Phở Mo’
A series where we order take-out Phở from different places around town, and then taste a few Rieslings we have in stock to see how they play with that particular soup selection.
Then, we report back to you here.
September 28, 2026
Today’s Soup:
- Luc Lac Vietnamese Kitchen; Round Steak and Brisket Phở
- 835 SW 2nd Ave, Portland, OR 97204
Wines selected:
- Müller-Catoir Mandelgarten Spätlese Nahe 2018 $24.50
- Carl Loewen Herrenberg Mosel Kabinett 2022 $26
- Prinz Hallgarten Hendelberg Rheingau Trocken 2020 $28
Dang, this soup is delicious!
The broth is fragrant and deeply layered with flavor. Redolent of hard and sweet spices and just enough heat that I’d actually say it’s spicy. Not quite enough to break a sweat, though. Slices of beef with rice noodles, garnished with bean sprouts, basil, and jalapeno kept my interest and attention all the way through. Why am I not getting soup here more often?
All three wines were super tasty with this Phở, enough so that anyone of us would’ve been content to finish any one bottle and the bowl in their entirety. In the end, we were evenly divided for a clear favorite. Here’s what we learned from this episode of Riesling, Right Now! Phở Mo’ edition.
Prinz Hallgarten Hendelberg Rheingau Trocken 2020
This is the driest and most athletic of these three wines. It delivers a sense of power, an herbal edge, and mineral-bass that really emphasized the beefiness of the soup. I loved how the pleasing iron-iodine quality of beef plays to the hard mineral heft of the wine, and how the wine in turn deepens the dark, hard spices in the broth. The combination is dry, savory, and serious.
Carl Loewen Herrenberg Mosel Kabinett 2022
Fragrance and spice come right through this very proper wine. The texture here feels softer in contrast to the Prinz, but there is still plenty of tension and freshness, with just a touch of sweet to balance a blue-steel-blade of acidity. This wine sings loudest with the basil, alliums, and green elements in the soup, and does so in an exciting way that emphasizes their spiciness over their green or vegetal qualities. This was Cindy and Christian’s favorite.
MÜller-Catoir Mandelgarten Spätlese Nahe 2018
The richest wine of the lot, both in style and age, this one is now flirting with a more golden aromatic-color-spectrum; young apricot, warm spices, and jasmine honey, sewn together with a thread of live electric wire. I’m showing my hand here, to reveal my own favorite (and Ross too!), as it was this bottle that I felt played best overall, cooling the heat of the jalapeños, lighting up with the fragrance of the spiced broth, and deepening the savory layers.
As always, thanks for taking the time to read this latest episode of Riesling, Right Now! The Phở Mo’ Edition No. 1.
Don’t miss out! Future Phở and future Riesling will be back, right here.
Cheers!
Ksandek