Riesling
Riesling is a grape of German origin. It has a strong personality and high acidity, and is best not aged in oak. Riesling ranges from super sweet to bone dry. The sweeter versions have much lower alcohol. Riesling thrives in the cool climates of Europe (Germany and Alsace), yet also grows in Australia, Texas, and the west coast of the US. Riesling has the potential to age. It has a vivid fruitiness and lively balancing acidity. Prominent flavors include crunchy green apples, quince, orange, lime, passion fruit, minerals, petrol, and toast.
Riesling pairs well with a variety of cheeses because of its acidity. I prefer Riesling with milder mountain cheeses such as Gruyère. It also works with blue cheeses (especially with sweeter Riesling), Cheddar, Dry Jack, Edam, Gouda, Emmentaler, Appenzeller, Fontina, Ricotta, sheep's cheeses, and some washed rind cheeses.
Allram, Zöbinger Heilgenstein 2001 (Tasted in 2004) From Kamptal, Austria. 14.5% alcohol. This was a gift, so I don't know the price range. "Semi Dry White Wine" When I opened this bottle, I smelled that petrol smell characteristic of some Rieslings. The color is deep golden-yellow. I can't believe the alcohol level is so high. This is one of my favorite Rieslings ever. Great minerality. Dry, warm alcohol finish (great on a cold day), and flavors of peaches and mangos, and maybe even candied fruit -- but in that subtle way, more like dried fruit. It's not too sweet. This is the absolute best ever. I like how the finish is bitter and alcoholy. It seemed like the perfect balance for me with all the Riesling qualities, but great acidity and alcohol to balance it all out. I absolutely loved this wine. I hope it wasn't expensive because I want it every day for breakfast!
Allram with Crescenza. This Italian cheese is like a cream cheese, but more robust. It happens to be on my desk, so I am putting these two together. The cheese is mild, fresh, and extremely milky, but also slightly bitter on the finish almost like almonds. It's actually ok together -- the bitter finish of the cheese with the alcohol in the wine. It's not a perfect match. I would prefer a more traditionally nutty, harder cheese.
Claiborne and Churchill 2002 $13.99 at Tuscany Market. 12.6% alcohol. This is from the Central Coast of CA. It is a dry Riesling in the Alsatian style. Somehow, even in CA, they managed to get some salty minerality in the finish of this wine. On the label, it says that it is supposed to be fruity, and have solid structure with a remarkably dry finish. This wine preserves the honeyed, peach and almond qualities of the Riesling grape, but with no sweetness to interfere with its enjoyment with food. This family winery was founded in 1983. They specialize in dry wines made from Riesling, Gewürztraminer, and Muscat grapes. They also grow some Chardonnay and Pinot Noir. http://www.claibornechurchill.com. For more information, call (805) 544-4066. On the website, it says that it could taste like lemongrass, juniper berries, fresh ginger root, citrus peel, jasmine, and coriander, all layered over a lime-like mineral texture. I smell vanilla and cream, but I didn't really taste any vanilla. It definitely tastes dry. It has a mysterious floral flavor. I suppose that is some of the spices. It doesn't have quite the minerality and acidity I am accustomed to in German wines, but I still like this a lot. It's been a while since I've tasted Alsatian Rieslings, so I don't have much to compare it to. It went very well with food. The finish is really salty and surprisingly dry. It gets dryer and dryer as it wanes, almost the same way a hot pepper gets hotter. It tastes delicate, yet also has something heavy and full behind it. I liked this with some potatoes au gratin with blue cheese and a pasta salad, but it didn't agree with my cheeses so well -- except for one.
*Claiborne and Churchill with Caprino. Very creamy, Italian fresh goat. I like it with this cheese. Hallelujah! I tasted so many cheeses and nothing went well with this yummy Riesling. This worked out nicely. Sometimes this cheese tastes like mayonnaise to me, but with this wine, it's light, creamy, and lemony. No mayonnaise taste. The dryness of the wine takes the edge off the cheese. I get some nice nutty flavors in the cheese and the wine starts to taste sweeter with spices popping out. But where the wine is dry, the creamy, fluffy cheese provides some cushioning. There is some bitterness in the finish of this pairing, but it is not bad. It seems like its just bitterness from the alcohol. With this cheese, the wine reminds me of a Gewürztraminer with its wild flavors.
Claiborne and Churchill with Irish Dubliner Cheddar. Not so good, and this cheese almost always goes well with Riesling. This pairing makes a bitter, perfumy taste, almost like getting bath powder in your mouth.
Claiborne and Churchill with Gorgonzola Piccante. This wine hasn't agreed with the other cheeses, so I threw this one in just in case. This was the worst yet. It is so bad together, I am scared to swallow a second time to have to taste it. It was like paint fumes and bile together. I liked this with the Blue Cheese au Gratin at a restaurant, but it didn't go with straight blue cheese.
Claiborne and Churchill with P'tit Basque. This is ok together. It's not perfect. The alcohol burn starts to really come out in the wine with this cheese, but it's not so bad. The wine takes away some of the buttery flavors in the cheese, which is unfortunate.
Claiborne and Churchill with Ricotta Salata. Not so great with this cheese, either. I thought this cheese, being light and salty, might be good, but no. They are really bitter together. It tastes like when you put too much cinnamon on your food, where the spice goes from adding to subtracting flavor.
Dr. Bürklin-Wolf 2002 (Tasted in 2004) $10.75 at Austin Wine Merchant. 12.5% alcohol. From Wachenheim in the Pfalz in southwestern Germany where it gets so warm that figs and lemons ripen. This is supposed to be a full-bodied Riesling with vibrant fruit, and minerals. Good balance, spice notes, bracing acidity. It also should have flavors of pears, apples, apricots, and sometimes exotic pineapple. This Riesling is aged in steel, but sometimes developed partially in oversized wood barrels. It has a good balance between fruit and acidity -- well-integrated acidity, full and harmonious. Since this has higher alcohol and the sugar has been fermented out, it should be dryer. http://www.buerklin-wolf.de This is one of the dryest Rieslings I've ever had! It took me by surprise at first. The nose smells of vanilla and cream. Then, when I taste it, I get a mouthful of tart fruit and nearly bitter acidity. Yes, this is bitter at times. My first impression is of citrus fruits and apples. Acidity. It finishes with a light impression of the nose and the flavors all mixed together -- creamy vanilla and tangy fruit. It is not sweet at all. Great minerality. I have tried this three times and always drink it instead of doing cheese.
Dr. Bürklin-Wolf with Chabiquet. Fresh goat's milk cheese. Good, but bitter finish. It's ok. It doesn't do much for me at all.
Dr. Bürklin-Wolf with Irish Dubliner Cheddar. Delicious. I love this cheese with Riesling. It's so nutty and the wine is full of apples. The cheese brings out the apple flavors in the wine and makes it less dry, but still nice and zingy.
Dr. Von Bassermann-Jordan Riesling Trocken 2003 (Tasted in 2005) $13.99 at Grapevine Market. From the Pfalz. 12.5% alcohol. This comes from the Weingut Geheimer Rat. It is a Qualitätswein. Imported by Valckenberg in OK. It is from Deideshemin on the Rhein near Mainz, Frankfut, and Heidelberg. It is very very crisps and dry with fruit that is probably pears and maybe white peaches. Wonderful minerality. On the mid-palate, a lush fruit comes out, probably because of the 03 Texas-style summer vintage. It definitely has a fleshy mid-palate with peaches and flowers. Biting, mineral finish. Then just acidic and dry. After all that is over with, there is a floral note that creeps back in. For this style, it is medium-bodied and also complex. I like this wine overall. I could drink it daily. The label is interesting. It has an Art Deco drawing of what appears to be wine god with a crown of thorns and "Probis IMP" written on his chest plate. There is a woman in front of him, wearing a sheer dress and a bunch of grapes on her head. I don't know what it all means, but the man in the drawing looks ominous.
*Dr. Von Bassermann-Jordan with Brie, Tour de Marze. Surprisingly, this was really good. I liked this buttery, nutty Brie better with a dry white than I did with the Bordeaux style reds. I think I like it because it reminds me of a Champagne/Brie pairing, where there is a lot of tart acidity and minerals that dig into the creamy cheese. Plus, the butter just really rounds out this dry wine. It's kind of a funky pairing. I don't know that everybody would like it.
Dr. Von Bassermann-Jordan Irish Dubliner Cheddar. Horrible. I expected this to go together, but it tastes like grass that's been stuck up under the lawnmower and rotted.
Dr. Von Bassermann-Jordan with Valençay Pyramide. This goat cheese is a little past its peak. OK with the wine, though. Kind of bitter. I think, overall, this is what I would pair -- goat cheese for a dry Riesling -- but I was intrigued by the Brie match-up.
Christoffel Estate Riesling 2002 (Tasted in 2004) "J.J." Riesling by the Joh. Jos. Christoffel Erben. $17.99 at Central Market. I saw it lower at Grapevine by about $3. 9% alcohol. This is a Kabinett from the Mosel-Saar-Ruwer. It is supposed to have a back-and-forth kind of acidity (maybe what they call racy?) with alternating notes of candied apricots and apples. Light yellow with a few little bubbles in it. Great aroma of apples and honey. This is delicious! It is sweet and very mellow with a nice acidity to back it up. The acidity really shows up in the finish. It has such a great texture -- a little tingly, rich, full-bodied (for a Kabinett), and very well-balanced. I do taste some floral notes and maybe that apricot.
Christoffel Estate Riesling with Gjetost. This works ok, but the wine is a little tart. I liked this wine best right after I had opened it. Now it tastes a little flat, a day later.
Christoffel Estate Riesling with Grafton 4 Star Cheddar. Delicious! A little bitter afterwards, though. At first, it is all fresh apples and earthy, mellow cheese. Then it gets into more of an earthy blend. Still, the onset is so good, I would rate this pairing high. I like the acidity in the cheese with the tartness of the wine. I also get some vanilla notes The cheese wants to overpower a little bit, so you can't eat too much. Still, it melts in your mouth and blends in the palate so well, it is no threat.
*Christoffel Estate Riesling with Old Amsterdam. Nutty, salty cheese. Excellent! I love this. This is one of the best yet with the Old Amsterdam. Wow, that apple fruit really comes out, and the salted nuts stand up to the fruit and sugar so well. The tartness in the wine is just perfect with that little bit of bite that the cheese has. The acidity adds yet another level of complexity to this mix. This is soooooo good. Even though I am sick of cheese and wine today, I keep eating and drinking this stuff. I am starting to taste a light, sweet vanilla along with the salty nuts. It is so good. I would like this every day for breakfast!
Dönnhof Oberhäuser Leistenberg Riesling Kabinett 2002 (Tasted in 2004) Central Market. From Nahe in Germany. 9% alcohol. Floral, apple aromas and a petrol finish. It is not extremely aromatic. It tastes dry, even though it is a kabinett. Pale green hue, rather than more of a golden color. My friend Steve who gave it to me thinks it smells like old socks and bad cheese. I think it smells ok. It seems to be more of a problem with the glass than anything else. Very smooth, not overly sweet, good acidity. Delicious and understated. Light, sweet, floral, roses, maybe gardenias.
Dönnhof Oberhäuser Leistenberg Riesling Kabinett 2002 with Manouri. High fat, salty Greek sheep cheese. Salty, olivey cheese. OK together. Actually, this is nice. I like the salt content with the salty, minerally flavor in the wine. The cheese brings out some nice fruit flavors in the wine. Then the salt is overpowering. It's not that bad of a pairing, but it's not great. Sometimes I like pairings with sheep and salt plus light minerally pear-ish wines.
Dönnhof Oberhäuser Leistenberg Riesling Kabinett 2002 with Texas Jersey Cheddar. Very mild Cheddar. I don't like this. The wine is too light and delicate for this cheese, even though it is mild. I get a sharp, bitter taste with these together. The cheese is mild, but with this wine, there is a bitter sharpness.
Dönnhof Norheimer Kirschheck Riesling Spätlese 2002 (Tasted in 2004) $36.25 at Austin Wine Merchant. 8.5% alcohol. This is from Nahe. It is supposed to have minerals, less chalk, granite, limestone, like licking a rock. The Nahe (region and valley) where this wine is made lies between the Rhine and the Mosel. Hildegard von Bingen was born in Nahe, Germany. This was delicious. My friend Steve and I drank this on my birthday before the wild party people arrived. It had good acidity, didn't taste too sweet, but also had a nice light honey-ish Riesling flavor.
Dönnhof Norheimer Kirschheck Riesling Spätlese 2002 with Capra goat cheese with honey. It was good, though I didn't take notes on it. Generally, I like Capra with Rieslings, especially Spätleses.
Firestone Vineyards 2003 (Tasted in 2004) $10 at Vincent's in Birmingham. 12.5% alcohol. Central Coast of CA. http://www.firestonewine.com. Yes, this is the same family that makes tires! This is an off-dry style with apricot and honeysuckle flavors. It's supposed to work with Asian cuisine, crab, and light salad. It smells strongly of honey. Light yellow/green. Floral. Candied apricot, mango, bitterness. Not so much racy minerality as the German wines. Alcohol burn. This is higher alcohol. It almost reminded me of a Gewurztraminer. The alcohol finish is strong. Citrus, spices like ginger and cinnamon. Nice acidity, but I'm used to more minerals. Not too sweet. Pronounced alcohol and bitterness in fruit. Light effervescence. Mama liked it.
Firestone with Belle Chèvre from Alabama. Tangy, dense, citrusy cheese that is mild, but interesting. Lactic finish. Very acidic and crumbly. These are good together. I lose the cheese some because of the bitter alcohol. The goat comes on strong, and then there is a musty honey and alcohol flavor. You have to have a good mouthful of goat, but it does bring out nice citrus and flowers.
Firestone with Parrano. Sweet, nutty, and salty with this cheese. The wine tastes like a Gewurztraminer. I lose the nuts in the cheese. Oddly enough, this wine overpowers this cheese. They are ok together, but don't do much interesting together. They don't perform any tricks.
Herzog Late Harvest 2002 (Tasted in 2007) 9% alcohol. OU Kosher parve wine from Santa Maria, Santa Barbara, California. The back label describes as a deeply golden wine. It was so gold I thought something was wrong with it! I It looked like it had been cooked and was almost amber in color. Maybe it looked like it had been cooked because it was mevushal, meaning it's undergone some cooking during the koshering process. When I saw how dark the wine was, I was scared, but it tasted good. Definitely sweet, but with nice acidity and only a touch of the weird mevushal flavor on the finish. The first thing that jumps out at you is apricot and apple, though the label says you may also taste pineapple. It should definitely be served chilled. I accidentally left the last half glass out and it tasted way too sweet at room temp. I put it in a plastic cup and stuck it in the freezer...and forgot about it! When I got it out, it was frozen, but with all that sugar, it was really good frozen. It tasted like a wine icee. I ate the remnants out of the plastic cup with a spoon. Nice and crunchy, tart and sweet. 28 brix at harvest with a residual sugar of 12%. Kosher for passover!
Herzog with Robiola la Rossa. I wanted to try this kosher wine with a kosher cheese, but didn't have one on hand, so I put it with this cow/sheep robiola wrapped in cherry leaves. It was ok. The cheese sounds like it would be sweet since it has the cherry influence, but instead it tastes more earthy. The Riesling added a sweet note to it, but also took away some of its charm.
Kees-Kieren with
aged Tomme de ma grand-mère goat cheese. This
was great, in my opinion, but some people didn’t like it.
A lot of people weren’t into the cheese.
I thought the slightly sweet and apply Riesling worked well with the
salty, off-the-wall goat cheese.
Kees-Kieren with Montagnolo Blue. Yuck. Tastes like licking dirt off a tire. For a pairing, it’s not the end of the world, but it’s just not right. It makes the cheese taste like glue.
Kees-Kieren with Pont Reyes blue. It was decent, but left a bitter aftertaste. The blue cheese was nice and salty, but maybe too sour to deal with a sweet cheese.
Köster-Wolf Weingut Kerner Spätlese 2002 (Tasted in 2005) This was a birthday present. From Albiger Schloss Hammerstein. 10% alcohol. From the Rheinhessen. Imported by Glazer's. I think this wine is lower priced than some Spätlese Rieslings, but it is very nice. Flower, honeysuckle, and pear aromas. Wonderful acidity on the finish. It is sweet and fruity at first, and then finishes off tasting tart and a little bitter, which is refreshing. It is not overly sweet and has a light mouthfeel. It is a very pretty wine. Not too sweet at all, but this is after tasting a lot of 2003 Rieslings that were very sweet and lush.
Köster-Wolf Weingut Kerner Spätlese with Airedale. Edam-like cow's milk from New Zealand. Too bitter at the end. At first I thought it might work, but it didn't. The cheese tastes wild and dirty compared to this sleek wine.
Köster-Wolf Weingut Kerner Spätlese with Cashel Blue. This cheese tastes very earthy, but it is also spicy, salty, and creamy. It is not horrible with the wine, but it tastes a little clumsy compared to the wine and the finish is off. It also kills the wine. It's not so bad, but also not very interesting.
Köster-Wolf Weingut Kerner Spätlese with Gjetost. I always do Gjetost with Spätlese. Very good! This is excellent together. I guess once you find something you like, stick with it.
Köster-Wolf Weingut Kerner Spätlese with Tillamook Extra Sharp Cheddar. I thought this would be a no-brainer, but the cheese was too bitter for the wine and I lost all the lovely delicate flavors of the wine.
Künstler, Franz Künstler 2002 (Tasted in 2004) From the Rheingau, halbtrocken. $15.99 at Grapevine. 11.5% alcohol. This is made in the Rheingau. The label says that it is one of the top white wine making talents in Germany and in the world. The hand-crafted wines are limited. They are often dry and reflect the terroir of the Hochheimer vineyards. This wine was so wonderful and went so well with cheeses that I went back and got another bottle. The only problem is that I drink it way too fast. I bought this two more times, but ended up drinking it all and not writing anything. It is really good. I smell vanilla and sweet strawberries or cherries. Light apples, floral, dry, but still a little sweet and very fruity. Fuzzy feeling on the tongue. Excellent wine. I have had about three bottles of this.
Künstler Danish Havarti with Dill. Great! I like the texture (fizzy and creamy) with the crisp wine. The cheese is a little strong. It makes the wine even fruitier. The cheese coats the tongue and the wine cuts through.
Künstler wiht Queso al Pimenton. This cheese is a little bitter. Great cheese, light, like a Munster. This is ok. The cheese is too bitter for the wine.
Leitz Dragonstone Riesling 2003 from the Rheingau, Rüdesheimer Drachenstein (Tasted in 2004) $13.75 at Austin Wine Merchant. This has a satanic-looking dragon on the label. Nobody told me much about this except that it was tasty. Rorie said she liked it even better than Dönnhof Kabinett, and it's half the price. 8% alcohol. http://www.leitz-wine.de Rheingau wines are supposed to be bolder and more lush. They were right. This is delicious. Honey, apricot, tart apple, tropical fruits, almost like pineapple/grapefruit juice. Nice acidity at the end without losing the fruit. It definitely reminds me of tropical fruit. It is yummy and tangy and sweet in the way that orange juice is -- balanced out with fruit, sugar, and acid.
Leitz Dragonstone Riesling with Gjetost. Delicious! This works with this just as well as with the Spätlese. I like it cold or melted with the wine. The fruit and acidity stay intact in the wine while still letting the caramelized goat flavor shine through. Brit at Austin Wine Merchant.
Josef Leitz Weingut Rüdesheimer Magdalenenkreuz Riesling Spätlese 2003 (Tasted in 2004) $19.99 at Austin Wine Merchant. 8% alcohol. It comes in a brown bottle, which is typical of Rhine wines. This is from the Rheingau, where the grapes are supposed to be bolder, richer, rounder, earthier, and more luscious. These wines can taste of violets, cassis, apricots, and honey. I smell vanilla, cantaloupe, flowers, and something citrus. Oooh, this is so good. It tingles on my tongue. I taste apricots, nectarines, perfume, honey, and light vanilla. It is very complex and creamy. Minerally finish, almost salty. Smooth and lush. This is so wonderful. I think this is my new favorite Spätlese. It is very well-balanced -- nice sweetness, but with a good salty, wet-stone finish.
Leitz Spätlese with Irish Dubliner Cheddar. This was great together. Both were nutty and fruity and they just blended really well together. The cheese brought out a spiciness in the wine.
Alfred Merkelbach Kinheimer Rosenberg Riesling Kabinett 2002 (Tasted in 2004). $13.75 at Austin Wine Merchant. 8.5% alcohol. This wine is from the Zeltingen/Mosel area. It is supposed to have good acidity and be fairly sweet. Rorie at Austin Wine Merchant said it needs to breathe for a minutes because it has a sharpness and hotness at first. She loves this wine and is a huge fan of Rieslings. She even refers to them as "she." Rorie is right. This does need to breathe some first. It smells (and tastes) very tart and appley, and then when I just tasted it, it was almost cardboard tasting, though I am sure it isn't bad. I am tasting this after I just had a Spätlese, so it tastes thin in comparison. It is lightly fruity, acidic, and not too sweet. It is a very pleasant wine. It doesn't stick to the tongue quite like the Spätlese does. It leaves a nice tartness in your mouth. It is very drinkable and not overwhelming like the heavier ones.
Kinheimer Rosenberg Riesling Kabinett with Gjetost. This is nice together, though the acidity in the wine disturbs the stickiness of the cheese sometimes. This is very pleasant together. The wine really supports and shows off the cheese. I would like this wine to be sweeter for this cheese. It is still very good. I like the light apples with the sweet, nutty cheese. Where the Spätlese overpowered the cheese, this wine definitely showcases, though
Kinheimer Rosenberg Riesling Kabinett with Old Amsterdam Gouda. This is delicious, but this wine seems a little watery for the cheese. It's a great wine, but it needs a milder cheese. I love the nuts and the apples. It tapers off a little too quickly. It is very light and unassuming together. I love the lightly sweet nut flavor. It is nice together.
Alfred Merkelbach Kinheimer Rosenberg Riesling Spätlese 2002 (Tasted in 2004) $17.50 at Austin Wine Merchant. By Alfred Merkelbach. 8% alcohol. They also had one for $14 from a lesser lot, but for this price for a Spätlese, I got the more expensive one. It is from the Mosel-Saar-Ruwer region. It is supposed to taste like strawberries (as many Merkelbachs do), green apples (malic acid), and flowers. Delicious. Boy, can I drink a lot of this kind of stuff! My glass keeps coming up empty. It is very light, in spite of being sweet. I taste apples and yes, it is very floral. I don't taste any strawberries. It is a little tingly. I think this may be too apply for what I am looking for. I wanted something with more of a honey taste to it to go with some stronger cheeses. I get some honey in the finish, but it still feels very light. I love Riesling so much. The finish is great on this one. It is nice and tart. It tastes just like green apples. It goes back and forth between apples and fruit. Great minerality. Right before the finish, I do get honey and flowers. Then it fades into a smooth tartness. It definitely has a lot going on. I tasted this against the Selbach Kabinett, which has more honey flavors, but also is tarter and less sweet. This Spätlese is smoother. It also seems creamy. The acidity is less bracing than with the Kabinett. The Kabinett is generally tarter, though it had more of the honey flavor I was looking for.
Kinheimer Rosenberg Riesling Spätlese with Gjetost, caramelized goat cheese. Yum! I was scared to taste these two together for some reason, but they are great. The wine is just like green apples with this, but with great minerals. The cheese is so salty and sweet. I love the nuts in the cheese with the apples, and the honey really comes out in the wine. This is excellent. The cheese is so dense, but the acidity in the wine cuts into it. It is very refreshing and fulfilling. I retasted this later against the Selbach Kabinett and it was so much better. The Kabinett was just too bracing. It was nice, like eating apples and Gjetost together, which is great. The cheese and Spätlese just blend together. Nuts, sweet, it tastes very settled in and felicitous. Brit at Austin Wine Merchant said that this was also good with prosciutto, too.
Kinheimer Rosenberg Riesling Spätlese with Grafton 2 Star Cheddar. Delicious! This is so perfect, but then again, everything goes with this Cheddar. The wine tames the cheese. This cheese has a lot of wood flavor and nuts in it. It is sharp, but sometimes citrus-y. I like this together. The sugar and fruit in the wine really do a number on the cheese. I think the cheese is still a little stronger than the wine, but it's not bad at all. When I have this together, I taste lemons and apples. I think what I don't like is that the wine feels so light, but this cheese -- with it's clunky texture --seems heavy for the wine. However, the wine lightens up the cheese. The acidity in the wine is really good with the fat in the cheese.
Kinheimer Rosenberg Riesling Spätlese with Old Amsterdam Gouda. It's ok. It's a little bitter. I'd like the wine to be fuller. There is something off here and I'm not sure what it is. It tastes mismatched. The wine is too sweet and delicate for this hearty cheese, though other Spätleses have worked out fine.
Kinheimer Rosenberg Riesling Spätlese with Wensleydale. This cheese, right now, almost tastes smoked. It reminds me of bacon, the way it is woody and tangy. It is white, dry, crumbly, and sharp in that British way. Not so great together. At first, it's nice -- the salt and the sugar -- and then it tastes like grass, metal (light flavor), and refrigerator, even though it's fresh. I lose the wine.
Alfred Merkelbach Ürziger Würzgarten Riesling Spätlese 2003 (Tasted in 2004) 8.5% alcohol $16.25 at Austin Wine Merchant. Pretty, medium yellow color. I am not getting a lot of aroma out of it. I swirled this so much trying to get a decent aroma that I poured wine all over the front of my shirt. It is much more flavorful on the palate -- fruity, peaches, pears, apples, raspberries, honey everything. It is sweet, but has a nice minerality and acidity on the finish without losing the fruit. Slate. I love the tingly feeling on my tongue. It is almost like somebody added a little bit of salt to it, like when you put salt on an apple. Smooth enough to be creamy, but still tart. Good balance. 2003 was an extremely hot summer in Europe, but this wine manages to be balanced nevertheless, and the value (especially at Austin Wine Merchant) is golden.
*Alfred Merkelbach Ürziger Würzgarten Riesling Spätlese with Gjetost. I know, I keep pairing the same stuff with this caramelized goat cheese, but it is so good with Spätlesen. It is really nice. The cheese keeps the sweetness and fruit going with its higher fat content, but also brings in added salt to balance out the sweet. And the cheese already has a tangy taste that works with the acidity in the Riesling.
Alfred Merkelbach Ürziger Würzgarten Riesling Spätlese with Ribeaupierre. Stinky, bitter cow's milk cheese from France. Ouch. This is burning my tongue before I even get to the wine. But, oddly enough, this wine is working pretty well with it. The cheese tastes dirty, and then the acidity and bright fruit in the wine just clean it all up.
Alfred Merkelbach Ürziger Würzgarten Riesling Spätlese 2003 with Vintage Irish Cheddar. Very good. I love how the Cheddar adds a flavor of nuts to the mix. However, the wine overwhelmed the cheese a little bit. I think this is a fine paring. Maybe a more aged Cheddar would hold up better, but it is still wonderful together.
Lingenfelder Riesling 2002 (Tasted in 2004) $12.99 at Central Market. 11% alcohol. From the Pfalz, so it should be richer and creamier. This label is not traditionally German. The info is not written out in the normal way and there is an abstract, cartoonish painting of a bird on the front. On the label, it says it is a light, fresh, elegant dryish wine. http://www.lingenfelder.com Imported by Michael Skurnik. http://www.skurnikwines.com.
Theo Minges Gleisweiler Hölle Riesling Kabinett 2002 (Tasted in 2004) $17.49 (?) at Austin Wine Merchant. This was supposed to be a good deal for this wine. It is from the Pfalz, so it should be creamy and rich. Full, but dry. One review describes this wine as well-structured with very bright citrus and mineral flavors. Racy, fresh lemon and lime with tangy orange peel flavors.
Mönchhof 2003 (Tasted in 2004) $13.79 at Grapevine. 9% alcohol. This is from the Mosel-Saar-Ruwer area. On the bottle, it says, "In 1177 the Cistercian monks founded the Mönchhof estate. The Eymael family purchased the estate in 1804. Today, it is managed by the 7th generation in succession, Robert Eymael. This fruity Riesling works well with moderately spicy dishes. Martez at Central Market said that this was a silky wine with a lot of vanilla notes. To me, it tastes like oranges right before they are about to turn bad, when they are really ripe. it is nearly white, it is so light. It has a very distinct ripe fruit flavor. It is sweet. I taste some citrus, but I don't know that I get a lot of vanilla in it. If I think about it, I do get a little vanilla. It is also very floral with pear flavors. Creamy. Very well-balanced. Fresh pear and tropical fruits. This is more of a candy sweet, approaching a dessert wine. I like the acidity, but it is not really pronounced. It gets fizzy and dryer at the end. Read more about the wine and the estate at http://www.germanwine.net/estates/moenchhof/moench.htm.
Mönchhof with Brin d'Amour. Such a creamy wine with a tiny bite. Spicy, salty, creamy sheep cheese from Corsica. I had tried this cheese with a dry white, which is what everybody always recommends. I love the rosemary with the honey and floral in the wine. The flowers and herbs and also the cream. It's a very interesting combination. Yum! Nice animal flavor in the sheep. Delicious. The mold is good, even, with the wine. I don't even know what to say about it, I like it so much. The juniper berries in the cheese are a great set-off for the wine. The flavors are great together. I am not wild about the mushy wine with the mushy cheese, though. Otherwise, it's excellent. The salt and the sweet. They come from totally different regions, but are really great together. This is so much better than the white dry wines I had had with this cheese before. Also, this is a very aged Brin d'Amour.
Mönchhof with Gjetost. This is the caramelized goat's milk from Norway. It is delicious with this wine! The cheese, once it melts in your mouth, really coats the tongue. The wine has good acidity, but not so much that it knocks out the cheese. It calms the cheese down a little bit. I liked this best with that Bert Simon Spätlese since it had more of a honey flavor and less acidity. This wine is still good with the cheese. The wine is a tad overpowering. I thought the vanilla flavor in the wine might not go well with the cheese, but it really does. I feel like the cheese is a little sticky and clumpy, though.
Mönchhof with Grafton 4 Star Cheddar. This is very good, but I liked it with the Spätlese a little better. The cheese is bitter on the finish. It's alright, but not great. The wine makes the cheese burn a little bit. I feel like this wine is too light-bodied for this cheese. It just fizzles out in the end and doesn't really do anything for each other. It finishes really quick when I put it together.
*Mönchhof with Old Amsterdam. This cheese reminds me of Gjetost, but more roasted flavored and with extra salt and robust nuts. This is excellent together. I love the way the wine really brightens up the cheese. The cheese also makes the acidity come out in the wine. It's really good. I always like Old Amsterdam with Rieslings.
Mülheimer Sonnenlay Riesling 2002. 9Tasted in 2004.) $12.99 at Grapevine. 10.5% alcohol. The label says that it is "Der meist getrunkene Wein auf den Fahrten des Graf Zeppelin." It was served as the house wine on the Zeppelin and the Hindenberg. This Riesling comes from the Mosel-Saar-Ruwer area in Germany, which is one of the primo districts. The picture on the label shows some mountains, a valley, and a river with a big sunshine beaming down on the area. The meaning of this painting is that the sun reflects off the water to ripen the grapes growing on the foothills of the mountain. Next to the picture of the landscape is a drawing of the Graf Zeppelin. It is not quite a halbtrocken wine, but it is still pleasant and not too sweet for my tastes. It is a nice yellow color. The aroma is of ripe pears, apples, tropical fruit like kiwi and passionfruit, and flowers. It has very nice acidity, which is what I feel first on my tongue. Then I taste some bright citrus and minerals in the finish.
Mülheimer Sonnenlay Riesling with Cheddar, Grafton 1 year. This is ok together. It makes the wine taste like it has more alcohol in it. I lose the cheese and just end up with some bitterness, though.
*Mülheimer Sonnenlay Riesling with Cheddar, Grafton 4 year Four Star Cheddar. I like these together a lot. This cheese seems to go with a lot of wine. The wine brings out a nice woody flavor in the cheese. They blend together in the finish and then just dwindle off right at the same time. I think this is good since this cheese is super old, but not too sharp, and sometimes seems fruity to me. I like the acidity in the wine with the creamy texture of the Cheddar. This is excellent!
Mülheimer Sonnenlay Riesling with Gouda, Old Amsterdam. Great cheese! Lots of character, nuttiness, herbs in this batch, and nice mouthfeel with little crunchy protein crystals. These are very good together. There is a nice creamy, milky flavor that lasts throughout the wild wine. The cheese almost tastes smoky, and then I get the interesting fruit in the wine. It's a nice contrast, but compared to that Four Star Cheddar, I don't think this cheese is quite salty enough for this. I still like it a lot, though. I love the caramel flavor with the fruit, but I feel like the fruit washes the nutty caramel away a little bit. It is very smooth and there is no fighting, so that's a good thing.
Mülheimer Sonnenlay Riesling with Gouda, Balarina goat Gouda. Nice and salty cheese. I taste a light goat, good salt. Ugh! But when I taste the wine with it, it tastes just like fish! That is not good, so no, I won't pair these together ever.
Nikolaihof Im Weingebirge Wachau Riesling Smaragd 2000 (Tasted in 2004) $45 at Central Market. 12.5% alcohol. This was a gift for my birthday party. I didn't get to drink much of this, unfortunately, and I didn't get to try it with cheese. This is a dry Riesling. http://www.nikolaihof.at. Imported by M. Skurnik wines. This is a biodynamic wine. Since I didn't get to taste much of it, I didn't get a good idea, but it was dry, strong (as in, can stand on its own), great acidity, fruit. It was yummy and I want some more.
Noble House Riesling 2002. (Tried in 2004) $7.99 at The Austin Wine Merchant. It is made by Dr. Pauly Bergweiler. 10.5% alcohol. It is from the Mosel-Saar-Ruwer region and is classified as a "white Moselle wine." This is supposed to be good for the money. It is supposed to have nice acidity to keep it strong. It is a pale yellow color. It is not too fruity or sweet at all. It seems floral and lightly apply. It also tastes like a luscious, juicy fruit like apricots or mangos. Very tart, aromatic finish. From a website: Noble House is a wine named in honor of Prince Elect (Kurfürst), who ruled Germany for nearly 700 years from 1150 to 1805). The Prince Elector put up the Noble House building in 1743 and his winery was located inside it. The Dr. Pauly-Bergweiler family bought the house about 100 years ago. Harvested in the region of Bernkastel, Noble House has an agreeable ripe peach and apricot aroma, typical of the Middle Mosel slate terrain. Its finish is long and lingering.
Noble House Riesling with Crottin de Champcol. This Crottin is a little young and still very lactic and acidic. However, it pairs well with the Riesling. It is lightly nutty and earthy. It makes the Riesling taste extremely fruity. I like the perky acidity of the wine with the tangy goat. It's good, but not perfect. Still, it's very good.
Noble House Riesling with Gjetost. Gjetost is a Norwegian cheese made from caramelized goat's milk. In Norway, this cheese is eaten with apples, so I thought it might be nice with a Riesling. I think that normally this pairing would work, but this is an especially acidic Riesling and it wipes out the cheese. The cheese creeps back in in the finish and tastes like peanutbutter, but it is still overpowered. It's an ok pairing. I don't think they do a lot for each other.
Noble House Riesling with Great Hill Blue. This is a very light, sour blue with a moldy aftertaste that tastes like actual mold, not veining. It is great with the Riesling. I love this sweet, acidic wine with this sour cheese. It's really interesting. The cheese stands up to the wine, but doesn't go crazy with the mold.
*Noble House Riesling with Pure Luck Red Pepper Chèvre. This cheese is really hot. It is pretty inconsistent. Sometimes the crushed red peppers are mild, and sometimes extremely hot. Right off the bat, the peppers are overpowering the cheese. I like these two together. The salty, pickled taste of the peppers matches the acidity and fruit in the wine. The Riesling cools the peppers off, yet also adds a very pronounced fruit. There is a slight bitterness in the finish. I like the sharp acidity with the burn of the peppers and the tart, soured milk. Riesling is supposed to go well with spicy foods. The Riesling tastes really cool and strong. The cheese is creamy and tangy, and then the heat comes in. The tanginess of wine and the tanginess of the cheese cancel and match each other, and then we are left with the fruit and heat together. Definitely, the acidities totally match up and let all the other flavors come forth.
Noble House Riesling with Shropshire Blue. Nutty, light, crumbly and creamy blue. Light mold. Very nice together. The finish is odd (bitter and funky), but overall, this works. I like the bitter nuts with the fruit. The wine is cooling. It's not a perfect pairing, though.
Noble House Riesling with Valdeon blue cheese. This is a Cabrales wrapped in walnut leaves. This really burns my mouth. This is not good. It made me break out in goosebumps. It is bitter and clashes. The cheese is way too strong.
Noble House Riesling with Wensleydale, Green Wax. This cheese is dry, tangy, and almost metallic. It goes ok with the Riesling, though the wine is strong. They work ok, but there is something missing. I feel like the co-exist, yet don't really have anything to offer each other. The wine seems way too bright for this subtle, yet long-lasting, cheese.
Pfeffingen Riesling dry, 2002. $13.49 at Central Market. I couldn't decide what to buy, so I got this since I enjoyed the Spätlese so much. 12.5% alcohol. This wine is from Pfalz. Read more below about Pfalz wines. I heard that they can be unpredictable because of the hills and valleys in the area, and the varying amounts of sun. http://www.pfeffingen.de There are some interesting tasting notes on Rieslings at http://www.germanwine.net/tastingnotes/IWCnotes2002.htm. This one is supposed to taste like lemon, pineapple and persimmon, with a woodsmoke accent in the nose. Clear and juicy on the palate, with a saturation of fruit and smoky, salty minerality following in a serious finish. A great bargain. Great nose. I smelled something like vanilla or honey. I taste apricots, flowers, citrus, minerals, and salt. It is definitely dry.
Pfeffingen dry Riesling with Parmigiano-Reggiano. I thought these might be interesting together since they both taste salty. This is kind of gross. Something tastes like vomit. Actually, it's not that bad, but not a pairing I would do. The cheese is too robust.
Pfeffingen dry Riesling with Quebec Vintage Cheddar. Bitter. Not so awful, but not really great, either. I think this would go best with a Chèvre.
Pfeffingen Riesling Spätlese, 2002 Ungsteiner Herrenberg (Tasted in 2004). $21.25 at Austin Wine Merchant. 11% alcohol and 6% residual sugar. The day I bought this wine was very exciting. Itzak Perlman was in the store shopping for wine! This Riesling is full-bodied and intense. It has flavors of honey, apricots, ripe peach, pineapple, and citrus. This Riesling is from the Pfalz area. It definitely smells like ripe apricots and peaches. It has almost a musky fruit smell. This is much sweeter than the other wines. It has good acidity and a little bit of citrus. I was hoping it would be a tad dryer, but this is still good. I read that Pfalz wines can be unpredictable from vineyard to vineyard since some of the land is low and some is hilly, some is on a hillside that may or may not have sunlight. There are also little bodies of water that will reflect sun and heat onto some of the hillsides. The wines tend to turn out fruitier and more varied than in the Mosel-Saar-Ruwer area. The fruit shows up at the beginning, and then I get a lot of nice acidity in the end. It is weird how the acidity just pops up at the end. I taste fruit, then acidity, then fruit, and then acidity. I don't taste as much honey as I expected. Rorie says that this wine is sweet and intense enough that she eats it with Foie Gras. I wasn't so wild about it with the Foie Gras, though. Check out the website at http://www.pfeffingen.de.
Pfeffingen Spätlese with Gjetost. This salty-sweet peanutbutter cheese is nice with the Spätlese. The only problem with this pairing is that the wine actually overpowers the cheese. I like how they mix in the end. After I taste this for a minute, I really like these two together. I start to taste more of the pear and apple flavors afterwards.
Pfeffingen Spätlese with Old Amsterdam. This is great together. It is almost bitter at the end, but in a pleasant way. The cheese really coats the tongue.
Joh. Jos. Prüm Graacher Himmelreich Kabinett 2000 (Tasted in 2004) $19.99 at Tuscany Market, which seemed to be the average price around town. 7.5% alcohol. (a.k.a. JJ Prum) This wine is well-known, but sadly, I think I never bought it because the alcohol content was so low! This wine comes from the middle Mosel valley where grapes grow in the slate soil and mild climate of the steep, sun-drenched slopes. This is supposed to have an outstanding longevity. Rich with a fresh, fruity and delicate flavor in spite or a relatively low alcohol content. Imported by Cellars It'l, Rudi Wiest. I tried this wine and I had a bad bottle. It stunk, but I thought maybe, just maybe, it needed to breathe. At first, it had a smell of innertubes and rubber. Then the aroma turned into the wet dog/wet cardboard stink. It really stunk bad. I tasted one sip and I could tell what it was supposed to be like, but it wasn't. I took it back and they were going to replace it with a 2002 (8.5% alcohol), but Peter the wine guy thought that that bottle might be bad, too. He is sending the entire case back. He said the 2000 was one of the stinkiest ones he had smelled, so he kept it to show his employees what cork taint smelled like. We replaced this with a 1991 Zilliken Spätlese.
Schmitt Söhne Riesling, 2002 (Tasted in 2004) $5.67 at Central Market. 9% alcohol. This is the Riesling that they sell at the grocery stores in the blue bottle. I bought this because I was hoping it would be "cloyingly sweet." It's not as bad as I remember. It's from the Mosel-Saar-Ruwer area in Germany. It is supposed to be a medium-bodied Riesling with peach and russet apple aromas, a firm and fruity palate, and a crisp acidity. It is supposed to go with all sorts of foods. It is pale pale pale. It is a little thin tasting, but overall, it's not so bad. I remembered it being extremely sweet, but I do taste some fruit (though not as fruity as fancier wines) and it does have a decent acidity. It is a little tingly on the tongue. It doesn't taste very complex. It definitely has a tart apple taste, but overall, its flavor is faint. I don't think the sweetness is the problem with this wine so much as its lack of complexity. When I drink it right up against the Christoffel, it tastes very bland and flat, and the acidity even seems a little harsh, like it's not well-matched with the rest of the wine.
Schmitt Söhne Riesling with Swiss Wheel Gruyère. This is a very mild Gruyère. This is such a pleasant, sweet, nutty, light, yet still fruity, Gruyère. This is ok, but the wine is really sort of weak, even compared to this mild cheese. It fades really fast and leaves a bizarre fruit aroma in the mouth. It doesn't clash. I think this cheese is too fancy for the wine. I feel like it would be best with a Baby Swiss.
Selbach Riesling Kabinett 2003. $12.50 at Austin Wine Merchant. 10% alcohol. I didn't recognize this label. Maybe it is new because I have had this wine before, but a different vintage. The label has a cute modern painting of a green fish and strange lettering. Selbach is the same winery as Selbach-Oster, but Selbach-Oster is the upper end. This is really good. Rorie said that it would have the honeycomb flavor I have been looking for. Brit said that it was creamy. At the beginning, I do get heavy honey and floral. Then more honey in the middle, and finally some nice acidity at the end. It is not so sweet. It has less lemon flavor than the Kinheimer Spätlese I have been trying.
Selbach Riesling Kabinett with Grafton 4 Star Cheddar. This is a smooth, sharp, aged Cheddar. Yuck! I assumed these two would do well, but no, they are awful. It was just clash all the way. The cheese got more and more bitter as it settled into the wine. And this cheese had done so well with Spätleses.
Selbach Riesling Kabinett with Gjetost. It's good, but it's so acidic that I lose the sweet creaminess of the cheese. It still works well, though I have liked the Spätleses more since they are sweeter and mesh better with the salty-sweet cheese.
*Selbach Riesling Kabinett with Le Tonneau. This cheese is a nutty, fruity Swiss type that comes in drums in the shape of a barrel. Nice together. It tastes very fresh and herbal. It tastes like it wants to get a dirty, bitter taste. It comes close, but it just all turns into fruit. It teases you into thinking it is not going to work. The wine is nice and crisp and it drags the cheese along with it. This cheese has a tendency sometimes (especially this batch) to be pungent. It blooms into something very fruity and fresh. It just creeps up on you. My husband and my friend both hated the cheese, but liked the wine. They could both tell that they went well together, but neither liked the cheese.
Selbach Riesling Kabinett with Old Amsterdam. I like this a lot. The nuts are really good with the honey and apples in the wine. I'dlike the wine to be sweeter. It's not bitter, though. It blends pretty well.
Selbach Kabinett 2001 with P’tit Basque. The cheese is sweet and nutty. The wine is also sweet, but a different kind of sweet. These two don’t fight at all, but I feel like the crazy sweetness of the wine knocks out the gentle sweetness of the cheese. This is a very low alcohol wine. I get a chocolate aftertaste with this pairing. I guess that’s the nuttiness of the cheese. It’s ok, but the wine is too wild for it.
Selbach Kabinett 2001 with Vintage Irish Cheddar. This cheese is sharper and bolder, and definitely stands up to the sweet wine. It’s pretty good together. The finish is sweet, floral, and a little grassy from the cheese. It’s really good. I feel like the sharp cheese lasts throughout the wine motion. I also feel like it makes the wine a little less sweet.
Selbach Kabinett 2001 with young Gouda. This cheese is mild and creamy-tasting. The finish is salty and definitely milky. It works very well with the wine. The Riesling brings out a nutty characteristic in the cheese that I didn’t notice so well before. There is a little bitterness in the finish. This cheese also makes the wine a little less sweet and can last through the wine.
Selbach Kabinett 2001 with 5 yr gouda. Crazy cheese. It tastes like caramel – salty, nutty caramel. It’s kind of weird with the wine, like a foreign candy that you can’t decide if you like it or not. It makes it feel kind of fizzy in the mouth, a little frizzante. The wine tastes a lot more crisp with this cheese. It’s actually good and interesting. I do like it. I’m also picking up on some light spices and herbs, but I don’t know if that is coming from the wine or the cheese.
Selbach Kabinett 2001 with Cave Aged Gruyère. Perfect! This is the best pairing yet. The cheese is so smooth with the little protein crystals. The wine is crisp and tastes like pears and green apples with this cheese. This is sooooooo good. This cheese definitely has enough personality to hold up to the wine. It really brings out the fruit in the wine. It is very much like an overripe apple or pear taste, but honestly, I can’t tell if I am tasting the fruit from the cheese or the wine. The wine calms down the cheese, and vice versa. This is so good, I want to finish off the bottle of this and eat an entire block of the cheese.
Selbach Kabinett 2001 with Crottin. It’s ok, but I like the acidity and lack of sweetness of Sauvignon Blanc. It makes a bitter aftertaste.
Selbach-Oster Graacher Domprobst, Riesling Spätlese 2002. (Tasted in 2004) 8.5% alcohol. $22 or so at Grapevine. This is a Mosel wine. The estate of Selbach-Oster has been owned by the Selbach family since 1661. It is based in Zeltingen. The vineyards are mostly slate, like most Mosel vineyards. The vineyards are planted entirely with Riesling and use ancient, ungrafted vines (no problems with Phylloxera). They hand-pick their grapes and treat the grapes as gently as possible. They use traditional winemaking methods. The wines undergo a cold, slow fermentation and stay on their own yeast (the lees) for an extended period of time. The use the traditional 1000 liter oak barrels called Fuder. Spätlese is made from grapes that are harvested later than the ones for the Kabinett wines. This wine is darker yellow than a Kabinett, though still very light. It smells like very ripe pears. It has that almost too ripe smell of fruit. I also smell something dry and tart, like minerals. It definitely has a flowery, honey taste, a little tart citrus, long fruity finish that turns very dry and tart at the end. I can taste this wine for a long long time. I first get honey and flowers; then, apples and pears, and then minerals and bright acidity. After it is all over, I start to taste honey again. It is a very complex wine. The flavors change constantly.
Selbach-Oster Spätlese with Gjetost. This cheese is like eating caramel -- goat's milk from Norway. I like this. I get a good flavor of milk from the cheese. These are nice together. The cheese blends in with the wine. The sugar in the cheese and the wine are a good match. They also taste a little tingly and lightly tangy against the sweet backdrop. The wine makes the cheese bloom, but also tones it down a little. The cheese makes the wine taste a little less sweet and really brings out the acidity. At the end, I get great fruit aromas from the wine, but can still taste the nuts in the cheese.
Selbach-Oster Spätlese with Grafton 4 Star Cheddar. This cheese is sharp, woody, and also very mellow and long-lasting. Nice at first, but then it's a little bitter together. I have liked this better with the Bert Simon Spätlese. It's very good, though. I am not wild about the bitter aftertaste. The wine is bright and the cheese is sturdy. I get a nice apple flavor from the wine and a full, sharp Cheddar bite. Then it gets a little bitter.
*Selbach-Oster Spätlese with Old Amsterdam. This cheese is also nutty, salty, and caramely, but not overwhelmingly sweet like the Gjetost. This is delicious together! There is no bitterness like with the Cheddar. The cheese makes the wine taste extra smooth. The milk in the cheese just meshes with that wine so that the flavors all last a long time. Oh, then I get this rising full flavor of fruit and roasted nuts. I can't tell what is the wine and what is the cheese, it's all so good. At the end, off and on I taste some milk, and some apples. It goes back and forth. This is a very good match.
Bert Simon Serrig Würtzberg Riesling Spätlese, 2002. (Tasted in 2004) $17.50 at the Austin Wine Merchant. 9% alcohol. Spätlese means late harvest, so that it is made from late-picked, fully ripened grapes. These wines are supposed to have greater intensity and strength than Kabinett wines. It may be dry or have a touch of sweetness. They won't taste overly sweet because of the high level of acidity. This is supposed to be sweeter and richer than Kabinett, but still have good, strong acidity. It is very light-colored, almost clear. Smells strongly of apples and pears. It smells extremely fruity. Light minerals. It has a honeyed fruit taste to it, but also good acidity. It is not nearly as tart-tasting as other Rieslings. It is yummy and very drinkable. It also tastes slightly floral and minerally on the finish. Although this is supposed to be one of the sweeter Rieslings, it really doesn't seem too sweet to me, but then maybe I was expecting it to taste like a dessert wine or something sappy from the grocery store. It tastes less fruity than it smells. The strongest flavor I get is the honey and flowers. I drink this way too fast, it's so yummy. It's a good drinking wine.
Bert Simon Serrig Würtzberg Riesling Spätlese with Pure Luck Red Pepper Chèvre. I bought this thinking that the spicy peppers would go well with the Riesling since Riesling does well with some Mexican food and Asian food. I also thought that the acidity in the Riesling would be nice with the goat cheese. The cheese is already spicy, but the milk calms it down. It is hot, but manageable. It has a nice vinegar tang. I love these two at first. The juicy pickled peppers, tangy goat's milk, and zingy, sweet fruit are great together. There is about a 5 second delay before the peppers start going crazy. But then, if I just eat the cheese and sit for a minute, it heats up as well. Maybe this is ok together after all. It's not bad, really. It's just that the peppers are overwhelming. The honey comes out in the end.
Bert Simon Serrig Würtzberg Riesling Spätlese with Irish Dubliner Cheddar. This cheese reminds me of Parmigiano-Reggiano and Cheddar mixed together. I like it a lot, but my husband doesn't. With the wine, the cheese begins to taste extremely earthy and brings out the honeyed fruit flavor and lingering acidity in the wine. I like these two together, but I feel like the wine overpowers the cheese a little. It starts to taste like a very mild Cheddar.
Bert Simon Serrig Würtzberg Riesling Spätlese with Grafton 4 Star Cheddar. This Cheddar is 4 years old. Oooh, I like this with the wine. The cheese is a lot sturdier and doesn't get wiped out so easily. It has a bitter finish with some lingering residual sugar in the cheese, which goes nicely with the wine. The wine tastes less sweet with this cheese, but the honey flavor shines through. This is a delicious blend of flavors. The wine cuts the bitterness off of the cheese. It brings out a woody flavor in the cheese and an almost tropical flavor in the wine, which is to be expected since this cheese also sometimes tastes like pineapple to me.
Bert Simon Serrig Würtzberg Riesling Spätlese with Gjetost. This is a buttermilk cheese that has been caramelized, from Norway. It is a lot like eating sweet, salty peanut butter. It is often served with apples, so I thought it might be good with a Riesling since Riesling has so much apple/pear going on. Oh boy, this is delicious! I love these two together. I get such a nice tart, yet smooth, apple flavor from the wine, and then the thick, milky, caramel flavor from the cheese on the finish. It tastes like a confection, for sure. The cheese may be a little too sticky and strong for the wine. The cheese is tasting like oranges with this wine. The cheese is sweet enough that the wine tastes a little tart, which is a good thing.
Bert Simon Serrig Würtzberg Riesling Spätlese with Appenzeller. This Appenzeller is not so fragrant, but it has a very grassy taste. This is interesting. It tastes a little like dirt together. I have had some trouble before pairing Appenzeller with wines, but I think this is the best bet so far. The cheese is sticky and nutty. It is extremely nutty and woody, with a slight hint of caramel. It is alright. It turns into a sweetish goo. I thin this is good together, but Patrick doesn't like it so much. I like the sweet, tart fruit and the wood together. Sometimes Appenzeller is too fruity for wines, but it goes ok with this one, I suppose, because of the sugar in the wine.
Slatestone Riesling 2002 (Tasted in 2004) $9.99 at Grapevine. 11% alcohol. Produced at the Von Schleinitz Estate in the Mosel-Saar-Ruwer region. This bottle is green with an orange label. What caught my eye was the word "slate" and the picture on the front of a big slab of rock. The label says: "Grown on the steep terraces of the Mosel valley, this wine reflects the fine fruit and mineral flavors that Riesling vines grown on weathered slate can present. To enjoy with spicy food and Pacific Rim cuisine." The "weathered slate" part sounds delicious. Look out for fresh fruit on the nose, fruit-sweetness on the palate, medium-body, and a refreshing effervescence. http://www.SlatestoneRiesling.com. Imported by Michael Skurnik.
Strub Kabinett with Roc (like Bucheron). I think they stand up to each other nicely. They leave a little bit of a bitter aftertaste, but it’s still interesting. I like it because the cheese is salty, musty, and a little barnyardy (strong goat). They mix in an interesting way that I love. I voted “delicious” for this because it was so crazy, but Patrick said “good.”
Strub Kabinett
with Cantalet cheese. They don’t
fight each other at all, but the wine does overpower the cheese since it’s so
mild. Still, no problem at all here
for a party. Maybe a sharper
cheddar-type would be better with it.
Strub Kabinett
with Brinata. I feel like the
Riesling drowns out the brinata since it has such a subtle sheepy flavor.
It also makes it taste a little rubbery to me.
They get along ok. This
cheese wasn’t quite salty enough (in my opinion) to stand up to the wine.
The wine was way too bright for such an understated cheese.
Strub Kabinett with stinky French Munster. There’s some bitterness afterwards, and the wine brings out the musty flavor of the cheese. There is a little bit of fishiness somewhere. I think the sweetness of the wine and the meatiness of the cheese are interesting together, though a bit weird.
Terra Barossa, Thorn Clarke 2003 Eden Valley Riesling from Australia. 12% alcohol. http://www.thornclarkewines.com Dry, then fruity. For a non-German Riesling, it seems to have some minerality. It seems like a good food wine. Drinking it, it is a little confusing. I am not sure what I am supposed to be focusing on. Fruity (smells like a Chardonnay). It tastes dry, fruity, lemony, and floral. Very dry and acidic. This is made on Mount Crawford in South Australia, one of South Australia's consistently coolest grape growing sites. Not much residual sugar, but it fleshes the wine out.
Terra Barossa, Thorn Clarke
with Fleur Vert. Herbed fresh goat cheese from France. Very good, but this
cheese, with its crazy herbs, has a weird anise taste with some wines. This is
still nice. The acidic, lemony, dry -- yet fruity -- wine is good with the fresh
goat cheese. The combo is enhanced with the herbs, though sometimes they take
away from the ensemble with their crazy anise taste.
Terry Theise Selection Riesling 2003 (Tasted in 2005) Johannes Selbach, Mosel-Saar-Ruwer. $9.99 at Grapevine. 11% alcohol. This Riesling comes in a shouldered bottle and has a light green "bathroom countertop" marbled label. It doesn't look like a Riesling at all. It is nice, though. Not too sweet, good acidity, and light minerals. The finish is especially good with hints of tropical fruit. It isn't as striking as some Rieslings, though. It tastes mild and light to me.
Terry Theise with Capra with Honey. Sweet goat cheese. OK together, but I prefer a sweeter, more zingy Riesling with this. The cheese makes the wine taste like water with lemon squeezed in it.
Trimbach dry Alsatian Riesling, $16 with Appenzeller. This Riesling is dry. The cheese has a little bit of a rotten taste to it, so the two rotten tastes compliment each other. The cheese is nutty, spicy and fruity, and it brings out the fruit in the wine. These are good together. The flavors in the finish go back and forth between the wine and the cheese, so it’s not boring.
Trimbach with Piave. No, not really very good. The cheese overpowers and takes the sugar out of the wine.
Trimbach with St. Agur Blue cheese. I thought this would be good since the cheese is soft and a little sweet, but the wine was way too dry for it. It ended up really really harsh.
Unckrich Pfalz Kallstadter Saumagen Riesling Auslese 2002 From the Pfalz (brown bottle). $12.99 at Central Market. 8.5% alcohol. From Glazer's, and part of the Central Market Selection. I bought this because it was super cheap for an Auslese. I'll see if it's good.
Von Buhl Halbtrocken Pfalz 2002 (Tasted in 2004) $12.67 at Central Market. 11.5% alcohol. I like this wine because it has a picture of a saxophone with bubbles coming out of it on the label. It says that it was "selected by Maria Schneider." She helped select the grapes, and is a jazz composer and arranger. She is a protegé of Gil Evans and both her CD's were nominated for Grammies. This wine is, of course, very light in color. It is medium-dry, but it still has a decent sweetness. Actually, I am not tasting sugar so much as fruit, but it really comes off as sugar until it turns dry. It is really interesting. I taste some vanilla and apricots. The label says it is supposed to taste like peaches and minerals. I do get some minerals. At first, it is very dry. Then the palate fills out with nice fruit, and then it gets dry and minerally at the end. It is very good.
Von Buhl Halbtrocken Pfalz with Irish Dubliner Cheddar. This cheese is extra nutty for a Cheddar. This is ok together. It gets slightly bitter, but it's alright. The wine doesn't overpower the cheese like it did with some of the reds, but I lose fruit in the wine. The cheese stands up to it. I would like a sweeter Riesling with this cheese.
Von Buhl Halbtrocken Pfalz with Rustico with black peppers. This is weird. It's not so bad. I don't think I've ever had a sheep cheese with a Riesling before. The pepper is interesting with the fruit in the Riesling. It tastes bitter at the end. I don't think sheep cheese is the best thing for this wine. The cheese seems so rustic (it is, after all, named Rustico) and the wine is so fine. The wine is too minerally for the cheese. I think that is what is causing the bitterness.
Willi Schaefer Graacher Domprobst Riesling Kabinett, 2002 (Tasted in 2004) From the Mosel-Saar-Ruwer area. 8% alcohol. $21.99 at Grapevine. D-54470 Graach/Mosel. Grapevine is one of four places in the US that carries this wine, and it's supposed to be excellent. This is from Terry Theise, imported by Micahel Skurnik and shipped by Selbach. It is from the Mosel area. It has a picture of a monk drinking wine out of a German glass with his hand on a barrel. They get their grapes from the Graacher Himmelreich and also from Domprobst, and some from the Wehlener Sonnenuhr.
Zilliken, Forstmeister Geltz Riesling Kabinett 2000 from Mosel-Saar-Ruwer. $11.99 at Central Market. 9% alcohol. On the label it reads, "For more than 250 years the Zilliken fmily has been making superb Saar Rieslings. Especially from the Saarburger Rausch com long lived, elegant wines with racy acidity and apple/pear fruit with an underlying steeliness." It is very light in color and texture. It smells of green apples and lemons. It tastes a lot like pears. It is sweet, but not too sweet, and it does have a nice balancing acidity. It finishes smooth and almost thick, and then tangy. It is really yummy. I like the bottle because one of the crests on it has a red-speckled hawk sitting on a branch -- wearing a fancy red ribbon over its eyes like a blindfold.
Forstmeister Geltz Zilliken and Caerphilly. Max McCalman recommends this pairing in his book "The Cheese Plate," but it does nothing for me. The cheese is like dried up cottage cheese and is way too mild. It is tangy, milky, and grainy on the tongue. It is a really delicate cheese. The wine seems too fruity for it. They don't fight at all, but when I taste them, I completely lose the cheese.
Forstmeister Geltz Zilliken and Cravanzina. This is kind of gross. It is making my mouth pucker up. The cheese is too mushroomy. It is bitter. It tastes like dirt together -- bitter dirt with some rotting fruit mixed in.
*Forstmeister Geltz Zilliken and Crottin de Chavignol. This cheese is so sour and tangy. I love it. Wow. It actually goes well with this Riesling, maybe because of the acidity in both. The cheese tones down the sugar and fruit in the wine. The goat really shines through. It may even overpower the wine, but I like them together. No, I think they are very much in balance. Yum. This is so good, I don't want to taste anything else. Fruit and nuts are great together.
*Forstmeister Geltz Zilliken with Old Amsterdam aged Gouda. Excellent! I loved the combination of the butterscotch, salt, and nuts in the cheese with the tree fruit in the wine. It was really like eating candy.
Forstmeister Geltz Zilliken Aged Goat Gouda. Each time I do these two together, I taste fish. It's not quite the effect I was looking for. I lose the sweet goat, and in its place is a dead fish.
Forstmeister Geltz Zilliken with 2 year Black Wax Gouda. Yuck! I thought this would work, but I think the cheese was way too salty and strong for the wine. It was hard to get any flavor but salt out of the combination.
Forstmeister Geltz Zilliken and Valençay. Also very good. I feel like the wine definitely overpowers the delicate cheese, but the acidity works well. It definitely is good.
Maybe Riesling would go with the hot pepper Winchester Gouda.
Zilliken Forstmeister Geltz Saarburger Rausch Riesling Spätlese 1991 (Tasted in 2004) $23.99 at Tuscany Market. 7.5% alcohol. This is supposed to be lush and almost taste of red fruit, such as raspberries. This wine stunk! I had bought this as a replacement for the J.J. Prüm Kabinett that was corked, and this one turned out bad, too. On the top of the cork, it was black. The cork was also flimsy, and upon second opening attempt, it broke off halfway in the bottle. The wine tasted slightly sweet, but also flat and non-Riesling-like. I took it back to the store, thinking it was corked, but no, this is what it was supposed to taste like -- stinky, petrol aromas with a light, fruity, citrusy body. It is a light yellow, green color, and not gold as if it had been oxidized. Patrick at Tuscany said that the smell was just the petrol, like smelling Vaseline. I smelled Vaseline today, and it didn't smell like this. I am not that wild about this. My husband likes it, but to me, it still tastes off. It tastes really dry, where had this been younger, it wouldn't taste so dry. Fruity, citrus, apples, stone fruit like peaches. The fruit and sugar are more subtle than in a younger Riesling, and then there is this dryness, minerality, and stink. It's good, sweet and tart like a normal Riesling, if I can just get past that stink. I have to pour a glass and let it sit for the smell to dissipate. Patrick at Tuscany said that when you open the bottle, the petrol aromas oxidize and get stronger smelling.
Zilliken Forstmeister Geltz Saarburger Rausch Riesling Spätlese with Capra goat cheese with honey. OK, but I lose the fruit in the wine and the honey and tang in the goat cheese. It doesn't clash, but they don't do much. The wine tastes a lot tarter with this cheese. They cancel each other out.
**Zilliken Forstmeister Geltz Saarburger Rausch Riesling Spätlese with Irish Dubliner Cheddar. Very good together. Nutty mild Cheddar. The apple flavors really come out in the wine. This is such a mellow pairing. Together, it tastes like honey, nuts, apples, and lemons, but light. The Riesling really shines through, even though I wasn't so wild about it earlier. This is really good together -- creamy-tasting cheese and tart green apples. This is absolutely perfect together. The wine is mild and tart, very mellow. The cheese flavors just melt into your tongue. They are the perfect weights for each other and they don't fight at all. They complement each other really well and almost speak to each other. It just goes back and forth between apples and nuts and cream. Tangy and tart, but with the nutty, milky cheese, it's not too tart. The petrol smell that had been bothering me in the wine doesn't show up. I can't stop eating this. It's full-flavored and rich, but also dainty.
Zilliken Forstmeister Geltz Saarburger Rausch Riesling Spätlese with Pavé Sauvage. Awful! It tastes like fish. Every time I put a wine with this cheese, it tastes like dead fish (that hasn't been cooked.) I think the tarragon in the herb coating messes with the wines. So far I have only tried acidic wines with this cheese.
Zilliken Forstmeister Geltz Saarburger Rausch Riesling Spätlese 2002 (Tasted in 2004) $21.99 at Central Market. 8% alcohol. This Spätlese is much younger than the previous wine. It is a light yellow color, possibly greenish. It stinks, too -- almost like mothballs. This really stinks. All the Zilliken I have had stinks. This one is a lot sweeter than the old one. Nice acidity, more honey and sugar. I am not wild about the smell. It feels thicker than the aged one.
Zilliken Forstmeister Geltz Saarburger Rausch Riesling Spätlese with Capra goat cheese with honey. Very good, but the wine overpowers the cheese somewhat. It's still very good -- the honey flavors together with the tart wine and tart cheese. The cheese tones down the wine a little bit.
*Zilliken Forstmeister Geltz Saarburger Rausch Riesling Spätlese with Grafton 4 Star Cheddar. Sharp, tangy, mellow cheese. It is so mellow and tangy, it almost tastes like pineapple. The tropical pineapple flavors really come out when these two get together. This is so good. Sweet, citrus, and nutty. Just enough sharpness to balance out all the fruit and sugar. They just dwindle down together and balance each other out along the way. They are perfect.
Zilliken Forstmeister Geltz Saarburger Rausch Riesling Spätlese with Irish Dubliner Cheddar. Delicious, but not as good as the older Zilliken with this cheese. This one has a fishy taste on the finish, but it is still a great match. I think, with this wine, something saltier is better.