#Winechat: Australian Riesling
Hello Friends,
Last Wednesday, I joined the #winechat crew on Twitter for a fast, furious, and fun-filled hour of tweeting and tasting Australian Riesling – a grape that a lot of people don’t typically associate with Australia. Generally, when you think about Riesling, you think about cooler-climate wine regions such as Germany, Alsace (FR), Austria, and closer to home -- the Columbia Valley (WA) and Finger Lakes (NY). While Australia is by and large warm-to-hot and fairly dry, it also has unique mesoclimates allowing for robust reds in warmer areas and refreshing white wines in cooler areas. A common misconception about Riesling is that it only produces wines that are sweet. But in reality, Riesling spans the sweetness scale from “dessert” sweet, to slightly-sweet, to bone-dry. Many well-made Australian Riesling examples that I have tasted fall into the dry category. They are usually mineral driven with racy acidity -- somewhat angular, with a delicate-to-medium citrus core and a food-friendly nature.
2010 Barossa Valley Reserve Riesling
The #winechat discussion was led by @SMCBarros, @vintagemd, and special guest (@PetePikes) -- winemaker for Pike’s winery in the Clare Valley. @PernodRicard, a top global producer of wine and spirits, was kind enough to provide samples from Jacob’s Creek to a number of participants. For the event, I tasted the Jacob’s Creek 2010 Barossa Valley Reserve Riesling. The Barossa Valley is located in South Australia and is known mainly for Shiraz and Cabernet Sauvignon. The cooler areas are where you will typically find Riesling and Chardonnay. In the glass, the 2010 Barossa Valley Reserve Riesling is a light straw color in appearance with bright aromas of citrus zest, fresh lemon-lime juice, nectarine and subtle floral hints. The aromas follow through to the palate with a vibrant, tangy entry and refreshing acidity with a slight orange zest and mineral finish. In my opinion, this is a nice summertime/anytime dry quaffing/food-friendly wine that won’t break the bank at $13. I enjoyed this wine on its own and with Thai cuisine and believe it’s versatile enough to complement a wide variety of dishes.
Click here to view the upcoming #winechat schedule on Marie Payton's 'The Life of Vines blog'. And remember, friends don’t let friends’ miss #winechat. Cheers!
Click here to visit Jacob's Creek website.
Have a question about this post, friends? Feel free to leave a comment or send me an e-mail at myvinespot@yahoo.com, and as always, Happy Sipping! Stay tuned ...more to come.
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