Learning to Taste Wine: Riesling Tasting Notes

Pacific Rim offers a number of Riesling choices, but if you’re unfamiliar with this type of wine, you may wonder about the taste profile of this popular choice. Any wine’s taste profile is created from the color, flavors, aromas, and structure of the wine itself, and a Riesling taste profile is unlike any other. What Riesling tasting notes will you notice when you try a Pacific Rim option? Take a look. 

A History of Riesling Wines

Riesling wines originated in Germany. The first options came from the Rheingau, Pflaz, and Mosel areas. They have a unique off-dry feel along with a high level of acidity. They’re also very aromatic and offer intense minerality. 

Understanding Riesling Varieties

You can find Riesling varieties in many different flavors and a complete range of sweetness. Some like a riesling as a dessert wine while others prefer it as a very dry option. The variety found here depends on how early or late the grape harvest takes place for a particular type. Under-ripe grapes that are harvested early have low residual sugars, which makes the wine fairly dry. Later harvests mean sweeter Rieslings. 

You can find a number of colors with this type of wine. Pale straw is probably the lightest color available while a deep gold means it comes from a warmer region or that it’s an older vintage. Rieslings are unique in the fact that they’re one white wine that can actually age for quite some time.  

Riesling Flavor Notes

The flavor notes here are just as diverse. Some come through with strong fruit flavors while others include floral or herbal flavors. In most cases, the fruit flavors in a Riesling comes from citrus fruits like lemons and limes or stone fruits like peaches and apricots. In some cases, you’ll find tropical notes like pineapple. Spice notes in wines usually come from where the wine ages. Vanilla notes, for example, come from wines that are aged in oak. Rieslings, however, tend to mature in stainless steel tanks, which means you won’t usually find those spice notes. 

Serving Riesling

Riesling is a wine you’ll want to chill before you serve it. It should be between 45 and 55 degrees fahrenheit. Many foods work well with riesling. It pairs well with spicy and salty foods as well as seafood and pork dishes. Sweet Rieslings tend to work well with desserts that feature fruit. 

Interested in tasting the diversity a Riesling can bring to your wine cellar? Shop our complete selection now.