Riesling-Wine

Michael Fleming

Wine and beverage

Riesling

Let me start of by saying I've never had so much fun researching a report, that is to say I spent my Saturday drinking wine looking for my favorite. It was a German Riesling from Piessport. I think its interesting because I was born in Germany and lived there for fourteen years before moving too the U.S. My dad was in the army and my mom would get extra money picking grapes when we lived in a wine country. She jokes that I loved it before I was even born. I do not think it is as funny as she does but I turned out o.k.

Riesling is a white grape variety historically grown in Germany as well as France, Austria, and northern Italty. It was first documented in 1435 as riesslingen then the modern word Riesling was documented in 1552.

The late harvest dessert wines tend to be the most expensive and are produced by letting the grapes hang on the vine past the normal picking time. The fungus Botrytis cinerea (noble rot) causes the evaporation of water witch makes the wine that comes from the grape have very rich and sweet flavors. These concentrated wines tend to have more sugar, acid, and flavor than your average wine and have a longer shelf life. The benefit of the fungus was discovered in the lat 18th century when a vineyard picked the grapes late after the grapes had begun to rot. It turned out that the wine from these grapes was excellent. (1)

The Riesling is very well suited to Germanys slate and sandy clay soil. Today it is Germany's most popular grape variety, known for its balance between fruit and mineral flavors. It normally ripens between late September and late November, but can take until late January to be ready.(1)

When I had my bottle I found it had a sweet apple taste, but it can also have a citrus, peach, or even honey in its flavors, depending upon the style. It would be great to have with salads, fruit, chicken and pork. That is what the book said but I think it would go with any light or sweeter type of food. (2)(3)

Here are some varietals that I found at Sherlock's on town center:

GERMANY

Gunderloch