Expert’s Choice: US Riesling

Too often, Riesling gets a bad rap. Through much of the 20th century, American bottlings were often confusing. There was little consistency in labelling and wines made using unrelated varieties or distant relatives often adopted the name, such as ‘Grey Riesling’ or ‘Missouri Riesling’.

A 1996 ruling by the TTB (US Treasury department’s Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau) cleared up a lot of the ambiguities around the use of the name ‘Riesling’ on US wine labels. But it wasn’t until 2006 that TTB regulations doing away with the last of the misleading Riesling-based names came into force. In 2008, a sweetness scale developed and launched by the International Riesling Foundation debuted on American Riesling bottles to help dispel the common belief that all Rieslings are sweet.

Scroll down to see notes and scores for 18 US Rieslings to seek out

‘Versatility is a large part of why we enjoy working with Riesling,’ says Bryanna Cramer, assistant winemaker at Hermann J Wiemer Vineyard in the Finger Lakes, New York state. The Demeter-certified biodynamic producer manages several Riesling sites around Seneca Lake. ‘The ability for the variety to showcase a wide range of styles, from sparkling and bone-dry to semi-dry or trockenbeerenauslese dessert wines, allows us to produce wines that not only reflect the vintage and different ripeness levels, but also remain site-specific and terroir-driven.’

Spectrum of styles

Expressiveness is Riesling’s most intriguing quality. Floral and herbal aromatics flow through a tapestry of fruit such as citrus, pear, nectarine and apricot. The wines are fresh and mineral-driven with mouthwatering acidity. Each flavour sits on a sliding scale driven by place and vintage.

‘You can see incredibly different wines coming from sites that are only a few miles apart,’ says James Frey of Trisaetum Winery in Oregon. ‘With vineyards in three different AVAs, it’s one of the reasons we bottle so many Rieslings.’ From the 2022 vintage, he bottled nine: four dry, four medium-dry and one sweet.

‘I can’t tell the full story of Riesling in one wine,’ agrees Dave Bos of Bos Wine in Michigan. Using grapes from several Old Mission Peninsula vineyards, he made two Rieslings in 2021, one of which is ‘made only in the years where I can get physiological ripeness’. Harvested just five days later than the rest, the resulting wine (see below’s selection) is a fruit-forward limited release. ‘Riesling shows time and place better than any other grape,’ Bos says.

A compelling world

At Chateau Ste Michelle in Woodinville, Washington – its annual production exceeding nine million bottles makes it potentially the world’s largest Riesling producer – the wines are bold. ‘We have the advantage of our dry climate, which provides long, sunny days and cool temperatures in the evenings,’ says head white winemaker Taylor Butterfield. ‘This creates ideal conditions to help retain Riesling’s natural acidity and intensify the aromas and flavours.’

Graham Tatomer of Tatomer Wines in Santa Maria, California believes the window of opportunity is largest with Riesling. ‘There is always a choice to leave fruit on the vine longer or to take it today and make wine with a racier style,’ he says. ‘Other varieties simply do not work this way.’

When the season allows, a longer hang time is often beneficial. For Oregon vigneron Evan Martin of Martin Woods Winery, this can mean nearly 100% of his grapes will be botrytis-affected when picking starts for his late-harvest Riesling in late October. The result is a wine of some decadence (see below, 2018 Hyland Vineyard). Discovering America’s Riesling today is like seeing in technicolour after a lifetime in shades of grey. The US wine industry’s embrace of the grape has opened up a world of compelling and delicious wines worth exploring.

See notes and scores for 18 US Rieslings to seek out

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