WTN: Black and white

Seghesio Cortina Zinfandel 2011
Dry Creek Valley, California
15% abv
I met up with a friend for dinner tonight. He was interested in Zinfandel. I told him neither of us will generally like it unless it is something exceptional made in a more elegant style - like a Ridge with a bit of age on it. But since he wasn't familiar with the grape I bought this Seghesio to try.

Fiery aromas. I've had rare unfortified wines even at this elevated alcohol level that have been fine. This was not one of those. It really had more alcohol showing that some whiskies. Apart from alcohol it was all caramel and oak spice.

Amazingly, the palate wasn't as bad. There is a bit of an inky feeling, but otherwise it had nice spicy fruit and enough structure to keep things together - and weirdest of all is that the alcohol that was so annoying on the nose wasn't really noticeable. But it is still so dense that this isn't really a red wine but a black one. This was perhaps more a lesson in what Zin can unfortunately be instead of a Ridge-like lesson of what it can at best be.

We quickly moved onto a white.

Weingut Ökonomierat Rebholz Riesling Vom Buntsandstein trocken "S" 2011
Pfalz; 12,5% abv
Generally speaking German Riesling suits me best when there is noticeable sugar in it. That is certainly true up north in the Mosel but I do also like Pfalz with sugar. But Palatinate Rieslings can be fantastic dry, too. More north, the problem is that lack of sugar tends to mean something mean, unforgiving, lacking charm. And even when they aren't that, I can sense that the wine would be just so much more expressive and warm with a touch of sugar.

It's strange then that in Austria and Alsace I like my Rieslings painfully dry and acidic. Well, this Rebholz seems to go more toward the style I like in Alsace and Austria than to the not-so-likeable style of the crude stereotype of German trocken I painted above.

The aroma is fantastic and immediately recognizable as Riesling: a touch of diesel and something savoury like olives; wonderful purity of fruit that is both honey and steel. Dry, but not painful. Acidic, but not painful. Austere, but pleasantly so. And these are the reasons why a trocken works here, but so rarely does further north.

This isn't a producer I'm very familiar with but I'm very willing to try more based on this wine and the memory of a couple others.

Ökonomierat Rebholz...This isn't a producer I'm very familiar with but I'm very willing to try more based on this wine and the memory of a couple others.

As I'm sure you know, they are very highly regarded.

Quite interesting, Otto, that you would choose to drink an over-blown Zinfandel before drinking that particular Riesling. Were there food pairing courses that required drinking the wines in that unusual order?

Yes, I'm familiar with their reputation. But have only tried a handful - and those years apart from each other - so I haven't formed a clear idea about them.

I don't believe that the lighter wines should always be served first. In terms of sweetness it usually makes sense to drink the drier ones first. But I find that acidity cuts through richness so easily that I have no trouble tasting a good Riesling after a rich red. In fact, Riesling or Muscadet is just what one needs to clear the palate after something bruising. Maybe big tastings are different and there a progression from lighter to weightier makes sense. But when sharing two wines, I frankly don't see it as an issue.