Here's the thing: making icewine is a crazy project. It's insane to leave your grapes on the vine deep into the winter. You have to shield them from birds and from mold and hope the weather is right for a hard freeze. It's crazy to get up in the middle of the night when it's minus-10 degrees and pick the frozen grapes, which will each yield just drops of juice. More

Riesling nerds tend to sigh when you mention Willi Schaefer; the tiny production, the beautiful flavors, the few bottles they've sequestered away in long-term storage. There's an elegance and polish to this wine that you don't see at lower price levels, but the excitement is still there. A fennel and elderflower note reminded us a bit of pastis, with blue-green, mentholated eucalyptus-like flavor as it opens up. More

It's as luscious as a dripping ripe peach, but as tart as one, too. It's a smooth, golden wine that's not cloying, with a delicate minerality that's woven through every sip, soft hints of slate and peach skin. If you're going upscale, serve with lobster ravioli in a light cream sauce. But the perfect pairing might be fried chicken and buttery biscuits. More

These mineral-rich, low-alcohol wines are some of the most delicious whites we've ever tasted, especially in the $15 to $25 range. We tried about 45 bottles over the course of the past two months, paying attention to each wine and how it evolved in the glass. Want a cheat sheet? Here are a few of the highlights of our summer of riesling. More

If you see it, buy it. The name of the winemaker is written quite small on this bottle (perhaps he's humble) but you can't miss the vineyard—Ürziger Würtzgarten, the 'spice garden' of the Mosel, known for its old vines on steep hills of slate and bright red sandstone. Wines from this vineyard tend to be spicy, and this one really captures that; it's roiling with flavor. More

Have you ever tried wine from Michigan? This was my first, from Black Star Farms in Sutton Bay. (We've covered their cider before.) It's a fruit-driven riesling, with slightly perfumey flower-pollen notes and some nice slate on the finish. More

This is such a pretty, glimmery wine. The flavor reminded us of baked apples stuffed with golden raisins and cinnamon sticks, balanced with a lemony tartness, a hint of Thai basil and juniper, and a very fine, silvery minerality. Young winemaker Matthias Meierer (son of Klaus Meierer) is a rising star of the Mosel. He's fresh out of school (he graduated from Geisenheim Viticulture and Enology University in 2005) and works a few days a week at Fritz Haag in addition to the time he spends at his family's 12.5 acre estate. More

This Finger Lakes riesling may smell like a fragrant peach tart, but it tastes tart, with bright white grapefruit-like acidity that lingers. This is a crisp wine for a sunny day out on the water—the minerality reads as slightly salty, making this perfect for drinking with seafood salads or grilled calamari. More

I'm not one to go for cute labels, but if you are, you may want to collect all three of these kitties (more images will be added each year.) The wine's the same in each bottle, though, and it's a solid QbA offering from the Middle Mosel in Germany, a slightly creamy, delicately mineral wine with a sweet-sour candy tang (like Runts or Sour Nerds.) More

Sometimes a wine has a little peppery alcohol heat, or a hint of the slightly floral note of white pepper, but I have never tasted a wine with such a vivid freshly-cracked black pepper flavor as this. This wine is almost plush compared to the other Austrian rieslings we've tried lately, tart and slim but rounded with floral and vegetable flavors. More