March 13th is a significant date on the wine calendar because it’s Riesling's birthday! On this day in 1435, in the Rheingau area of Germany, Count Katzenelnbogen's cellar log contains the earliest recorded mention of the Riesling grape.
The grape was and still is a fragrant white varietal that yields a wide range of wine types. A fine riesling is age-worthy, food-friendly, and versatile—it checks all the boxes. It might be bright, flowery, fruity, light, deep, complex, or anything. It can range from being bone dry to quite sweet.
Why Is Riesling So Popular?
Riesling is among the top three white grapes in the world, along with sauvignon blanc and chardonnay, and it makes some of the best white wines you can purchase. This aromatic wine has a range of tastes, including citrus fruits, fresh green apples, peaches, and apricots. Additionally, riesling is a wine that ages well; some varieties can mature for several decades.
Cooler regions cultivate the best riesling wines, originating in Germany's milder temperatures. The vine can withstand spring frosts because of its late budding habit, but it requires a long growth season and plenty of sunshine to reach the proper level of ripeness. Even sweeter, later harvest specimens retain that refreshing impact because the grape's inherent high acidity persists until it reaches full ripeness.
What is Australian Riesling?
Australia has some of the world's most outstanding riesling locations; thus, at the risk of sounding like tall poppies, our riesling game is on point.
Australian riesling is generally dry, crisp, and steely, but don't let that deceive you into thinking it's a one-trick pony. You'll find incredible diversity from region to region regarding traditional site and soil profiles. Combined with a winemaker's unique style, you can find a marvellous selection of Riesling wine in Australia that can range from flowery, lemony, sharp, and racy to stone-fruited, textured, and sweet.
In summary, these are the places you should be aware of if you enjoy sipping up on Australian Riesling wine: Clare Valley, Eden Valley, the Great Southern Region, Tasmania, Western and Central Victoria. They’re all home to some of the world's best rieslings.
What to Expect?
Whatever the source, Riesling is known for its vibrant, energising acidity that maintains equilibrium. And by everything, we mean practically everything. Younger examples are usually lean racy, with aromatic notes of green apple, lemon and lime citrus, and elderflower flowers. There are also some steely, wet-stone, flinty mineral notes present.
In late-harvest or older specimens, you'll find more stone-fruited apricots and white peaches in your glass, as well as vintages or places with a little more heat and sunlight during the growing season. As it ages, Riesling can also display traditional notes of rubber and gasoline, which adds to the drop's complexity.
Australia is a great place to explore the variety of Riesling wines available. But given their well-established histories, Alsace and Germany—the origin of Riesling—are where you'll find the most expensive and premium versions.
Alsation rieslings are usually more stone-fruited, although dry German rieslings are often better renowned for being more flowery and lemony. Some Alsatian winemakers also utilise large-format old oak rather than steel winemaking to balance out some of that acidity and add a little body.
How to Serve Riesling Wine?
In addition to being a very adaptable wine for food pairing, riesling is also a great beverage to enjoy with friends outside in the spring or summer. Even the dry examples from cooler climates have less alcohol, so they're an excellent option to choose when you want to keep things a little lighter.
Due to its high natural acidity, Riesling is best served cold at 7 to 10 degrees Celsius (at least two hours in the fridge before you plan to drink it). In this manner, you'll maximise the refreshing acidity and the aromatics.
Food Pairings
A true all-arounder, vino experts often suggest riesling for food pairings because of its zesty freshness, which can infuse brightness and lift into any event.
Riesling works well for classic Thai or Vietnamese food, especially if you're going to a BYO restaurant. Try it with roti satay sauce, chicken pad thai, or prawn green curry. You can also ask it to join you the next time you enjoy a banh mi with lemongrass chicken. Pour yourself a long, languid glass for a shuck a dozen oysters on a sunny afternoon; it's also a fantastic oyster wine.
Restaurant menus frequently match sweeter rieslings with desserts; nevertheless, the wine should be sweeter than the dish to avoid making the dessert seem tart. Treat yourself to something genuinely unrestrained, like a chunk of blue cheese. It's the finest of all worlds, giving the savoury rieslings a sweeter sensation than even dry rieslings.
Barbecued prawns, roast pork belly with pickled green mango, caramelised onion and goat’s cheese tart are three more dishes that go amazing with the different types of Riesling wine in Australia.
