Summer of Riesling

Many of the finest restaurants in the United States will be celebrating the “Summer of Riesling” from June 21 to September 22 by offering their customers Riesling wines by the glass as well as bottle.

The “Summer of Riesling” concept was created in 2008 by Manhattan restaurateur Paul Grieco, General AND Manager of Hearth Restaurant, Terroir Wine Bar East Village, and Terroir Tribeca. That year, the ONLY white wine that Terroir customers could get was Riesling—30 different wines by the glass and 100 by the bottle—a radical move that has paid off handsomely.

The following two years the program expanded in various ways, including by enlisting 14 other Manhattan wine bars as part of the celebration and adding a concert where the only alcoholic beverage available was Riesling—no beer, no liquor. And the Summer of Riesling even attracted visits by the German Wine Queen.

Never content with the status quo, Paul has taken Summer of Riesling national, with support from the International Riesling, an organization specifically created to promote Rieslings from around the world. More than 150 top restaurants will be participating in the 94-day celebration in 20 states: Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Massachusetts, Nevada, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, and Washington. There has even been interest among restaurants in Amsterdam, France, and Germany—but that’s for next year.

Participating restaurants include some of the country’s most famous: Spago Beverly Hills, Restaurant Gary Danko and Slanted Door in San Francisco, The French Laundry in Napa Valley, Websters Wine Bar in Chicago, B & G Oysters in Boston, Wild Ginger in Seattle, and, in New York, Bar Boulud, Craft, and Daniel—along with Terroir, of course. The full list is shown below.

The restaurants have agreed to feature at least three Rieslings by the glass throughout the entire summer, along with their bottle selections; many are offering even more. The restaurants select the wines they wish to feature, which may remain the same or change during the three month period. To add some fun and color, they’ll receive special T-shirts, Riesling tattoos, buttons, window stickers, and lots of information about Riesling.

For more information on Summer of Riesling, visit www.summerofriesling.com, or follow the fun on twitter (@summerriesling) and Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/pages/Summer- of-Riesling/174866069226298). Information is also available on the International Riesling Foundation’s web site, drinkriesling.com.

Restaurant List
List of Restaurants(PDF)

Media contacts:

Paul Grieco for Summer of Riesling information (pgrieco@hearthrestaurant.com)

Jim Trezise for IRF information (jimtrezise@nywgf.org)