The $10.99 Wine Find You Must Try

As I have written in this space, I love Rieslings — especially German Rieslings. Treated with care, the grape produces some outstanding wines. Complex, tied intimately to its terroir, beautiful minerality.

Unfortunately, it can be difficult to find a wide selection of good Rieslings here in stores. They are often from mass producers, and I skip them. This week, however, I decided to buy a Washington State Riesling to pair with some Thai food.

It was a 2013 Kung Fu Girl from Charles Smith Wines, on sale for $10.99 at H-E-B. (Here are some numbers for Kung Fu Girl, for those who like numbers: 91 points, Wine Spectator and “Top 100” Wine for 2014 and 2013. “Best Value” five years in a row, Wine Spectator 90 points, Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate.) Its minerality and acidity were well balanced (12 percent alcohol). We tasted apple (up front) and stone fruit, plus slight citrus. The vines producing these grapes grow on steep cliffs above the Columbia River in soil composed of basalt, gravel silt and caliche.

Kung Fu Girl is no Egon Müller Scharzhofberger, but for the price it can definitely fill the weekday dinner slot.