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The differences in riesling wines truly stand out when you compare two bottles mano a mano -- or, in this case, vino a vino. Trying the same grape from two different regions highlights the importance of terroir -- i.e., the soil and climate -- in determining a wine's flavor. Recently, we squared off not-too-sweet rieslings from Germany (where the wine has been made for centuries) and the United States.
In one corner was the American: Chateau Ste. Michelle 2005 from Columbia Valley in Washington, which scored points with a crowd-pleasing mix of apricot, honey, melon and sweet grapefruit. In the other corner: the German contender, a Selbach-Oster Zeltinger Sonnenuhr Riesling Kabinett from the Mosel-Saar-Ruwer region. This wine combines grapefruit, lime and pear flavors, but also seemed zesty, zingy and more balanced than the Chateau Ste. Michelle. It also has a pleasant thirst-quenching character.
In the end, the German wine gets the nod over its gutsy American challenger -- no surprise, considering Germany's several-hundred-year head-start in riesling manufacturing. Next time, we'll add bottles from Austria and Alsace to the competition, and turn it into a full-on riesling riot.
-- James Oliver Cury
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