Misunderstood and Delicious

Question: How do you take a wine that is mostly misunderstood, with a stodgy image, and incredibly difficult to market?

Answer: Price it at $10, give is a modern package, put it in the hands of the Gallo marketing machine, and stand back.

I love Riesling, but it’s damn hard as a wine marketer to get consumers to take it seriously. Especially if it’s from Germany. Try selling a Wehlener Sonnenuhr Riesling Spatllese or a Nackenheimer Rothenberg Riesling Trockenbeerenaulese to the average American consumer. Yea, no wonder people don’t get it. Add to that, the plonk sold under the Liebfraumilch label through the 70s and 80s, and it’s easy to understand why most consumers think of Riesling as sweet, uninteresting kool-aid wine.

This is why I dig the Polka Dot Riesling, an E.J. Gallo import from the Pfalz region of Germany. No funky wood-block label or unreadable names. It is a clean, simple, modern package with a blue bottle and screwcap finish. Basically, it pays homage to the Riesling of old (i.e. Blue Nun, though that was mostly Muller-Thurgau) but with a modern taste profile. It isn’t the kind of Riesling that you are going to ooohh and ahhhh over it its complexity. Only 10.5% alcohol makes it very easy to drink. It’s simply delicious with huge QPR at $10 per bottle.

Traditional review: Aromas of granny smith apple, asian pear, wet gravel, and honeysuckle leading to a soft, slightly sweet palate and crisp acidity. It has a relatively long finish.

Disclosure: This wine was sent to me as a sample.

Tags: Gallo, Polka Dot Riesling