Riesling is good for you. Here’s why, according to Walter Gehringer: “Riesling has an acidity that really stimulates the salivary glands. Somewhere in our lives we were all told to chew our food 40 times before you swallow, to grind it up with your teeth to aid your digestion.” It turns out that the real reason has nothing to do with grinding up food but more to do with keeping it in your mouth long enough to release an enzyme that helps break the food down properly. “Riesling stimulates that enzyme flow; you can maintain your poor chewing practices and still get the benefit of a proper digestion.” Therefore, the only real food wine out there is Riesling.
“Perhaps Sauvignon Blanc and Chenin Blanc can do it too,” says Walter with a smile. Since Gehringer Brothers produce five kinds of Riesling, it’s easy to tell where they have placed their allegiance. The full Gehringer line up of Rieslings, from driest to sweetest, include the Dry Riesling, Private Reserve Riesling, Classic Riesling, Late Harvest Riesling and Riesling Icewine. The Dry Riesling and Classic Riesling are the same base wine. The Private Reserve Riesling was the very first wine in the Private Reserve series and is from a separate block on the property.
So how is the 2012 vintage of Riesling looking? “2012 was a cliff-hanger. Riesling turned out quite well this year. We could have picked a little earlier, but flavour-wise I’m extremely happy.” Of course in winemaking, it’s all about flavour. The flavours in the grapes developed at about the same time the acids dropped. “And then it was a matter of harvesting quickly after that.”
Check out the full range of the ultimate food wine, Riesling, from Gehringer Brothers soon!
~ Luke Whittall