help I need to find a lenomy / citrusy wine

[wineless]

I had this wine a year ago at a friends house. It was white / peach colored and tasted lemony or citrusy (depending on your taste buds). They have since died so I can't ask them and I can't remember the name or even what the bottle looked like. I love citrusy / lemony tasting stuff and would like to get this wine on a regular basis. Does anyone have any idea or any recommendations for something new I can try?
Thanks in advance for any profound wisdom you can offer.
wineless and searching

[Innkeeper]

Hi Wineless, and welcome to the Wine Board. It is possible that you had a fruit wine or one made from local grapes in your region such as Muscadine. There are grapes in the vinifera family (European wine grapes) that will give you lemon or citrus on the nose and/or tongue tip. Two of these are riesling and chenin blanc. If the wine you had was off dry, look for Californian or other American versions that do not say "Dry" on the label. For chenin blanc you can also try Vouvray from the Loire region of France. German Riesling will also fill your bill if it does not say "Troken" on the label. If it is dry wine that you are looking for, look for the afore mentioned key words, riesling from Alsace or chenin blanc from the Savennieres section of the Loire.

[Auburnwine]

I can't imagine that it was muscadine. Muscadine has a distinctive and lovely character that is not at all citrus.

If it was intensely flavored, perhaps it was a flavored wine, such as the seasonal specialty wines made by Chateau Elan.

[John Moore]

Hi! Wineless
Innkeeper is on the money with the mention of the German wine. The only thing I'd like to add is that you should look for German wine from the Mosel( almost always made with Riesling grapes). from my x-periences in selling wine to my customers this is the kind of wine that has the lemony/citrusy fruit flavor in abundant quantities that should satisfy your tastebuds. So, remembervery simply~ German wine, Mosel region of germany and made with riesling grapes. If you need further assistance contact me by my e-mail~ IntWBrokers@yahoo.com


P.S.~ I am a wine broker

[Drew]

Sauvignon Blanc, especially from New Zealand, has a lemony, citrus flavor profile.

Drew

[Kcwhippet]

Drew has it spot on. The NZ SB's are what you're looking for, particularly those from the Marlborough district. You can find them everywhere. Try one from Nobilo, Villa Maria, Kim Crawford or the benchmark for all those very popular NZ SB's - the Cloudy Bay, but it comes at a heftier price, around $25 - $30.

[Etherized]

You also might want to try a Vinho Verde. It's a young white wine from Portugal with a nice lemony spritz to it. Sometimes there is a little effervesce to it -- that's OK. You might enjoy it. Another bonus is that it's cheap. Expect to pay 6-8 dollars for a bottle. Look for a 2003 vintage, it is meant to be consumed young. Anything older is probably over the hill by now. Think of it as Portugal's "Nouveau."


[This message has been edited by Etherized (edited 12-24-2003).]

[BaggerVa]

Yes, Yes, Vihno Verde is quite tasty. We consumed copious amounts of the stuff when i was stationed on Terciera, Portugal. Very inexpensive green wines are Casal Garcia which comes in a bluish bottle and label, and Gazela which comes in a plain looking green bottle. They were both very cheap in portugal(2-5 bucks) but with importing fees and all that crap they will probably be more.

[Brom]

White Bordeaux, which are Sauvignon Blanc based.

Italian Gavi.

Many Chardonnay.

I normally would not describe Rieslings as lemony.

[Innkeeper]

Not only in my own experience, but the following is from Michael Schuster's "Essential Winetasting": "Aroma Characteristics: Cool Climates: green apple, lemon, lime; floral/mineral according to soils."

[Brom]

Others' opinions do not change my statement that I would not normally think of rieslings as lemony citrusy. Here's why:

Being a cool climate grape, Riesling has a higher malic acid concentration than grapes such as Chardonnay or Sauvignon Blanc. Malic acid is responsible for the characteristic green apple traits of cold weather Rieslings.

I can't cite you a source offhand. It's just something that I known to be true.

In my experience, this is far more common than lemon aromas/flavors. Moving to spatlese level and above, peach and ripe apple dominate.

You may have noticed that even in the source to which you cite the primary or first characteristic listed is "green apple", which is then followed by lemon and lime. Do you think that could be because green apple is the more common flavor/aroma characteristic?

If you have more experience with New World Rieslings such as CA, OZ and even WA, this may have influenced your view.

[Kcwhippet]

Here we go again. Dr. No returns.

[John Moore]

Yo BROM, You da man in my book.

[Thomas]

Brom is half correct. I have tasted volumes of lemony Riesling, but they had to have been produced in a high-acid, extremely cool climate and they had to have been on the early side of ripening. Seems the tartaric is more prominant under those conditions.

I have an Elbling in the shop that is a dead ringer for lemon/lime.Picpoul de Pinet also gives off that flavor.

[This message has been edited by foodie (edited 12-31-2003).]

[Brom]

"Here we go again. Dr. No returns."

I should change what I "normally think" because it doesn't agree with another's opinion?

I didn't suggest that anyone else's opinons should change, I stated what mine was, gave the reasons for it and gave the scientific background for those reasons.

Get a life KCwhippet. Learn about wine. If you don't want to learn it from me, that's fine, but don't denigrate what you do not understand.

foodie - You will have to point out where and how I am half correct. Bear in mind, I have not said that there cannot be lemony components to riesling and indeed, have asserted that such characteristics are found.

I also should point out, as I have stated, "extremely cool climate[s]" result, not in an abundance of tartaric acid (present in all grape wines), but in a higher concentration of malic acid, the characteristic of which is set forth above.

[Kcwhippet]

Ooooh, a bit testy today.

[Thomas]

Brom, I will not get into a shooting match with you. Suffice to say, you were half correct because you do not take into account nature and its annual variations which bring to the fore separate elements of grape characteristics, as weather effects ripening.

Blanket statements about grape growing (or any growing) are usually too simplistic. And, I had produced Riesling in a cool climate for eight years.

[This message has been edited by foodie (edited 01-01-2004).]

[John Moore]

Brom, You da man! You da man!

[Thomas]

Why John, Spell it out please.