Press

Growing up in the Bronx, I didn’t see traditional wine culture. There was no wine on the bodega shelves, no swirlin’ and sniffin’ going down a Friday night. But the respect level was always there.

The universe of wine is full of once-revered regions or styles that ceased to be celebrated. Certain wines are unfairly dismissed as one-dimensional archetypes: Rieslings are all sweet, Chardonnays are all oaky. Wine Spectator asked 11 wine professionals to share their favorite out-of-fashion wine and explain why it deserves to reclaim its rightful place at the cool kids’ table.

“Dry” describes what wine drinkers overwhelmingly profess to desire. And “trocken” can only appear on labels of German Rieslings with less than 10 grams of residual sugar.

Among natural wine’s growing audience, some have surely been attracted because they think it’s fashionable. Others are curious about wines made outside the norm, wines that combine a respect for nature with traditional methods of production and that both taste and feel really good.

There are few grape varieties more fervently worshipped yet sorely misunderstood than Riesling. The supreme shape shifter of the wine world, Riesling can be totally dry or lusciously sweet, still or sparkling. Its nose can be lavishly floral or stony and earthen. Its gloriously fruity, electric flavors can lend perceptions of sweetness despite zero residual sugar. Its extract can masquerade volume and texture far beyond its alcoholic footprint.

The Selbach-Oster wines showed at the top of our latest Mosel tasting, several wines garnering very strong recommendations, including the 2019 Zeltinger Sonnenuhr Ur-alte Reben Riesling Spätlese Feinherb and the 2019 Rotlay Riesling Auslese, among others.

The darling grape variety of sommeliers and wine lovers alike, Riesling is renowned for its immense versatility and range of styles, thanks in large part to its naturally high acidity. Its structure enables winemakers who work with the variety to yield zesty, bone-dry options all the way to lusciously sweet Riesling wines with impeccable balance. Taste through the diverse range of Riesling with these 12 pours.

With the dawn of a new year, many people are taking on new resolutions. For some, that may be giving up alcohol either for the month or for forever. Or maybe you are the designated driver, expecting a baby, or simply need a night without liquid courage. Whatever the reasoning, just because you give up booze does not mean you still can’t enjoy a little wine, non alcoholic of course. These non-alcoholic spirits, wine-free sangria, summer mocktails, and booze-free beers should do the trick.