Ahhh Eroica makes it on your channel again. I LOOVE Riesling so much. For me, the German’s are above everone else - at least for my taste. I love the balance of fruit and acidity of dry Rieslings from the Nahe.
Hello! I am a Sommelier from NYC and I always appreciate your opinion on wines! In this video you mentioned you would be interested in exploring more Finger Lakes Rieslings. I would love to recommend or help put together some wines for you to taste! Morton from Ravine's Argetsinger Vineyard from 2019 is stunning in my opinion, Kelby James Russel out of Red Newt makes some of the most interesting wines in the area, Nathan Kendal not only makes beautiful riesling through his family winery Hickory Hallow he is also working to bring back some of North Americas indigenous grape varieties, And MW Nova Cadamatre from Trestle 31 brings great balance to the table with all of her wines! I am not sponsored by any of these wineries I just truly love what they are doing for wine in the Finger Lakes!
In the Finger Lakes (FLX) there are a ton of amazing producers you should check out. My favorites are Hermann J Wiemer, Kemmeter, Weis, Ravines, Dr Konstantin Frank, among others!
My favorite varietal. I just got back from Germany, and one of the best days of tasting was in Deidesheim in the Platz. Riesling all day long, was fantastic.
Very happy that you showed the FLX some love! There is some excellent Riesling being made there! Red Newt is one of the best but there are many others. And it is a great place to visit!
Da Riesling meine absolute Lieblingstraubensorte ist, habe ich das Video in vollen Zügen genossen. Vielen Dank, dass Sie großartige Weingüter vorgestellt haben und Ihre Gedanken geteilt haben. Der Heymann-Löwenstein hat bisher mein Herz als Lieblings-Riesling erobert. Ich freue mich schon darauf, Ihre Eindrücke bei der Verkostung und Bewertung dieses bemerkenswerten Weinguts zu erfahren. Prost!
Completely agree! I just wanted to write about how much I love the style of Heymann-Löwenstein. All their wines follow that style and the quality is consistently very high among them. However, if I had to pick only one wine, then the best Riesling I have ever had is the 2010 J.B. Becker Wallufer Walkenberg Riesling Auslese trocken. Absolutely unreal!
I have actually visited the Finger Lakes which was a great experience. Actually one of my favorite wine regions in the US where you can find some hidden gems! Thank you for the video
Long time listener, first time commenter. Adore your content! I'm from New Zealand and I feel that Felton Road's 'Block 1' Riesling often takes our top spot vintage to vintage domestically. Having visited the Finger Lakes in 2015 the top wines I tasted were aged Rieslings from Hermann J. Wiemer but also would highly recommend Tantalus's old vine Rieslings from Okanagan Valley in Canada.
Thanks again for this more than outstanding tasting session :) A clarification about the climate of Washington. Indeed east of the Casacade range, it is much drier and much sunnier than the West of the state (many vineyards are in climate classified as semi-arid). Days are warm in summer, and even hot in many areas, however nights are cool most of the year and winters are quite cold, much colder than in Seattle, and most often colder than almost anywhere in Germany. As an example Chelan has a January average min T of -5.8, a max of 1.3. In July it is 15.1/30.3. The annual precipitation is just above 300mm. Some vineyards are in regions that receive as little as 200mm, which I find quite amazing. I guess irrigation is common practice. A lot of water is flowing from the Casacade range to the West.
Interesting. The Finger Lakes Riesling wasn't one I would expect. Dr. Frank Konstantin. Ravines and Boundary Breaks make truly excellent Rieslings. I havent been to Red Newt yet (with around 200 wineries making Riesling here it takes a while to get through them all). I will have to make the trip to Red Newt next trip out!
@@jacobfiksel3600 There are SO MANY good Rieslings in the Finger Lakes. It is hard to list them all. Been loving some NY Cab Francs recently too (including one from Red Tail Ridge!). Yum!
Ravines Dry Riesling and Anthony Road Dry Riesling from the Finger Lakes are two of my favorites. From Washington I like Charles and Charles, but my favorite Riesling I ever had I just tasted while in Austria on a wine River Cruise and now I’m super excited to try more Austrian Rieslings! I also really enjoy Alsace Rieslings, the 2016 Grand Cru Rosacker from Domaine Mittnacht Frères I had recently was lovely! The Dr. L sparkling Riesling from the Mosel was also a pleasant surprise. I particularly like the high acid ones as long as they are balanced by other elements.
I opened the 2003 Riesling I told you about, tonight. Thanks for the encouragement! It is indeed still really nice. 95% petrol, 5% green apple on the nose. Tastes of green apple, yellow pear, amaretto...
I have several bottles from Red Newt and think they’re all really impressive wines. The off dry wines are real stunners too. They sell back vintages from their library (10yrs+) online at relative bargain prices, and they age wonderfully.
For me there's no better place to grow riesling than Germany. I will go for Mosel as my favourite region even though in Rheinhessen there is so much variety and excellent producers to give Mosel run for its money. On a side note, I visited the Finger Lakes region already 20 years ago (I'm from Finland so not the most obvious wine region to visit) and that left a permanent imprint on my mind - I would love to go back there and see how the region has evolved and matured. Definitely a region to look out for.
Another great video Konstantin. I’m biased but glad to see Aussie wines, but equally glad to learn about some other regions. I have bought a few Julien Schaal wines on reputation but have not yet tasted, so looking forward to this.
I might have written this before: my favourite Riesling country is Germany, and especially the Saar region. Well made Saar Rieslings are high in acidity, very clean and can age very, very well. My preference goes to Feinherb sponti Kabi's. That sad, I don't mind a Mosel Spät- oder Auslese with noticable noble rot either....
Amazing stuff Konstantin!! Lil sad to see we skipped over Ontario though… would love to see you taste Riesling from the limestone soils of the Beamsville bench! I work at hidden bench winery, let me know if you ever would like to taste :)
You'll have to try more from the Finger Lakes (FLX)! Hermann J. Wiemer and Forge Cellars are two of the best the region has to offer. Forge Cellars is a joint venture between Louis Barroul of Gigondas fame and Rick Rainey.
Thanks once again, riesling and chenin blanc are my favourite white grapes. 1. An interesting lot of wines, must have been lovely to taste through. Typical Jancis, though, she can’t resist new discoveries which I think meant missing out on the VERY best, eg riesling Rangen from Zind Humbrecht or Clos Ste Hune from Trimbach. 2. You remind me how frustrating it is that residual sugar and other info isn’t on most labels, indeed retailers often can’t get this from from the wine makers even when they ask. Often you can’t tell from the label where a wine is on the sweet-dry spectrum, and producers’ subjective ‘indices’ are only that.
Great video again, Riesling, one of my favourite grape varieties. Talking about nice Riesling outside Europe. Well, Rusty Roof Riesling from Australia comes to mind. Another contestor is Jordan The Real McCoy Riesling from South Afrika. All, great wines.
Riesling is my number one grape by far, and I am actually quite happy that people aren't too keen on it because it keeps the prices down. We have some incredible Rieslings made in Ontario like Flat Rock Nadja's Vineyard, Charles Baker Picone Vineyard, Cave Spring CSV, anything by Hidden Bench or Tawse which I (to an extent) hope never get discovered and then double in price.
Tawse's French projects are already pretty popular and up in price, though he's partnered with locals there and labels the wine Marchand-Tawse. You should add Thirty Bench to your list of rieslings that to try. They have several small lot bottlings of Riesling made in different styles from low yield plots.
@neenervshellomotoman Yeah love the Burgundies but I just don't buy Burgundy due to the QPR. I enjoy the standard 30 Bench Riesling that you can find in the LCBO but I haven't had an opportunity to try any of the smaller lot stuff.
@@winston.sullivan The smalllot stuff is quite different from the winemakers blends. Those are made with purchased grapes, and are still good for the price, but the small lots have a lot more character.
Besides Germany, three favourites are New Zealand, Australia, and my home province of BC, Canada. Some really great Riesling here from some of the cooler regions.
Porrungarup riesling from Western Australia is also emerging; Stepanie O' tool's (Jeff Grossets partner) Mount Horrocks riesling is also amazing ( half the price of Grosset)
I would say I’m more of a red wine fan than white, but having said that, no other wine gets me as excited (or puts a big cheesy grin on my face 😂) as does Riesling. We are lucky here in Australia that we have a lot of very good Riesling at reasonable prices. Bring on summer!
As an international German I have to say that I love German Rieslings the most, particularly from the Rheingau, Pfalz and Nahe. Outside of Germany Alsace hasn't impressed me yet, but it's likely I haven't found the best ones yet. Austria does an awesome job with Riesling, sometimes more full bodied that their German counterparts, but well-balanced. Clare Valley & Eden Valley make awesome Rieslings, just not many to be found in Taiwan atm. I agree with you the Finger Lakes Rieslings hold my attention more so than Washington Rieslings; the 2020 Eroica I tasted wasn't that impressive. I have found that surprisingly Hungary can also make pretty decent Riesling if planted in the right place and with a capable winemaker.
Great video! My favs are old ones from Mosel and Alsace, I don’t think you can beat those. Tried an SA Prum from 2011 and a Trimbach from 2009 and was blown away. However, my day-to-day Riesling actually comes from New Zealand; the Villa Maria one is crispy, but also rich in petrol despite its young age, and at that price, it’s difficult to beat. Love these videos, keep it up!
They've been making wine in NY state for a very long time. In fact I believe that Brotherhood is America's oldest winery. They used to make wines exclusively from native American varieties like "Niagara" and "Catawba" that have a foxy flavor, but I think they've shifted to nearly all European varieties now. I haven't had a NY wine in at least 25 years. I'll have to give them a try again. I wouldn't be surprised if they've improved substantially across the board.
It makes me want to drink more riesling! Many ppl say a respectable riesling should have petrol nose, which I don’t fancy. This video shows me that it is not the case.
I had a drier version of the rieslingfreak one (no. 33 I think) and it was delightful, lots of surprising grapefruit, almost tasted like a sauvignon blanc
Another great video sir, we visited fingers lake in 2018.. A lovely region well worth a visit as some lovely wineries. Chateau lafayette reneau overlooking the lake drinking there library wines was superb 🍷👍
Good timing, as I’m headed to the Finger Lakes soon and looking forward to tasting lots of Rieslings. Have not had many Rieslings but we did enjoy them last year while on a river cruise in Germany and Austria. Liked those from Wachau.
Returned from Finger Lakes. Had the chance to try the Red Newt. Also went to several other wineries, including Hermann Weimer who makes outstanding wines. Definitely a region to visit.
I actually really enjoy Chateau St. Michelle’s sweeter Riesling. The 2021 I’ve had from them has been one of my favorite vintages, but I definitely need to grab more. For a $12 wine it’s really nice.
I used to drink their Late Harvest Riesling wines fairly often but I haven’t seen them of late. Used to be readily available in supermarkets and I thought good value for money.
My training with Riesling has been very limited in Puerto Rico. We do get the wine from Austria, Germany and the USA but it is not popular. I've drank Guthrum 2019 and a German white blend Libenfraumilch 2018. I do have a 2019 bottle of Eins zwei dry from Leitz but I want to drink it in a Riesling tasting to compare and contrast.
Delicious. I note with interest that a Riesling from the US Eastern Seaboard gets 94 from Konstantin; congratulations to the maker, this must be really good. I myself absolutely love Riesling, and for preference it would have to be Germany. Prost! ⭐👍
A tour of Riesling. What a great video idea! I really enjoy Rieslings and am still trying to understand the wine better. These comparison tastings help a lot. Thanks!
My wife’s family has made Riesling on small scale in Baden area of Germany for at least 4 generations. We’re going to be there in about 3 weeks and hoping to time it right for the grape harvest.
Hi - I noticed that people tend to like wine styles that they are familiar with. The immediate reaction is to be suspicious of an unfamiliar grape, cuvée, etc., which leads people to adhere to a narrow band of wine styles that they repeat until it forms a strong habit.
Visited the Finger Lakes about 15 years ago. Wines were good, but what I’ve been tasting recently from there is surprisingly good. Great value for us too here on the east coast of the US.
Great episode about my favourite grape for white wine. I buy most (dry) Rieslings from producers in Nahe, Pfalz and Rheinhessen. The entry wines are often happening. Prices are still reasonable, I guess.
More Riesling! Love this stuff. I usually buy German Riesling from Rheingau or Mosel or French Riesling from Alsace because it's readily available, well priced and higher quality wines across the board.
Eroica is like alcoholic sweet lemonade. It is delicious! But yeah... Julian Schaal in Alsace make legendary wines. Nothing beats great german riesling though...
Allsace is great. Ang germany. Also tried a very good chilean riesling but it was not simular to the old world ones though. Doppf Shoenenbourg Grand cru and Gustave Lorenz Altenberg de Bergheim and Pfersigberg Wolfberger are the best ones I can remember the names of so far.
I love Riesling, especcially from the Wachau. I'm really into this "fat", round style Knoll Rieslings offer, but I can appreciate other styles as well. Riesling almost never disappoints. When it comes to the Wachau region, I recommend Tegernseerhof, Alzinger, Prager and Weinhofmeisterei Hirtzberger. Especcially Prager stands out for me for producing more "mineralic", vibrant wines. Of course there are also Hirtzberger and F.X. Pichler, the Hirtzberger Singerriedel is one of the most famous wines in Austria, but the price point indicates that as well.
Favourite country: more what my wallet favours. Germany, Austria, Alsace but, also Chile, sometimes. On a budget often find New World too...unrestrained. And: thank you for the generous, fascinating content.
My favorite rieslings: depends on how old they are... and I only know a few of this never-ending universe of good riesling... and just know German riesling. Maximin Grünhaus, slightly off-dry: can be kept forever, remains always fresh, often with fantastic ripe grape taste. JJ Prüm, off-dry and sweet: can take positive turns even 20+ years old (as was the case with the 1982). Delicious sweet, sometimes petrol, perfectly clean and clear. Never drink before 5 years old. At least that's the way it used to be. Klaus-Peter Keller: they only have wines close to perfection. It starts with liter-bottles (used to have them, not sure they still do) and ends with sublime GG ("Grosses Gewächs"). When I'm just looking for any good riesling and my guests deserve it, I know I' m never wrong to open any of their bottles.
Cross referenced Konstantin’s review to my local shop and all I could find was the JULIEN SCHAAL but at $25, excellent price per quality…thanks KB😄…and the Grosset for $35
Julien Schaal is an absolute legend. He makes Pinot Noir & Cool climate Syrah in South Africa each vintage. Well worth exploring some more! 🙌🏽 Thanks for all your hard work on this video.
I just love Riesling. The piercing acidity is my style. The petrol notes are interesting to me as well, so I don’t mind those styles. Still, for quality and value, Germany gets my vote and my dollars.
Red Newt Cellars? Very good! For another interesting Finger Lakes Riesling, try the 2017 Ravines Dry offering. Surprisingly spicy, ripe apple fruit, good acidity, very good length.
I do like Riesling Wines from Germany specially from Nahe and my favourite Producer is Schäfer-Fröhlich. A lot of mineral straight ! Tim is the real rocker! Felseneck GG 2021 is superb !
German riesling, without a doubt. We visited the Saar winery of Hofman (Willems Willems) by the way, lovely stuff. Also tasted some of their Rheinhessen wines. I'd say, because they are not VDP, high quality for an acceptable price. (I have the impression that the VDP label is good for at least a few € bonus per bottle, and certainly not necessarily better).
My favourite Rieslings in Australia so far are the Seppelt Drumborg Riesling, the Margaret Pooley Riesling and Pressing Matters Riesling from Tasmania. The latter release Rieslings with different residual sugar contents. I am just about to go to Great Southern in WA so I may find some more gems! I haven't had much riesling from other countries yet but i am spoilt for choice Down Under...
2 Clare Valley Rieslings??!! Amazing, but important to note that the best Rieslings in Australia come from the Great Southern region! And Australia’s best Riesling producer is Crawford River, in the relatively obscure region of Henty! (I’m happy to inform you all 😁)
I recently had the 2018 Knoll Reid Loibenberg Reisling from Austria, a small shop here in LA got a small allotment. Honestly the best Reisling I've yet tasted. Apparently that particular Weingut Knoll Reisling is hard to come by? I definitely took a bottle home.
I would actually love for you to do a video on Washington State wines. Although the Rieslings sadly aren’t the best, the State boasts some of the best Merlots in the world. It’s Cabs and Francs are also stellar, and Leonetti Cellars (based in Walla Walla) produces some of the finest wines on the planet. There are mediocre wines but Washington State has some extremely good ones that people are sleeping on.
Best episode yet! Don’t know how you keep topping yourself each week. BTW Is it my imagination or is riesling getting tastier (less petroly) in recent years/decades?
@konstantinbaum, I agree with the description of the 2018 riesling Schütt from Knoll. Though I would say the vintage contributes more to the overripe style than the actual producer. 2019 also shows opulence but with a higher degree of balance and acidity rated 99 points by James Suckling. The 2020 and 2021 rieslings actually show very high refreshing acidity and are certainly not overripe. In my opinion 2018 didn't produce any balanced rieslings in Austria and only a mediocre to slightly satisfying quality. Therefore the wine in my opinion is not a fair candidate for the tasting
Konstantin, can you please tell us more about the use of sulphur in wine. Why do some add it it early why some add it late and what does it do? That could be a good educational show. Love your work.
Hey Konstantin… can you do one video for us recommending a full on tasting paring with full course dinner (at home) starting from champagne,white,red,sweet wine… hehehehe should be fun… Love your clips ❤❤❤❤ Thank you
Dear Konstantin, please make more Riesling content. Maybe you can try some vines from uknown or not so well known producers. This episode was really great. I didn't know anything about producers in USA. Thank you very much.
For the Finger Lakes, try Weis, Hermann Wiemer, and Dr Konstantin Frank. Would also love to hear what you think of Gewurztraminer from here too. We live just under an hour away.
Lethbridge followed by Crawford river are my two favorite rieslings; both from the Henty region in Victoria (state) in Australia; although the weinbach range from Alsace is great too (as are many) but different price point.
Lethbridge not a dedicated Riesling producer, and Crawford River were my favourite but to my tastes they’ve lost a bit of shine. On top of that another former favourite - Drumborg- has changed style which I think is a great shame. Lucky we have a lot of choice. Clonakilla out of Canberra was the last ripper i tried - very lively.
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I could watch an all-Riesling tasting every week 😅
same here!😅
Same 😁
should one of you guys speak German and want to watch more Riesling after this one, I did a smaller Riesling Tasting on my channel as well recently 😅
Probably could be done too. So many different Riesling styles…
Ahhh Eroica makes it on your channel again. I LOOVE Riesling so much. For me, the German’s are above everone else - at least for my taste. I love the balance of fruit and acidity of dry Rieslings from the Nahe.
Hello!
I am a Sommelier from NYC and I always appreciate your opinion on wines! In this video you mentioned you would be interested in exploring more Finger Lakes Rieslings. I would love to recommend or help put together some wines for you to taste!
Morton from Ravine's Argetsinger Vineyard from 2019 is stunning in my opinion, Kelby James Russel out of Red Newt makes some of the most interesting wines in the area, Nathan Kendal not only makes beautiful riesling through his family winery Hickory Hallow he is also working to bring back some of North Americas indigenous grape varieties, And MW Nova Cadamatre from Trestle 31 brings great balance to the table with all of her wines!
I am not sponsored by any of these wineries I just truly love what they are doing for wine in the Finger Lakes!
Totally agree. J Hermann Wiemer, Forge, Element and Horlick and Hobbs (though still all young vines) are also standouts from the Finger lakes.
In the Finger Lakes (FLX) there are a ton of amazing producers you should check out. My favorites are Hermann J Wiemer, Kemmeter, Weis, Ravines, Dr Konstantin Frank, among others!
There are tons...but mostly average
@@terryhsiao1745 the ones mentioned definitely aren’t average!
You forgot Forge Cellars!
@@MacGyverTN great as well!
Absolutely! Hermann Weimer has produced some of the most drinkable trocken rieslings I have ever tasted.
The Riesling Schütt 2002 from Knoll was the wine, that started my interest in fine wine in 2017.
Very fortunate that we can buy exceptional Riesling at comparatively bargain prices.
My favorite varietal. I just got back from Germany, and one of the best days of tasting was in Deidesheim in the Platz. Riesling all day long, was fantastic.
Finger Lakes riesling!! I highly recommend trying the Forge Cellars Dry Riesling Classique if you can get your hands on it.
Very happy that you showed the FLX some love! There is some excellent Riesling being made there! Red Newt is one of the best but there are many others. And it is a great place to visit!
Da Riesling meine absolute Lieblingstraubensorte ist, habe ich das Video in vollen Zügen genossen. Vielen Dank, dass Sie großartige Weingüter vorgestellt haben und Ihre Gedanken geteilt haben. Der Heymann-Löwenstein hat bisher mein Herz als Lieblings-Riesling erobert. Ich freue mich schon darauf, Ihre Eindrücke bei der Verkostung und Bewertung dieses bemerkenswerten Weinguts zu erfahren. Prost!
Completely agree! I just wanted to write about how much I love the style of Heymann-Löwenstein. All their wines follow that style and the quality is consistently very high among them. However, if I had to pick only one wine, then the best Riesling I have ever had is the 2010 J.B. Becker Wallufer Walkenberg Riesling Auslese trocken. Absolutely unreal!
I have actually visited the Finger Lakes which was a great experience. Actually one of my favorite wine regions in the US where you can find some hidden gems! Thank you for the video
Long time listener, first time commenter. Adore your content!
I'm from New Zealand and I feel that Felton Road's 'Block 1' Riesling often takes our top spot vintage to vintage domestically.
Having visited the Finger Lakes in 2015 the top wines I tasted were aged Rieslings from Hermann J. Wiemer but also would highly recommend Tantalus's old vine Rieslings from Okanagan Valley in Canada.
Thanks again for this more than outstanding tasting session :) A clarification about the climate of Washington. Indeed east of the Casacade range, it is much drier and much sunnier than the West of the state (many vineyards are in climate classified as semi-arid). Days are warm in summer, and even hot in many areas, however nights are cool most of the year and winters are quite cold, much colder than in Seattle, and most often colder than almost anywhere in Germany. As an example Chelan has a January average min T of -5.8, a max of 1.3. In July it is 15.1/30.3. The annual precipitation is just above 300mm. Some vineyards are in regions that receive as little as 200mm, which I find quite amazing. I guess irrigation is common practice. A lot of water is flowing from the Casacade range to the West.
Interesting. The Finger Lakes Riesling wasn't one I would expect. Dr. Frank Konstantin. Ravines and Boundary Breaks make truly excellent Rieslings. I havent been to Red Newt yet (with around 200 wineries making Riesling here it takes a while to get through them all). I will have to make the trip to Red Newt next trip out!
Don’t forget Hermann J Wiemer and Kemmeter on western Seneca. You won’t be disappointed
Also Forge Cellars, Red Tail Ridge, and Bloomer Creek!
@@jacobfiksel3600 There are SO MANY good Rieslings in the Finger Lakes. It is hard to list them all. Been loving some NY Cab Francs recently too (including one from Red Tail Ridge!). Yum!
Ravines Dry Riesling and Anthony Road Dry Riesling from the Finger Lakes are two of my favorites. From Washington I like Charles and Charles, but my favorite Riesling I ever had I just tasted while in Austria on a wine River Cruise and now I’m super excited to try more Austrian Rieslings! I also really enjoy Alsace Rieslings, the 2016 Grand Cru Rosacker from Domaine Mittnacht Frères I had recently was lovely! The Dr. L sparkling Riesling from the Mosel was also a pleasant surprise. I particularly like the high acid ones as long as they are balanced by other elements.
Finger Lakes is my pick for most underappreciated wine region. My favorite non-Champagne sparkling wine is from there.
I opened the 2003 Riesling I told you about, tonight.
Thanks for the encouragement! It is indeed still really nice. 95% petrol, 5% green apple on the nose. Tastes of green apple, yellow pear, amaretto...
Just cracked open a 2018 Red Newt Cellars The Knoll Riesling I ordered after watching this video & gotta say you’re right… it’s delicious! 🥂
I have several bottles from Red Newt and think they’re all really impressive wines. The off dry wines are real stunners too. They sell back vintages from their library (10yrs+) online at relative bargain prices, and they age wonderfully.
Great seeing Rieslingfreak feature. John’s a top bloke and does some great work
For me there's no better place to grow riesling than Germany. I will go for Mosel as my favourite region even though in Rheinhessen there is so much variety and excellent producers to give Mosel run for its money.
On a side note, I visited the Finger Lakes region already 20 years ago (I'm from Finland so not the most obvious wine region to visit) and that left a permanent imprint on my mind - I would love to go back there and see how the region has evolved and matured. Definitely a region to look out for.
Yes, very nice video, some years ago I tried CabFranc from Fingers Lake, also was impressed. Unique place. And of course "Riesling Rocks"🎉 ;)
Another great video Konstantin. I’m biased but glad to see Aussie wines, but equally glad to learn about some other regions. I have bought a few Julien Schaal wines on reputation but have not yet tasted, so looking forward to this.
I might have written this before: my favourite Riesling country is Germany, and especially the Saar region.
Well made Saar Rieslings are high in acidity, very clean and can age very, very well.
My preference goes to Feinherb sponti Kabi's.
That sad, I don't mind a Mosel Spät- oder Auslese with noticable noble rot either....
Amazing stuff Konstantin!! Lil sad to see we skipped over Ontario though… would love to see you taste Riesling from the limestone soils of the Beamsville bench! I work at hidden bench winery, let me know if you ever would like to taste :)
You'll have to try more from the Finger Lakes (FLX)! Hermann J. Wiemer and Forge Cellars are two of the best the region has to offer. Forge Cellars is a joint venture between Louis Barroul of Gigondas fame and Rick Rainey.
Thanks for the riesling update, my favorite grape. I would love to see a deep dive into the different regions of germany. Thanks Konstantin!!!!
Thanks once again, riesling and chenin blanc are my favourite white grapes.
1. An interesting lot of wines, must have been lovely to taste through. Typical Jancis, though, she can’t resist new discoveries which I think meant missing out on the VERY best, eg riesling Rangen from Zind Humbrecht or Clos Ste Hune from Trimbach.
2. You remind me how frustrating it is that residual sugar and other info isn’t on most labels, indeed retailers often can’t get this from from the wine makers even when they ask. Often you can’t tell from the label where a wine is on the sweet-dry spectrum, and producers’ subjective ‘indices’ are only that.
i love Riesling! Thanks for the tasting as usual Konstantin
Great video again, Riesling, one of my favourite grape varieties.
Talking about nice Riesling outside Europe. Well, Rusty Roof Riesling from Australia comes to mind. Another contestor is Jordan The Real McCoy Riesling from South Afrika. All, great wines.
my favourite WHITE grape, especially the dry Rieslings from the Clare and Eden valleys , here in Sth Australia.
Riesling is my number one grape by far, and I am actually quite happy that people aren't too keen on it because it keeps the prices down. We have some incredible Rieslings made in Ontario like Flat Rock Nadja's Vineyard, Charles Baker Picone Vineyard, Cave Spring CSV, anything by Hidden Bench or Tawse which I (to an extent) hope never get discovered and then double in price.
I paused the video some seconds in and discussed with my wife, which countries we expected. Canada was definitely one of them.
Tawse's French projects are already pretty popular and up in price, though he's partnered with locals there and labels the wine Marchand-Tawse.
You should add Thirty Bench to your list of rieslings that to try. They have several small lot bottlings of Riesling made in different styles from low yield plots.
@neenervshellomotoman Yeah love the Burgundies but I just don't buy Burgundy due to the QPR. I enjoy the standard 30 Bench Riesling that you can find in the LCBO but I haven't had an opportunity to try any of the smaller lot stuff.
@@winston.sullivan The smalllot stuff is quite different from the winemakers blends. Those are made with purchased grapes, and are still good for the price, but the small lots have a lot more character.
I didn't even know that there's wine made in Canada. Interesting!🤔
Besides Germany, three favourites are New Zealand, Australia, and my home province of BC, Canada. Some really great Riesling here from some of the cooler regions.
Porrungarup riesling from Western Australia is also emerging; Stepanie O' tool's (Jeff Grossets partner) Mount Horrocks riesling is also amazing ( half the price of Grosset)
My favorite Reisling comes from Canada, the Okanagan valley, Kelowna and South to the US border. Summer Hill is a favorite.
I would say I’m more of a red wine fan than white, but having said that, no other wine gets me as excited (or puts a big cheesy grin on my face 😂) as does Riesling. We are lucky here in Australia that we have a lot of very good Riesling at reasonable prices. Bring on summer!
As an international German I have to say that I love German Rieslings the most, particularly from the Rheingau, Pfalz and Nahe. Outside of Germany Alsace hasn't impressed me yet, but it's likely I haven't found the best ones yet.
Austria does an awesome job with Riesling, sometimes more full bodied that their German counterparts, but well-balanced. Clare Valley & Eden Valley make awesome Rieslings, just not many to be found in Taiwan atm. I agree with you the Finger Lakes Rieslings hold my attention more so than Washington Rieslings; the 2020 Eroica I tasted wasn't that impressive. I have found that surprisingly Hungary can also make pretty decent Riesling if planted in the right place and with a capable winemaker.
Great video! My favs are old ones from Mosel and Alsace, I don’t think you can beat those. Tried an SA Prum from 2011 and a Trimbach from 2009 and was blown away. However, my day-to-day Riesling actually comes from New Zealand; the Villa Maria one is crispy, but also rich in petrol despite its young age, and at that price, it’s difficult to beat. Love these videos, keep it up!
They've been making wine in NY state for a very long time. In fact I believe that Brotherhood is America's oldest winery. They used to make wines exclusively from native American varieties like "Niagara" and "Catawba" that have a foxy flavor, but I think they've shifted to nearly all European varieties now. I haven't had a NY wine in at least 25 years. I'll have to give them a try again. I wouldn't be surprised if they've improved substantially across the board.
Great episode! I've been loving rieslings lately and this helped me learn a lot about them
It makes me want to drink more riesling! Many ppl say a respectable riesling should have petrol nose, which I don’t fancy. This video shows me that it is not the case.
My favorite rieslings are, ofcourse, from Germany🥂
I had a drier version of the rieslingfreak one (no. 33 I think) and it was delightful, lots of surprising grapefruit, almost tasted like a sauvignon blanc
Another great video sir, we visited fingers lake in 2018.. A lovely region well worth a visit as some lovely wineries. Chateau lafayette reneau overlooking the lake drinking there library wines was superb 🍷👍
Good timing, as I’m headed to the Finger Lakes soon and looking forward to tasting lots of Rieslings. Have not had many Rieslings but we did enjoy them last year while on a river cruise in Germany and Austria. Liked those from Wachau.
Returned from Finger Lakes. Had the chance to try the Red Newt. Also went to several other wineries, including Hermann Weimer who makes outstanding wines. Definitely a region to visit.
I actually really enjoy Chateau St. Michelle’s sweeter Riesling. The 2021 I’ve had from them has been one of my favorite vintages, but I definitely need to grab more. For a $12 wine it’s really nice.
I used to drink their Late Harvest Riesling wines fairly often but I haven’t seen them of late. Used to be readily available in supermarkets and I thought good value for money.
My favourite Riesling is always Nikolaihof... A beast in the glass!! 🥂🥂
My training with Riesling has been very limited in Puerto Rico. We do get the wine from Austria, Germany and the USA but it is not popular. I've drank Guthrum 2019 and a German white blend Libenfraumilch 2018. I do have a 2019 bottle of Eins zwei dry from Leitz but I want to drink it in a Riesling tasting to compare and contrast.
Riesling wines are definitely some of my personal favs. They have this sort of nice tanginess to them.
I LOVE LOVE LOVE Riesling ❤❤❤
Delicious. I note with interest that a Riesling from the US Eastern Seaboard gets 94 from Konstantin; congratulations to the maker, this must be really good.
I myself absolutely love Riesling, and for preference it would have to be Germany. Prost! ⭐👍
3:58 got me smashing the like button 🤩🤣
Visited Hofman last month. Truly fantastic wines, a great property, and an interesting winemaker.
A tour of Riesling. What a great video idea! I really enjoy Rieslings and am still trying to understand the wine better. These comparison tastings help a lot. Thanks!
My wife’s family has made Riesling on small scale in Baden area of Germany for at least 4 generations. We’re going to be there in about 3 weeks and hoping to time it right for the grape harvest.
Hi - I noticed that people tend to like wine styles that they are familiar with. The immediate reaction is to be suspicious of an unfamiliar grape, cuvée, etc., which leads people to adhere to a narrow band of wine styles that they repeat until it forms a strong habit.
always thank you for ur quality video
Visited the Finger Lakes about 15 years ago. Wines were good, but what I’ve been tasting recently from there is surprisingly good. Great value for us too here on the east coast of the US.
WE ALL NEED MORE RIESLING in our Lives!
You give good information! I like that! Thank you.
Great episode about my favourite grape for white wine. I buy most (dry) Rieslings from producers in Nahe, Pfalz and Rheinhessen. The entry wines are often happening. Prices are still reasonable, I guess.
I love Rieslingfreak 33! 94 points from RP at $16 at my local store :O Amazing Acidity and crispness
More Riesling! Love this stuff. I usually buy German Riesling from Rheingau or Mosel or French Riesling from Alsace because it's readily available, well priced and higher quality wines across the board.
"Alsace is drier and hotter region than most of the rest of Germany". My man is nostalgic for Alsace Lothringen 4:20
Eroica is like alcoholic sweet lemonade. It is delicious! But yeah... Julian Schaal in Alsace make legendary wines. Nothing beats great german riesling though...
Allsace is great. Ang germany. Also tried a very good chilean riesling but it was not simular to the old world ones though. Doppf Shoenenbourg Grand cru and Gustave Lorenz Altenberg de Bergheim and Pfersigberg Wolfberger are the best ones I can remember the names of so far.
Nothing beats Alsace for me!
I love Riesling, especcially from the Wachau. I'm really into this "fat", round style Knoll Rieslings offer, but I can appreciate other styles as well. Riesling almost never disappoints. When it comes to the Wachau region, I recommend Tegernseerhof, Alzinger, Prager and Weinhofmeisterei Hirtzberger. Especcially Prager stands out for me for producing more "mineralic", vibrant wines. Of course there are also Hirtzberger and F.X. Pichler, the Hirtzberger Singerriedel is one of the most famous wines in Austria, but the price point indicates that as well.
Favourite country: more what my wallet favours. Germany, Austria, Alsace but, also Chile, sometimes. On a budget often find New World too...unrestrained. And: thank you for the generous, fascinating content.
My favorite rieslings: depends on how old they are... and I only know a few of this never-ending universe of good riesling... and just know German riesling. Maximin Grünhaus, slightly off-dry: can be kept forever, remains always fresh, often with fantastic ripe grape taste. JJ Prüm, off-dry and sweet: can take positive turns even 20+ years old (as was the case with the 1982). Delicious sweet, sometimes petrol, perfectly clean and clear. Never drink before 5 years old. At least that's the way it used to be. Klaus-Peter Keller: they only have wines close to perfection. It starts with liter-bottles (used to have them, not sure they still do) and ends with sublime GG ("Grosses Gewächs"). When I'm just looking for any good riesling and my guests deserve it, I know I' m never wrong to open any of their bottles.
Nice to see you making a Finger Lakes Discovery! You know what's in between the West Coast and NY state? Michigan. Traverse City. Left Foot Charley.
Cross referenced Konstantin’s review to my local shop and all I could find was the JULIEN SCHAAL but at $25, excellent price per quality…thanks KB😄…and the Grosset for $35
Great video. Riesling is an amazing grape. I’ll be looking for a few of those!
Julien Schaal is an absolute legend. He makes Pinot Noir & Cool climate Syrah in South Africa each vintage. Well worth exploring some more! 🙌🏽
Thanks for all your hard work on this video.
I just love Riesling. The piercing acidity is my style. The petrol notes are interesting to me as well, so I don’t mind those styles. Still, for quality and value, Germany gets my vote and my dollars.
Great show, K.
Red Newt Cellars? Very good!
For another interesting Finger Lakes Riesling, try the 2017 Ravines Dry offering. Surprisingly spicy, ripe apple fruit, good acidity, very good length.
Don’t forget Hermann J Wiemer and Kemmeter wines on western Seneca lake!
@@ryvirkI've been to Weimers (👍👍), but not to Kemmeters; thanks for the tip!
I do like Riesling Wines from Germany specially from Nahe and my favourite Producer is Schäfer-Fröhlich. A lot of mineral straight ! Tim is the real rocker! Felseneck GG 2021 is superb !
I aggree
German riesling, without a doubt. We visited the Saar winery of Hofman (Willems Willems) by the way, lovely stuff. Also tasted some of their Rheinhessen wines. I'd say, because they are not VDP, high quality for an acceptable price. (I have the impression that the VDP label is good for at least a few € bonus per bottle, and certainly not necessarily better).
Would definitely recommend trying Herman J Wiemer or Forge wines from the Finger Lakes region as well. Both are great!
Such a wonderful lineup! I wish you invited me for dinner after that tasting session , Master! Cheers 🥂
My favourite Rieslings in Australia so far are the Seppelt Drumborg Riesling, the Margaret Pooley Riesling and Pressing Matters Riesling from Tasmania. The latter release Rieslings with different residual sugar contents. I am just about to go to Great Southern in WA so I may find some more gems!
I haven't had much riesling from other countries yet but i am spoilt for choice Down Under...
Niagara Peninsula in Ontario Canada produces some amazing Riesling. Probably hard to get in Europe though.
2 Clare Valley Rieslings??!! Amazing, but important to note that the best Rieslings in Australia come from the Great Southern region! And Australia’s best Riesling producer is Crawford River, in the relatively obscure region of Henty! (I’m happy to inform you all 😁)
can second that great southern is fantastic. Nothing like porongorup riesling
@@l09mcglmisn’t Porongorup a sub region of Great Souther??
Great tasting
Waipara or Central Otago in New Zealand both have amazing options. Pegasus Bay Riesling is my favorite.
Marvellous tasting once more!! I can recommend some portuguese rieslings, as not all, but some can surprise you !
Stay thirsty!
I recently had the 2018 Knoll Reid Loibenberg Reisling from Austria, a small shop here in LA got a small allotment. Honestly the best Reisling I've yet tasted. Apparently that particular Weingut Knoll Reisling is hard to come by? I definitely took a bottle home.
I would actually love for you to do a video on Washington State wines. Although the Rieslings sadly aren’t the best, the State boasts some of the best Merlots in the world. It’s Cabs and Francs are also stellar, and Leonetti Cellars (based in Walla Walla) produces some of the finest wines on the planet. There are mediocre wines but Washington State has some extremely good ones that people are sleeping on.
I agree. I have been to Leonetti a few years ago
Best episode yet! Don’t know how you keep topping yourself each week.
BTW Is it my imagination or is riesling getting tastier (less petroly) in recent years/decades?
@konstantinbaum, I agree with the description of the 2018 riesling Schütt from Knoll. Though I would say the vintage contributes more to the overripe style than the actual producer. 2019 also shows opulence but with a higher degree of balance and acidity rated 99 points by James Suckling. The 2020 and 2021 rieslings actually show very high refreshing acidity and are certainly not overripe. In my opinion 2018 didn't produce any balanced rieslings in Austria and only a mediocre to slightly satisfying quality. Therefore the wine in my opinion is not a fair candidate for the tasting
Sound very nice!!
I feel like the spittoon wasn't used all that much in this video haha nice tasting Konstantin!
Konstantin, can you please tell us more about the use of sulphur in wine. Why do some add it it early why some add it late and what does it do? That could be a good educational show. Love your work.
Alsace and finger lakes!
Hey Konstantin… can you do one video for us recommending a full on tasting paring with full course dinner (at home) starting from champagne,white,red,sweet wine… hehehehe should be fun… Love your clips ❤❤❤❤ Thank you
Dear Konstantin, please make more Riesling content. Maybe you can try some vines from uknown or not so well known producers. This episode was really great. I didn't know anything about producers in USA. Thank you very much.
13:25 gotta-gotta-gotta go! 😁
For the Finger Lakes, try Weis, Hermann Wiemer, and Dr Konstantin Frank. Would also love to hear what you think of Gewurztraminer from here too. We live just under an hour away.
Lethbridge followed by Crawford river are my two favorite rieslings; both from the Henty region in Victoria (state) in Australia; although the weinbach range from Alsace is great too (as are many) but different price point.
Lethbridge not a dedicated Riesling producer, and Crawford River were my favourite but to my tastes they’ve lost a bit of shine. On top of that another former favourite - Drumborg- has changed style which I think is a great shame. Lucky we have a lot of choice. Clonakilla out of Canberra was the last ripper i tried - very lively.