The sweet wine craze, for some reason, has not really included wines that were available before sweet wine got hot. This is particularly true of riesling, which has been the world’s best-known sweet wine for hundreds of years.
This is just another of the things about the wine business that I’ll never understand, given how many quality, cheap rieslings exist. One of my favorites is Pacific Rim, which shows up more often than not in the $10 Hall of Fame.
The 2011 dry riesling ($12, purchased, 13.5%) is not the best of the past several vintages, but it does a workmanlike job of demonstrating why riesling deserves more attention than it gets. It’s a touch sweet, which is true of most dry rieslings (sweet rieslings can have six times as much sugar), but that sweetness is balanced by some zingy lime fruit, a floral hint, and a little riesling oiliness. My only disappointment was that the wine’s finish was too short, leaving me wondering where the rest of it went to. But that’s the difference between a $10 wine and a Hall of Fame wine.
Chill this and pair it with Asian food, grilled seafood, or even cold plates. It’s not so sweet that the manly among us will be offended, but it is sweet enough so that sweet drinkers will be happy.
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