A new tradition has begun! Thanks to Paul Grieco and his crew at Hearth/Terroir in New York, and their partnership with the International Riesling Foundation, summer is now officially Riesling Time.

This celebration gives the wine trade an engaging and entertaining way to focus on Riesling during the summer months.

The requirement for a restaurant or wine bar to participate is very simple: commit to pouring three Rieslings by the glass all summer. If you’re a retailer, there are two simple directives: Maintain a dedicated Riesling display in your store and host at least three Riesling tastings throughout the summer.

Beyond the basic requirements, restaurants and wine shops can also get as creative as they want with special Riesling events and activities: Riesling dinners, Riesling raves, themed tastings, special flights, happy hours, dance parties … Anything is possible, and the more creative the better!

Please join the Riesling cause by going to the Summer of Riesling website to sign up now. When you do, they will send you all kinds of goodies to get you started, such as T-shirts, buttons, stickers and tattoos. After that it’s up to you to dive in and get the full-on Riesling Fever going at your place.

Distributors: Download and print these Summer of Riesling invitation cards, which explain the participation details for restaurants and retailers: restaurant or retail

SHARE YOUR IDEAS FOR RECOGNITION AND PRIZES

Keep us posted on what you’re doing, and we’ll let the world know on our blog, Twitter, Facebook and Pinterest pages. Each week, we’ll choose our favorite Summer of Riesling idea and give you special recognition. At the end of the summer, we’ll select our overall favorite and some inventive wine pro will get a free pass to the 2013 Riesling Rendezvous