Selbach-Oster Zeltinger Himmelreich Riesling – Tasty with Thai

I thought I would try a different approach for this review. No blind tasting, no sitting at my computer studiously taking notes about the wine. Instead I took this wine out into the world and tasted it with an appropriate dinner (while studiously taking notes on my phone).

Some people may say that’s the wrong way to taste a wine for a review, while others will proclaim it’s the only way to taste a wine. After all, context is a major factor in how a wine shows up. How often do you actually drink a wine without enjoying some food along with it or without having conversation with friends? There is always some context to how you taste a wine. And in this case, my context is different than it usually is for writing reviews. That’s not necessarily good or bad, but I wanted you to have that context for reading the review.

I took the wine to dinner at a Thai/sushi restaurant called Asiana in Cincinnati, OH. It’s a small place that I used to frequent, but hadn’t been there in a while. They don’t serve wine, but they do allow BYOB and don’t charge a corking fee – making it a great place for a cheap date.

I knew what I was going to have before we left the house, Tofu Pad Thai and Crab Rangoon. Knowing that I like a touch of heat in my Pad Thai, I figured this wine would be a good choice. Riesling often goes well with Thai food and as a “halbtrocken” this one has a touch of sweetness with plays off the spiciness of the food well. It also went well with the fried Crab Rangoon.

While I’m glad I tasted this wine along well-paired food, I have to admit it was slightly challenging to study the wine closely with all the food aromas in the restaurant. Nonetheless, I think I got a pretty good read on it.

The nose has some of the typical floral and lychee aromas you often find on a good riesling, along with some peach aromas. The palate has a bright acidity and that touch of sweetness I expected, offering flavors such as green apple, peach and lemon. The mouthfeel is nice. It finishes long with lemon and green apple flavors that last forever.

It’s a tasty wine and was a good choice for Thai food.

The wine comes from Selbach-Oster, a Mosel, Germany based producer known for their riesling. And this is just one of many different rieslings they produce.

Wine: Selbach-Oster Zeltinger Himmelreich Riesling
Variety: Riesling
Vintage: 2012
Alcohol: 11%
Rating: 90
Price: $20.00
Disclosure: This wine was received as a media sample.

Find Selbach-Oster Zeltinger Himmelreich Riesling with Snooth