The month of March moves us toward spring and the brilliant profusion of cherry trees in bloom. During the gray, damp days on the late edge of winter, we daydream of hanami parties. In Tokyo, we'll play a guitar on a blanket in Inokashira Park, eat sushi rolls under the tunnel of blossoms in Aoyama Cemetery, or meet for a picnic on the sprawling lawns of the Teien Museum. No matter where we find the perfect cherry-viewing spot, a good glass of wine invites us to toast spring's arrival.
We're thinking of a wine that evokes the season -- bright, exuberant and golden, wafting with aromas of grass, flowers or herbs. After the long red-wine boom of the '90s, now is the time to re-investigate white wines.
Spring's warmer weather calls for something crisp and refreshing. Shops and wine menus are loaded with Chardonnay from places as far away as Argentina and Bulgaria. But too often, low-grade Chardonnay is heavily oaked to make up for a lack of other distinctions. Such treatment yields generic white wines larded with cream, butter and vanilla flavors reminiscent of custard pie. A hanami party is a good occasion to discover other shades of white wine. That search takes us to terrain still unfamiliar to most international wine consumers: Riesling from Washington State.