Wine of the week: 2008 Anything Goes Riesling

There are some smart marketing types at Schmitt Sohne, a great big aggregator and exporter of mostly German wines. Some of the wines arrive here in traditionally labeled bottles reflecting a winery's heritage. Others appear on America's supermarket shelves sporting the plumage of the moment. Such is the case of the 2008 Anything Goes Riesling (about $9). Behind a whimsical label featuring cartoonish stacked food animals and iffy typography hides a very good example of this varietal from Germany's celebrated Mosel region.

You know you've happened upon a winner when you twist off the cap and splash the honeyed aroma of ripe pear into your glass. Another sniff reveals the light floral notes that without ostentation make the pear really sing. Pear is prominent on the tongue, too, where it is joined by light lime for zest and a bit of cardamom for zing. The crisp finish boasts a parting shot of green apple. What a lovely little wine!

Anything Goes Riesling will make a nice poolside sipper when the weather warms, or pair it with creamy dishes, spicy fare and sushi. We tried it with a vegetarian dinner of cabbage and leek gratin under a mustard cream sauce with roasted beets and raw sugar snaps on the side. The combination was felicitous.

By Colette and John Bancroft. She is the Times' book editor, and he is a freelance writer specializing in food, wine and travel.