International Riesling Day

Wednesday, March 13th is World Riesling Day, sometimes called International Riesling Day. This was proclaimed by Germany, as this day marks the first known written mention of Riesling - March 13, 1435. It's been around longer than many popular grapes.

Navarro Anderson Valley Riesling
image from Navarro Vineyards

I don't talk about Riesling because there isn't much of it made around me. Sonoma County just doesn't have the climate or the economics to support it. Economics? Suppose you have a plot of cool climate land that would be great for growing Riesling -- or Pinot Noir or Chardonnay. Guess which one won't pay the grower as much for his hard work.

The best known local Riesling is probably Chateau St. Jean's late harvest (dessert) wine. Just north of Sonoma is the Anderson Valley in Mendocino County known mostly for Pinot Noir now, but has a history of growing excellent Riesling. The only other nearby Riesling I'm familiar with is from Smith-Madrone in the hills above the Napa Valley floor. They have been using their own vineyard for decades. There are a few other wineries in Sonoma and Napa that make Riesling, at least occasionally.

Washington state grows the most American Riesling. Other great spots for the grape, and maybe the best locations, are the Niagara Peninsula in Ontario, the Finger Lakes in New York, and the Leelanau Peninsula in Michigan. Note that these last three are in northern climates near bodies of water.

Internationally, apart from its home in Germany other regions known for great Riesling are Alsace in France, Austria, and Australia. New Zealand is also getting some recognition.

Riesling can be dry to off-dry (slightly sweet) to a very sweet dessert wine. And that's part of the problem with the wine in this country, it's not always easy to know what you are getting.

This 375ml bottle to the right is a Chateau St. Jean 1980 late harvest, currently listed at an online retail site for $800! 

On this label they call it Johannisberg Riesling, a common name used in the U.S. until an agreement with Germany to use its proper name, just Riesling, or sometimes you'll see White Riesling. Johannisberg is a famous historic vineyard and wine region in Germany, not the proper name of the grape. When German immigrants brought Riesling vines to the U.S. they named them Johannisberg Riesling to denote the plants' origin.