Our Wine Choice: Ravines Riesling Finger Lakes White Springs 2020

Our Wine Choice this week is an answer to what I call Riesling High Anxiety. There are still plenty of consumers around who feel hesitant about dry riesling. And that’s understandable, because if you pick an anonymous bottle off the shelf, then you might well be disappointed.

On the other hand, if you follow our recommendations then you’ll encounter dry rieslings that offer some of the best value for the money on Planet Wine. This is because the recent improvement in wine quality in the regions where riesling is produced often far outpace the increase in wine prices. Why didn’t everyone switch on to that?

The most common cause of Riesling High Anxiety is doubt as to whether the wine will be dry or actually a bit sweet. There’s also widespread apprehension that these wines could just be plain tart or sour. However, a sea change in global consumer preferences means that today most rieslings are dry, and climate change has made acid-bomb wines a rarity.

The next common consumer concern is if the wine will be thin and/or characterless. The truth is that when a dry riesling is made from grapes with optimum ripeness (and modest yield) and then is expertly crafted, the wine will  combine concentration with fantastic harmony. Those words exactly describe Our Wine Choice.

The Ravines Riesling Finger Lakes White Springs 2020 is from one of the best-ever vintages of the Finger Lakes region in upstate New York, on the U.S. eastern seaboard. I love the tropical delicacy of the nose as much as the very chalky, dry and silky finish. This properly dry white wine is concentrated and focused, yet subtle and precise. That makes you want to drink it right away, but it will surely age magnificently.

Food pairing is not our business, because personal preferences and habits play such a huge role in determining what works best for you. Dry riesling is not always the great all-arounder at the dining table some riesling fans say it is, but in this case the wine is so polished it really lives up to that claim. And with a cellar-door price of $24.95 and retailing at under $30 in the U.S., it’s a bargain.

– Stuart Pigott, Senior Editor