Tag Archives: Cupcake Vineyards Riesling Wine Review

Cupcake Vineyards Riesling

Cost: Average price $9.99

Where buy now: Just about any liquor store, check out Savvy Soothsayer page for upcoming sales, you’ll find it for even less.

Grapes: Riesling

Region: Mosel Valley, Germany

Vintage: 2011

Cupcake Vineyards Riesling

I received this wine as a sample, courtesy of a PR Firm. Admittedly, I was prepared to be underwhelmed. Cutesy, blue bottle, syrupy sweet name- I had this feeling it was all a bit too Bridget Jones. But hey- something-something gift horse, something-something mouth, right?

I was at Costco and bought a big ol’ container of coconut lime curry sauce. I didn’t know what I was doing so I ended up with an accidental fusion dish. I sautéed some garlic, added sweet potatoes and cooked the combo for a bit to soften the spuds. Later, I added broccoli, tossed in some shrimp, added the curry sauce and let it all simmer for a while. To that, I added bean sprouts and rice noodles, then topped it off with Sriracha, green onion, cilantro and a squeeze of lime. Vietnamese-meets-Indian-meets-Thai? Whatever. I call this the “make-up-what-you-can-with-what’s-left-in-the-fridge” kind of culinary experience.

“He’s cooking our garbage!” exclaimed my husband (quoting the classic “Uncle Buck”) as he peeked over my shoulder. Admittedly, it felt a bit like that moment when a young and innocent Macaulay Culkin walked in on John Candy cooking breakfast.

To our pleasure, this wine went swimmingly with the spicy Asian concoction. Visually, the Riesling had all the usual Riesling characteristics: golden yellow hue, sweet, fuller-bodied. Getting my nose all up in the glass, I detected golden delicious apple, peach and light lemon. On the tongue, I definitely got a buttery, citrus flavor with some slight acidity balanced by mild sweetness. I was really digging this wine. It contrasted with the spice very well. I even continued to enjoy it after the meal, too.

If you like sweeter Rieslings you’ll enjoy it; if you like drier Rieslings, you’ll enjoy it. I like the versatility of this wine. Again, with spicy food, it was great. Enjoyed it alone, it was great. Dig on this with some grilled peaches or Italian lemon-cream cake, and you’ll have a lovely time. I have to say, Cupcake Vineyards is making some interesting stuff. This is now two out of two that have passed muster, and with a modest price to match, I’ll be adding this to the rotation.