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.
Not to
really beat this one over the head, but an article in the new Summer 2012 issue
of Winepress Northwest confirms: “The Pacific Northwest is Riesling country.” 
The
magazine tasted 130 Rieslings (only 35 of which, like ours, with a residual
sugar percentage under 1) from the Pacific Northwest. Only eight of them were
from the Yakima Valley. 
If your
dad, like mine, enjoys a glass of wine (or two) ((with his Jack Daniels))… which
one do you uncork for him?
TMW got an LA Times travel section cutout headlined “THE SECRET IS OUT” (at least, the Californians are finally figuring it out…) about Chelan as a secret Washington State escape. But hey, shoutout to the North West! We love the love, and it’s always nice to see Washington wines get a little interstate attention.
