Grape variety
Riesling
Riesling, the great white of cool climates: its origin, where it grows from the Mosel to Australia, styles from dry to sweet, and pairings.
- Colour
- White
- Origin
- Rhine region; parents by DNA: Gouais Blanc and a descendant of Traminer; first recorded in 1435
- Main regions
- Germany (about 24,000 hectares), Alsace (about 3,400), Austria, Australia (Clare Valley, Eden Valley)
- Grown in Switzerland
- A rarity at just under 30 hectares; “Riesling-Sylvaner” is Müller-Thurgau
- Typical aromas
- Lemon, lime, green apple, peach, blossom, wet stone; honey and petrol with age
- Classic pairing
- Smoked trout, choucroute, pork, Asian cooking; sweet versions with fruit desserts
Riesling is the great white of cool climates: light in body, high in acidity and yet deeper than almost any other variety. The oldest known record dates from 1435, when the accounts of the Count of Katzenelnbogen at Rüsselsheim on the Main list Riesling vine cuttings for a vineyard. DNA analysis points to Gouais Blanc, a grape widely grown in the Middle Ages, and to a descendant of Traminer. A later cross of Riesling with Madeleine Royale gave Müller-Thurgau.
With about 24,000 hectares, nearly a quarter of its vineyards, Germany has the largest Riesling area in the world: on the slate of the Mosel as much as in the Rheingau, the Pfalz and along the Nahe. Alsace follows with about 3,400 hectares and mostly makes it dry, the best sites as Grand Cru. In Austria the Wachau, Kamptal and Kremstal show it at its peak; a Wachau Smaragd is dry and has at least 12.5 per cent alcohol. In Australia’s Clare Valley it shows a great deal of lime, in Eden Valley more lemon and blossom. Because Riesling shows the soil so clearly, the differences can be read: slate on the Mosel, primary rock in the Wachau, granite, limestone and marl in Alsace. In Switzerland true Riesling is a rarity at just under 30 hectares. The “Riesling-Sylvaner” on Swiss labels is Müller-Thurgau, and Welschriesling is not related to Riesling at all.
In the glass Riesling is above all acidity and perfume: lemon, lime, green apple, peach, blossom and a cool, stony note. How sweet the wine is is a matter for the label, not the grape. A large share is made dry today; beside it stands the German Prädikat system, which grades grape ripeness from Kabinett through Spätlese and Auslese to Beerenauslese, Trockenbeerenauslese and Eiswein. A fruity Mosel Kabinett often has only 7 to 8 per cent alcohol, and its sweetness is carried by so much acidity that it stays light and fresh. With the years good wines develop honey, quince and the famous petrol note, which comes from the compound TDN and is not a fault; the best last for decades. The vine ripens late and copes well with cold, which is why it thrives where other varieties no longer ripen.
With so much acidity and so little weight, Riesling is a dependable partner at the table. Dry, it goes with smoked trout, fish in a cream sauce, pork and choucroute; with a touch of residual sugar, with spicy Asian cooking, where the sweetness calms the heat; sweet, with fruit desserts and blue cheese. Simple wines are drunk young and well chilled, while the great ones can be left for a few years and served not too cold.