WSU Blended Learning Viticulture and Enology 2012 Dry Riesling, Yakima Valley, $25
Thomas Henick-Kling, director of viticulture and enology at Washington State University, has roots in Germany, and they show in this dry Riesling that’s the first wine bottled by his students. A product of Lonesome Spring Vineyard and Olsen Vineyard, its aromatic profile focus on Key lime, Granny Smith apple and pineapple. Inside, it’s bright and nicely crisp with more lime and apple, backed by an undertone of orange with a slaty texture. There’s no hint of sweetness at a paltry 0.27% residual sugar. Henick-Kling and his students unveiled their screwcapped bottle last summer in Wenatchee for WSU boosters and poured it at the North Central Washington Wine Awards gala. At this point, the wine is being sold at the WSU Connections store in Seattle and at the WSU Visitor Center in Pullman, but it may soon be available online.
Rating: Excellent
Production: 275 cases
Alcohol: 12.7%
Hard to omit mention of Chehelam Riesling in nay such listing. Harry Nedry-Petersen made this , in my opinion, the ultimate in a dry , yet luscious version, more Austrian style than the boring sweet,”same old, Same old” versions more typical in the NW. While nice, I think /Eroica is overrated and a little overpriced-doesn;t touch Harry’s product!
Hi, Robert.
The Eroica is not mentioned here, either. As we indicated, these were Rieslings we’ve tasted in the past few weeks. Chehalem’s was not among those.
That said, we did review Chehalem’s 2011 Three Vineyards Riesling last fall – and loved it:
https://greatnorthwestwine.com/2013/10/11/chehalem-wines-2011-three-vineyards-riesling-willamette-valley-24/
Greetings Robert,
Andy & I remain huge fans and supporters of Chehalem Wines.
Perhaps you are unaware, but I wrote the profile of Chehalem Wines for the current issue of Wine Press Northwest, in which Chehalem was presented as Oregon Winery of the Year for 2014.
http://www.winepressnw.com/2014/03/11/2874609/2014-oregon-winery-of-the-year.html?sp=/99/1644/1668/
Harry Peterson-Nedry long has been one of my go-to winemakers for insight and history on many topics, and I’ve enjoyed interviewing Wynne during the past couple of years.
Chehalem is indeed a fascinating winery on many levels — including Riesling — and we look forward to watching how the next chapter is written.
I’d be curious to know which Riesling produced by Chehalem is your favorite, the SEXT or the Three Vineyard?