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It is no exaggeration to say Riesling can appeal to most people, particularly wine beginners! You may first encounter Riesling in off-dry styles – very aromatic, slightly sweet, and make you fall in love in a sip. Actually, Riesling has much more to offer. Dry Riesling, for example, is a hot trend in the market; in the right conditions, it can be made into the rare Noble Rot wines, which are luscious and elegant. Check out our blog and 101 video to know more about this grape variety!
Styles of Riesling
Riesling is an aromatic grape variety and often expresses pronounced fruity aromas. It can be made into different styles, such as “Dry”, “Off-dry”, and “Sweet”. It is late-budding in the Spring, so it has higher resistance towards frost, making it suitable to be grown in cooler regions, such as some traditional Old World regions – Mosel of Germany, which is very famous for Riesling, and also the popular Alsace of France.
It’s also late-ripening. Late-ripening grapes have a longer growing period, thereby giving themselves more time to develop sugars and more complex flavours. The cool weather at the same time helps Riesling to keep its acidity, so generally, Riesling not only has a good acidity but also complex fruity aromas and flavours.
Another special character of Riesling is that after bottle ageing, it will display unique petrol or gasoline aromas. Pay attention to it when trying an aged Riesling next time!
Popular Regions
Riesling is of course the treasure in Mosel, located in the Northern Part of Germany. The area is known for the steep slopes of the region’s vineyards overlooking the river and has the world record of the steepest vineyard in the world. Because of the cool climate, Mosel Riesling is often light with lower alcohol and high acidity, displaying very attractive floral aromas.
Alsace of France, very proximal to Germany, is also home to some versatile and world-famous Riesling. Their Riesling is usually more full-bodied and richer.
Apart from the Old World regions, quite a lot of New World regions produce high-quality Riesling, too. For example, Clare Valley in Australia, with the sought-after Grosset wines being a signature example.
Clare Valley is of moderate continental climate. It has hot summers, resulting in ripe fruit, but its cool afternoon breeze can help moderate the temperature to maintain the grapes’ acidity. That makes Clare Valley perfect for growing Riesling. The resulting Riesling is usually medium to full-bodied and dry, very different from the European norm and standing out in its own Australian style.
Riesling Food Pairing
Usually, we drink Riesling for its refreshing feel. Combined with its rich fruit and perfumed characters, it’s perfect to pair with fruit salad, crystalline ice plant, asparagus, and other food similarly refreshing. Also, because of Dry Riesling’s good acidity, it pairs well with Chinese cuisines, such as steamed chicken and steamed fish with pickled cabbage.
As for Off-dry Riesling, they make a perfect coupon with Asian cuisines, particularly the Asian food that is sweet and sour, such as Thai fried shrimp cakes, papaya salad, and Vietnamese rice vermicelli.
Lastly, sweet wine made with Riesling can pair with dessert, especially if the desserts are added with honey or royal jelly. Riesling sweet wines’ round mouthfeel can match with them well.
