I love dry Riesling. You can pair it with a great variety of foods but it’s also delicious on its own. Now, what do I mean by dry? No, it’s not that the wine dries out your mouth . Dry is a term used to describe the sugar content in a wine. Dry means little to no sugar and semi-dry means that there is still some sugar content left after the wine has been fermented. Riesling comes dry, semi-dry and sweet. Most Americans experienced Riesling with the promotion of Blue Nun in the 1970’s. This wine is semi-dry and was hugely popular. Sweeter wines gradually grew out of favor but what people didn’t realize, is that there was another style of Riesling that wasn’t sweet.
Flavor Profile
In the last few years, dry Riesling has been rediscovered and is enjoying somewhat of a comeback. It’s really pleasant to drink. I’s flavor profile is citrus and ripe apples. It has a strong mineral quality, like when you smell wet rocks and you imagine what that would taste like. It also has aromas of white flowers and a slight honey note. All these flavors sound sweet but they are balanced out by the mineral flavor of the wine and the super high acid content that goes along with it. Acid brings a sharpness to the wine and is that thing that makes your mouth water incessantly. It makes you want to take another sip and then you realize that you’ve drank the whole glass.
The Dr. Loosen 2018 Dr. L. Riesling is just as I would want a Riesling to be. The Dr. Loosen does have the added flavor note of guava, which tames all of the citrus flavors and in your mouth and rounds everything out. At $12.49, it is very affordable and a great price point for a good quality German Riesling. It also ages well and so buying a case is something I highly recommend.
Food Pairing
My favorite food pairing for Riesling is sushi. The light and bright flavors of the wine enhance the subtle flavors of the fish and rice, while the high acid can cut through the fattiness of fish, like tuna, and mayo based sauces. Both sushi and the wine have light textures that work well together and one does not dominate the other.
Riesling also goes nicely with asparagus. Asparagus is one of those awkward green vegetables that is hard to pair but Riesling does the trick. It also pairs nicely with mild curries, ham, pork and chicken.
If you’ve never had Riesling or have tried it but didn’t like it because it was sweet, I recommend giving this one a try. You may fall in love before you realize it.