Conversation will be all about Riesling
New York and Napa Valley, May 2023 —Why is Riesling so mysterious, so misunderstood and so marvelously delicious? Napa Valley Riesling pioneer Stuart Smith of Smith-Madrone talks to New York-based “King of Riesling” Paul Grieco on May 11 at 5:00 pm (EST) on Instagram.
Listeners are welcome to tune in to Smith-Madrone’s Instagram or Paul’s.
Paul Grieco & Terroir
Paul Grieco is often called “The King of Riesling.” Paul has become known as perhaps the first punk sommelier, ditching conventional uniforms in favor of items like seersucker suits and cargo shorts. He is known for his irreverent wit and sense of humor. The vibe at Terroir is lively and unique; the wine list is displayed in a three-ring binder and includes diverse graphics, pop-culture references and snippets of essays with a bearing on the wines. His love of Riesling is clear in Terroir’s manifesto.
He is the founder/owner of Terroir, at 24 Harrison Street in New York. Terroir focuses on Riesling in events such as the upcoming Summer of Riesling on June 21 and The Summer of Riesling Cruise on July 18. There can be as many as 26 Rieslings available at any time. The menu at Terroir is deliciously diverse, from Duck Liver Mousse, Pigs in a Blanket, Wiener Schnitzel, a Smash Burger to Wild Ramp Gnocchi and more.
Born and raised in Canada, he worked in his family’s restaurant and got intrigued with the wine world when he spent a month in Italy at the age of 20. He came to New York in 1991 and began working in restaurants, including Remi, Bouley, Gotham Bar & Grill and finally Gramercy Tavern, where he ran the beverage program. In 2002 he left to open Hearth Restaurant and then Terroir Wine Bar in 2008, down the street from Hearth. The original Terroir closed in 2015 and Grieco opened Terroir | Tribeca in 2010. The space was a cheese production facility back when Washington Market thrived along the Hudson River. The interiors, designed by Richard Lewis, repurposed the original, rough-hewn wood and burnished, time-worn metal fabrications to stand tribute to Tribeca’s history as one of America’s first post-industrial neighborhoods. “The drive of the food and beverage program is to give voice to place…all of our wines / beers / foodstuffs must resonate with their origins and be produced in a manner true to their history and culture. Most importantly, everything must simply taste yummy,” Paul explains.
Smith-Madrone & Riesling
When Stu planted vines on the steeply sloped mountain-elevation at Smith-Madrone, he chose Riesling, one of the world’s four finest varietals. The vineyards are perched on slopes as steep as 32% at an elevation of 1,900 feet above the floor of the Napa Valley, at the top of the Spring Mountain District appellation.
Smith-Madrone’s first vintage of Riesling, the 1977, won Best Riesling in the Wine Olympics, an international tasting organized by the food and wine magazine Gault Millau in Paris in 1979. This was the first judging of wines open to wines from around the world conducted by judges from around the world. This recognition launched Smith-Madrone as a pre-eminent producer of Riesling.
Among many other accolades, Smith-Madrone’s Riesling was named one of the 20 best Rieslings in the world and the only one referenced in North America by British wine writer Stuart Pigott in his 2014 book, The Riesling Story: Best White Wine On Earth.
In 1983, Smith-Madrone was the first American Riesling producer to use only the name Riesling on its labels. No other winery did this for the next 15 years. Stu had an extended battle with the then-BATF to change the label from Johannisberg Riesling to Riesling. He explains, “While White Riesling is legally correct, it is none-the-less both wrong and redundant – when was the last time you had a red Riesling?”
Stu and his brother, winemaker Charles Smith, believe in the ageability of Riesling. The winery regularly re-releases Rieslings. Currently the website offers a vertical of the 2018, 2019 and 2021 vintages, along with recipes chosen to pair deliciously with the wines.
For Riesling in another format, the winery offers a magnum of 2016 Riesling.
The current release is the 2018.
It was on May 14, 1971 that founder Stuart Smith purchased 200 acres on top of the Spring Mountain District AVA in the Napa Valley. Charles Smith joined Stu at the winery in 1972. “We knew being in the mountains would differentiate Smith-Madrone from the wineries on the floor of the Napa Valley and we valued and nurtured that difference,” he explains. “The success of our Riesling is due altogether to being in the hills at altitude,” Charles says.
All of the winery’s wines are made from the estate vineyards surrounding the winery, originally planted 52 years ago by Stuart and Charles. The winery has been recognized as a pioneer of mountain grape growing as well as for its leadership in dry farming.
Smith-Madrone’s current releases are the 2018 Chardonnay, 2019 Cabernet Sauvignon, 2018 Riesling, 2019 Cook’s Flat Reserve and in very limited availability, an assortment of magnums, library re-releases and vertical collections. Located at 4022 Spring Mountain Road in St. Helena, Smith-Madrone is open for tours and tastings, by appointment only, by contacting www.smithmadrone.com.
More: https://www.smithmadrone.com/downloadables/pdfs/SmithMad-backgrounder-2023.pdf
