Father’s Day Wine: A Case for Riesling

If your dad, like mine, enjoys a glass of wine (or two) ((with his Jack Daniels))… which one do you uncork for him?

If you’re the type to take every clichéd piece of advice out there on the internet, you would choose a big, bold Cabernet Sauvignon. Quite logical indeed, these wines are intense, full-bodied, often better with age, typically posses hints of oak and cigar, and usually rich (or at least in comparison to say, a broke, recent college graduate with a car payment due…) You could very well be describing the old guy in a shade of burgundy.    

But because at Two Mountain we’ve always been the type to go against the grain, and our dads wouldn’t expect anything less of us, we’d like to make a case for Riesling:

Since its introduction to the world of wine, Riesling has taken a “tenacious foothold” in today’s modern market (becoming Washington State’s most planted grape, among other indicators).

It has incredible versatility, ranging from one extreme (dry Rieslings like ours, with only .2% residual sugar) to another (responsible for some of the best dessert wines in the world), from light bodied to full, pale yellow to golden—allowing it to express a broad range of characteristics that many varietals are unable to.

You can pair a Riesling with just about any dish—Asian foods, pulled pork, guacamole…. and on, and on. In the same way, you can pair a Riesling with just about any type of dad—Sean Connery, Ned, or otherwise.

Yes, Rieslings are highly aromatic—fruit, flower, and a bit of minerality—but not perfumy. And most Rieslings are not aged, but instead drunk young. Which could weaken my argument, except:

Riesling has been described as “the finest example of the important complementary role that sugar and acid play in wine’s overall balance.”

And if Dads teach us anything, it is to be strong when we are weak, to believe in ourselves when we don’t, and to fix things when they are broken. Balance, steady-headedness, and the virtue of temperance (…if fatherhood was like wine consumption…?) all in one symbolic little glass.

We think gratitude is in a crisp, refreshing Riesling. And if you forgot to buy him a card on the way over, have its hue be your thank you: let him drink his gold medal.