Martin Tesch

Today in NYC two of the biggest wine shows came to town, both located at the same time at different ends of the city. Now knowing that Riesling is a white, lower alcohol wine, you may prefer to visit Riesling producers first and leave the more alcoholic, more red varietal Spanish wine for last.

Then again, you might be influenced by the way experts taste in Burgundy, which is red first and then white.

I was able to have an early, more private tasting and seminar with Martin Tesch, whom I met a few years back when Wines of Germany organized a tour. Then - as today - he brought with him glass jars containing the various soils of his appellation.
 

Riesling fans know it is the soil that makes the wine ... last week I blind tasted five Rieslings, each from a different region of the world, and can attest that soil as well as climate are the keys to putting the correct Riesling in its region. Today Mr. Tesch spoke about secrets of keeping balance with a low acidity (it's all about skin contact) and the curious news that international rock stars are now demanding Riesling on their world tours. Perhaps it has something to do with "rock" and roll.

Sherri Weiss Poall from Wines of Germany had one of the most popular tables at the Riesling event - the table was called 1990's - a Decade of Great Rieslings and it feautred Weingut Heitlinger, Baden 1994 Burg Ravensburg Husarenkappe, Braun Nierstein 1996 Riesling Auslese, Weingut Dr. Loosen 1991 Riesling Spatlese, Domanenweingut Schloss Schonborn 1997 Spatlese Riesling, Weingut Max Ferd Richter  1990 Spatlese, and Weingut Okonomierat Schmitt 1990 Spatlese. All were excellent examples of the magic that happens when you have a balanced, aged Riesling.z

For the record, the new trend is doing away with the Gothic letters and making German Rieslings more fun and approachable. The challenge is making the German wine laws more uniform - we will see.

Meanwhile, the Spanish tasting was held in a space near the Museum of Natural History. Excellent showings of whites and reds, and I stopped to steak to a few producers in detail. Javier Banales Vanes from Bodega Otazu always has excellent wines from his Navarra estate. As you can see, the rose (made from Merlot!) was a gorgeous color.
 

javiar Banales