Ribbon Ridge Estate Dry Riesling: Trisaetum

I understand “normal” people like to drink sweet wines in the summer.  I am not “normal.”  About this time every year, I go scrounging around my wine rack for a bottle of leftover summer wine that I can drink while I eat the Butterfinger minis I hid at Halloween.  (Seriously, I know everyone does it.)

This bottle was sitting on the shelf from a blind tasting I’d gone to a month or two earlier.  It was a “guess the varietal” tasting and I’d failed miserably.  I never would have guessed in a million years this wine was a Riesling. 

I think I labeled this one as a Sauvignon Blanc. 

I like European wines.  I have a soft spot on my pallet for German Riesling.  This isn’t anything like the German Rieslings I’ve come to love.

The nose is specifically citrus and a touch of mineral.  The overwhelming flowery sweetness of most Rieslings is specifically missing.

The flavor matches the nose – lots of citrus: lemon, lime, maybe a touch of grapefruit.  You can pick up on a bit of flower, but not much.  Then there’s a touch of mineral and a light, balanced acidic follow through.

It’s absolutely beautiful.

I spent right at $20 for this bottle.  It’s the top of our price range, but worth it.  I’ve seen it listed for up to $38.  My favorite local shop is where I got it so you won’t find it on your normal grocery store shelf.

The winery is outside of Portland, Oregon.  I’m discovering my Euro-snobby wine pallet is discovering more and more wines from that region that I enjoy.  The sweeter whites have a nice complexity to them I don’t find in California wines.  And the red Pinot Noirs are just heavy enough to keep me interested.

So break out your hidden Halloween candy and find yourself a bottle of this wine.  You know that candy won’t last forever.