As Eric Asimov admits near the opening of this article, the wine press, like so much else, is predictably seasonal, and now is the time to praise white wines. In this case, it's German Riesling, to my dismay. He coyly observes while writing a feature article on the subject that it is "enjoyed passionately by a relatively small number of consumers who seemingly can't decide whether to rejoice in the mainstream neglect, which keeps prices reasonable, or despair in having to forge their own path in an oaky, vanilla, fruit cocktail white wine kind of world." What on earth is he talking about? In the past 5-10 years, I've seen prices on solid wines by top producers rise considerably, going from a base of about $12-20 for a kabinett (toward the lower end) or spätlese (near and slightly past the upper) for a bottle worth holding, to maybe $18-25. Of course the true top rank were always out of my range--it'll be a rare day when I find myself with an Egon Müller Scharzhofberger Trockenbeerenauslese in my hand--but still, the trend has been anything but positive.
So: shut up, Eric Asimov. That indecision you are so charmed by? Your imagination. I want my fellow Americans to think that the Australians have made box wine respectable. I want them to think, "Riunite on ice, that's nice." I want people to think that Liebfraumilch is the apotheosis of German wine and for Terry Thiese (what a photograph, what a page) to barely eke out a living, to need to work a second job in order to continue his imports. If you must talk about the wines, tell people about Rieslings from California, or Washington state--pleasant, fruity, inoffensive stuff that no one gets excited about. Keep them away from the Finger Lakes and the Rheingau, dammit. The last thing I want is for it to catch on, become more popular and prices to rise higher, then fall out of fashion as an (already large) glut of inferior stuff floods the market. The end stage would be when someone ordering a Mosel kabinett gets treated with the sort of contempt currently reserved for Merlot drinkers. Which reminds me: has pinot noir suffered any post-Sideways backlash, or is its stock still rising? And should I open that 1996 JJ Prüm Wehlener Sonnenuhr Auslese soon, or let it wait a bit more?
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