Tasting - Schmitt Söhne Dry Riesling

 Name: Schmitt Söhne Dry Riesling

Variety: Riesling
Region: Mosel, Germany
Country: Germany
Year: 2020
Price: $11.99

Wine critic review: 
"Squirts of grapefruit pith and fresh lemon introduce this dry, pleasantly puckering Riesling. Light bodied but pleasantly silky in texture, it's an uncomplicated but bright-fruited white that would accompany seafood pasta or oysters on the half shell nicely." (Anna Lee C. Iijima)

Wine Folly: 
pg 158 - Riesling

Rieslings are capable of producing wines at a wide variety of sweetness to dryness from bone-dry to very sweet making the results very diverse. Common flavors are listed as line and green apple, as well as beeswax, jasmine, and petroleum. Mosel (where the tasted wine originated) is listed as a popular location for Riesling growing.

pg 253 - Germany

Germany is known for single -variety wines which all started with the growing of Riesling grapes, and is now the top producer. The climate is also good for "light reds and aromatic whites". Germany now places a focus on developing organic and biodymanic wines. Most of the wine in Germany is grown in the Southwestern part and the 13 wine regions are called anbaugebiete. Two of these regions, separate from the rest (Sachsen and Saalen-Unstrut) are known for their Pinot Blanc.

My review: 
The smell immediately reminded me of pears and apples,with strong citrus smells (I felt it to be lime, but the bottle claims lemon flavors) and floral aromas. I could practically feel the acidity in my nose when I smelled it; I would describe the smell as "sharp". Upon tasting the most prominent feature is the acidity, which is very high. The wine is pretty which with the acidity left my mouth feeling dry. There was less pear and more apple in the mouth, a sharp green apple being the most prominent flavor. There was also a mineral and slightly floral quality to the wine. The aftertaste was quite subtle and did not last long, though the dry feeling did linger.

I enjoyed the glass with a cannoli I had gotten early from Halwa bakery. The sweetness of the cannoli filling and the creaminess of the ricotta paired excellently with the dryness of the wine. I very recently discovered that cheese and apples were good together (after my first time at the Melting Pot) and this was true for this pairing as well. The acidity of the green apples was very well complimented by the ricotta cheese. The chocolate chips were also a good addition to the flavors, though I don't think chocolate makes anything worse. Overall, the flavors blended nicely and the combination made them both better.