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 
A Wine for Tonight: 2010 Pacific Rim Riesling
By Kori ~ March 17th, 2011.
Would you like a quick suggestion for a good wine to drink tonight (or this weekend) that won’t break your budget and is widely available? Many of our readers have said this is something they would like, so here is this week’s selection, the 2010 Pacific Rim Riesling from the Columbia Valley of Washington State.
Our selection criteria include:
- A very good Quality rating of >=3.5 stars (out of 5)
- A price tag of <=$15
- Must be widely available
Pacific Rim Winery, located in West Richland, Washington, is almost exclusively a Riesling producer. The first Pacific Rim Riesling was produced in 1992 as a brand within Bonny Doon Vineyard in Santa Cruz, California, and used grapes from California, Washington, and Germany. In 2007, Randall Grahm decided to downsize Bonny Doon and spun off Pacific Rim as a stand-alone winery dedicated to Riesling. The entire Pacific Rim operation relocated to Washington State with general manager and winemaker Nicolas Quillé running the operation. In January, Pacific Rim was sold to the Mariani family of New York, which owns Banfi Vintners. Pacific Rim consistently produces good wines at great prices that are widely available. Annual production at Pacific Rim is about 160,000 cases with about 90 percent being Riesling.
“Portraying bright crispness, subtle sweetness and aromas of jasmine, pear and apple, the wine exemplifies the harmony of Riesling. The sweetness plays wonderfully with fiery fare (from Thai to Mexican), while the natural acidity stands up to richer foods (from French to German).†–Nicolas Quillé, winemaker
2010 Pacific Rim Riesling (Columbia Valley, Washington): Pale straw yellow in color. Very aromatic with fresh aromas of lemon, citrus, and pear. Lemon meringue pie as well as citrus and pear flavors show through on the palate. Off-dry, medium-bodied and crisp with a long, refreshing finish. Residual Sugar: 2.3%
Quality: 3.5 stars (out of 5)
QPR: 5 bangs for your buck (out of 5)
Where to buy: Received as sample, suggested retail $10; Available elsewhere, $12 to $13
Filed under: A Wine for Tonight, American Wine, Five-Bangs For Your Buck Wines, Riesling, Washington State Wine, White Wine, Wines Under $10, Wines Under $15, Wines Under $20, Wines Under $25
* A very good Quality rating of >=3.5 stars (out of 5)
* A price tag of <=$15
* Must be widely available
Thanks for sharing this very affordable wine. Is this available online?
WhiteWineExp,
Yes, it is available online. Follow the “Available elsewhere” link. Cheers!
I’ve just started comparing Rieslings from not Germany with those from everywhere. Interesting – but I can’t put my finger on it.