Riesling made Simple

[REEZ-ling, REES-ling]


Riesling is considered to be one of the world's greatest white-wine varietals and produces some of the very best and long lived white wines with up to a 50 year cellaring potential. The riesling grape's ability to retain its acidity while achieving high sugar levels is what creates wines with considerable aging potential. Riesling is a variety which is highly "terroir-expressive", meaning that the character of Riesling wines is clearly influenced by the wine's place of origin. These wines are delicate but complex and can be characterized by wine descriptors in the fruit category such as honey, apricot, lemons, tropical fruits (banana, pinapple, mango), green apple and peaches. The complexity becomes apparent when the terroir really comes through with notes such as floral, flint, steel, petrol and minerality. Petrol is a character that comes out as the wine ages, and is actually desireable. Riesling is vinified in a variety of styles ranging from DRY to SWEET. The vine is a native of Germany and has been cultivated for thousands of years to best results in the Mosel-Saar-Ruwer and Rheingau regions. Mosel Riesling tends to more steely, flint and mineral whereas Rheingau Rieslings are all about tropical fruit. California, Oregon, Washington, New York, Ontario, British Columbia, Australia (Eden and Clare Valley), France (Alsace), Italy (Alto Adige) have extensive plantings of this grape and produce high-quality results.

What is in a Name?

A bottle of riesling is one of the most complex labels you will ever encounter, but as inconceivable as it seems, the Germans do have a system. The German wine classification system is dubbed Qualitatswein or ‘quality wine’ (Qba) similar to France’s Applelation Origin Controlee (AOC). You may also see Qualitatswein mit Pradikat for even more stringent wine making rules (QmP). This system tells you through a rating chart what the sugar levels of the picked grapes were at harvest. The higher the sugar levels the better the wine quality is the general rule of thumb. Note that higher sugar content in the grapes does NOT mean that the end wine will be sweet, just better concentration of flavour from them hanging on the vine longer.

K S A B E T is the acronym I use to remember the quality levels of German wine. Kabinett, Spatlese, Auslese, Beerenauslese, Eiswine, Trockenbeerenauslese from least to most in measure of must weight or sugar levels (Oe).

In other regions around the world, they have taken to making things harder for Riesling lovers everywhere. California, South Africa, Australia and even in Germany itself have used the word ‘riesling’ on bottles that do not necessarily contain true Riesling. The worst case scenario is in Australia where riesling can mean any white wine! Sylvanner can be mistaken for Riesling in California as they call this varietal by many names such as Franken Riesling or Sonoma Riesling. In Germany, Schwarzriesling is actually a red grape, France’s Pinot Meunier. Mostly, countries have done this to note wines with riesling like qualities. Luckily for us, BC produces some of the best true rieslings I’ve ever tasted and they are labelled… Riesling.

Notes from a recent Riesling tasting:

1. Stoneleigh, Marlborough, NZ, 2007, $17.50
2. Lingenfelder, Pflaz, Germany, 2007, $22
3. Alexandria Nicole, Columbia Valley, WA, Late Harvest Riesling, 2008, $22
4. Gunderloch, Fritz's Riesling, Rheinhessen, Germany, 2007, $17
5. Pikes, Clare Valley, Australia, 2007, $25
6. Hugel, Alsace, France, 2007, $25
7. St.Urbans-Hof, Mosel, Germany, 2007, $20
8. Prinz von Preussen, Rheingau, Germany, 2006, $19
9. Schloss Reinhartshausen, Rheingau, Germany, $20

I should note from this tasting that there was no clear favourite and most bottles were very enjoyable summer sippers. People tended towards the classic German rieslings rather than the more dry and lemony, less complex on the palette New World bottles. Prinz von Preussen, tasted at the end of the night, was by far the best in my mind, finessed stoney, citrus, green apple minerality, if you can ever find a bottle good luck. Fritz's Riesling and Stoneleigh were the best value of the show. St.Urbans-Hof is widely available and rated high for it's strong flinty, green apple palette. Lingenfelder was another favourite, if you want a clear example of a quality Rheingau this is your buy. If you want to try a great BC riesling, Tantalus Old Vine Riesling is A-mazing!

Riesling is one of my favourite all round wines, great with food, great for easy drinking and a nose/palette complexity and price point that forces you to take notice.

Yes, there are Wine Regions in BC

British Columbia, Canada, is one of the world's newest and most explosive wine regions. In the 1980s, there was a scant 1000 acres in BC devoted to vitis vinifera, but today that number has blossomed to 9000 acres and over 100 wineries. This newly discovered wine territory is still very small in comparison to the wine giants of France or Austrailia, but everyone is taking notice. The Bordeaux producer Groupe Taillan and Vincor Canada joined together in 1999 to produce one of the best examples of BC fine wine that I've ever had the pleasure to sip. The winery was dubbed, Osoyoos Larose, and all their wines are made in true Bordeaux style with Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot dominating with a dash of Cabernet Franc, Malbec and Petite Verdot to add complexity. Being the new kid on the block in terms of wine production means that BC wineries take advantage of all the most progressive viticultural and vinification techniques available today. We hover around the 49th parallel, which is comparable to Champagne in France and Germany's famous Mosel and Rheingau regions. With better viticultural and vinification practices, vines are able to ripen in areas further and further north, especially when they take advantage of micro-climates that favour the sun.

The Vintners Quality Alliance is Canada's regulatory body, they have named four distinctive wine regions in BC. Our province has an extremely wide range of terrain from semi-desert country to Pacific islands which makes each of these areas very distinctive. The Okanagan Valley is by far the largest and most developed. I would further divide this area into North Okanagan and South Okanagan sub regions for clarity. Both regions' temperatures are moderated by a large lake body. The second region includes the southern Gulf Islands and Vancouver Island. This area has only 10 wineries, but a lot of potential. Another up and coming wine region is the Similkameen Valley, located south-west of the Okanagan Valley in the mountains at Keremeos.

The southern Okanagan Valley is Canada's only true desert, its heat produces the bulk of BC's fine red wine. Cabernet, Merlot, Cabernet Franc and Syrah are in fine form taking advantage of the valley's varied and Bordeaux-esque soil types: gravel, sand and clay. If you are a fan of big, bold, rich, spicy, aged reds you cannot go wrong in this region. Wineries like Nk'mip, Osoyoos Larose and Black Hills produce consistent examples of the excellence that can be achieved on BC soil. These wineries bring forth the essence of southern Okanagan terroir. Many of the vineyards are planted on the Black Sage Bench where sandy, clay soil runs deep and sage grass spice wines are produced from the vines.

The Similkameen Valley is a very new wine region for BC. Its rocky, mountainous terrain is very arid and windy which is just the way we like them for wine production. There are wide variety of vines planted in this region with merlot, gamay noir, chardonnay, pinot noir and cabernet sauvignon predominating. This area has yet to leave its mark on my palette, but with time and viticultural experience it may just hit the mark.

Northern Okanagan wineries focus on cooler climate grapes taking their direction from northern France and Germany. There is also a central Okanagan wine region, in my mind, around Okanagan Falls that produces good quality Chardonnay, pinot blanc and pinot gris, but most people seem to bulk that into the north. Some of the finest boutique winery, dry riesling is produced in the northern Okanagan with good acidity, buckets of fruit and the stoney minerality you need to push riesling to greatness. Some excellent pinot noirs are vinified by small and large producers alike: Quails Gate Winery and Nichol Vineyard. Many other lesser known, interesting and frequently German varietals are planted in the north: Ortega, siegerrebe, sylvanner, chasselas, marechal foch, gewurtztraminer and optima. Lang Vineyards produces an award wining late harvest Optima bursting with honey and tropical fruit. Lang is located on the famous Naramata Bench, a wine area on the East side of Lake Okanagan near Penticton. Some of our most famous wine houses were started here from Joie Farms crisp whites to Nichol Vineyards gorgeous pinot noir.

The Island wine region, for me, includes Cowichan Bay on the east coast of Vancouver Island, Saturna Island and Salt Spring Island (both part of the southern Gulf Islands). This is a very small area of production, but do NOT dismiss them. They produce some of the most distinct BC wines at very high quality. Pinot Noir, a grape that when expertly crafted picks up the flavours of the specific terroir like no other grape, is in its finest form on island soil. In a recent blind tasting I attended, three Island pinot noirs stood out from the competition. Five Burgundy, two California, one New Zealand, and one Oregon were present, all vetted to be at the top of their class under $150. I will say that California won hands down, $56, Ojai from Santa Maria Valley. But BC beat out all the Burgundy, the region most famously noted for fine pinot noir production. The key for me wasn't in the winning, but in the complexity of the flavour profile that the Island wineries were able to convey. Basically, they were really yummy. Venturi-Schulze ($45) 2006, Salt Spring Island Reserve ($32) 2006 and Averill Creek ($26) 2006 showed extremely well. The Island sits in a vine friendly, warm micro-climate, they call it the mediterranean of Canada. And the soils of the islands that you may taste in their stunning pinot noirs are frequently marine fossil, gravel, limestone and clay. Many of their best whites; pinot gris, pinot blanc, ortega, siegerrebe and sylvanner pick up a refreshing minerality and have excellent acidity. A mountain rainshadow to the west and the temperature moderating influences of the ocean positively influences the growth of the Islands precious vines. Venturi-Schulze Brut, Salt Spring Island Rose and Averill Creek Pinot Gris are some of the Islands best products. Unfortunately, because of the small production, they are very hard to find.

The one BC issue that keeps me up at night is price. BC wines are generally overpriced. There are two reasons as I see it, the local market will pay more to buy local (good for us... and bad), and the provincial liquor taxes bleed us dry. Also, some of the best wines are very difficult to get your lips on. Luckily, the best place to taste a glass to see if it tickles your fancy is at one of Vancouver's many fine restaurants that are always stocked to the teeth with BC product. For some of the best examples of BC regional differences try Averill Creek, Pinot Noir, Black Hills, Note Bene or Carmenere (at Salt Tasting Room), Tantalus, Old Vine Riesling and Nk'mip, Meritage most of which you can find at Rain City Grill on Denman Street in Vancouver. I would highly recommend a visit to this legendary restaurant that focuses solely on BC food and wine. Taste for yourself and decide if BC cuts the mustard in wine country.

http://www.winebc.com/tourbcwineregions.php
http://www.northwest-wine.com/Osoyoos-Larose-Winery.html#T3
http://www.nkmipcellars.com/

Simply Sally - Fennel Salad

Ok, I admit it, I went to a meat draw at a Legion recently. My friends and I won a ton of meat, huge thick cut steaks and pork. It was fabulous, we barbecued it up and felt like barons for a night. Strangely enough, one of the things that we ate that was most memorable was a salad, a very simple salad. Thinly sliced fennel in a bit of walnut oil, crushed walnuts, sliced cucumber, lemon, salt and shavings of a good Parmesan. We started the meal with it and we were drinking a German riesling which paired amazingly. On a tangent; if you were blindfolded at any liquor store, got someone to push you towards the German riesling, you would have an 80% chance of stumbling into a really great wine and an equal chance of breaking some bottles. Riesling`s the kind of stuff that would make fried eyeballs taste good. Two of my favourite producers are Selbach and Dr.Loosen, both make dry wines from the Mosel region, showing great acidity, fruit and that lovely stoney minerality. But back to the salad, fennel is definitely an unsung hero of the produce department. And I have no idea why, with its soft licorice flavours and a great crunch. It`s very subtle, though, so don`t mix it with anything too powerful; like the brainy kid in class that`s actually really cool, she`ll never speak up if you sit a bully next to her.