Clean Slate Riesling (2012)
Someone once shared with me a tip for picking out Rieslings and it was a total game changer. People usually think of Rieslings as sweet wines, but there’s actually quite a range for this varietal including some very dry, crisp Rieslings. If you’ve hesitated to pick up Riesling because you weren’t sure what you were going to get, here’s a quick rule of thumb: the higher the alcohol content, the drier it will be. Bam! Is your mind blown? Go try a Riesling now!
If you’re wondering why: sugar converts to alcohol in the process of fermentation. The more sugar that is converted, the higher the alcohol content will be and the drier the wine. Generally, the 8-10% Rieslings will be sweeter than the 12% Rieslings.
This Clean Slate Riesling (10.5% alcohol) was, as the name suggested, crisp and clean. It was slightly sweet but I thought it was well-balanced with some hints of citrus and peach. The name actually comes from the slate stones found in vineyards in the Mosel region of Germany, and their ability to hold heat helps the grapes ripen! I’d recommend this as a lovely wine to sip on one of these lingering warm days into fall, or to pair with some spicy Asian to balance out the sweet.
(Thank you Britta for bringing this wine over!)
Tasting Notes:
Wine Name: Clean Slate Riesling
Grape: Riesling
Origin: Germany
Price: less than $10
General impressions: crisp, easy to drink, semi-sweet, citrus notes
Recommendations: summer sipping wine, pair with spicy or Asian food, a wine almost anyone will like
Would you buy again? I already did – for my mom!
I need to remember this one! My friend from Germany once brought me back a delicious riesling, but then I never tried buying myself one until last summer. I bought a cheapo Barefoot and was so disappointed. It was way to sweet for my liking. I love you tip and it’s inspired me to buy another riesling in the near future.
I used to drink them a lot when I first started drinking wines and preferred sweet but had sort of gotten away from them in the last few years because I just assumed they were all sweet. This tip was a game changer for me – I now know how to read the labels better!