Riesling is considered as one of the most food-friendly wines in the world. That might surprise many people who are accustomed to drinking hearty red wines with main courses at dinner, because Riesling is a white wine. But this white wine is excellent with many meat and cheese dishes, such as those from in its native regions: several parts of Germany and Austria, as well as Alsace in France.
Riesling is one of the four noble varieties of grape grown in Alsace, which means it is a grape that is valued and traditional there. In that area, the wine is generally dry. In Austria and in Germany, Riesling has traditionally been sweeter, ranging from off-dry to extremely sweet. In fact, Germany and Austria have been famous for their exquisite Riesling dessert wines for centuries. But in the past five to ten years, producers in Austria and Germany have been developing many more great, dry Riesling wines.
Don’t worry if you’re a bit confused right now. Sweet? Dry? Past? Present? Actually, it took me some time to figure this out, myself. Soon after I began learning about wine, I was fortunately invited to visit Alsace, which is situated at the northern edge of where it is possible to grow wine grapes. One of my first surprises was sitting down to a lunch of dried sausages and cheese, and beef with vegetables – and enjoying Riesling throughout the meal. Amazingly, the flavors in the wine paired well with these northern-style dishes. When I thought about it, I realized that over the course of several centuries, the wines and the foods had probably evolved in tandem, so that of course they matched. Yet still, concept of white wine with meats did not come naturally to me.
Then I started to learn about the wine itself. Riesling, as I have already mentioned, grows very far north, at the limit of vineyards of vitis vinifera (which is the genus and species of European wine grapes). This limit occurs around 50 degrees latitude in Europe. At this latitude, the vines grow best when they are somewhat protected, such as on the south or southwest-facing slopes of the Vosges mountains in Alsace. These mountains shield the grapevines from cold, north winds and allow the grapes to ripen longer on the vine.
Aromas and Flavors
Different types of stone, such as flint and slate, lie under the topsoil in the hillside vineyards of Alsace. When tasting Riesling, you can imagine the taste of the stone when you encounter Rieslings’ characteristic minerality. Other types of stone also lie under the topsoil, and sometimes the soil itself has been broken down over many centuries. All these factors contribute to the aromas in the wine, which can range from floral and fruity to smoky and minerally. Similar aroma and flavor variations are apparent in good Riesling wines from Austria, Germany and other parts of the world where the Riesling grape is now grown.
One controversial element in Riesling wine is “petrol” which is the smell of petroleum, kerosene or linseed oil. It has been a traditional element in some wines for so long that many people believe this is a desirable characteristic in dry Riesling wines. I have never liked this scent, and I don’t tend to like Rieslings which carry it. Recently I have read of research that identifies this aroma as, at the least, unnecessary, and possibly even a fault in the wine, and I was very relieved -- however, this research is only in its early stages. People who like this aroma will find some older Rieslings with a petrol nose currently available in the market.
Sweet to Dry to Sweet
Moving on to Austria and Germany, for centuries it was traditional to find sweeter Rieslings made there, Rieslings which are also termed “off-dry.” These wines may have fruit aromas, notably apple, apricot, lit chi and peach. Or perhaps even notes of tropical fruit like passionfruit and pineapple which are especially noticeable when the wines are young. Delightful citrus elements such as lemon and lime shoot through both the aromas and flavors of many good Rieslings, extending as far as the wines’ finishes.
Nowadays, many producers in Germany and Austria are making dry Riesling wines, partly because they have observed the worldwide fashion in dry wines that began in the 1980s. Ironically, many young people today do not favor super-dry wines; instead they like off-dry style wines. Having grown up with popular sweet beverages like sweetened ice teas and juices, they went on to drink sweet cocktails in their teens and twenties, when they started drinking alcohol. Now, when their tastes
evolve further and they want to begin learning about wine, they are naturally attracted to wines with some sweetness. In fact, a bit of sweetness in a beverage is often a most desirable pairing for many foods. I hope European producers don’t reject centuries of wonderful sweet wine-making tradition and knowledge just to follow a fad – a fad that may have already have started waning with the Millennium generation.
Best and Brightest
With all these variables, how do you tell what makes a great Riesling? Bright acidity is a major characteristic of better Riesling wines. This is the element that makes your mouth water, that you feel along the sides of your tongue long after the wine has been swallowed. It stimulates the appetite and whets the palate for strong food flavors that can pair with the wines.
The best Rieslings also have layers. Layers of aromas and layers of flavor. They may begin with a hint of rose or peachblossom in the nose. In the mouth, the suggestion of fruit may intensify. Or it may transform itself into another flavor, that of minerals and cool slate, meadow grass, green apple – or all of the above. As the wine drains into the throat, more sensations become apparent: citrus, limestone, even a breath of cool, cavelike freshness. And then you are left with the mouthwatering intensity of acidity. And a desire for another bite of food, then another sip of wine. This is the best experience of Riesling, in my opinion.
Of course, since many European grapes migrated across the globe as Europeans settled in the Americas and further, Riesling naturally went with them. In the Southern hemisphere, good Riesling is grown in lower latitudes but in places with cooler climates and/or where the vineyards can be situated at higher altitudes.
Price and Quality
Unfortunately, some Rieslings are grown in less than optimum climates or conditions. This often results in wines that are more opulent and lush than a traditional Riesling. Sometimes they are fruity, sometimes even sweet – but not in a good way. In these instances, the Rieslings lack the critical element of lively acidity. Often, this is because the vines are planted in an area that is really too warm for this grape. Usually these wines are from New World wine regions – though there are also good Rieslings from these areas.
With wines from these areas, price is often an indication of quality – areas including California, Washington and New York in the United States, and in other parts of the world Australia, New Zealand, South Africa and Chile. Because some of these wines are less expensive, the lesser quality wines are often people’s first experiences with Riesling. It’s easy to see how consumers might not be tempted to go further with this grape if their first tastes are of flabby, sweet-ish wines.
Regarding expensive sweet wines, some of the most valuable sweet wines in the world are made from Riesling grapes. They are an absolute pleasure to sip and savor at the finish of a great meal. The most famous of these wines are produced in Germany; they are late-harvest wines, with powerful acidity that balances immense sugars, so the wines do not feel overwhelmingly sweet. They may be aged for many years. And then there are expensive icewines, the best of which now come from Germany and from Canada. But dessert wines are another whole topic, an exploration for another time.
Choosing Your Riesling
To figure out the taste of a bottle of Riesling -- on the dry-to-sweet scale -- look at the label and see if there is an IRF gauge. This is a Taste Profile developed by the International Riesling Foundation. It’s a small, horizontal line printed on the label, with the words “dry, medium dry, medium sweet, sweet” underneath it. There will be a little mark somewhere along the line, indicating where this particular bottle of wine fits on the scale. Though the IRF line is so new you won’t find it on every bottle, it is appearing on more and more wines. Which makes it so much easier to experiment with different types of Rieslings for different occasions.
Other clues can be found in the description on the wine’s label. If fruits are emphasized, the wine will taste sweet; it may be off-dry, or it may feel like it’s sweet because of the fruit aromas. If there are descriptors such as stone, steel, slate, citrus and mineral, the wine will tend to be drier, and it should finish on the dry side.
Luckily, in China there are many good Rieslings. And they come from most of the Riesling producing countries of the world. There are wines from producers of both dry and off-dry wines, so anyone can check the labels and try different styles. It’s important to try the wines with foods and not just sip them at tastings; Riesling wines are, after all, very food-friendly wines.
作者简介：贝琪·苏·爱泼斯旦 是在葡萄酒、烈酒、 美食以及旅游行业里的获奖记者、资深编辑、 广播员和顾问。