California Riesling

When people hear the word Riesling, they think of  a German white wine.  While that is true, it is also inaccurate to think of Riesling in such a narrow way.  Riesling is a specific grape varietal that is used to produce Riesling wines.  Germany has the first to make a market for these wines going back to the 15th century.  To be absolutely accurate, they produce many different variations of the same varietal.  Each style is based on the level of residual sugar left in the wine when fermentation is complete.  To the consumer this marks the difference between dry, semi-dry, and sweet tasting Riesling wine.  The Alsace region of northern German is best known for a dry style of Riesling while the other styles are more prevalent in the Rhine region. When successfully produced, Riesling wines have a higher than normal acid level making them somewhat crisp and bright fruit flavors such as peach, apple, grapefruit, and pear. 

For years it was believed that the cool climate and the slate and sandy clay soils of Germany were the necessary ingredients to produce a successful Riesling grape for quality wines.  So much so that it was not until the 20th century that Austrians and Australians decided to plant significant acreage in Riesling vines for wine production.  In the late 19th century winegrowers in New York State became the first to successfully grow Riesling vines in the United States.  Their wines were celebrated in the states but did not match favorably with their German counterparts.

Not until the late 20th century did California attempt any serious planting of the Riesling grape.  Unlike the German tradition of chaptalization (adding sugar to the wine must during fermentation in order to increase alcohol levels), the California wine code does not allow this so grapes are left on the vine until sugar levels and acid levels are at the correct level. This code added more risk for California wine growers as the short window for harvesting was problematic. While Californian winemakers have been experimenting in producing top ranked Riesling wines, few have been successful until recently.

In the small California appellation of Temecula Valley in the Southern part of the state, several wineries have been producing Riesling since the 1980s.  The most prominent of late is Falkner Winery where Riesling has been produced since their origination in 2000.  Their semi-dry, very flavorful 2008 Riesling captured a gold medal, best of  South Coast Region and Best of California awards at the recent 2009 California State Fair. Falkners Riesling is about 1.5% residual sugar with just enough sweetness to bring out the bright ripe pear and apple flavors.  The acids balance this Temecula wine very well and provide for a slight crispness that consumers find so desirable.  Falkner Temecula Winery only produces about 400 cases of their Riesling every year so bottles can be difficult to obtain.  Falkner wines sell in their Temecula wine tasting room, on their website of http://FalknerWinery.com and in major Southern California wine shops.  This is a clear sign of where California is headed in the Riesling market and most consumers will be pleased with the result.

Falkner Winery
40620 Calle Contento, Temecula, CA 92591
(951) 676-8231 – Phone | (951) 676-8356 - Fax

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