If it’s hot outside and you’re offered a dry riesling wine, be sure to accept. Yes, riesling really can be dry, and these zesty whites are particularly delicious when warm temperatures hit. Riesling grapes produce high-acid wines, and the dry versions are crisp and refreshing, often incorporating juicy stone fruit flavors along with lemon and lime. Alsace is particularly known for its dry rieslings, but these wines are also produced in other parts of the world, including New Zealand. The following two rieslings, which are dry but not bone dry, would go well with seafood including sushi, oysters, ceviche, crab and lobster, as well as light spicy dishes and white meats.
Orchard Lane 2020 Riesling, Marlborough, New Zealand
Bought • Randall’s Wines & Spirits, 4925 Southwest Avenue, in May for $13.99
Description • New Zealand dry riesling wines are rarely seen in our market, so this delicious and affordable white is a real find. It comes from Orchard Lane, a certified sustainable project of family-owned Sugar Loaf Wines of Marlborough, a region famous for its bracing sauvignon blanc. This is also a vibrant white that’s very aromatic, crisp and minerally. Light-bodied with a relatively low 11.5% alcohol by volume (ABV), it tastes of pineapple and other tropical fruits and ends with a long, clean citrusy finish.
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Frey-Sohler 2019 Scherwiller Riesling, Alsace, France
Bought • Randall’s Wines & Spirits, 4925 Southwest Avenue, in May for $11.99
Description • Since most Alsatian rieslings are priced above $20 in St. Louis, this white is a very good buy. Produced by the family-owned Frey-Sohler estate, it is labeled with the village name of Scherwiller, indicating it has met certain high standards beyond those required for the basic Alsace appellation. This riesling is slightly drier and a tad bigger (13% ABV) than the Orchard Lane. It’s also very aromatic and tastes of stone fruit and refreshing citrus along with hints of spice and smoke.
The St. Louis Post-Dispatch lists the best-reviewed wines of 2022. The list has been divided into sparkling, white and red wines.
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Follow Gail on Twitter @GailAppleson.