In today's NY Times wine column, Eric Asimov reviews twenty dry rieslings, with five of the top ten comprised of Washington wines along with one from Oregon. This is well-deserved praise for what I believe is one of our region's standout varieties.

In fact, I couldn't agree more with Asimov's assessment of several of the wines on his list of recommendations: the 2005 Belle Pente, which I posted about last week, the 2008 Kung Fu Girl, which I have enjoyed on more than one occasion, and the 2007 Eroica, a bottle I had with dinner at Wild Ginger a couple of months ago.

Washington and Oregon dry rieslings are inexpensive, food-friendly wines that continuously surprise guests at my table who have come to expect this variety to be sweet, syrupy and more of a dessert wine.

If you're an existing fan of riesling or one seeking a new wine with dinner, then you owe it to yourself to give one of these bottles a try.