A Summer of Riesling in San Diego

Every Monday I have a tasting group where I meet with several sommeliers from San Diego and we practice blind tasting.  One of my colleagues is Tami Wong, wine director at the La Valencia Hotel in La Jolla.  About a month ago she came to the tasting super excited about signing up for the Summer of Riesling program.  It immediately sparked an interest in me.

The Summer of Riesling is a summer long event started by Paul Grieco of Terroir Wine Bar in New York.  Paul is a crusader for Riesling and what once began as a rash decision one summer has spread countrywide.  In the summer of 2008 Paul felt that people were not drinking enough Riesling.  So in a totalitarian way, he removed all his whites on his by the glass list and replaced them with Riesling!  What the “F”?  If I were to do that here in San Diego people would stop dining with us.  But Paul is in New York, and he can do as he wishes.  Well it worked.  The next year others followed suit.  Today there are over 500 restaurants, wine bars and retail shops serving Riesling all summer long.  Not everyone is going to the extremes of removing all whites, but they are serving at least 4 Rieslings by the glass.

I was excited to jump aboard.  I love Riesling because it is so diverse and there is a style for every wine drinker.  Working with food all day, Riesling just makes sense.  I always have a hard time pairing Chef Deborah’s food with wine because it is so out there.  Some dishes have so many components that a perfect pairing is very daunting.  She loves her spice and dishes like the Skirt Steak Salad in C-Level is down right HOT! Well, Riesling is my saving grace.  It is so versatile with its high acidity and residual sugar, there isn’t anything I cannot pair with Riesling.  It is one of the few white wines that I can even pair with a steak at Island Prime.

So this summer, I am excited to promote Riesling to San Diegans.  Imagine sitting in this patio, sipping on Riesling all summer long! TAKE THE VIRTUAL TOUR HERE.  This is what I have up my sleeves for the Summer of Riesling:

• Throughout the summer we will be serving 4 Riesling by the glass: (more…)