Great post Evan! Being not to far off from your area (Grand River Valley, OH) I see this a lot at our winery. I always tell people our Riesling is the "compromise wine" - for the couple that just can't choose. And I have to be sneaky sometimes too - ours has very low RS, but people will dismiss it because they're stage 2-ers. I always enjoy seeing the glimmer of conversion to Stage 3 at the bar. If I had my way I'd pour everything blind and not give people tasting lists - too psychologically influencing. I definitely went through this process - thought stage one may have been abbreviated as I was thrust into Loire and BDX reds early on. I'm nuts over German, NY, and S. American Riesling now. Have you had a chance to try Clean Slate? I think it's one of the best $10 bottles I've had - Mosel. Cheers!