Advice on Learning Riesling?

Open them in pairs as CMMiller suggested.

Or even better IMHO, get a few interested friends round and try them all the same evening. Ideally with some food. Especially when strting out, I think the contrasts are easier to spot when the wines are tried alongside each other. 6 should be about right. Much above 6 and the comparisons will be a lot harder to take in.

And don't forget other Riesling growing countries: France (Alsace), Australia, and Austria are the examples to try that spring to my mind.

unless riesling is actually stated on the label - the wine is also NOT. none of your names indicates that the labels actually SAYS riesling

Oh, they are I omitted "Riesling" from my descriptions on purpose. . . .

Thank you all for your responses, I feel a little more enlightened now! Can't wait to get back from leave and try these out

Riesling is the greatest of all grapes, red or white [or pink or orange or whatever], so if you start with Riesling, then you're starting at the top, and you have nowhere to go but down.

I guess we could recommend that Mr. Drury just slit his wrists and forget the whole wine thing altogether. I think that you need a nice hug, Nathan.

AB, you have had probably more info than you can comfortably digest regarding riesling, and maybe wine it's self. I noticed your Avatar, and since I live in Lexington, Ky myself, I of course knew where you heart lies. Welcome to the forum, and to wine, and welcome home when you cross the Mississippi once again.

NOTE: I've had all of these before, just never made a special effort to discern; not sure if that was clear

Welcome! I think your special effort to discern is the key. Riesling is the best white varietal in my opinion and Germany makes the best. As long as you keep the effort up you will progress and learn to enjoy a lovely wine. The good news is that rieslings are affordable and many quality wines can usually be had for $20 or less for most rieslings until you get into the the really ripe grape wines like beerenauslese, trockenbeerenauslese, and eiswein.

you have had probably more info than you can comfortably digest regarding riesling, and maybe wine it's self

Yes, but I feel like I'm taking it all in fairly well I love to be here "picking" all of your brains!

Welcome to the forum, and to wine, and welcome home when you cross the Mississippi once again.

Thank you; I don't have much longer left! I'm real anxious to get back there and enjoy the restaurant scene--I love to dine, but this place is lacking decent places to eat

As long as you keep the effort up you will progress and learn to enjoy a lovely wine. The good news is that rieslings are affordable and many quality wines can usually be had for $20 or less for most rieslings until you get into the the really ripe grape wines like beerenauslese, trockenbeerenauslese, and eiswein.

I hope to keep up the effort; my issue (regarding Riesling wines) is that local selection is limited, and I really can't afford to be ordering 2 or 3 bottles for $50, so I'll likely have to move on until I get home and have more immediately available to me. I am, however, really anxious to try some Eiswein

A.B., not all of New Mexico is a dreary as your experience of it. I just have to know at which base you are stationed???

Heck, I'd probably not like NM either if I lived where you apparently do!!

I'm in Clovis; I've been to other parts of NM--I loved Santa Fe/Taos/Eagle Nest area, enjoyed Albuqueruqe, too. I actually spent a lot of time in ABQ and know the city quite well. But, yes, I believe that the northern part of the state is completely different and much more enjoyable As matter of fact, we will be going to the balloon fiesta and I am really looking forward the wine festival they hold to try some NM wines

Welcome, A.B. You've come to a great place to learn about wine.

You've got some great advice already, but I'd like to suggest a somewhat more basic approach: learn about six basic wine types, including Riesling, and then focus on your stash.

Andrea Immer Robinson has a great book describing this approach; here are some notes I took during a course given by Andrea last fall in NYC.

Andrea:

Taste your way to expertise -- the only way to learn.

The tasting tool box:

Body Styles
Light Bodied
Medium Bodied
Full Bodied

Big Six Grapes
Riesling
Sauvignon Blanc
Chardonnay
Pinot Noir
Merlot/Cabernet Sauvignon
Syrah/Shiraz

Flavor Words
Dry
Crisp
Oaky
Tannic

Over time you will add other words, many of which will somewhat vague; the Toolbox is a foundation.

Learn to taste

Look -- beautiful, shimmers with colors, look against a white background. White wines darken and turn brown as they age; red wines lighten and turn brown as they age. Cause: oxidation -- oxidation causes loss of fruit (like an apple). In young wines, these are the colors to look for:

White
Pale yellow green
Straw yellow
Yellow/gold

Red
Dark pinkish-red
Ruby red
Inky, dark purple

Is the wine light, medium or full. Generally, the darker the color, the fuller bodied the wine. Look down from the top to judge the differences in color.

Swirl the wine around in the glass to vaporize the alcohol. The air borne vapors carry the scent of the wine to your nose. You can taste only four [or five] flavors, but you can smell thousands of scents. The tongue senses temperature, perceives texture or mouth feel. We taste on our tongues; we find flavor through scent. Practice swirling until it is second nature.

Smell the wine. Swirl. Periodically swirl the wine as the alcohol rises. Identify whatever scents you can; experience will teach you additional scents. Scents can unleash intense emotions and memories.

Taste the wine; take a mouthful and hold it there; swish it around -- it's not elegant but it is very revealing:

Body and texture -- richness and fullness of red wine; lightness and bubbles of sparklers.

Taste -- sweetness on the tip of the tongue, bitterness on the back of the tongue; acidity on the sides of the tongue -- a bit tingly and makes your mouth water.

Flavor -- Heat in your mouth sends aromas to your smell center -- identify those you can find.

Balance -- Overall impression -- do all the components -- body, texture, flavors, sweetness, bitterness and acidity -- seem in harmony, seem pleasant?

Quality -- Did you like it? Did the flavor persist in a pleasant way. Did you like it. How much -- nice or wow.

Wine notes: take simple wine notes at first -- avoid being too specific or subjective at the beginning. Add details over time -- walk before you run.

The approach works; Robinson has taught her approach to thousands of people -- restaurant guests, sommeliers, chefs, waiters, bartenders, in a wide variety of restaurants and bars. "The light goes on every time."

The Big Six Wine Grapes -- 80% of all quality wine sold in the US. Great examples can be grown consistently in almost every great wine region in the world. And each can be made in a variety of styles -- these are the wine toddler's basic wines.

White
Riesling -- REES-ling, not RISE-ling.
Sauvignon Blanc -- Sow-veen-yone BLAHNK
Chardonnay -- Shahr-duh-NAY

Red
Pinot Noir -- PEE-no NWAHR
Merlot -- Murr-LOW or Mare-LOW -- your choice -- and Cabernet Sauvignon -- Cab-uhr-NAY Sow-veen-YONE
Syrah (aka Shiraz) -- see-RAW

Tasting the Big Six

Each has a distinctive varietal tastes (in many variations).

Body -- a textual sensation -- weight, richness, thickness in the mouth.
-- skim milk -- watery, runny, skimpy, short taste -- light bodied.
-- whole milk -- thicker, richer, coats your mouth a bit, longer taste -- medium bodied.
-- heavy cream -- dense, thick, clings to your mouth, flavor hangs on -- full bodied.
Important concept in wine; easy to teach; and you can see the difference as well as sense it in the mouth.

Light Riesling Pinot Noir
Medium Savignon Blanc Merlot/Cabernet Sauvignon
Full Chadonnay Syrah/Shiraz

Tastings

1. Taste all six at once -- Complete Wine Course DVD demonstrates. Works perhaps best -- good with novices and experts.

2. Taste only whites in one sitting; reds in another. Works fine too.

Taste about an ounce to an ounce and a half = average glass in a restaurant setting.

Use a spit bucket or any opaque cup.

Steps:

1. Buy your wines -- Robinson has several suggestions at different price points. She urges that you buy all six at the same price point: everyday, moderate and splurge.

2. Set up six glasses on numbered paper with the names of the wines: 1 Riesling, 2 Sauvignon Blanc, 3 Chardonnay, 4 Pinot Noir, 5 Merlot/Cabernet Sauvignon, 6 Syrah/Shiraz.

3. Pour one ounce in the numbered order -- you can go back and have more of any wine you like.

4. Taste the wines in number order.

Riesling -- pale yellow green, mouth watering, refreshing light white wine -- if you pronounce it correctly -- REES-ling -- you have to smile when you say it. Many styles: Germany -- lightest body; Austria and Alsace -- tangiest flavor; California and Washington -- strongest flavor.

Sauvignon Blanc -- great every day wine, ten dollars, match many foods, usually medium bodied. Straw yellow, a little darker than the Riesling, distinctive aroma with lots of punch. Compare with the Riesling -- they are two entirely different aromas. Robinson recommends a wide range of styles from many countries. Try a variety if you like the taste.

Chadonnay -- Darker yellow-gold, full bodied aroma with lots of fruit. Richest, heaviest, best selling white in the US.

Pinot Noir -- Robinson's favorite red -- red wine flavor; white wine texture -- soft, not heavy. Feels like silk in the mouth, lightest red. Look down from the top of the glass against a white background -- you can see through it. Fragrance and flavor are subtle but seductive, luring you back to the glass.

Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon -- Top selling red varietal wine by far. Grow everywhere, good wines at every price point, consistent. Dark, inky, dark and medium to full body. Scent is stronger and more intense than Pinot Noir. Perhaps over powering for some people.

Syrah/Shiraz -- Syrah is a French classic; Shiraz the Australian version made it a major wine during the past ten years. Easy prices and vibrant flavors. Usually full bodied and dark and purple when young -- scent and flavor are big and saturated.

5. Practice, practice, practice. Lots of fun and you will learn something new every time. Robinson repeats the exercise with her waiters several times a year.

Again, welcome to WLDG.

Regards, Bob

I'm in Clovis

Oh my. I am so sorry! But that explains the dearth of good food and wine!!

I'm just 20 miles east of Santa Fe, on the east slopes of the Sangres, just on the edge of the Pecos Wilderness.