A Gastronomic Experience - An off-dry Riesling paired with a spicy fish dish.

Click to enlarge

Introduction:

Riesling – versatile in styles [from dry to sweet], pure [unoaked], aromatic, perfumed, fresh, racy, well-balanced and not overly powerful in alcohol; renders itself as a highly food friendly wine. Dry Riesling matches well with Western seafood dishes and common cheeses like Gouda, Raclette, Edam, Livarot and Brie whereas that with a whisper of natural sweetness marries up nicely with spicy Asian cuisines [Thai, Cantonese, Indonesian, Vietnamese, Sze-Chuan etc]. With as low as 8% alcohol and exceptionally high acidity, the unique fruity style from Mosel is great as an aperitif or welcoming drink. It makes you salivate and prepares you for a hearty meal ahead. The rare and lusciously sweet styles like the Icewine, BAs, TBAs, Vendange Tardive and Selection de Grains Nobles are just great for afters and blue cheeses like Roquefort and Stilton.
Some artisanal [non-industrial] producers in the order of styles:

Bonedry [2 ~ 4 g/l r.s.]
- Trimbach, Clos St. Hune [Alsace, arguably the best from France]
- Seppelt Drumborg [Australia, highly rated]
- Grosset Polish Hill [Australia highly rated]
- Prager [Austria]
- Weingut FX Pichler [Austria]
- Nigl [Austria]

- Freiherr Heyl Zu Grosse Gewächse [Germany]

Dry or trocken [5 ~ 9 g/l r.s.]
- Dr. Burklin Wolf [Germany]
- Georg Breuer [Germany]
- Heymann Lowenstien [Germany]
- Keller [Germany]
- Chateau Ste Michelle Eroica [USA]
- Donnhoff Grosses Gewachs [Germany] Robert Parker 96 points

Off-dry or Halbtrocken / Feinherb [10 ~ 16 g/l r.s.]
- Most German producers

Fruity or Lieblich Spatlese / Auslese [ 17 ~ 60 g/l/r.s.]
- Donnhoff [Germany] Robert Parker above 90 points
- Fritz Haag [Germany] Robert Parker above 90 points
- Dr. Loosen [Germany] Robert Parker above 90 points
- Egon Muller [Germany] Robert Parker above 90 points
- J. J. Prum [Germany] Robert Parker above 90 points

Dessert - Late harvest, Icewine, BA and TBA [well above 100 g/l r.s.]
- Gunderloch TBAs [Germany] Robert Parker 100 points
- Robert Weil [Germany] Robert Parker 100 points
- Donnhoff Icewine [Germany] Robert Parker 100 points
- Hugel [Vendange Tardive & Sélection de Grains Nobles]
- Cloudy Bay Late Harvest [New Zealand]

Must Weight Expressed In Oechsle [Brix]:
Kabinett: 70 ~ 75 [16.8 ~ 18 ]
Spatlese: 76 ~ 89 [18.24 ~ 21.36 ]
Auslese: 90 ~ 100 [21.6 ~ 24 ]
Beerenauslese: 110 ~ 125 [26.4 ~ 30 ]
Eiswein [Icewine]: 110 ~ 125 [26.4 ~ 30 ]
Trockenbeerenauslese: 150 + [36+]

Organic & Biodynamic Riesling Producers:
- Fetzer vineyards [USA]
- Weingut Wittman [Germany]
- Freiherr Heyl zu [Germany]
- Nikolaihof [Austria]
- Domaine Zind Humbrecht [France]
- Deep Creek Wine Estate & Hainle Vineyards [Canada]
- Four Chimneys [New York, USA]

Graphical Representation Of A Typical Riesling Aroma Profile:

Some interesting facts about Riesling:

Before it became unfashionable, it fetched prices higher than the top Bordeauxs and Burgundies.
Today, it is widely underappreciated by majority of wine drinkers due to misunderstanding and perhaps ignorance. At the mention of Riesling, what crosses one's mind are cloying sweetness and dullness. There are many wannabes like the Welsch Riesling, Gray Riesling, Emerald Riesling, Paarl Riesling, Cape Riesling and hybrids like the Muller-Thurgau, Scheurbe, Rieslaner which are easier to cultivate and have higher yield but less favourful and complex. These subvarietals and crosses are poor representation of true Riesling. Riesling has been constantly overshadowed by the ubiquitous Chardonnay and Sav. Blanc. Interestingly, they are the "wine people" [sommerliers, wine writers, connoisseurs and winemakers] who understand, accept and even adore this wonderful varietal. Riesling is perfectly age worthy.The oldest wine tasted was a bottle of the 1540 vintage from Stein vineyard in Franconia. It was sampled in London in 1961 after having spent 421 years in the cellar. It was still drinkable.

Quotations by some of the renown wine authorities:
"To me, the Riesling grape makes the greatest white wines in the world." - Jancis Robinson [author of the Oxford Wine Companion]

"It is Riesling’s purity that is fuelling its renaissance. It can be the most fretful and unforgiving of vines, but its wine can be delicate or concentrated, flirtatious or enchanting. It is a love affair that never fades". - Hugh Johnson

"It’s no surprise that riesling remains a hard sell for many wine lovers, and German rieslings especially so. If you’ve tailored your palate to sinuous, dry red wines, it’s a leap of faith to suddenly uncork something lacy, white and often sweet, a bit of silk lingerie in a world of boxer briefs. Sommeliers especially seem to have taken on the challenge; their advocacy for riesling has reached a fever pitch, and blessedly so". - Jon Bonne MSNBC

"German Riesling has become known and acknowledged by chefs, food writers and everyday wine lovers to be one of the best, if not the best wine for pairing with all kinds of food".- Seattle Wine Society

"Dry Riesling...Powerful, Pure and Among The Finest White Wine On Earth" - Steve Pitcher

“All Hail the King of Spatlese! For the second year in a row, Heimut Dönnhoff has left me shaking my head in wonder. Having tasted the greatest wines in the world, year in year did not prepare me for the awe-inspiring experience of tasting through Dönnhoff’s 2001s and 2002s. They are magical, emotional, breath-taking. My words cannot do them justice” - Pierre Antoine Rovani [Robert Parker]

"German Rieslings are like dance instructors who, if even you're clumsy, can take you and glide you across the floor and make you as graceful and elegant as they are. The beauty of them is that they can dance with people of varying skill levels and body types" - Terry Thiese [The Man, The Myth, The Legend]

"Riesling is a variety that is much loved by winemakers and wine connoisseurs due to its intense flavours and its defined palate structure" [Toni Paterson Master of wine]

“Chardonnay has won the minds and hearts of the masses, but Riesling makes the wine trade's favourite white wines. Jamie Goode tastes 18 of the finest Rieslings from around the world, and discovers why the experts think it's the noblest and most versatile of the white grapes. “

“While ugly sisters Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc get invited to the ball, Riesling -- the Cinderella of grape varieties -- goes unnoticed and neglected, despite possessing greater virtue and beauty. That's how many influential wine critics see things, at least. The great unwashed public clamours for more and more Chardonnay and Sauvignon, but Riesling, often referred to as the wine trade's favourite white grape, has a loyal but small band of followers.”
By Matthew Boucher [Riesling around the world', Handford Fine Wine tasting] at http://www.wineanorak.com/rieslingtasting.htm

What do winemakers drink in private?
“Right now, I am especially hot on Robert Weil Riesling. His 2003 Auslese is the best wine I have had in years. For reds, I have two and a half cases of Chateau Berliquet 2000 that I could not wait for any longer and started drinking. Additionally, I have a wonderful supply of Roanoke Vineyards’ top reds and wines from Shinn Estate Vineyards. Otherwise a nice Guinness or Schneider Hefe Weizen will do.” – Roman Roth, Winemaker and general manager,

"The great German and Alsatian wines, "Rieslings, Pinot Gris, and Gewürztraminers are a real treat. They give me a new perspective on what I'm doing." (What Knuttel is "doing" is mostly Chardonnay and Cabernet Sauvignon.) - Bill Knuttel, winemaker at Chalk Hill Estate in Sonoma County

Times Online (The Sunday Times) Feb 2008

Joanna Simon
When I canvassed a bunch of leading London sommeliers – all in their twenties and thirties – about what they drank on their day off, I wondered whether they had been conferring when their answers came in. Italian reds, red burgundies and other pinot noirs all got a few votes, but one wine appeared on everyone’s list, and in most cases in first place. I can’t resist asking the question of any sommelier I meet now, and still the same wine comes up, no matter what the nationality of the sommelier or the cuisine of the restaurant: German riesling.
Surprised? Me, too, although I shouldn’t be: I’m familiar enough with statistics to know that the UK is almost the only country still to be largely resistant to the allure of both the riesling grape and German wines. Admittedly, producing nations tend to support their own – so the French drink Alsace and Australians favour Oz riesling – but in America, German riesling is going down a storm in chic restaurants and with the catwalk crowd. Perhaps it’s time to jettison your prejudices and see what you’re missing. http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/food_and_drink/wine/article3386877.ece

"100 Wines To Try Before You Die" [Excerpted from The Decanter Magazine]
1) Clos Ste Hune, Trimbach 1975 [French]
2) Grand Cru Hengst Vendange Tardive, Josmeyer 1995 [French]
3) Seppelts Eden Valley 1982 [Australian]
4) Donnhoff - Niederhauser Hermannshohle Spatlese 2001 [Germany]
5) Maximin Grunhauser - Herrenberg Auslese 1983 [Germany]
6) JJ Prum - Wehlener Sonnenuhr TBA 1976 [Germany]
7) Fritz Haag – Brauneberger Juffer-Sonnenuhr TBA 1976 [Germany]
8) Egon Muller – Scharzhofberger TBA 1976 [Germany]

Books and Publications:

Riesling Renaissance by Freddy Price Foreword by Hugh Johnson
Rheingold The German Wine Renaissance by Owen Bird
Riesling – Guides to Grape Varieties by Stuart Pigott and Harry Eyres
Riesling. Die Rebsorte und ihre Weine. by Sabine Rumrich and Ingo Swoboda

Wine Shops Where You Can Find Top-notch Rieslings:
- Beautiful Wine 298 Beach Road #01-40 The Concourse
- Booze At Republic Plaza, 9 Raffles Place #01-11
- Vinum Singapore Level 3 Unit 20/21 Shaw Centre
- Bacchus 290 Orchard Rd #B1-13 Paragon
- The Oaks Cellars 391A Orchard Rd. Takashimaya Shopping Centre.

Restaurants which have Riesling on their wine lists:
-Michelangelo’s
-Mezz9 in Grand Hyatt
-Café de Amigo

Vintages:
2006: Good [8/10]
2005: Very Good [9/10]
2004: Good [8/10]
2003: Good [8/10]
2002: Good [8/10]
2001: Outstanding [10/10]
2000: Good [7/10]
1999: Good [8/10]
1998: Good [7/10]
1997: Outstanding [10/10]

Herbie Fish Recipe [for one person]
[See picture on the left]
Fresh ingredients:

Fish fillet [half an inch]. Choice of fish [in order of preference and price]: grouper, snapper, halibut, seabass
Mixed salad vegetables [from most supermarts]
Large lime [½]
All purpose or red potatoes [2] Do not use Russet Burbank
Tomatoes [1]
Dill [3 sprigs]
UHTmilk [ 1 tablespoon]
Olive oil [1+2 teaspoons]
Garlic [2 cloves]
Anchovy or chicken stock [½ Chinese rice bowl]
Butter [1/2 teaspoon]

Dry ingredients and seasoning:

Black pepper [sprinkle]
Lea Perrin [1 teaspoon]
Rosemary [pinch]
Wheat flour [½ teaspoon]
Parsley [Sprinkle]
Wheat flour [pinch]
Dried red pepper [pinch]

Method:

1. Prepare some fresh anchovy or chicken stock and set aside,
2. skin, cut into quarters and boil potatoes with a dash of salt for 15 mins. Drain water, cool with ice, drain and pat dry,
3. cut tomatoes into wedges, together with salad vegetables stir in lime juice, dash of cane sugar, black pepper, Lea Perrin, 1 teaspoon olive oil and set aside in fridge,
4. season fish fillet with a dash of salt, black pepper, finely chopped garlic, a pinch of rosemary, a pinch of red pepper, ½ teaspoon wheat flour,
5. cut dill into one ½ pieces and set aside,
6. fry potatoes with some olive oil in medium heat till crispy on the sides,
7. turn down heat and sprinkle parsley, a pinch of salt, dash of black pepper into potatoes, toss and place in serving plate,
8. add butter in pan, turn up heat and fry fish for 1 minute each side; shaking pan constantly,
9. stir into fish prepared stock and 1 tablespoon milk,
10. let it simmer for 1 minute, constantly coat fish with gravy. Place fish in serving plate [skin side face down],
11. stir dill into pan and spread gravy over fish and serve.

Matching wine in order of preference:

German Riesling [dry or off-dry] or one from Alsace, Austria or Australia,
Chenin Blanc,
Gruner Veltliner,
unoaked or lightly oaked Chardonnay,
Sav. Blanc [preferably New Zealander]