The return of riesling

T here are two easy ways to spot a wine anorak. One is that he (or she, but it usually is a he) will profess an undying love for s

herry. The other is an obsession with riesling. These devotees are eternally optimistic that the rest of the world will someday see the light and start drinking large quantities of these two wines. I have to plead guilty to both counts, but hope I manage to hide my nerdy side most of the time. However, at the risk of exposing myself as completely deluded, I think I can finally spot an increased interest in both.

With sherry my optimism is not yet borne out by a huge upsurge of interest in Ireland; more green shoots.

In London, however, where tapas/sherry bars have been the height of fashion for a year or two now, no self-respecting modern eatery would dream of leaving it off their list. A similar upswing has taken place in New York and other US cities.

Our attitude to riesling is a different matter. Until recently mere mention of the word in Ireland brought forth cries of “What, Blue Nun?” and “I don’t like sweet wine”. No matter that Liebfräumilch contains little if any riesling or that most riesling is dry or off-dry these days or that we happily slurp off-dry sauvignon, pinot grigio and even red wines on a regular basis.

In this country it has taken riesling from any country many years to escape this prejudice.

This seems to be changing however. I note that each year, a few more importers add a dry German riesling to their list. Several have told me that sales are reasonably brisk.

The German Commercial Office last year brought a group of producers over here to seek business; they tell me almost all are now represented in Ireland. The increased interest in riesling appears to be accompanied by another mini-boom this time in German spätburgunder (or pinot noir).

Lest we forget, riesling is one of the world’s greatest grape varieties. Germany produces the best examples, followed by Alsace, Austria and Australia.

Other countries try very hard, with New Zealand probably next in line, but my (possibly narrow) view is, why bother when you can enjoy all of the above wines? I was going to include a couple of rieslings from Australia and Alsace, but to be honest, the German wines were so much better than anything else I tasted, I have concentrated on those.

The labels may be difficult to read at times but it is certainly worth doing a little research. I always advise wine lovers to start by looking for the words “riesling” and “trocken” (dry) on the label. Sadly, my second piece of advice is to ignore anything under €15. Most of the good stuff costs €18 and upwards but standards are very high at this level. The very best, generally under the title Grosse Gewächse (or great growths) sell for €40-60, still considerably cheaper than their counterparts in Burgundy. The riesling from Keller below is one of the best white wines I have tasted so far this year.

The various wine areas produce different styles of wine, although all feature that marvellous combination of racy acidity and precise clean elegant fruits. My favourites are Franken, Nahe and Rheinhessen, but the classic regions of Mosel and Rheingau should not be ignored.

Riesling is one of the most food friendly wines you can find. Lighter styles make a fantastic aperitif. It is low in alcohol so you can drink a few glasses without a problem.

Slightly more full-bodied wines are fantastic with seafood of all descriptions and brilliant with pork, chicken and duck. If you are serving a table of mixed appetisers or a summer buffet, there are few more accommodating wines. It can also partner up nicely with Japanese, Thai and Chinese food, the latter two with off-dry riesling.

I hesitate to mention the sweet word, but once summer arrives, I have a hankering for a classic German riesling Kabinett. This is a wonderfully delicate off-dry style of wine, with alcohol levels of a mere 7-11 per cent.

With intense floral aromas, fruit so fleeting that it glides over the tongue, the touch of sweetness combined with tingling fresh citrus acidity, it really is summer in a glass.

The very best examples come from the Mosel; look out for the names Sybille Kuntz, Loosen and von Richter.

If this seems a step too far, I would certainly recommend that you try out one of the trockens below.