San Francisco Chronicle - (Sunday)
Younger drinkers could help Riesling shed its too-sweet reputation
Could the misunderstood German grape become cool again?
Wine’s most underrated grape could finally get its due thanks to Millennials and Generation Z, the same groups that the industry complains are not drinking enough wine.
Riesling, a white grape native to Germany, is beloved by a small and devoted cadre of wine geeks, yet is misunderstood by the masses. Riesling’s followers praise its incredible ageability, affordability, flexibility with food pairing and pure expression of terroir. It’s a fresh, sometimes zesty wine with big acidity, strong aromas — including a signature whiff of “petrol” or gasoline — and citrus flavors. But for decades, Riesling has suffered one big misconception: that it’s overly sweet and full of sugar.
Other wine misfits have managed to shed their stigmas. White Zinfandel got a second act under the guise of rosé; screw caps now signify convenience more than cheapness; and even Merlot, decimated by the 2004 indie movie “Sideways”, appears to be making a comeback. Now, some producers say there’s a glimmer of hope for Riesling, too, because younger wine drinkers are naive to the grape’s poor reputation.
“The younger wine drinker probably doesn’t have that perception of Riesling that the older generations did that made them cynical,” said Noah Dorrance, co-founder of Healdsburg’s Reeve Wines. Reeve makes several Rieslings that “sell out every year pretty quickly.”
Every producer interviewed for this story pointed to Blue Nun as the biggest offender in Riesling’s demise. This mass-produced German Riesling packaged in a gimmicky blue bottle achieved global acclaim following World War II. Blue Nun fanfare continued into the 1980s and inspired a generation of cheap and sweet Rieslings — often described as sugar water — that permeated the market and became synonymous with the grape.
In reality, Riesling is one of the world’s most versatile wine grapes, produced in a wide range of styles. Most modernday bottlings are considered dry or off-dry, containing only minimal amounts of residual sugar that balance well with the wine’s ripping acidity. “It’s a wine that you have to get in people’s mouths before they understand,” said Hailey Trefethen, whose family has made Riesling at Napa’s Trefethen
Vineyards for 50 years. “Once people try it, they love it.”
The stigma seems to have worn off a bit, said Trefethen. Most wine drinkers in their 20s and 30s have likely never tasted, nor heard of, Blue Nun. Data shows that Millennials and Generation Z are interested in discovering new beverages over drinking what’s traditional, and favor freshness over big structure and tannin. They’re seeking low-alcohol options, and most Rieslings clock in at under 12%. Several Riesling brands are even exploring the nonalcoholic market and “tapping into the moderation trend,” said Adam Rogers, a research director at data analyst IWSR.
But Rogers also said that consumption of Riesling in the U.S. is in decline, and many have already tried, with limited success, to make Riesling cool. Back in 2008, for example, sommelier and restaurateur Paul Grieco resorted to forcing Riesling on patrons at his popular New York bar Terroir. He launched an effort called the Summer of Riesling, making it the only white wine available by the glass for three months.
The movement has expanded, but Riesling remains a dark horse; producers are notably cautious to read too far into any signs that Riesling might finally be poised for a revolution. “I’ve spent my entire adult life pushing Riesling because I think it’s one of the four great wines of the world,” said Stu Smith, co-founder of Napa’s Smith-Madrone Winery, which has produced Riesling since the early 1970s.
“There have been so many times where I’m rolling the rock up the hill and thinking, ‘Today is the day, I’m going to get this sucker to the top and over to the other side,’” he said. “But just like Sisyphus, that damn rock rolls back over me.”
Still, white wines are trending over red wines. Other U.S. wine regions, including Oregon, New York’s Finger Lakes and Michigan, are bringing renewed attention to the grape. The overall quality of Riesling, from both the U.S. and international market, is at an all-time high. And wineries report experiencing less resistance lately from customers when it comes to trying Riesling. “We get way less of people being like, ‘I don’t like Riesling because it’s sweet,’” said Andrew Mariani, cofounder of Scribe Winery in Sonoma. Scribe planted more Reisling on its estate a few years ago due to demand.
Smith-Madrone’s 2018 Riesling placed second at a recent wine competition in Houston, besting nearly 3,000 other wines. Then at the event’s subsequent wine auction, Smith-Madrone’s 9-liter bottle of Riesling received the second-highest bid of the night: a whopping $225,000. At last month’s revered Premiere Napa Valley auction, magnums of Trefethen’s Riesling, which retails for $30 a bottle, sold for $233, “right there amongst the Cabernets,” said Hailey Trefethen. (The average bottle price at this year’s auction, which showcases mostly red wines, was $195.)
“In the past, passion from certain winemakers and (sommeliers) wasn't necessarily met with big commercial growth or visibility But there’s more broad energy behind it now than there was 10 years ago,” said Dorrance. “They’re some of our most popular wines and they get good recognition, especially from wine buyers in restaurants.” The three-Michelin-starred SingleThread, for instance, has frequently featured a Reeve Riesling in its wine pairing over the last five years.
With Blue Nun’s stain diminished, the sheer lack of Riesling vines is now this niche wine’s greatest roadblock. The 2023 California Grape Crush Report revealed a 37% increase in the tons of Riesling grapes crushed in 2023 from 2022. However, Riesling is still trailing many other white varieties by a seemingly insurmountable number: Only 34,000 tons of Riesling were crushed in 2023 compared to 162,000 tons of Sauvignon Blanc and 651,000 tons of Chardonnay.
When Smith arrived in Napa Valley in the early 1970s, Riesling was on pretty equal footing with today’s breadwinners: Cabernet Sauvignon and Chardonnay. “They all sold for pretty much the same price, about $475 per ton,” said Smith. But as Chardonnay and Cabernet broke away, Riesling vines began to quietly dissipate throughout Napa Valley.
In 1980, there were 1,400 acres of Riesling planted in Napa Valley; today, there are less than 75 acres and less than 3,000 in all of California. Comparatively, there are now 5,900 acres of Chardonnay in Napa Valley and roughly 90,000 throughout the state.
“There’s no money in it,” said Smith, who has no plans to stop making Riesling, even if it’s destined to remain an underdog. “If you’re into Riesling, you’re into it because you love it.”
A new Indian restaurant totally shattered my conception of “mall food.” Even something as simple as fries or chicken nuggets are imbued with deep spice at Pippal, the sleek new restaurant at Emeryville’s Bay Street mall.
Nationally, mall dining is changing. This shift is especially common in California, where malls have been offering higherend alternatives to lure shoppers amid a decline in retail. In Santa Clara, the Westfield mall boasts an enticing roster like soup dumpling global sensation Din Tai Fung, Italian food emporium Eataly and upscale Korean barbecue spot Baekjeong. In Los Angeles County, the Westfield mall debuted an impressive food hall last year — the bulk of the spots there were featured on the Los Angeles Times’ 101 Best Restaurants list.
A slew of new restaurants has recently debuted at the Emeryville mall, but Pippal is the headliner. It’s the latest by Anu and Vikram Bhambri, who also own the popular modern Indian restaurant Rooh in San Francisco. It goes far beyond what we’ve been conditioned to expect of mall food with hard-to-find regional delicacies.
The large menu is divided into two sections: appetizers and mains like curries, biryanis and tiffins, which are multi-component lunchbox meals. There are some duds but even more standouts, particularly the restaurant’s elevated takes on street foods and snacks — they’re packed with memorable flavor, especially when paired with one of the remarkable cocktails.
Start off with the masala fries ($16), battered spuds generously dusted with spice and served with yogurt, tamarind and mint chutneys. The simple snack feels like a bridge to quintessential mall fare, every bit as comforting but with a wider span of flavor.
You could easily stick to finger food and leave totally content. I was into the excellent Mumbai-style vada pav ($16), potato fritter sliders that balanced spiciness, sweetness and richness. I also loved the seductive gongura chicken ($16), fried chicken morsels coated in a fiery sauce made from tart gongura leaves, garlic, ginger and spices.
If you want a self-contained meal, opt for the fantastic Southern-style bisi bele bhat tiffin ($25), which includes the titular dish, a porridge made of rice, lentil and veggies; a coconut stew; fryums (chips); and pickles. The spicy kick of the bisi bele bhat was nicely scaled down by the stew’s creamy sweetness.
The larger family-style entrees were hit-and-miss. I thoroughly enjoyed the mango-coconut seafood curry ($34), flaky fish and shrimp presented in a bright and creamy sauce. It provided a nice contrast when paired with the Goan chorizo pulao ($26), a rice dish that featured sausage and bacon. The Dungeness crab ($55) was solid but forgettable; it needed acidity to cut the richness of the coconut. Skip the beef asado ($48), essentially a pizza topped with a whole rib eye steak; the beef was overcooked and the fermented bread, known as khamiri roti, lacked flavor.
Overall, I found most of the breads like the naan, paratha and roti to be one-note. If you’re looking to add a starch to your meal, I recommend sticking to basmati rice ($6).
Pippal is located on the terrace level of the outdoor mall, steps away from a communal outdoor area shared with Shake Shack and Arthur Mac’s. Despite the casual atmosphere, the interior design is quite lovely, combining “old and new Indian architecture,” according to Vikram Bhambri. Green booths line the walls and a chandelier cascades from the ceiling near an alcove. Behind the bar, diamond-shaped shelves draw the eye, while the fabulous cocktail program activates the senses.
The cocktails take inspiration from historical monuments in India and highlight a specific ingredient from that region. Two great gin-based options include the Red Fort ($15), a frothy drink that features lemon juice, egg whites and strawberry powder, and the Taj Mahal ($15), a tropical elixir topped with a layer of mascarpone cheese.
Whether you’re in the mood for drinks with a bite before a movie, a quick lunch between shopping errands or a fullblown celebratory meal, Pippal covers all the bases.
Pippal, which opened late last year, is part of a big Bay Area expansion by the Bhambris, who already run several restaurants in India, New York, Chicago and Palo Alto. The couple recently opened Alora, a splashy Mediterranean spot on San Francisco’s Embarcadero. Soon, they will also open another mall restaurant called Fitoor, in San Jose’s boutique Santana Row.
It’s fascinating to see how far mall culture has come. Looking back, the dining options at the malls of my youth felt standardized, more customary than exciting. To think that a generation of kids can have something as interesting as Pippal blows my mind. Forget shopping, I’m exclusively going to the mall to eat.