Wine Peeps is an independent wine blog dedicated to helping you get the most bang for your buck in wine. We do this through blind tastings of wine from around the world and calculations of 
Private Tasting: Washington Riesling
By Kori ~ July 7th, 2008.
With summer upon us, we find ourselves drinking more white wines than we usually do. We recently had another one of our double-blind private tastings. This time when we sat down for dinner, all we knew were that the two wines were white, but we did not know their region of origin or varietal. For a more complete description of how we set up these private tastings, please refer back to my Private Tasting: Rioja post from February.
During dinner, one of these wines really stood out. All four of us Wine Peeps preferred it over the other wine. When we finished eating and pulled off the sacks to reveal what we had been drinking, we found two Rieslings from Washington State. The 2006 Poet’s Leap Riesling had easily beaten the 2006 Icicle Ridge White Riesling.
Poet’s Leap is one of the wineries in the Long Shadows Vintners group. Long Shadows is a coterie of wineries located in the Columbia Valley. Long Shadows brings some of the most highly acclaimed winemakers from different regions around the world to Washington to make world-class wines comparable to the wines they make in their native wine regions. The winemaker for Poet’s Leap is Armin Diel who is one of Germany’s most acclaimed Riesling producers.
Armin Diel has done an excellent job with this Riesling. If you are looking for an excellent summer white, I encourage you to pick up a bottle of Poet’s Leap.
2006 Poet’s Leap Riesling [Long Shadows] (Columbia Valley, Washington): Elegant floral aromas give way to flavors of peaches and grapefruit on the palate. Off-dry and well-balanced with crisp acidity and a nice finish.
Quality: 4 stars (out of 5)
QPR: 4 bangs for your buck (out of 5)
Where to buy: Pete’s Wine Shop (Seattle), $18.69, Available elsewhere, $16 to $24
2006 Icicle Ridge White Riesling (Washington State): Pears and apples on the nose. Tastes a lot like white grape juice. Semi-sweet and a bit syrupy.
Quality: 2.5 stars (out of 5)
QPR: NR (not recommended)
Where to buy: Winery, $21.50
Filed under: American Wine, Riesling, Washington State Wine, White Wine, Wines NOT To Buy (1 & 2 Star), Wines Under $20, Wines Under $25
