- You actively want sweet wine
- Low alcohol matters
- You are pairing with heat, salt or fruit-driven dessert
The Grocery Store Wine verdict
Pacific Rim
Sweet Riesling
Pacific Rim Sweet Riesling is a specialist, not a compromise: genuinely sweet, low in alcohol and backed by enough acidity to keep the profile awake. It is one of the clearest labels in the aisle about what it intends to deliver.
- Region
- Columbia Valley
- Grape
- Riesling
- The release we researched
- 2022
- Price context
- 8 exact store checks below
What it costs
Exact regular prices from dated store checks.
- Kroger, Atlanta suburbs, GA$9.99
- Kroger, Cincinnati, OH$8.99
- Kroger, Knoxville, TN$11.99
- Kroger, Richmond, VA$9.99
- King Soopers, Colorado Springs, CO$10.99
- Fred Meyer, Portland, OR$12.99
- QFC, Tacoma, WA$11.99
- Ralphs, Long Beach, CA$14.99
Observed at specific stores; your store will vary. A price target, not an ad.
Pacific Rim Sweet Riesling is a specialist, not a compromise: genuinely sweet, low in alcohol and backed by enough acidity to keep the profile awake. It is one of the clearest labels in the aisle about what it intends to deliver.
Our call uses producer and regional evidence, dated public ratings and the bottle’s position in the aisle. Price never enters the GSW Score.
- You want dry Riesling
- You dislike overt sweetness
- You prefer oak or broad body
Serve chilled, then let the glass warm enough to show aroma and texture.
Match the bottle’s sweet white structure, sweetness and acidity to the food rather than to the label’s prestige.
The release and package behind our call.
We researched this release from the producer's own material and current retail listings. We haven't held this exact bottle yet — when we do, we'll say so.
2022 research profile
- Retailer-supplied source identifier
- 0089955210227 retailer listing evidence
What to expect in the glass.
Region, production, chemistry and house style point to a clear sensory profile. This is the profile we would buy against.
73.3 g/L residual sugar
7.2 g/L total acidity
8% ABV and production method
Producer description
Understanding Columbia Valley without flattening it.
Columbia Valley is large, dry and internally varied. Its rain-shadow climate and cool nights are useful context, but a statewide-scale AVA never replaces vineyard or subappellation sourcing.
A protected place
A federally recognized American Viticultural Area established in 1984. It covers most of Washington’s wine-growing land and crosses into Oregon.
The climate frame
The Cascade rain shadow keeps annual precipitation near 6–8 inches across much of the valley. Long summer days and cool nights support ripeness while preserving acidity; irrigation is fundamental.
What can be claimed
Windblown loess, flood deposits, gravel and basalt-derived material recur across the valley. The broad AVA does not establish one soil for a finished blend.
Scale, without the fog
- Area
- About 11 million acres, with more than 60,000 acres planted to wine grapes in the authority record. established
- Riesling context
- Riesling was Washington’s second-largest 2023 variety at 24,357 tons, 15% of the crop. established
Subregions worth tracking
- Nested places
- Yakima Valley, Walla Walla Valley, Horse Heaven Hills and other AVAs sit within the larger Columbia Valley framework. established
- Resolution limit
- A Columbia Valley label does not establish a single vineyard, elevation or soil series. disclosed
What 2022 meant in Columbia Valley.
A cold April delayed bud break, then a long warm autumn gave Washington fruit additional ripening time.
The statewide authority describes a late, compressed finish with enough warmth to complete ripening. It is regional context, not proof of one producer lot.
- Harvest frame
- Late start followed by extended autumn ripening established
What is specific to this 2022 bottle.
The numbers make the proposition honest: 73.3 g/L residual sugar and 8% alcohol, balanced against 7.2 g/L acidity. This is deliberately sweet Riesling, not a dry bottle that missed its mark.
Production
Low-temperature stainless-steel fermentation is stopped before dryness; the producer says no sugar is added and natural carbon dioxide is retained.
Taste claim
Producer-stated ripe stone fruit, citrus and floral Riesling character with sweetness balanced by acidity.
Pacific Rim
The named producer is established; current corporate ownership is not inferred beyond the reviewed producer material.
Pacific Rim was founded around Riesling and built its Washington identity by making the grape across several sweetness levels.
The producer stops a cool stainless-steel fermentation to retain natural grape sugar and preserves some carbon dioxide for lift.
- Composition
- 100% Riesling from Columbia Valley producer stated
- Finished wine
- 8% ABV; 73.3 g/L residual sugar; 7.2 g/L total acidity producer stated
- Fermentation
- Cool stainless-steel fermentation stopped to retain grape sugar; no sugar added producer stated
- Retailer-reported package
- 2.94 × 11.89 × 2.94 in; 2.81 lb gross; 1.66 lb net disclosed
What is still open.
Conflicts and missing evidence stay visible until a physical bottle or stronger source settles them.
- Source identifier
- The retailer-supplied source identifier fails a GTIN check-digit test and is not a certified physical barcode. disclosed
- Physical shelf match
- Not yet acquired; vintage, lot, importer and physical barcode remain unverified not found
- Artwork
- Approved artwork is missing. The page uses the reserved placeholder path. not found
Claims stay attached to evidence.
Every claim on this page shows where we found it and when we last checked. If we got something wrong, tell us — we fix it in public.
SourcePublisher / how strong the source isChecked
Columbia Valley AVA ↗
Washington State Wine CommissionLegal, climate, soil and scale context
2022 Washington vintage overview ↗
Washington State Wine Commission2022 growing season and harvest
2023 Washington wine-grape report ↗
Washington State Wine Commission2023 growing season, harvest and crop scale
Pacific Rim release and producer record ↗
Pacific RimRelease, production, taste and producer facts
Dated retailer product record
KrogerPackage, identifier and data-quality checks
Kroger product rating ↗
Kroger4.38 / 5 from 1,533 ratings
Target product rating ↗
Target4.38 / 5 from 1,475 ratings
Total Wine product rating ↗
Total Wine4.70 / 5 from 145 ratings
Front, back, fine print.
The label, the barcode, and the fine print — captured so you can read what the bottle actually says.
- Primary retailer identifier
- 0089955210227
- Editorial status
- Verdict published
- Artwork class
- Clean packshot
- How much we know
- Region and release researched
