Why not start with a Clean Slate?

Clean Slate Riesling (2007)
Origin: Germany (Mosel)

Price: $12

With this past Saturday being riesling and gewurztraminer night with the wine club, here we have my top choice of the night. Since it was originally down at the other end of the table, I didn't get to try this wine until later in the evening, but once I tried it, I wished I would have just skipped the others and started out with this one in the first place.

As bright as sunshine after a snowfall, I was instantly awakened with just one sip of this riesling. It's simply bursting with juicy green apple, pear and maybe a bit of peach and lemon. It has a very crisp, fresh quality with good acidity and some mineral notes on the finish. Most importantly, it rates high on the drinkability scale but at the same time, it's not overly sweet. Unfortunately, some rieslings out there are so sweet that they taste like pure grape juice. That's not my idea of wine.

Asian cuisine is always a great companion to a fantastic riesling. This weekend I had sushi with this one, but Thai and riesling also marry extremely well. Take a hint.