorado where I was stunned by the quality of many wines, not the least a few Rieslings (not to mention a simply remarkable Gewurztraminer).

Were any of these wines Germanic in character? No. Not close. But neither are any of the superb bone-dry Rieslings of Australia’s Clare and Eden valleys Germanic, in the strict sense of the word, and yet the characteristics they offer, though radically different from those found in Germany, still deliver a distinctiveness that is the grape as rendered by another soil and climate.

And isn’t that a commanding statement of how great a grape Riesling is? Despite wildly differing growing conditions, only Riesling can make a locally acknowledged great wine with little dispute — and in a wine that shows the identifiability of the grape.

Take Cabernet Sauvignon for example. Bordeaux is the worldwide model, but some have confused Napa Cabernet for Bordeaux ands vice versa. But in recent years, purists seem to prefer Bordeaux. Burgundy may be the world’s best place to grow Pinot Noir, but a number of cooler-climate Californian Pinot Noirs as well as New Zealand offerings are now making a challenge, suggesting that Burgundian flavors can be extracted from regions other than Burgundy. But Burgundy remains the wine lovers’ wine of choice (if price is no object).

It is clear that wines from the paradigm-ic regions remain still captivate wine lovers and remain first in their hearts.

But put a well-chosen Michigan, Oregon, Colorado, Temecula, or Tasmanian Riesling down in front of a wine lover, and he or she might note (quickly) that it is not German, but also may point out the delight of Riesling aromas and flavors that the wine delivers.

No, it may not be German, but there is an indefinable quality to the wine that says, “This is Riesling,” and that may be all that one needs to know that a good drink is ahead.

Yes, it’s fine to be pro-German Riesling. Our cellar has loads of them. But we are also at least as much in love with the grape as we are the paradigm, and we are trying with delight Rieslings from Mendocino County, southern Washington, Italy and Chile, and even places like Ohio, Wisconsin, and Virginia that defy the statement “you can’t do that here.”

Riesling is so great a grape that it can perform where other grapes only can make a pretender.

I opened a bottle of Spanish Sherry the other day that had on its front label the words “Medium Dry.”

And this brought to mind a possible problem with the International Riesling Foundation’s taste scale, which has so far been seen as a great addition to the wine labels of numerous wineries around the world.

The term “Medium Dry” is, as we know, rather relative in that it is based on a relationship between the wine’s sugar and its acidity, with a pH adjustment factor added in.

In most cases this will work just fine. However, as I sipped this rather sweet Sherry, it dawned on me that we had a dilemma. That is, when using the Riesling taste scale, we have to assume a moderate alcohol level.

The Sherry, of course, was fortified, so its sugar and acid were hard to asertain since the alcohol was listed as 17%. Which is a lot more than most Rieslings will ever see.

But the alcohol level of Riesling is a concern when it comes to structural balance of a wine, and this relates as much to German wines as it does to Rieslings from other countries. It is a factor, too, for many other table wines.

It is well known that any table wine reaching high alcohol levels (I’d say 15% for white wines and 16% for reds are both a bit on the high side) can become a problem for the overall structure of the wine. High alcohol almost always leaves a wine with a sense of sweetness, even if no actual sugar is there.

With the alcohol levels in excellent Riesling typically low (in the 10% to 13% range in most cases), our IRF taste scale is quite workable. (Of course, the same exact wine would be radically different if one fraction was fermented to dryness at 13% and another portion of the same wine was reduced in alcohol to 10%, but that’s not a likely scenario.)

But if you take this issue to its most illogical conclusion, imagine that a wine maker, for reasons I won’t even dare to guess, chooses to pick his Riesling grapes at 26 degrees Brix, ferments the wine down to 1% residual surag (10 grams per liter), and then does not de-alcoholize the wine. And further let us assume there is a Riesling out there with sufficient acidity and a low enough pH to warrant being called medium dry on a technical basis.

If this wine has an alcohol level of, say, 15.5%, would it be seen as really “medium dry” by most tasters? I’m guessing this “chicken with three legs” would taste rather sweet, and be, at best, seen as medium sweet.

Clearly this is a curious wine and is not one that would command much attention by Riesling purists.

But the message of this week is that alcohol cannot be ignored in the grand scheme of things. And yet for the IRF to have factored alcohol into the taste scale would have made for a three-dimensional technical chart that would have caused more confusion than clarity.

As you think of the taste scale, remember that the unspoken fly in the ointment is the alcohol. We at the IRF are all fully aware of this dilemma, and may address the glitch in the future.

For now, we are seeing wineries around the world adopt the tasting scale for their labels and sales and marketing campaigns. And to that we say, hat’s off!