Comments on: Riesling: How Sweet It Is?

By: 1educatedpalate

1educatedpalate — Thu, 14 Feb 2013 22:00:41 +0000

Bruce, you brought up a good question. I am of the opinion most U.S. wine drinkers know what their palate likes and will continue to purchase the wines they have enjoyed in the past. “Dumbing” down for the consumer is probably not going to be effective long term. Indication of sweetness or acid, like “tasting notes” (if any) on the back label are simply ineffective. We all have a different palate. Let me put it this way… it’s is simply a marketing tool and nothing more. Show me otherwise with data other than the Genome Project (Constellation Wines) which might prove my point anyway.

By: Bruce Savage

Bruce Savage — Sun, 14 Oct 2012 23:06:37 +0000

Good article. But still…I’m looking at four bottles of Riesling. Dr L – no indication of sweetness. St. Gabriel Auslese has the little scale on the back that shows it between semi sweet and sweet. Gunderloch “Diva” – no indication of sweetness. Zilliken Forstmeister Geltz – no indication of sweetness.
One out of four. And your article mentioned Dr Loosen. Yet Dr L says nothing. Don’t these producers want people to buy their wines?

By: NicoRiesling

NicoRiesling — Thu, 18 Feb 2010 13:31:33 +0000

Frank,

Thank you for giving our wines a try. Our Chenin Blanc has the taste scale as well (thinking Vouvray/Chenin). As a matter of fact all our wines do.

By: NicoRiesling

NicoRiesling — Thu, 18 Feb 2010 13:29:25 +0000

Mike,

Not sure I am that good, but would be a pleasure to help out.

By: Christian Miller

Christian Miller — Thu, 18 Feb 2010 01:27:53 +0000

Sweetness as a supposed consumer turn-off is a complicated issue. Perception of and appreciation of sweetness vary widely among consumers and don’t necessarily correlate. FWIW, the terms used in the sweetness scale were tested for relative positioning on a representative sample of core wine consumers. Then there’s the problem that many writers and trade members have been telling consumers for decades that sweet wines don’t go with food (another canard). But which is “worse”: telling people the wine is sweet and losing some customers who don’t want that taste, or not telling them and having them try it and dislike the wine AND distrust its producer or purveyor?

By: Frank

Frank — Wed, 17 Feb 2010 21:50:41 +0000

OK, great. We recently opened a bottle of Pacific Rim with some slightly spicy food, and it went very well – just what the label said.

Now, can someone please do the same thing with Vouvray?

By: Mike Veseth

Mike Veseth — Wed, 17 Feb 2010 21:41:14 +0000

I think this is very interesting. My first reaction is that the PG drinker is a different creature from a Riesling drinker, especially at the introductory level.

My second thought is that as a NZ producer your customers are coming to PG from Sauvignon Blanc whereas here in the US they are probably going to Riesling from Chardonnay, with its typical oak. I am thinking that the SB/PG transition is friendlier than the C/R move. But I’m an economist not a sommelier, so no one should pay much attention to my ideas on taste transitions, I suppose.

By: kirk bray

kirk bray — Wed, 17 Feb 2010 20:03:53 +0000

poor Riesling, this problem doesnt seem to have affected Pinot Gris nearly as much whose sugar levels are equally all over the place.
at Sandihurst, we use the IRF scale here but are possilby the only winery in New Zealand to do so. the customers like it but critics argue that labelling your wine as ‘sweet’ is a real turn-off.
any thoughts?

By: Christian G.E. Schiller

Christian G.E. Schiller — Wed, 17 Feb 2010 15:24:50 +0000

There is a lot of confusion among wine consumers about the sweetness of grapes and the sweetness of finished wine. Typically, the sugar in the grape disappears during fermentation and turns into alcohol. To make a Riesling wine sweet, requires additional efforts, in the cellar or by mother nature. See more about it here:

http://schiller-wine.blogspot.com/2010/01/german-wine-basics-sugar-in-grape.html

By: Mike Veseth

Mike Veseth — Wed, 17 Feb 2010 15:24:23 +0000

I may take you up on your offer, Nicolas. I am the worst proof-reader of my own work.