In 2020, my tasting crew wanted to do Dry Riesling. I was going to leave out the Chateau St. Michele Dry Riesling until I read a piece by someone who had gathered 60 Columbia Valley Rieslings and gotten a crew of experienced tasters together, blind tasted them, tabulated the results and guess which one came in first place. We also had Germany, Austria, New Zealand, California, Finger Lakes, Alsace and Australia. The Australian wines were a bit higher in acid, a bit more austere and I really felt like they wanted cellar time. Dr. Thanisch Feinherb Dry Style Mosel Germany (2017 vintage) would be my pick for the best of tasting, but the Chateau St. Michele (2017 vintage) was untouched when it came to value. Make sure you get the Dry Riesling as the bottle that says Riesling on it is way off-dry as you also pointed out.
Speak the truth! I was really really blown away since their normal off dry label ‘Riesling’ isn’t nearly as impressive. That is cool that you all did the tasting too
I have always preferred the Rieslings from New York and Oregon to those from Washington. The WA Rieslings have always seemed flat to me. Too warm a growing season? But with the exception of Eroica, Ch St. M, and Poets Leap, I have not tried any of these. It could be we have different palates. I will try to find some of these and see if you can change my mind. Note also that I like both sweet and dry Rieslings for meals, something not shared by all tasters.
I was shocked too but that’s how blind tastings go. The Sin Banderas was impressive tasting over the next few days and it will probably be up your alley.
Brooks is the Workhorse foe reisling in the Willamette Valley, they are good, but their Neighbor Grochau Cellars is excellent. I love visiting there, they also do an incredible Mèlon.
I've been watching your videos for the last few weeks and I have been enjoying them a lot. Thank you for that! Did hit the subscribe button after today's upload. Gotta love Riesling!
Riesling is by far the best deals of the wine world ! They are complex , age worthy , and not so expensive ! Great wine to by and forget in the cellar , cause they transform beautifully ! Cheers !!
Have been loving my journey through NY riesling after loving German and Austrian ones, this video is ggetting me excited to explore Washington's!! So great to see the channel growing
As a relative wine novice (but very experienced food connoisseur), my dining companion (impeccable palate far superior to those of top food critics, but also not super-versed in the wine world) and I have come to fall in love your top QPR wine of the tasting. When you initially noted that your wines were in the $15-$25 range, I didn't expect our go-to "house" white wine to be in your blind tasting. Then, when we saw the top of the capsule and your facial expression upon revealing, it became a dead giveaway. Chateau Ste. Michelle Dry Riesling is by far our favorite wine for food pairings, particularly because it matches perfectly our style of cooking (moderately spicy but focusing on the ingredient's inherent flavors). Keep these big blind tastings coming!!
Thank you so much, @@drmatthewhorkey! Can't wait to see your new videos! Our second favorite food-friendly white wine has been Pinot Grigio/Gris. Would love to see this format for that grape from a variety of Italian regions (Alto Adige, Veneto, Friuli, Sicilia) plus the other Alpine nations!!
Thank you for sharing, @@drmatthewhorkey! By the way, I've been noticing many Riesling labels have "Dr." like Konstantin Frank in NY and Dr. Loosen in Germany. It's not a coincidence that Ph.D.'s or M.D.'s grow these grapes, right?
You are knocking it out of the park with the white blinds lately! Thank goodness these whites are less expensive since the shopping list I'm compiling is getting long. Thank you and keep up the great work.
No New York Riesling? Hermann Wiemar used to be served on Lufthansa. Anthony Road is also a very good Finger Lakes producer. Alsace dry Riesling can also reach great heights. There are also many excellent Niagara Rieslings from dry to botrytis affected and icewines.
One of my coworkers moved here from the Fingerlakes, and he always surprised us with the Gewurtztraminer and Reislings. There were a couple others he made, but those two varietals are what struck me as most memorable.
I may love my reds, but Riesling is my number 1 wine grape. When I borrowed my first bottle out of my dad’s cellar it was a German Riesling. I was 14 😂 I would recommend the 2021 Figgins Estate Riesling. A little more money but worth it in my opinion.
Great tasting as usual! Glad to see the Von Winning up there near the top, Pfaltz being one of my favorite regions. I'm a little surprised the to see the Chateau St Michelle so high. I've had the wine plenty, and always find it a little uninteresting. I'll have to put it in another lineup and give it another go. At that price, I'd love it to be amazing! I do blind tastings at least every few weeks and often have to set them up alone as well. Here's what I do. I take a lazy Susan type turntable and arrange the bagged wines on it. Spin the table, and mix the wine up. Spin the table and mix the wine multiple times until you don't know what is what. Then label the bags, and taste.
Ahhhh nice technique. I usually ask someone to mix them up for me. However, when there are this many wines and I have all the checks in my head for shooting, lighting, audio, and then I also have to taste - I pretty much forget what is what. For instance, the wine that won, when I revealed it I had no idea what was left in the lineup. I was shocked the CSM did so well but that’s what happens during blind tasting.
I use “Veggie Wash All Natural Fruit and Vegetable Wash” to clean the glasses by hand under hot water. The outside gets towel dry; the inside gets microfiber. This product does not leave soap residue or odor since it’s intended for fruits and vegetables. Works great on removing lipstick from the rim!
That was an odd comparison with the soda and then at the end saying but Riesling doesn’t have all that sugar as soda water/club soda has zero sugar or even calories lol
Great video. Living in Germany I love Rieslings as well. I do want to disagree with the lettering instead of numbering. For me saying wine number 10 is 6th is easier than wine J. I get what the recommender was trying to say but you don’t say 6 was 2. If anything you say wine 6 is 2nd which is completely different. And I also think numbers work better internationally but you know where your audience is. Anyways, keep up the great work.
I loooveeee Riesssslingggg too. I think I figured out a better system than letters and numbers. Will be doing at I have over 20+ blind tasting videos to shoot in Jan and Feb
Great video! Riesling is underrated in the US. Do you like Finger Lakes Rieslings? I think I may prefer them to Washington State. I'd love to see a Finger Lakes video.
@@drmatthewhorkey You should take the time to visit. Beautiful country and some really amazing Rieslings. Lived in and drank many German Rieslings and I prefer the dry style out of the finger lakes over any other. Forge cellars and Hilock and Hobbs are must visits
Matthew, I really like your channel and your passion. And I also agree with you that white is great, and that people focus too much on red. But then when it comes to Riesling, I couldn't disagree more. Sure, it's a matter of taste, not quality. But for me, a white wine lover, I can say that Riesling is the only white wine that gives me a guaranteed headache. Unlike you, I think it is rather hard to pair with food. There are plenty of dry, high acidity white wines that pair so much better with food (particularly the Italians, that are typically not well known, like Falanghina, Pigato, Arneis, Carricante to name a few). And plus Riesling really tends to smell and taste like jet fuel (and that's because both share similar enzymes). White wine? Yes! Riesling: no thank you.
Thanks! Native Italian white varieties can be quite food friendly. I know a lot of people who don’t prefer Riesling so you are definitely not alone. People that love it usually LOVE it
An interesting question. My top three sources for Riesling (in no particular order), are Germany, Austria and Alsace. Clara Valley has some excellent Riesling too. The expressions I have tried from WA and CA have not reached the heights of top expressions from my favorite sources, but they may some day. I also need to visit the Finger Lakes in NY to make a fully-informed opinion on this topic. Cheers!
Great video but surprised you haven’t heard of Gooseridge! You need to check them out! They are very diverse wine, cider, vodka & now gin and they do it all well! Local family grown winery and down to earth people! There whites are some of my favorites!
The Forster Riesling is about 15 EUR from the winery, so extremely good value and it is one of the entry level wines from this famous winery! There the fun begins to start...
Absolutely! The Smith-Madrone I tasted had all the richness of a grand cru 🎉 Charles Baur Alsace is great, and the RieslingFreak no. 33 from Claire Valley was wonderful and beloved by RP 🎉🎉 Love the Weiss old vines Mosel Riesling and that R Kabinet though!
First time I've seen your video. Your comments are spot on, and your enthusiasm is awesome. I'm doing a Riesling tasting in 3 months I'd love to collaborate.
Chateau Ste. Michelle, Dry Riesling has always been my favorite above all wines... I go threw 2 bottles a week. Sometimes 1 if im trying something else, but i always go back to it.
Great video and I agree Riesling is the greatest wine grape in the world. Ne remind you can get it in so many styles including sparkling, dessert, dry, off dry. Im a bit sad there were no Oregon Rielsings :( In my opinion Oregon has stunning Rieslings and because it such an expressive grape, they are different than Washington
It is great for wines at the moment!!! I love the different elements he discusses. I do love the Unknown Winecaster, who does a great job with history and background of the grapes, as well as addressing characteristics to expect.
The best Riesling I've had is from Michigan! Black Star Farms Arcturos Late Harvest Riesling - and it doesn't feel too sweet either. I rated it 92 points - absolutely awesome example.
I am lucky enough I moved for work (the main one, not my wine blog) to Germany, on Rhine... A lot of Riesling!!!!! Feel free to join me in Frankfurt sometimes Matthew :)
Riesling is a little complicated for me. I generally love high acid wines (the only one I ever had that was too acidic for me was an Entre-duex-Mers that didn’t have enough other factors to balanced the acidity. I even like Picpoul!) and almost every dry Riesling I’ve tried from the full price range I have really liked or loved (especially Finger Lakes and Austria - Trocken all day!) I also have had some divine expensive sweet Rieslings where the balance between acidity and sugar is incredible. But the one category I have trouble with is cheaper sweet Rieslings. It’s very hit or miss for me and often I feel like there’s not enough acidity to balance the sweetness and so they fall flat. I had this problem with the Eroica (though i don’t think it’s supposed to be sweet?) There just wasn’t enough acidity in it for me, though I keep hearing how good it is, so maybe I need to give it one more try, maybe I just got a bad vintage. Two best Rieslings I ever had were German Thomas Schmitt Riesling Spätlese and Austrian Gmeinböck Poysdorf Trocken. Both mind-blowingly good!, both different sides of the spectrum.
@@drmatthewhorkey I’ve had 2 so far and wasn’t impressed with either of them - both fell flat. One was very cheap - Schmitt Söhne - so I’m not surprised, but the other one was Fritz Haag Brauneberger (2016) which was surprising to me how bland it was. I seem to get on better with good quality Spätlese.
Echoing all the other Finger Lakes comments, lol. I live near them and have tried almost 100 of their rieslings. I have also had many German rieslings, and the top producers in the FLX are at that level. My favorites include Kemmeter, Hermann J. Wiemer, Ravines, Forge, Weis and Keuka Lake Vineyards.
Great idea and a good Video. Although I am a bit sad that you tasted only one german Riesling. There are so many more areas to choose from (Von Winning is still great, I love it too). But I guess your videos focus on the american market, which again makes me a bit sad.
I love Rieslings. I was told by a wine grower in scilily that the the nose to look out for in rieslings is the petrol smell. But realized it was a no no , when I said it to a very famous German Riesling maker. He said that the don’t use the word petrol. What are ur thoughts ? Is it a neutral or negative ? And only bad Rieslings have petrol? Or is there another word for petrol
I've had some surprisingly decent Rieslings here in Virginia grown at higher elevations in the Shenandoah Valley. 12 Ridges, Midland, and Barren Ridge come to mind.
How did you get that goose ridge riesling?? I have been having such a hard time finding it anywhere. I couldnt find anything on google and the vineyards website has no info on it. And goo
I just came across a pair of what I had thought are obscure Rieslings: One from NAPA VALLEY (Smith-Madrone) and an Aussie one from MOUNT BARKER (Capel Vale Whispering Hill). What are your takes on them (i.e. unique character, distinctive expression of respective terroir)? If they cost similar amounts, which is the better value?
Also in this video, you mentioned it took u awhile and u only recently became more confident in asserting ur assessments on tastes and aromas. How did u develop ur notes? I feel I am only getting my blinds right cos I know the theory
I am judging in competitions and with wine writers often. The first several years or my career I doubted myself if my opinion differed from theirs. That is not the case anymore.
An fun and interesting blind tasting video, it seems that Washington Riesling is getting better and better, incredible crazy QPR if you are in the the States. I've drunk or tasted about 3 or 4 Washington Riesling so far, pretty hard to find in Taiwan/Asia. I had the Eroica Riesling at retailer tasting event last month, pretty solid; but not 22 $, more like 40 $ plus. Charles Smith Kung Fu Girl Riesling is available at Costco, but it's a bit on the sweet side for me. Surprisingly we had the Barnard Griffin Sangiovese Rose 2015 back in 2016, was a pretty nice slightly off dry rose. I am hoping more dry Washington Riesling becomes available here in the future. Von Winning makes amazing Riesling, but they are pricey wherever you go.
Ahhhh wow it was 40$ over there??? I am a big fan of Von Winning too. I find it funny that German wines are ao inexpensice domestically but their prices are marker up substantially when exported
Nice episode. I love riesling (german /austrian) not so easy to get bottles from the others SIDE of the pond. Currently Im amazed how we all in general find ok to pay 20€ for a 85/87 points wine. 20€ is Money and should get something good to drink. Actually riesling is still nicely priced ( sort of ) lets hope it continues
Thanks! In Europe, €20 can almost always get you fantastic wine if you know what you are looking for. In other parts of the world with higher duties or higher cost of production it’s not always so simple.
I love riesling. but there is soo much crap, of it here in the EU. but the German GG's. are Magic after 10-20 yers.. and can still be found for 50-100 usd.. they are worth the wait.. Trust me :)
@@drmatthewhorkey Thats totally true because many german producers tend to make their "basic" wines with parts of their First growth called "Erste Lage" and "Großes Gewächs" wines they are not able to get into the best wines but still used in Gutsweine and Ortswein segment. This boosts the wines extremely and are in an amazing QPR ratio available. I really recommend these type of wines from Weingut Rings (Pfalz), Kruger Rumpf (Rheingau) & Eymann (Pfalz). They are all round about 10-12 Euros and are just awesome and also able to age some years ;)
after having several big boy Rieslings, I realized that as amazing as Riesling is, it will never beat incredible Chardonnay’s out there. it has a tendency to be slightly in you face with aromatics😅
@@drmatthewhorkey also not surprised USA produces amazing Riesling at $10, once they realize formula, figure out which yeast at what temperature, rest is just mater of resources :)
@@LiveLifeLasting For most producers 10-15 years should do the trick🙂 Also it works best when your steak really just comes off a very hot grill and has a beautiful crust
Yeah sure more Rieslings from different US states woulda been nice BUT I actually want to know more specifically about WA wines so this was perfect for me 🫣😆
I enjoyed this vid. That said, I’m going to need you (and other wine you tubers) to stop promoting Riesling. Can’t have the amazing value proposition disappear!
Hahahah it won't matter... Somms have been promoting it for years and it still hasn't taken off hahaha... The Germans do a good job of scooping up a lot of production locally, the rest goes to us wine nerds.
Want more RIESLING??!! Check this out: ua-cam.com/video/lhIjSts_EoY/v-deo.html
steak and riesling has its own hashtag
Oh my goodness, Matthew! How could you not put Finger Lakes Riesling against German riesling? Love Finger Lakes Rieslings! 😊
Judging by all the comments, you’d think it would be to annoy all the viewers 😂🤣
@@drmatthewhorkey It did annoy me
In 2020, my tasting crew wanted to do Dry Riesling. I was going to leave out the Chateau St. Michele Dry Riesling until I read a piece by someone who had gathered 60 Columbia Valley Rieslings and gotten a crew of experienced tasters together, blind tasted them, tabulated the results and guess which one came in first place. We also had Germany, Austria, New Zealand, California, Finger Lakes, Alsace and Australia. The Australian wines were a bit higher in acid, a bit more austere and I really felt like they wanted cellar time. Dr. Thanisch Feinherb Dry Style Mosel Germany (2017 vintage) would be my pick for the best of tasting, but the Chateau St. Michele (2017 vintage) was untouched when it came to value. Make sure you get the Dry Riesling as the bottle that says Riesling on it is way off-dry as you also pointed out.
Speak the truth! I was really really blown away since their normal off dry label ‘Riesling’ isn’t nearly as impressive. That is cool that you all did the tasting too
I have always preferred the Rieslings from New York and Oregon to those from Washington. The WA Rieslings have always seemed flat to me. Too warm a growing season? But with the exception of Eroica, Ch St. M, and Poets Leap, I have not tried any of these. It could be we have different palates. I will try to find some of these and see if you can change my mind. Note also that I like both sweet and dry Rieslings for meals, something not shared by all tasters.
I was shocked too but that’s how blind tastings go. The Sin Banderas was impressive tasting over the next few days and it will probably be up your alley.
Brooks is the Workhorse foe reisling in the Willamette Valley, they are good, but their Neighbor Grochau Cellars is excellent. I love visiting there, they also do an incredible Mèlon.
I've been watching your videos for the last few weeks and I have been enjoying them a lot. Thank you for that!
Did hit the subscribe button after today's upload. Gotta love Riesling!
Wow thanks so much and there’s a lot more coming!!
Riesling is by far the best deals of the wine world ! They are complex , age worthy , and not so expensive ! Great wine to by and forget in the cellar , cause they transform beautifully ! Cheers !!
#preach 😁
In my opinion, the answer is "yes". But, you have to hunt for them a little bit. Start with the Finger Lakes.
Nicee… Germany as a whole might be my favorite but I’ve had some brilliant ones from California and Washington State too!
Agree, Hermann J Wiemer on Seneca Lake. #45 on the 2022 Wine Spectator top 100
Yeah. Finger Lakes is a must if it’s a US Riesling tasting.
Have been loving my journey through NY riesling after loving German and Austrian ones, this video is ggetting me excited to explore Washington's!! So great to see the channel growing
Thank you and likewise, I have to explore NY Riesling more
As a relative wine novice (but very experienced food connoisseur), my dining companion (impeccable palate far superior to those of top food critics, but also not super-versed in the wine world) and I have come to fall in love your top QPR wine of the tasting.
When you initially noted that your wines were in the $15-$25 range, I didn't expect our go-to "house" white wine to be in your blind tasting. Then, when we saw the top of the capsule and your facial expression upon revealing, it became a dead giveaway. Chateau Ste. Michelle Dry Riesling is by far our favorite wine for food pairings, particularly because it matches perfectly our style of cooking (moderately spicy but focusing on the ingredient's inherent flavors).
Keep these big blind tastings coming!!
Ahhhh you two do have GREAT taste! I am prepping to shoot over 20 blind tasting videos im Jan/Feb to come out over the course of 2023!
Thank you so much, @@drmatthewhorkey! Can't wait to see your new videos!
Our second favorite food-friendly white wine has been Pinot Grigio/Gris. Would love to see this format for that grape from a variety of Italian regions (Alto Adige, Veneto, Friuli, Sicilia) plus the other Alpine nations!!
Here you go:
ua-cam.com/video/IRDLtzvaWrQ/v-deo.html
ua-cam.com/video/PHtFi9D99hU/v-deo.html
And ua-cam.com/video/scQumnbm-7U/v-deo.html
Thank you for sharing, @@drmatthewhorkey!
By the way, I've been noticing many Riesling labels have "Dr." like Konstantin Frank in NY and Dr. Loosen in Germany. It's not a coincidence that Ph.D.'s or M.D.'s grow these grapes, right?
You are knocking it out of the park with the white blinds lately! Thank goodness these whites are less expensive since the shopping list I'm compiling is getting long. Thank you and keep up the great work.
Thank you so much and there are A LOT of blind tasting videos coming up
No New York Riesling? Hermann Wiemar used to be served on Lufthansa. Anthony Road is also a very good Finger Lakes producer. Alsace dry Riesling can also reach great heights. There are also many excellent Niagara Rieslings from dry to botrytis affected and icewines.
No NY this time. I’m a big fan of Alsace too but for Riesling overall, Germany still holds my heart.
One of my coworkers moved here from the Fingerlakes, and he always surprised us with the Gewurtztraminer and Reislings. There were a couple others he made, but those two varietals are what struck me as most memorable.
I may love my reds, but Riesling is my number 1 wine grape. When I borrowed my first bottle out of my dad’s cellar it was a German Riesling. I was 14 😂 I would recommend the 2021 Figgins Estate Riesling. A little more money but worth it in my opinion.
Riesling at 14??? Your palate was spoiled at such a young age 😛
Thanks for another great lesson.
Thanks for watching!
Great tasting as usual! Glad to see the Von Winning up there near the top, Pfaltz being one of my favorite regions. I'm a little surprised the to see the Chateau St Michelle so high. I've had the wine plenty, and always find it a little uninteresting. I'll have to put it in another lineup and give it another go. At that price, I'd love it to be amazing!
I do blind tastings at least every few weeks and often have to set them up alone as well. Here's what I do. I take a lazy Susan type turntable and arrange the bagged wines on it. Spin the table, and mix the wine up. Spin the table and mix the wine multiple times until you don't know what is what. Then label the bags, and taste.
Ahhhh nice technique. I usually ask someone to mix them up for me. However, when there are this many wines and I have all the checks in my head for shooting, lighting, audio, and then I also have to taste - I pretty much forget what is what. For instance, the wine that won, when I revealed it I had no idea what was left in the lineup.
I was shocked the CSM did so well but that’s what happens during blind tasting.
I use vegetable wash on my glasses (same ones) because it rinses so cleanly. I’m surprised it’s not talked about more…
Ahhh tell me more!!
I use “Veggie Wash All Natural Fruit and Vegetable Wash” to clean the glasses by hand under hot water. The outside gets towel dry; the inside gets microfiber. This product does not leave soap residue or odor since it’s intended for fruits and vegetables. Works great on removing lipstick from the rim!
I will try! Thanks so much.
Yes, Veggie wash!!! I just us a little citric acid, and I kick up my tea kettle to rinse. Granted I hardly ever have more than 2 glasses to wash
I'll always provide a view, a like and a comment for any Riesling video you post. Keep 'em coming!
Stay tuned Weds and Sunday :)
I enjoy the blind tasting video's. I hope you can do a Burgundy Premiere Cru video tasting up from the Cote de Beaune to the top of the Cote de Nuits
The channel has to be quite a bit bigger for that to happen...
Fun tasting would like to see Finger Lakes and northern Michigan in there to see how they measure up
Depending on how this does, I’ll look at Finger Lakes for the future… White wine videos don’t always perform the best 😔😭
Damn, that is a surprise to see that, will have to check out more Washington Rieslings then, awesome video!
Thank you
I love my Rieslings. Australian DRY versions. Clare and Eden valleys.
Me tooooo
That was an odd comparison with the soda and then at the end saying but Riesling doesn’t have all that sugar as soda water/club soda has zero sugar or even calories lol
I meant soda pop aka Pepsi, Sprite, Coke, etc
Definitely my favorite white grape variety. Nice tasting. Quality value is so high for reasonable price in Riesling.
You are right, such high QPR!
Great video. Living in Germany I love Rieslings as well. I do want to disagree with the lettering instead of numbering. For me saying wine number 10 is 6th is easier than wine J. I get what the recommender was trying to say but you don’t say 6 was 2. If anything you say wine 6 is 2nd which is completely different. And I also think numbers work better internationally but you know where your audience is. Anyways, keep up the great work.
I loooveeee Riesssslingggg too. I think I figured out a better system than letters and numbers. Will be doing at I have over 20+ blind tasting videos to shoot in Jan and Feb
Great video! Riesling is underrated in the US. Do you like Finger Lakes Rieslings? I think I may prefer them to Washington State. I'd love to see a Finger Lakes video.
I don’t know Finger Lakes Rieslings professionally as well unfortunately. Hopefully soon!
@@drmatthewhorkey You should take the time to visit. Beautiful country and some really amazing Rieslings. Lived in and drank many German Rieslings and I prefer the dry style out of the finger lakes over any other. Forge cellars and Hilock and Hobbs are must visits
@@drmatthewhorkey please visit Hermann J Wiemer in FLX. They are incredible
Matthew, I really like your channel and your passion. And I also agree with you that white is great, and that people focus too much on red. But then when it comes to Riesling, I couldn't disagree more. Sure, it's a matter of taste, not quality. But for me, a white wine lover, I can say that Riesling is the only white wine that gives me a guaranteed headache. Unlike you, I think it is rather hard to pair with food. There are plenty of dry, high acidity white wines that pair so much better with food (particularly the Italians, that are typically not well known, like Falanghina, Pigato, Arneis, Carricante to name a few). And plus Riesling really tends to smell and taste like jet fuel (and that's because both share similar enzymes). White wine? Yes! Riesling: no thank you.
Thanks! Native Italian white varieties can be quite food friendly. I know a lot of people who don’t prefer Riesling so you are definitely not alone. People that love it usually LOVE it
An interesting question. My top three sources for Riesling (in no particular order), are Germany, Austria and Alsace. Clara Valley has some excellent Riesling too. The expressions I have tried from WA and CA have not reached the heights of top expressions from my favorite sources, but they may some day. I also need to visit the Finger Lakes in NY to make a fully-informed opinion on this topic. Cheers!
Yes we both need to make it over to the Finger Lakes!
Great video but surprised you haven’t heard of Gooseridge! You need to check them out! They are very diverse wine, cider, vodka & now gin and they do it all well! Local family grown winery and down to earth people! There whites are some of my favorites!
Well now I know!! Hehehe
The Forster Riesling is about 15 EUR from the winery, so extremely good value and it is one of the entry level wines from this famous winery! There the fun begins to start...
Yes agreed! It’s one of my favorite in their Ortswein range.
Absolutely! The Smith-Madrone I tasted had all the richness of a grand cru 🎉 Charles Baur Alsace is great, and the RieslingFreak no. 33 from Claire Valley was wonderful and beloved by RP 🎉🎉
Love the Weiss old vines Mosel Riesling and that R Kabinet though!
Big big big fan of Smith Madrone’s!!!
Great video!
Thank you!
First time I've seen your video.
Your comments are spot on, and your enthusiasm is awesome. I'm doing a Riesling tasting in 3 months I'd love to collaborate.
Thanks a lot! good luck with your tasting.
I would check out ravines forge or boundary breaks for NY Riesling
They are very good
Thanks!
Chateau Ste. Michelle, Dry Riesling has always been my favorite above all wines... I go threw 2 bottles a week. Sometimes 1 if im trying something else, but i always go back to it.
Well the price is right!
Great episode. I love riesling. From the light model Just a side note that von Winning wine costs under 15 bucks in Germany!
Yess I actually picked it up from the winery when I was there. German Rieslings offer amazing QPR.
Cooool
Love the energy and excitement as well😀
Ahhh thanks. I LOOOVEE Riesling
Great video and I agree Riesling is the greatest wine grape in the world. Ne remind you can get it in so many styles including sparkling, dessert, dry, off dry. Im a bit sad there were no Oregon Rielsings :( In my opinion Oregon has stunning Rieslings and because it such an expressive grape, they are different than Washington
I do want to get more into Oregon Rieslings too!
Big Von Winning fan. Their entry level Sauvignon Blanc is amazing in value.
I’m a big fan too!
THIS IS THE BEST UA-cam CHANNEL EVER!!!
😂🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣
It is great for wines at the moment!!! I love the different elements he discusses. I do love the Unknown Winecaster, who does a great job with history and background of the grapes, as well as addressing characteristics to expect.
A semi-sweet Riesling is a great place to start finding what you like in wine. Brilliant stuff!
It is a friendly wine indeed
You are becoming one of my favorite wine UA-camrs! Thank you for the fun educational content!
Wooooow. Thanks for watching!
The best Riesling I've had is from Michigan! Black Star Farms Arcturos Late Harvest Riesling - and it doesn't feel too sweet either. I rated it 92 points - absolutely awesome example.
Nicee!
Big fan of Riesling from Washington!
Me too
I am lucky enough I moved for work (the main one, not my wine blog) to Germany, on Rhine... A lot of Riesling!!!!! Feel free to join me in Frankfurt sometimes Matthew :)
Ahhhh lucky you! I get so excited when I go to Germany bc of the plethora of affordable, inexpensive wine.
Riesling is a little complicated for me. I generally love high acid wines (the only one I ever had that was too acidic for me was an Entre-duex-Mers that didn’t have enough other factors to balanced the acidity. I even like Picpoul!) and almost every dry Riesling I’ve tried from the full price range I have really liked or loved (especially Finger Lakes and Austria - Trocken all day!) I also have had some divine expensive sweet Rieslings where the balance between acidity and sugar is incredible. But the one category I have trouble with is cheaper sweet Rieslings. It’s very hit or miss for me and often I feel like there’s not enough acidity to balance the sweetness and so they fall flat. I had this problem with the Eroica (though i don’t think it’s supposed to be sweet?) There just wasn’t enough acidity in it for me, though I keep hearing how good it is, so maybe I need to give it one more try, maybe I just got a bad vintage.
Two best Rieslings I ever had were German Thomas Schmitt Riesling Spätlese and Austrian Gmeinböck Poysdorf Trocken. Both mind-blowingly good!, both different sides of the spectrum.
Try German Kabinett Rieslings!
@@drmatthewhorkey I’ve had 2 so far and wasn’t impressed with either of them - both fell flat. One was very cheap - Schmitt Söhne - so I’m not surprised, but the other one was Fritz Haag Brauneberger (2016) which was surprising to me how bland it was. I seem to get on better with good quality Spätlese.
Also Claire Valley from Australia produces some good dry Rieslings. For really good Riesling a cooler climate is essential.
I’m a big fan of those from both Claire and Eden Valley too!
Echoing all the other Finger Lakes comments, lol. I live near them and have tried almost 100 of their rieslings. I have also had many German rieslings, and the top producers in the FLX are at that level. My favorites include Kemmeter, Hermann J. Wiemer, Ravines, Forge, Weis and Keuka Lake Vineyards.
Some niceeeee producers there! You will see an upcoming video of Germany vs Australia vs FLX soon.
Chateau st Michelle is under $8 at the largest “beverage” store in Illinois.
What a bargain!
Sorry to do this too ... BUT... Finger Lakes!
Regardless though, thank you for another great video. Happy holidays!
No need to apologize, only every other person says the same hahahha
Great video as always, I’m constantly searching for a good Riesling deal!
Thanks and happy hunting!
Like others said, really bad lapse to not include Finger Lakes.. It's literally the best Riesling made in North America....
Great idea and a good Video. Although I am a bit sad that you tasted only one german Riesling. There are so many more areas to choose from (Von Winning is still great, I love it too).
But I guess your videos focus on the american market, which again makes me a bit sad.
I’m a HUGE fan of German Riesling and didn’t have a bunch of them handy. You can check out more Riesling here: ua-cam.com/video/lhIjSts_EoY/v-deo.html
He talks about German Riesling all the time, to the point where I think it's his favourite
Thank you and yes I LOOOOOVVE German Riesling
I love Rieslings. I was told by a wine grower in scilily that the the nose to look out for in rieslings is the petrol smell. But realized it was a no no , when I said it to a very famous German Riesling maker. He said that the don’t use the word petrol. What are ur thoughts ? Is it a neutral or negative ? And only bad Rieslings have petrol? Or is there another word for petrol
Petrol flavors in young Riesling is technically a fault (sunburn). You don't often see these aromas in young German Riesling.
I've had some surprisingly decent Rieslings here in Virginia grown at higher elevations in the Shenandoah Valley. 12 Ridges, Midland, and Barren Ridge come to mind.
Ohhhh wow!
Riesling is the best, and living in Denmark 2 hours from the German border is so cheap to buy GG riesling to 20-30€ 😍
Yes lucky you!
Not sure I had a lot of Riesling wines from the US ;) Thanks for this nice introduction... seems there are plenty of great QPR there
I’ll try to bring you some next time.
Great review, have a great Christmas.
You too! Thanks so much
How did you get that goose ridge riesling?? I have been having such a hard time finding it anywhere. I couldnt find anything on google and the vineyards website has no info on it. And goo
They sent me a sample for this tasting
I just came across a pair of what I had thought are obscure Rieslings:
One from NAPA VALLEY (Smith-Madrone) and
an Aussie one from MOUNT BARKER (Capel Vale Whispering Hill).
What are your takes on them (i.e. unique character, distinctive expression of respective terroir)?
If they cost similar amounts, which is the better value?
Smith Madrone is exceptional
Thanks, @@drmatthewhorkey!!
Also in this video, you mentioned it took u awhile and u only recently became more confident in asserting ur assessments on tastes and aromas. How did u develop ur notes? I feel I am only getting my blinds right cos I know the theory
I am judging in competitions and with wine writers often. The first several years or my career I doubted myself if my opinion differed from theirs. That is not the case anymore.
I always like to see Washington wines do well in blind tastings.
Are you in Seattle?
@@drmatthewhorkey I am from the Puget Sound region if that is what you mean. I do not live in Seattle.
Pair-able with Mango salad that seems a tough ask! Must try that sometime. Great breakdown thanks Matt!
Riesling is up for that challenge!
An fun and interesting blind tasting video, it seems that Washington Riesling is getting better and better, incredible crazy QPR if you are in the the States. I've drunk or tasted about 3 or 4 Washington Riesling so far, pretty hard to find in Taiwan/Asia. I had the Eroica Riesling at retailer tasting event last month, pretty solid; but not 22 $, more like 40 $ plus. Charles Smith Kung Fu Girl Riesling is available at Costco, but it's a bit on the sweet side for me.
Surprisingly we had the Barnard Griffin Sangiovese Rose 2015 back in 2016, was a pretty nice slightly off dry rose. I am hoping more dry Washington Riesling becomes available here in the future. Von Winning makes amazing Riesling, but they are pricey wherever you go.
Ahhhh wow it was 40$ over there??? I am a big fan of Von Winning too. I find it funny that German wines are ao inexpensice domestically but their prices are marker up substantially when exported
Nice episode. I love riesling (german /austrian) not so easy to get bottles from the others SIDE of the pond. Currently Im amazed how we all in general find ok to pay 20€ for a 85/87 points wine. 20€ is Money and should get something good to drink. Actually riesling is still nicely priced ( sort of ) lets hope it continues
Thanks! In Europe, €20 can almost always get you fantastic wine if you know what you are looking for. In other parts of the world with higher duties or higher cost of production it’s not always so simple.
I think we are going in the same Direction unfortunetly
Great content! One little thing; the cuts to close up of your hands are a tiny bit jarring.
Thanks and thanks!
I love riesling. but there is soo much crap, of it here in the EU. but the German GG's. are Magic after 10-20 yers.. and can still be found for 50-100 usd.. they are worth the wait.. Trust me :)
I’m personally a big fan of Erste Lage and Orstweins from Germany. Amazing QPR…
@@drmatthewhorkey Thats totally true because many german producers tend to make their "basic" wines with parts of their First growth called "Erste Lage" and "Großes Gewächs" wines they are not able to get into the best wines but still used in Gutsweine and Ortswein segment. This boosts the wines extremely and are in an amazing QPR ratio available.
I really recommend these type of wines from Weingut Rings (Pfalz), Kruger Rumpf (Rheingau) & Eymann (Pfalz). They are all round about 10-12 Euros and are just awesome and also able to age some years ;)
Agree and I know all those wines, visited two of them…. Yummy
I’m a year late and it’s a shame there aren’t any finger lakes ny rieslings in here.
There is another video on the channel with FLX Riesling
@@drmatthewhorkey Oooh sweet I’ll have to take a gander! Thank you
Tasting US Riesling and not having Finger Lakes wines in there is a crime.
Guilty!
Now do the highest end American rieslings vs the big wig GG’s like Keller, Wittman, etc. prob a very different result 😂
Hahahhahah, yes but these were at hand.
ALSACE RIESLING TO DIE FOR HUGAL, TRIMBACU ZIND HUMBRECHT IM IN HEAVEN
Very good producers!
A nice tasting would be Alsatian, Austrian and German Rieslings.
😮😮
Finger Lakes Riesling is the best in the USA
after having several big boy Rieslings, I realized that as amazing as Riesling is, it will never beat incredible Chardonnay’s out there. it has a tendency to be slightly in you face with aromatics😅
Ohhhh big statement but I respect where you stand :)
@@drmatthewhorkey also not surprised USA produces amazing Riesling at $10, once they realize formula, figure out which yeast at what temperature, rest is just mater of resources :)
nothing from finger lakes??
Not this time
For real? No NY state Riesling? Wiemer? Konstantin Frank? Oh the HORROR!!!
🤣😂
Just use dish washer detergent, hot water, and a bottle scrubber. Not difficult, just elbow grease.
By the way, try Traverse City, Michigan Riesling next time.
🙏👏🏼
Riesling not good with Steak??😳
have you ever tried an aged Spätlese with a steak from the grill?
If not, you’re missing out🥺
Now I am curious to try!
rightfully so😃😃 it is so different from what one is used to, but it really is a superb pairing 🥺
@@der_weinigel Heard of that one too, how much of aging? 10 years enough?
@@LiveLifeLasting For most producers 10-15 years should do the trick🙂
Also it works best when your steak really just comes off a very hot grill and has a beautiful crust
I have had way more underwhelming aged red wines than aged whites.
Yeppers
I have to admit, I never liked Eroica.
Simple answer: No
I always thought so too, until…
Yeah sure more Rieslings from different US states woulda been nice BUT I actually want to know more specifically about WA wines so this was perfect for me 🫣😆
👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼
I enjoyed this vid. That said, I’m going to need you (and other wine you tubers) to stop promoting Riesling. Can’t have the amazing value proposition disappear!
Hahahah it won't matter... Somms have been promoting it for years and it still hasn't taken off hahaha... The Germans do a good job of scooping up a lot of production locally, the rest goes to us wine nerds.
@@drmatthewhorkey perhaps a Germany vs Alsace vid. Such distinct styles on either side of the border
I agree! although my favorite region in Germany for dry Riesling is Nahe...