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THE WINE TASTER
By Robin Garr
The Courier-Journal, March 9, 1988

     A lot of wine tasters who think they're serious about wine find it hard
to get serious about the Riesling grape.
     Riesling, the primary grape of fine German wines, certainly hasn't
developed the popularity in this country of the French Chardonnay, a term
that's rapidly replacing the generic "chablis" as the white wine of choice
among casual sippers.
     There are several reasons for this.
     For one thing, German wine makers haven't spent a lot of time making
their labels accessible to American wine drinkers. Polysyllabic names and
Teutonic-thorough wine laws almost guarantee that the German wine label will
be a dense thicket of old-fashioned black type and confusing information --
even a serial number.
     For another, inexpensive German wines (such as Liebfraumilch), although
sweet and sippable, haven't found much favor among those of us who've
developed a taste for dry French and Italian wine or the table wines from
California made in the dry European style.
     We're missing much if we reject Riesling, however.
     At its peak -- the lusciously sweet, hand-made Beerenausleses and
Trockenbeerenausleses of the Rhine -- Riesling stands second to no grape.
     Those wines are too expensive for any but the most special occasions.
Even among wines rationally priced for everyday drinking, though, I'd rate
Riesling as good as Chardonnay ... only different.
     Where Chardonnay can be rich, full-bodied, so mouth-filling that some
call it "buttery," Riesling tends to be light and lean. Chardonnay is usually
very dry; Riesling's steely acidity generally is balanced with the natural
sweetness of fresh fruit.
     The scents of both wines often evoke apples, but Chardonnay,
particularly if aged in oak, may add lush aroma notes of tropical fruit.
Riesling, which rarely sees oak, often includes smells as diverse as pine and
fresh flowers.
     Things can get a bit confusing when you go shopping for Riesling,
however.
     In the United States, the German Riesling grape and the wine it makes
are often called "Johannisberg" Riesling (after a famous Rhine vineyard) or
"White" Riesling. Nevertheless, it's the same grape.
     On the other hand, the widely available and inexpensive Rieslings from
Romania and Bulgaria (and occasionally from Italy) bear the German name but
are usually made from a different, related grape -- the Welschriesling --
which produces a soft, inoffensive and bland wine.
     Australians, meanwhile, often label generic white wine as "Riesling," as
we do with "Chablis;" the Aussies call the real thing "Rhine Riesling."
     And in France, where they ought to know better, Riesling is rarely made
into wine except in Alsace, where the people are as likely to speak German as
French anyway.
     For this week's column I tried several Rieslings from around the
world.
     Most held true to national stereotypes. Two German Riesling Spatleses
from prominent vineyards showed finesse and delicacy, with a Rhine displaying
the musky quality and a Mosel showing a floral delicacy that I associate with
wines from those regions.
     An Alsatian Riesling resembled a Rhine, but total dryness gave it a
steely cutting edge, making it better for drinking with something like pork
roast or a spicy chicken dish than sipping alone.
     Two U.S. Rieslings, one from California and one from Southwestern Idaho,
where excellent German-style wine is starting to flow from sheltered
vineyards, were fruitier and more fragrant than the European wines. Some
might call them simple, but they made exceptionally pleasant sipping.

(4 1/2 stars) Firestone Vineyard Santa Ynez Valley Johannisberg Riesling,
1986. (Reece-ling.) This clear, bright greenish-gold wine has a delicious,
fragrant smell that mingles spring flowers and ripe apples in a virtual
celebration of the Riesling grape. Its crisp flavor matches slight, clean
sweetness with a cleansing acidity as fresh as lemons. ($5.49)

(4 stars) Wehlener Sonnenuhr (Mosel) Riesling Spatlese Weingut St.
Johannishof Dr. Loosen Zach. Bergweiler-Prum Erben, 1984. The aroma of this
watery-pale, greenish-gold wine mingles a light apple-like quality with a
hint of pine. Its delicious flavor focuses on citrus fruit, with tart lemon
and lingering grapefruit over steely acidity and sweetness almost too slight
to taste. ($10.49)

(4 stars) Ste. Chapelle Idaho Johannisberg Riesling, 1986. A clear brassy hue
and a delicious, honeyed aroma with apples and a subtle touch of pine
distinguish this excellent Riesling. A hint of grapefruit lies over crisp
acidity and slight, fresh sweetness. ($5.99)

(3 stars) Erbacher Marcobrunn (Rheingau) Riesling Spatlese Verwaltung der
Staatsweinguter, 1985. A perceptible musky scent like rripe canteloupe over
apples and pine marks this bright, brass-colored wine as a Rhine. Its crisply
acidic, mouth-filling flavor is as fresh as ripe grapes, only faintly sweet,
with melony hints of canteloupe and honeydew in the aftertaste. ($12.79)

(3 stars) Trimbach Riesling (Alsace), 1985. This clear, greenish wine offers
a characteristic Riesling scent: apples with overtones of musky melon. Its
dry, light flavor balances fresh fruit and tart acidity in a fully dry,
flavorful wine typical of Alsace. ($7.35)

     "The Wine Taster" appears every other Wednesday in The Louisville
Courier-Journal's Food section. Wine and Food Critic Robin Garr rates table
wines available in the Louisville area, using a one- to five-star scale
determined by quality and value. Send suggestions or questions in care of The
Courier-Journal, 525 W. Broadway, Louisville, Ky. 40202, call [phone]
or send EasyMail to 73125,70.