So here we are, the last days of Summer, the last day of Summer of Riesling. What does one taste to celebrate the going down of the sun, the end of days? Well if you’re a die hard Riesling fan then there’s only one wine on your mind.

Riesling for many, not myself I hasten to add, has firmly rooted itself in the hearts and minds of the wine industry. Consumers care to remember wines such as Blue Nun and Black Tower, or at least their parents do. The sickly sweet, nondescript wines of the 70′s and 80′s haunt the industry and modern day wineries. Riesling, however, has moved on since those days.

The modern Riesling has returned to the roots of the grape and, generally, for the winery it’s a labour of love. So today in this episode of UnScrewed TV I taste another Riesling from Spy Valley’s 2011 vintage. Set in the Waihope Valley in Marlborough, Spy Valley winery is producing some top class wines at price points for the everyday drinker.

Most Rieslings sit under $25 and so represent fantastic value for money against many other wine styles. Also many producers have adopted the sweetness scale to indicate to customers just what style of Riesling they are buying.