I Know Why the Nun is Blue

In his book, Oldman's Guide to Outsmarting Wine, Mark Oldman prefaces his section on Riesling with the acknowledgment that many of us were introduced to Riesling in college, and remember them as sickeningly sweet and headache-inducing. It's like he knows my life story. I hadn't had a Riesling since college for that very reason. The other night I decided to give Riesling another chance. I found a Chateau St. Michelle Rielsing on sale at Ben's liquor store for $6. I served it with caraway chicken and a very German red cabbage cooked with bacon, shallots, vinegar, and brown sugar. The Riesling wasn't overly sweet at all. It was lemon-crisp with an apply-pear flavor, very smooth and very balanced. Riesling is a very versatile wine that can be paired with many styles of cuisine. This is definitely a wine I'll buy again.