Fortunately or unfortunately, this post is not about Charlie Sheen getting drunk on Riesling in the German wine region.

[Insert:

The Pfalz is one of the warmer Anbaugebiete, or winegrowing regions,  in Germany. It is also one of the more southerly winegrowing regions, receives more sunlight and enjoys a warmer climate than some of the other regions.  For this reason, the wines are a bit richer and fuller bodied, not to mention very tasty!

The soil here is varied in its layers of red sandstone, limestone, loess, red slate, basalt, granite and gravel, adding wonderful things to the complexity of the wine! Can we say minerality?!

Now that we’ve got the geography and geology down, lets get to the wine! Von Winning’s Paradiesgarten Riesling Trocken is a dry-style Riesling, with just a touch of sweetness. It’s got all sorts of aromas and flavors going on though — spicy mangoes and tangerine on the nose, creamy meyer-lemon, rich texture and bright acidity on the palate!

Let’s get adventurous in our pairings though. Imagine this: flaky, olive oil-brushed pastry dough crust, a mild cheese, say fontina, carmelized onions and something salty – prosciutto, bacon, doesn’t matter! Throw it in the oven for a few minutes and you’ve got a wonderfully easy pairing for this Riesling.

The sweet and salty flavors harmonize beautifully, each calling for the other — you wont have just one glass — or slice!