Grape variety · White
Riesling
A cool-climate white grape of piercing acidity and pure fruit, made in every style from bone-dry to lusciously sweet.
- White
- Home: Germany, Rhine valley
- Germany, France, Austria, Australia
At a glance
- Also known as
- Rheinriesling
- Weisser Riesling
- Riesling Renano
- Johannisberg Riesling
- Colour
- White
- Origin
- Germany, Rhine valley
- Main regions
- Mosel, Rheingau, Pfalz and Nahe in Germany; Alsace; Austria (Wachau, Kamptal); Clare and Eden Valleys in Australia; Washington, New York, Ontario
- Varietal or blend
- Almost always a single variety.
- Body & sweetness
- Light to medium-bodied; dry, off-dry, sweet, or ice wine.
Taste & style
- Flavour
- Lime, green apple, peach and apricot, white flowers; a petrol or kerosene note often develops with age.
- Style
- Usually unoaked; low-alcohol, sweet Mosel styles balance sugar against acid. Ages exceptionally well.
In the vineyard & winery
- Growing
- Hardy in winter and late-ripening, so it suits steep, sunny slopes in cool places. Prone to noble rot for sweet wines.
- Winemaking
- Fermented cool in steel or old casks; sweet wines can be from late-harvested, botrytised or frozen grapes.
Food matches
- Pork and sausages
- Spicy Asian food (off-dry styles)
- Smoked fish
- Fruit desserts (sweet styles)
Notes
- Not related to Welschriesling, Laski Rizling or other similarly named grapes.
- German Prädikat labels (Kabinett, Spätlese, Auslese) measure ripeness at harvest.
From the glossary
Premier white wine grape of Germany and Alsace, known as Rheinriesling in Austria and Riesling Renano in Northern Italy.
From the Wine Grape Glossary by Anthony J. Hawkins (1931–2018), reproduced with authorship credit as he requested. Written in the 1990s.