You Say Dry, But Like Sweet

I recently participated in the Finger Lakes Wine Alliance Riesling Launch and was very surprised at th results, my results that is.  I typically like dry Rieslings unless I'm pairing it with a dish with some spice, then I will choose a semi-sweet. The results from this tasting found me favoring the sweeter selections.

Now 2011 wasn't the best growing season.  Hurricane and tropical storms played havoc on the harvest. I was looking forward to tasting the outcome.  All Rieslings tasted were from the 2011 vintage.

I invited over some of my wine night ladies and two of their kids who are recent college grads and work part time in the local wine industry.  There palates have been trained very well!

We began the evening with a the dryer wine and as the evening moved along the wine got sweeter.  Or I should say the RS in the wine increased.

The first flight consisted of Ravines Wine Cellars, Dr.Konstantin Frank Wine Cellars, Lucas Vineayrds land Sheldrake Point Winery. Our findings:

Ravines: Notes of green apple, but very acidic
Dr. Frank: Very light color. Notes of apricot with a palate of wet stone and grapefruit rind on finish
Lucas: Faint apricot on nose with hints of floral and a lemon finish
Sheldrake: Nice color. Nose of peach, lemon grass and lemon rind. Palate was minerally, wet slate with a nice hint of pineapple towards the finish.

We had a little cheese and crackers and got ready for flight 2.  Flight two had Fox Run Vineyards, Swedish Hill Winery, Lakewood Vineyards and Knapp Winery. Our findings:

Fox Run: Nose of green apple, soft apricot, tropical fruit and honey. The palate had lots of tropical fruit and lime.
Swedish Hill: Nice floral aromas of peach blossom. Palate of tropical fruit, pear and nicely balanced.
Lakewood:  None of us liked the nose on this wine and I am going to leave it at that.  The palate was very minerally with hints of green apple, wet stone and a lime rind finish.

Did we all have a favorite wine of the evening...Yes...it was Swedish Hill's Riesling.  I was quite surprised because I usually favor dry, but during this tasting found myself liking the wines with more RS.  This could be due to the acidity of the wine and how the sugar balances it out.

I have plans for the next launch that I participate in to bring it to a public place and invite you to experience it with me. Space will be limited to 15 people and we will put it on the big screen and have some food pairings to go along.  Till then Cheers!