Dan Berger on Wine by Dan Berger

One of the worst moments in the life of a budding wine lover is when he or she is asked to order the wine at a restaurant for people who know even less about wine than this "expert."

Knowing a bit about wine often qualifies one for this dubious honor, and it is then that Riesling is the last white wine considered.

Most American wine consumers are creatures of habit, and they know that Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc and Pinot Grigio are safe choices when ordering a white wine. They're rarely going to be an embarrassment.

Riesling is the pitfall, the black hole into which the "expert" can easily fall. The reason? Sugar.

Most people have heard that Riesling can be sweet. And a worst-case scenario is for the "expert" to order a wine to accompany the seafood and find out after the wine is poured that it's sweet.

Second on the embarrassment scale is when the orderer knows that a slightly sweet wine is desired, orders a Riesling and then finds out that it's parchingly dry.

For that reason and others, a group of about 20 people met in San Francisco last Friday, Nov. 30, and created what they're calling the International Riesling Foundation. It's an energetic group, each member passionate about the grape they consider the finest white wine grape of them all. Some would remove the word "white" from that last sentence.

Participants approved a set of bylaws, applauded the filing of corporate papers on Nov. 15 in Washington certifying the group as an official 501-c-6 entity, and committed verbally, emotionally and fiscally to see the group flourish.

Three of the initial nine board members (all unpaid) are Jim Trezise of the New York State Wine and Grape Foundation, Washington attorney and winery co-owner Coke Roth, and me.

Already actively supporting the group are wineries from Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Washington, Oregon, California, Michigan, New York and Germany.

"I think this idea is brilliant," said Jim Berneau of Willamette Valley Vineyards in Oregon. "The timing is perfect."

"Riesling is THE grape in our area," said Ed O'Keefe of Michigan's Chateau Grand Traverse, "and everyone is planting it. And this organization will get us out of competing with each other and make us work together to educate the consumer." "There is great interest in the aromatic (grape) varieties in New Zealand," said David Strada, that country's U.S.

wine marketing executive. "Our wineries want very much to be involved in anything that supports aromatic varieties."

Chateau Ste. Michelle wine maker Bob Bertheau was the most enthusiastic: "We may be the single greatest benefactor since we make more (Riesling) than anyone else." The Washington winery made more than 800,000 cases of Riesling in 2006 and close to 900,000 cases in 2007.

Bertheau added that the group ought to focus on quality as well as consumer education.

During the three-hour formation meeting, all in attendance (as well as five persons on a conference call) agreed that one of key goals of the foundation ought to be devising a strategy to inform consumers of a simple way to tell if a Riesling is dry, off-dry, slightly sweet or very sweet.

Another goal is to actively promote Riesling as an accompaniment to food and to encourage wine shop owners and restaurants to carry and promote Riesling as an alternative to other wines.

Two additional foundation meetings have already been scheduled, including one to coincide with an industry technical conference in January and another at a Riesling conference that Ste. Michelle will host next July.

Another goal of the group is to define terms used to describe Rieslings made in different locations in the world, and thus to elevate Riesling from a contest that linearly ranks the wines on a good-better-best scale but rather recognizes the diversity of Rieslings from differing locations and praises their regional identities.

Another goal is to develop a Web site that will have easy-to-understand information about Riesling in a tiered structure so everyone from newcomers all the way to wine experts can have a central location for information about this most intriguing of grape varieties.

One attendee to last Friday's conference said that if a slogan were needed, he proposed, with apologies to pork producers, "Riesling, the other white wine."

It's not a bad thought — many Rieslings go nicely with pork dishes.

Wine of the Week: 2006 Leasingham Riesling, Clare Valley ($16) — A classic example of the Australian style of Riesling with lime, bright flowery notes, and a classic crispness from superb acidity. A bone-dry style of wine that calls for seafood to accompany it. And it will age nicely.

Dan Berger resides in Sonoma County, Calif. Berger publishes a weekly newsletter on wine and can be reached at danberger@VintageExperiences.com. To find out more about Dan Berger and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate Web page at www.creators.com.

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