Last week, the temperature and humidity in the bullpen made it feel like I was working in a tropical rain forest. It was bad enough at the beginning of the week, when it was actually hot outside, because the air conditioning wasn’t working in my office. However, by the end of the week, the heat was on in the office, even though the temperature outside was a fairly reasonable upper-60s/low-70s. Wearing a suit in those types of conditions is just not fun, and it certainly doesn’t make for the best work environment. By the time I got home, I was practically suffering from heat exhaustion. All I wanted was some light food and some cool, crisp wine.

With that in mind, I opened the 2006 2 Brothers Riesling (winery; snooth). I purchased the wine without realizing that the 2 Brothers Winery, which is a partnership between two real-life brothers—Erik and Alex Bartholomaus—donates 50 cents to certain breast cancer research and hospice care charities in honor of their mother, Liliana S. Bartholomaus, who lost her battle against cancer in 2000. The project began in 2002, and by mid-2007, the 2 Brothers Winery donated over $1 million. Since then, they have continued to grow and hope to donate another $1 million by the end of 2009.

As I opened the screw top on the 2006 2 Brothers Riesling, I could smell the pronounced aromas immediately. Then, while pouring the wine into the glass, peach and apricot aromas came wafting up. Thankfully, the intensity dissipated quickly, leaving a medium pronounced smell of stone fruits—peach and apricot—and lime. There were also minerally aromas and a hint of white blossoms. Because the smells were so captivating, I dove right into them without checking the wine’s appearance. So, I had to go back and examine it, and I found the wine to be a pale gold with very slow forming legs. In the mouth, the mineral flavors dominated, but didn’t overpower the peaches and apricots. There was a hint of lime, honeydew melon, and blossoms on the finish. The wine could have had a little more crisp acidity to counter the juiciness, but that is more my preference rather than an actual complaint. Don’t be fooled by fruity descriptions, though, as the wine is not overly sweet.

Is this worth a glass after work? Sure…you won’t be drinking anything out of the ordinary, but you’ll definitely have a decent, reliable glass of wine. For $15 a bottle, you’ll not only be helping a good cause, but also be drinking a good wine. In terms of food, the 2006 2 Brothers Riesling would be nice to have with anything grilled. I drank it with grilled lemon pepper chicken, where the citrus from the chicken combined nicely with the citrus flavors in the wine. The Riesling also went well with hot dogs and mac & cheese, as the wine is light and crisp enough to help cut some of the grease from the hot dogs without overpowering them. If you’re looking to just sit and sip, the Riesling doesn’t have to be paired with food, as it is quite enjoyable on its own.

Overall: 3 Corks