Magazine of wine 

Rieslings have been misunderstood and overlooked for decades. It is a grape varietal that has a refreshing, everyday appeal yet it is immediately thought of as a semi sweet alternative to dry white wine. In reality, it is a versatile grape that can assume a wide spectrum of diverse flavor profiles ranging from crisp mineral and lemon-grass-driven acidity to delicate floral attributes with hidden fresh fruit notes of green apple, citrus and white nectarine. If you opt for more exotic tropical notes, you can find them in late-harvest renditions. Either way, you have a wealth of options and countries to choose from that are sure to offer you an elegant and harmonious white that can find affinity with Mediterranean cuisine, balance the heat in spice-inspired recipes or will glisten on its own during a warm summer day.

Riesling’s official day of origin is recognized as March 13, 1435. This birthdate recognizes the first evidence of this grape in the cellar log of Count Katzenelnbogen near Rheingau, Germany. In the 16th century there was a push for higher quality Rieslings and by the 1850’s Riesling wine had achieved notoriety with pricing at the same level as the wines of Bordeaux and Champagne. World Wars led to the decimation of vineyards and a lack of international demand for German wine. Production of Liebfraumilch, German for “Our Lady’s Milk” originally derived from vineyards surrounding the Church of Our Lady in Worms, Germany. Although its stoic history can be traced back to 1745, it achieved popularity in 1923 within Germany when Peter Sichel launched Blue Nun. It became fashionable within the US and the UK between the 1950’s and the 1980’s when nearly two million cases were exported. Later, it became recognized as a more generic, regionally blended wine which lead to its decline along with the perception of quality German wine.

Reform of German wine laws occurred in 1971 with a new quality oriented classification. The two most important categories established by this system were Qualitätswein (quality wine) and Qualitätswein mit Prädikat or Prädikatwein (quality wine with a special attribute). This stringent classification framework categorized wines according to their natural ripeness level at harvest. The ascending levels of sweetness include Kabinett, Spätlese, Auslese, Beerenauslese, Trockenbeerenauslese and Eiswein.

These wines must adhere to a minimum alcohol level and need to originate from one of the 13 German wine-growing districts. They can only be made from legally permitted grapes in Germany and the addition of sugar in Prädikatwein is prohibited. The framework for Qualitätswein was further defined in 2021. Later wines with the term, Trocken (dry) and Halbtrocken (half-dry) were introduced. Today, nearly 48% of German wines are considered to be dry by European Union definitions. The VDP eagle logo atop the capsule further signifies wines from Germany’s finest vineyard sites.
Germany's wine regions are predominantly situated along river valleys such as the Rhine, Mosel, and Nahe. These areas benefit from a temperate climate that balances warm summer days and cool nights, which is essential for slow ripening of the grapes and developing complex flavors with vibrant acidity. The acidity provides the backbone for the ripeness in the wines. Riesling is a transparent grape with an innate ability to be reflective of the varied soils where it is grown revealing a rich tapestry of flavors and aromas. In the Mosel Valley, Rieslings can express striking floral aromas with green apple and white peach elements with an underlying wet mineral or crushed limestone-driven texture. Within the Rhine, Rieslings exhibit a fuller body with stone fruits layered with baking spices.

One of Riesling’s most remarkable attributes is its aging potential. The high acidity and natural sugars allow Rieslings to develop gracefully over decades. With age, Rieslings transform, developing complex tertiary aromas of petrol, honey, and dried apricot, while retaining their natural fresh acidity.

Rieslings' revival and increased notoriety broadened in the 1990’s and in 2001 as Germans spent more money on wine than beer. Today, a younger generation of German winemakers are carrying on family legacies with organic and biodynamic farming with a close eye on tradition.

Rieslings’ rise in Alsace, France dates back to 1477 when it was part of the German Holy Roman Empire. The wine regions of Alsace are situated in the northeastern corner of France directly across the Rhine River bordering Germany’s Baden wine growing region. The vineyards run in a narrow swath from north to south. Since 1681, Alsace has changed hands multiple times with Germany. It was officially annexed to France for the last time in 1918 following the Treaty of Versailles. While the national language is neither French nor German, but Alsatian, the regional cuisine closely resembles that of Germany and the Riesling wines are distinctly Alsatian.