"riesling" news and stories

Figs. Photo: Rubber Slippers in Italy, Flickr.

• Autumn baking leads A Good Appetite to fig tarts, tomato éclairs and ratatouille.
• Hot food carts and trucks like Schnitzel & Things score more cred after nabbing Vendy Awards at the fifth annual cook-off.
• A dip in the cold Maine waters with Barb Scully, a local fisherwoman.
• The Temporary Vegetarian finds orzotto to be easier to work with than risotto.
• GoMobo cuts the line and alleviates the food-gathering irks of office lunches with their order-ahead system.
• Before modern fast food, there were the quick pepperoni rolls of West Virginia coal country.
• Digging into Kevin Zraly and his "Windows on the World Complete Wine Course."
• San Francisco's Flour + Water boasts sophisticated Italian flavors.
• After years of critics espousing its virtues, Riesling has finally earned its spot in the U.S. wine market.
  
• Three years ago, Judith Jones (Julia Child's editor) started raising her own cattle for steak.
• Serving up fresh fare in school lunches is ideal, but it means a lot more than bringing quality ingredients into old and neglected school kitchens.
• The Minimalist makes roasted sweet potato salad.
• Restaurants: The meatpacking district's Standard Grill suffers some dining hiccups but is still a solid food experience, the Village's Joseph Leonard has "flashes of daylight" in otherwise so-so fare and Brooklyn's Bark Hot Dogs rests between chic eats and fast food.
• Food Stuff finds savory and sweet baked goods, simple jams and a Chilean food store.
• New York's openings and closings and dining calendar.

Niagara's Lailey Vineyard. Photo: Monika Bartyzel

• Trekking across the Niagara Region for seasonal comfort food, pies and wines, and traveling through Muskoka for honey, coffee and family farming.
• "Mad Men," their love of cocktails, and a recipe for a Betty Draper-inspired gimlet.
• Sumac's sour, fruit-like flavor makes it a great substitute for a splash of lemon.
• Open's 2008 Riesling-Gewürtztraminer is a fine summer wine, plus the run-down on Beringer's 2007 Cabernet Sauvignon ("a steal") and Prospect's Pinot Noir.
• The porcine pleasures of prosciutto pioneers.
• Recipe: Wild Blueberry Lemon Jam

Photo: Pacific Rim

Gretchen Roberts writes the wine blog Vinobite, has passed the introductory course at the Court of Master Sommeliers and is studying for her sommelier certification this fall.

Like the incredibly talented actor who is not quite dreamy enough to snag blockbuster roles but remains a critics' darling, Riesling is the pet wine of sommeliers and wine writers who understand its magnificence and versatility. But poor Riesling doesn't get a lot of love in the stores -- not like Chardonnay, Cabernet and other A-list varietals, anyways.

Sad, because Riesling has so much to offer the discerning drinker. It's exceptionally versatile, producing wines from bone-dry, high-acid dinner whites to succulently intense "I've died and floated into paradise" dessert vinos. Its flavors range from lemon to green apple to peaches with whiffs of rose petals, violets and a mineral core. Great aged Rieslings sometimes have what the Brits call "petrol," or a whiff of gasoline. (Sounds weird, but it's a mark of quality.)

After the jump, a few good Rieslings and the food with which to pair them.

Gretchen Roberts has passed the introductory course at the Court of Master Sommeliers and is studying for her sommelier certification this fall.

With just a week to go until Memorial Day, here are five more wine steals for party hosts and guests.

5. Mirassou Pinot Grigio 2007 ($9). Ripe with oranges, peaches, nectarines and hints of spring flowers, this deliciously inexpensive Pinot Grigio got a surprise 90 rating from Wine Enthusiast.

4. Barefoot Riesling NV ($7). Slightly sweet and tasting simply of green apples and peaches, Barefoot Riesling is a good choice if you like riper, sweeter wines.

3. Hosmer Cayuga Lake Dry Riesling 2007 ($12). Dry and mineral on the nose, the Hosmer Riesling is tart with lemons, limes, green apples and white peaches -- lovely if you like bracingly dry whites. It made Wine & Spirits magazine's "100 Top Values of the Year" list in the June 2009 issue and is one of my absolute favorite New York State Rieslings.

Two more -- including a $7 vino -- after the jump.

I spent last weekend at the San Antonio New World Wine and Food Festival, which is basically a five-day gorge-fest against the backdrop of the beautiful San Antonio River in weather that can only be described as perfect. I was highly amused to receive a welcome gift from the San Antonio Convention and Visitor's Bureau that included Alka Selzer and Advil, as if to prepare us for impending stomachaches and hangovers at the festival.

On Thursday I went to a winemaker's dinner at Las Canarias, a restaurant on the river inside the beautiful old hotel La Mansion. Our winemaker was Jean Trimbach, a clean-cut, handsome Frenchman from Alsace who showcased a gorgeous selection of his family's cool-climate gems from Pinot Blanc to Pinot Noir. "My brother makes the wine, and I drink it," Jean joked when we asked about his role in the family business.

Trimbach has been making wine in Alsace, a French wine region bordering Germany that has changed hands between the two countries several times, since the seventeenth century. Though Trimbach isn't one of the biggest winemakers in Alsace, it's one of the region's most recognizable brands.

Read more about Trimbach wines after the jump.