Top 100 Represent

Last week I helped my friend Oskar pour Hermann J. Wiemer wines at the Wine & Spirits Magazine Top 100 Wineries Grand Tasting at the City View Metreon in San Francisco. For the 6th year in a row, Wiemer was among this elite group of wineries around the world that included Ridge and Williams Selyem here in California, CVNE in Spain, and Krug and Dom Ruinart Champagnes from France. I really enjoyed Wiemer's newly-released 2013 Riesling Reserve, a wine that is made from the best blend of their 3 Riesling vineyards. 2013 was a slightly challenging vintage for the Finger Lakes, but I'm convinced the Wiemer wines that struggled are always the most complex and rewarding (2009, I'm talking about you). The 2013 Riesling Reserve was bright and citrusy with orange blossom and honey while still being dry and crisp. Perfect for this balmy fall October evening.

I had some time to taste around the other tables, and my favorite wines outside Wiemer were whites from Domaine Marc Morey & Fils, one of the top producers in Chassagne-Montrachet, Burgundy, France. Like Wiemer, this domaine harvests and sorts all their grapes by hand, gently pressing the whole clusters and fermenting the free-run juice on native yeasts. These two wines were amazing: 2010 Chassagne-Montrachet 1er Cru Vergers Blanc and 2011 Puligny-Montrachet 1er Cru Les Pucelles Blanc. Creamy yet crisp, with acidity and balance, these beautiful wines stood out among the crowd. While Chardonnay is not necessarily my favorite white grape varietal, Burgundy just may be my favorite white wine. But at well over $100/bottle, a few sips was all I could afford of these two.

Wines aside, perhaps the best part of the evening was getting baby registry advice from Oskar. Apparently, we need this.