Riesling – Not As Sweet As You May Think

By Alex Russell on March 20, 2014 in Food

When many people think of Riesling, the first thing that comes to mind is: “No thanks, I don’t like sweet wine.” And yes, some Rieslings are sweet, but many aren’t, especially in Australia.

Winemaking
When it comes to making Riesling, the winemaker’s toughest decision is when to pick the grapes in order to get the best acid/sugar balance. While this is the case with all grapes, it’s especially true for Riesling as the winemaker doesn’t do much else with the wine after that.

Well, that’s not entirely true – they’re constantly testing and monitoring it to ensure that everything is okay. However, Riesling is generally made without the use of oak or any other techniques that can be used to cover up problems. It’s a purist’s wine.

The winemaker can stop the fermentation early if they like. This’ll mean that less sugar becomes alcohol, resulting in a low alcohol, sweeter style. If you grab a Riesling and the alcohol is somewhere around 8%, you can pretty much bet that it’s a sweeter drop. If you’ve got something around 12% you’re looking at a drier wine. Anything in the middle is likely to have an element of sweetness. If you see something about ‘grams residual’, this refers to how much unfermented sugar is left in the wine. It’s not always listed on the label, but if it is, anywhere under about 4 or 5 g/L will be quite dry.

Sweetness is not a bad thing though. If it’s not over the top (like a dessert wine) and it’s balanced with the acid, it can actually be a really beautiful wine. Some of the best Rieslings have a bit of sweetness going on. In fact, a little bit of sweetness can be perfect with spicy foods. I had a bottle of Dr Loosen Wehlener Sonnenuhr (a German Riesling – Wehlen is a village, Sonnenuhr means sundial) with some Vietnamese the other night and it was a brilliant match.

Regions
In Australia, the Clare Valley is generally considered the duck’s nuts. Some of the best producers are Grosset, Kilikanoon and Petaluma. Clare is famous for Rieslings with a beautiful, crisp acidity to them. In contrast, the Eden Valley tends to produce Rieslings with a broader feel to them. It’s hard to go past Pewsey Vale, but there are some other crackers, like Peter Lehmann.

Victoria is doing some great stuff too. In the Grampians you’ll find great value with Best’s (seriously, look for it), Mount Langi and Seppelt. For something different, try Jasper Hill from Heathcote. Over in WA, my personal favourites are Leeuwin Estate and Howard Park. I’ve seen Howard Park around at some killer prices recently too.

What about overseas? The Germans are particularly good at Riesling, but you almost need to do a degree to understand the labels. If you’re going to head down the German Riesling path (and please do), do a little bit of research first. The labels will give you an indication of the sweetness of the wine, so know what kind you’re looking for. You can spend hundreds of dollars here for a really good half bottle, if that’s your thing.

Try Austria and Alsace, too. Oh, and the Kiwis – they’re all right, I suppose.

Why Riesling?
If you listen to people who work with wine, they get really excited about Riesling. Why? Because it’s so pure and reflects the vineyard and vintage conditions really well.

Don’t try just one. See if you can get a few friends over and open up two or three. Taste them side-by-side and you’ll pick up on some really interesting differences. Start with a Pewsey Vale (readily available) and see how you go.