This past week, I took a trip with the family to the Big Apple—a winter girl’s trip with my stepmom and two little sisters. As the plane was touching down, I was finishing up a chapter of Cork Dork that featured the wine bar Terrior. It was also recommended by my friend Meg & Merlot. I’m a believer in signs, so those two coincidences pointed to a trip much needed to Terrior.
We walked in at 4pm just in time for happy hour. I was excited to check out their extensive wine list, which was actually a wine binder—the type you would keep your ENG101 notes in. There were so many funky and unique wines to choose from, but I decided to stick with Riesling, since owner Paul Grieco is a proud Riesling evangelist, shunning summer Rosé for his preferred R word.
After chatting with our lovely, pink haired server/somm, who was super helpful, I decided to try a Riesling flight. I picked a couple and she surprised me with others to experience both old and new world. I took limited notes, as I didn’t want to look too douchey to my fam (does that ever happen to you?), so here’s what I quickly jotted down:
2015 Trimbach Riesling Vieilles Vignes: From Alsace, one of the regions I love diving further into, this Riesling was my favorite. It had a light fragrance of white flowers. It had nice acidity and dryness. It was crisp, tart like a green apple, and delicious.
1998 Cave de Ribeauville Riesling Grand Cru Kirchberg: Also from Alsace, this older Riesling was more complex in both aroma and flavor. It was richer on the nose, I got some honeysuckle and white flowers. A little sweeter—or was it fruitier—on the mouth. Ripe peach and apricot. Baked apple. Yummy.
2011 Pewsey Vale Eden Valley Riesling: This last one as new world and completely different from the first two. There was crazy petroleum on the nose. I gave my sister a taste and she was weirded out by this typical trait. It was dry, full of minerality, lime, and green apple. I realized as I looked up this bottle for this post, that I’ve tried their 2016 bottle and got similar notes. The nose was different to me this time around, so it looks like my sense of smell is hopefully improving 😉
We ate a bunch. From Olde Salt Virginia oysters (my new fave) to crispy house made potato chips to short rib, we had fun eating, drinking, and laughing the evening away.
As we were winding down, I noticed Paul at the bar and got excited. My stepmom embarrassingly pulled him aside and mentioned that I was a fan. After turning beet red and wanting the earth to crumble from underneath me, I took a photo with Paul and he kindly gave me a signed copy of Cork Dork with a dedication—Alexa, always be drinking the grape juice. Don’t you worry, Paul. I’m only getting started on my grape juice journey.
