LCBO Food & Drink Autumn 2015

BRUSH ASIDE ANY PRECONCEPTIONS ABOUT RIESLING— NIAGARA WINEMAKERS SHARE WHY THIS VARIETAL EXCELS IN ONTARIO—PLUS WE LET YOU IN ON 10 ICONIC BOTTLES SO GOOD THEY MUST BE TASTED TO BE BELIEVED. GRAPE EXPECTATIONS BY JAMES CHATTO  •  PHOTOGRAPHY BY JAMES TSE

RIESLING IS NIAGARA’S IDEAL GRAPE. It loves our climate—gorgeous in warm years, even better when it’s cool. It runs the gamut from racy bubbly to luxe icewine, covering the infinity of styles in be- tween. No other grape expresses the precise place where it grows so purely, and yet Riesling is no cha- meleon—it can’t help but be true to itself. Like a great actor performing Shakespeare—the poetry is perfectly interpreted but it’s always the actor’s voice. There’s no need to dress it up with oak. It’s

all a matter of balancing the grape’s natural ring- ing acidity with its own ripe sweetness. Ferment it bone dry (as you would Chardonnay) and Ries- ling’s too tart and austere. Leave just enough sugar to balance the acid and the wine lights up—bright, intense and refreshing. And that hint of sweetness makes it amazingly food-friendly, both in its youth and also 20 years on. No wonder Niagara Riesling now has an international reputation! Forgive us for tooting our trumpet, but it really is wonderful wine.

A NOBLE HERITAGE Riesling evolved in Germany’s Rhineland, though no one knows when. The first written reference dates from March 13, 1435, when one Klaus Kleinfisch bought 22 shillings worth of “Riesling” vine cuttings on behalf of his master, Count Johann IV von Katzenelnbogen. Anyone who has ever struggled with the names on German wine labels will appreciate this heritage. From then on, only white Burgundy (made from Chardonnay) has challenged Riesling’s pre-eminence as the world’s great white wine.

VINEYARD IMAGE COURTESY OF REIF WINERY; PHOTO OPPOSITE SHOT ON LOCATION AT CIBO WINE BAR, TORONTO

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