Riesling comes full circle

Riesling, the wine that put Washington State on the map, has come full circle. Chateau Ste. Michelle Winery, based in Woodinville, Washington, gained national recognition when its 1972 Johannisburg Riesling won a blind tasting of 19 Rieslings in a competition sponsored by the Los Angeles Times in 1974. The variety, which would become the workhorse for Washington, was widely planted and was the number-one variety in the state in the early 1980s—in part because the variety is well suited to Washington’s cool nights and survives its cold winters. But before the decade ended, Riesling became a tough sell, and many […]