New Riesling 'taste profile' introduced in US

More than 12 million bottles of Riesling sold in the United States this year will feature a 'Riesling Taste Profile,' designed to help consumers assess the taste of a bottle before opening it.

Divided into the four categories of Dry, Medium Dry, Medium Sweet, and Sweet, the profile aims to make consumers aware of the range of styles Riesling can be made in.

The profile was created by the International Riesling Foundation (IRF), a non-profit industry group formed to promote the white wine grape, after market research found that most consumers identified Riesling as ‘a sweet white wine.’

Wineries in the five largest Riesling-producing US states have signed up to the scheme, along with producers from other countries including Germany and Canada.

Nicolas Quillé of Washington’s Pacific Rim Winery has been using the scale on his back labels since late 2008 and has seen business grow 50% in 2009.

‘Confused consumers do not buy,’ he told decanter.com.

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Written by David Furer

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David Furer is a Californian wine writer, educator, consultant and speaker, who has worked for over 20 years in the wine trade. He has appeared in publications such as Decanter, Wine Business Monthly in the US and SommelierS Int’l in France. He formerly served on the Circle of Wine Writers’ executive committee and is a sommelier with accreditation from the Court of Master Sommeliers. In his book, Wine Places, he collaborates with photographer Charles O’Rear to capture some of the world’s vineyards, wineries and winemakers.