Pickle Barrel
IF DIONYSUS, GOD of wine, were to suddenly appear in a clap of thunder and decree that he would only permit one grape variety to be grown on earth and the rest must be forfeited, I would try to argue him into allowing two — one white and one red. The red would be Pinot Noir, and the white, without a moment’s hesitation, would be Riesling.
Much maligned because of its Liebfraumlich (sweet German wine) legacy, Riesling, for my palate, is the noblest of grapes. Yes, it can be sweet, but it can be bone dry or every shade of dryness to honeyed sweetness in between.
Riesling has fallen out of favour because consumers don’t know what they’re getting. They may appreciate the sweeter style having enjoyed a German Spätlese (late harvest) and then purchased an Alsace Riesling only to find it’s bone dry and almost twice as alcoholic. That’s Riesling.
A chef in the Vosges Mountains of Alsace, France, once described his region’s Riesling to me as “a naked sword.” It’s bright and shining and sharp without any makeup, not like that over-made trollop Chardonnay, the Pygmalion of wines, that you can shape to any flavour you want with new oak and battonage.
With Riesling, the flavours you get in the vineyard are what you will find in the wine. That’s the naked part.
So Riesling is a grower’s wine that is aged in stainless steel — or in Alsace, in ancient barrels that are so encrusted with tartrates that there is no transference of air to oxidize the wine.
The natural home for Riesling is in cool climates like those of Germany, Alsace, Austria, Ontario, New York State and the cooler regions of Australia and New Zealand.
Because there is so much variety in Riesling, you have to read the label carefully. The Germans were the first to classify the wine by its sweetness level, which they continue to do by measuring the amount of sugar in the berries at the time of harvest.
The driest German Rieslings are the category called Qualitätswein. With a little more sugar in the grapes they are categorized as Kabinet. Next up in the sugar scale is Spätlese. Sweeter still is Auslese.
Now you begin to get into dessert wine territory with Beerenauslese (selectively picked berries affected by noble rot). This is the same category for German Eiswein.
The richest, sweetest and rarest (and most expensive) German Riesling is Trockenbeerenauslese. While these wines are honey sweet, they are kept from cloying because of their high acidity.
Ontario has its own designation for sweetness levels based on this model. Riesling Dry on the label corresponds to Germany’s Qualitätswein.
A good example is Flat Rock Cellars Nadja’s Vineyard Riesling or Thirty Bench Riesling. Semi Dry relates to Kabinet. Try Vineland Estates Semi Dry Riesling.
Late Harvest is a direct translation of Spätlese.
My favourite is Château des Charmes Late Harvest Riesling. Select Late Harvest is Auslese sweetness. Try Konzelmann Estate Select Late Harvest Riesling Traminer. And Special Select Late Harvest is Beerenauslese style, which is marginally less sweet than Ontario Riesling Icewine. Try Hernder Estate Special Select Late Harvest Riesling.
Because, compared to Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc and Pinot Grigio it’s underpriced, I’m sure that Riesling is Dionysus’s house wine. I can see that jolly fellow sitting on a cloud with a chilled glass of Riesling in his hand admonishing us for not buying more of it. 
Post City Magazines’ resident oenophile, Tony Aspler, has authored 11 books on wine and food, including The Wine Lover’s Mystery Series. He is also the creator of the annual Ontario Wine Awards and a co-founder of the Grapes for Humanity charity. He can also be heard each week on 680News.
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