Riesling has long been the basis for the finest wine in Germany. The steep slopes along the Rhine and Mosel rivers retain warmth and incubate grapes to full ripeness in the otherwise chilly climate.

An aromatic white grape variety, Riesling is not unlike Sauvignon Blanc in that it is fruity and floral, as opposed to vegetal. When the fruit is harvested ripe in the cool climate of Germany, the wines have green fruit flavours (green apple, grape) with floral notes and sometimes a hint of citrus fruit (lemon, lime). If you enjoy light, refreshing whites that have a relatively low level of alcohol, then keep reading.

Sugars build up slowly in this variety and it retains its acidity well. Although some may associate Riesling with sweet wines, they can be as bone dry as you like. Many of the branded German wines in the supermarkets are overly sweet, but a lot of these are Liebraumilch (a blend of grapes) rather than Riesling. True German Riesling is often made in a drier style – and the sweet ones are usually balanced by high acidity, making for a pleasant and refreshing wine, rather than one that is overly sweet.

When you are exploring German wine, look carefully at the label. This will help you find the style and quality of wine you want. Like other European countries, Germany has a government regulated wine rating system. The levels include Qualitatswein bestimmte Anbaugebiete (QbA), which is a medium quality wine, and Qualitatswein mit Pradikat (QmP), which is the highest level of quality. ‘Trocken’ means dry and ‘halbtrocken’ means half-dry. These should be noted on the label.

Our German range includes some cracking Rieslings (and a slightly rare but very special red!), and here are our top picks from other world class producers of this noble grape variety, all representing very different styles – Alsace (France), Australia and New Zealand.

For further reading, check out Curious Mike’s blog post on the ugly duckling of wine.