An Israeli Late Harvest Riesling

Can a dessert wine make it at dinner?...

Teperberg Late Harvest Riesling

The Teperberg winery was established in the Jewish quarter of Old Jerusalem way back in 1870. For over a century it produced sacramental wines. In the 1990s they moved to table wines and since 2002 Teperberg has been making better quality wines. Their total production is some 4 million bottles a year. The white Riesling grape should be a good candidate for a Late Harvest wine, which tends be very sweet and is often consumed as a dessert wine. Of course, we like to try new combinations. This wine comes in a small bottle but given its sweetness and syrupy quality people often drink less of it. A word to the foolish, don’t drink too much, you can get sick. Today’s companion wine is a German Riesling at about one third the price, ounce for ounce.

OUR WINE REVIEW POLICY All wines that we taste and review are purchased at the full retail price.

Wine Reviewed Teperberg Silver Late Harvest Riesling 2007 10.5 % alcohol about $20.

Let’s start by quoting the marketing materials. “Tasting Note: Light golden, with moderate sweetness offset nicely by natural acidity and a relatively low alcohol content (about 10.5%), opening to show dried apricots, honeyed apples, and a good hint of pepper. Lively and fresh, as good as an aperitif as a dessert wine. Drink now-2011. Score – 88. (Daniel Rogov at the kosher wine report website, July 20, 2008).” And now for my review.

At the first sips this wine was thick and syrupy. It was delicious. The initial meal consisted of commercial pancakes featuring zucchini and other vegetables. The Riesling was mouth filling, tasting of burnt sugar. It was quite long and a little bit went a long way. Fresh raspberries thickened this liquid, which tickled the tongue.

My next meal began with spinach in sesame seed covered puff pastry. Our Israeli friend was very round and very long, offering caramel and honey. A boxed Baked Ziti Siciliano didn’t change the liquid’s response. Fresh blackberries brought the wine’s caramel to the fore.

The final meal featured kube, ground beef stuffed inside jackets made of ground rice and ground chicken breast. In response the drink had a smoky and burnt taste along with candied orange. It was dark for a white wine. I got lots of caramel, a very pleasant sweetness, and balanced acidity. When paired with boiled potatoes cooked alongside the meat, the libation’s power increased. It was mouth filling. Fresh strawberries softened but did not shorten this nectar. Once again, caramel was definitely present.

Final verdict. I definitely intend to buy this wine again both as a dessert wine and to accompany meals. I plan to try some of the winery’s other offerings.

Access the companion wine Revisiting A Mosel, Germany Riesling

About the Author

Levi Reiss has authored or co-authored ten books on computers and the Internet, but to be honest, he would rather just drink fine French or other wine, accompanied by the right foods. He teaches classes in computers at an Ontario French-language community college. His wine websites include    www.theworldwidewine.com    with a new weekly review of $10 wines and    http://www.wineinyourdiet.com devoted to the issues of wine, weight loss, and health.

Visit his website devoted to Italian travel www.travelitalytravel.com

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