My New Favorite White Wine

Chehalem, Reserve Dry Riesling 2003 -- Willamette Valley, Oregon. I have never been a student, nor a fan of Rieslings, but I recently rounded several up for my cousin's husband from San Francisco who was buying wine for my Aunt's Christmas party. I had been given this one recently by a rep to taste and broke it out on this cold, snowy night to see what all the fuss was about. In my readings on wine recently, I had perceived that among wine aficionados Riesling was the King of Whites, probably because it was unapproachable. Like those girls in high school. Like that "barnyard" nose in certain French wines.

I liked the steely fruit nose and balanced taste and structure, and it opened up as I left the bottle on the counter and continued to sample. I can't say that I would enjoy this all evening like I would a Cab or a Malbec or a Shiraz (ones you can curl up with for hours on a cold night), but as a starter or with food, it would be perfect. So, is this my new favorite white wine? Maybe?

That reminds me of the time my six year old daughter, out of nowhere, turned to me in the car several years ago and looked at me with those huge blue eyes and blonde curls and said warmly, "Dad...., you know, you are my best friend." My heart melted and I smiled back and said how sweet that was. Just think, I am my little girl's best friend! How cool and great is that! And then she smiled back at me and said, "Dad...., I have a lot of best friends!" ........Oh.

Well, I have a lot of favorite wines!