Riesling 50 Chardonnay 0: Turkey Day Wipeout

The annual Turkey Bowl was a smashing success with the expected outcomes. The food was totally fab and the wine lineup was longer than a Herman Cain explanation. We could not get through all of the choices. Such was not the case Saturday night when the Trojans-Bruins “rivalry” game was gratefully buffered by a Riesling extravaganza hosted at Papa Fred’s Shack and “sommed” by Kris B. The Bruins – who have won 6 games – were limp as a Santa Margarita Soave, while the Rieslings gave a Trojan-inspired performance.

Five bottles dominated the T-Day meal: the NV Mönchoff Riesling which was bright and fruity yet still barely able to keep up with the yams; the 2004 Ridge Geyserville Zinfandel served out of a magnum was pleasingly robust and a good match for the meal [ed. but it is Zin]; the 2002 Point Concepcion Pinot Noir which was just not up to the job; the 2009 Anne Gros Bourgogne which given its delicate body and sublime favors never had a chance; and, finally, the Navarro Sparkling Gewürtztraminer which had the advantage of being opened and consumed prior to the meal. It was excellent!

The Saturday event was more orderly and focused on the wines.

1990 Günther Steinmetz Kerstner Paulinberg Riesling Spatlese $23: Pronounced characteristic petrol nose blew Papa Fred off the entire lineup much like Matt Kalil pushed around the Bruin D-line. Golden color. Flavors of white flowers, peanut butter and apples. Elvis would have loved this wine. “Sommed” and ordered off the web by Kris B. Nice work. 10%

2010 Schafer-Frohlich Nahe Riesling medium-dry $20: In Germany, instead of “medium dry” the label would say Feinherb. Hmmph. Great acid, tangy unripe oranges in the mouth. Serve this baby chilled. 10%

2002 JJ Prum Graacher Himmelriech Kabinett $20: So much petrol! Awfully much like a Spätlese for a Kabinett. Global warming effect makes the Kabinett wines that are supposed to be the driest more ripe? The gap between the Kabinett and Spätlese wines is smaller than the gap between Spätlese and Auslese. There is more body in the 2002 Kabinett than the 1990 Spätlese. Oh yes. The wine is lovely. $20

2010 Jean-Paul Brun L’Ancien Beaujolais $15: This guy gets lots of positive press. Our first sample from him. This is quite stout for an entry level Beauj. Bodes very well for the winemaker and the vintage. For the record, we had it before the Rieslings. Would buy this producer and we swear we are going to slow down on wine buys. Could be a New Years resolution. 13%

With Papa Fred on sharps watch we politely watched the second half and talked amongst ourselves. The good news is Neuheisel [ed. the coach, not the vineyard] is gone. Now if we can just find a new job for Howland. Drink more German and Austrian Riesling wines!