History of Riesling

[Thomas]

Not to sound cynical, although I likely am, Americans drink Chardonnay because that is what they have been told to do.

You change the drinking habits of Americans with a combination of good promotion and pricing. When Riesling begins to show up in Hollywood movies and on television, as Chardonnay did and now Merlot is, then Americans will switch.

One of the secrets in the wine business is that, while Riesling is a hard sell off of retail shelves, it is normally faster selling at winery tasting rooms over Chardonnay--that is because people taste it at the tasting room, and they almost invariably like it. What is there not to like?

I admit, before I moved to the Finger Lakes, I was a "not Riesling" snob, but like all snobs who pooh-pooh what they do not understand, I had neither taste experience with good Riesling, nor a desire for it at the time.

I have since learned that riesling happens to be the most versatile of all winegrapes--can be produced dry, semi-dry, sweet, late harvest and even sparkling, and it shines when matched with a variety of foods.