WellnessOptions Magazine issue11

Of all the world’s noble grapes, none can match Riesling for the diversity of wine styles it can generate. From flinty dry to lusciously sweet, Riesling wines tickle, tease, and tantalize the palate in a spectrum of flavours well beyond the range of any other grape varietal. By David Goldberg

Paradoxically, this diversity does not depend on ingenious interventions by the winemaker, as is the case with RieslingÍs main rival, Chardonnay. Rather, it is the consequence of natural forces that give the grape the sugar, acid, and aromatic components required to create the style of wine desired. Factors such as: soil character and composition, vineyard elevation, the point of the compass towards which the vines face, and the amount of sunlight they receive are the main forces in determining the quality of the grapes and their wine derivatives. While this is largely true of all vines, it is especially so with Riesling because of another paradox: although the vines are very slow to ripen, they thrive in the frozen North rather than the sunny South. This means that Canada is a haven (or heaven) for the Riesling grape. Beyond tending to the health of the vines by good viticultural practices the winemaker has little to do. He cannot stamp his personality on the wine by playing around with length of skin contact, barrel fermentation, fancy filtration (or non-filtration) techniques, or oak aging. Rarely, if ever, can Riesling be improved by blending in other grapes. There are only two really crucial decisions for the winemaker: when (and how) to harvest the grapes, and how long to allow fermentation to proceed. These judgements will determine the final balance and character of the wine.

And now a few words about the worldÍs major Riesling-producing regions.

Germany

The finest expression of the Riesling grape is to be found among the vines growing on the steeply terraced slopes of the River Rhine and its tributaries, the Mosel and Nahe, representing the most northerly vineyards in Europe. Beyond the simple Tafelwein (Table Wine) and QBA (Quality Wine from a Specific Region) categories, a majestic and towering hierarchy (QMP, Quality Wine with Certificate) has been developed to describe and certify the quality and sugar content of the wines based on ripeness at harvest.

Lightest in the category is Kabinett, often regarded as the winemakerÍs house-wine for everyday consumption. From vines that are left to ripen after the general harvest is brought in come two further categories in ascending order of sweetness and alcohol content: Spatlese (Late Harvest) and Auslese (Select Harvest). Historically, the first represented an indiscriminate gathering of grapes from the surviving vines, whereas the second comprised individual bunches of grapes specially chosen for their ripeness, but nowadays the weight and sugar content of the grape juice prior to fermentation determines the category.

Beerenauslese wines are made from handpicked ripe or overripe berries that may even be affected by the fungus Botrytis cinerea (Noble Rot), a prerequisite for all of the grapes employed to produce Trockenbeerenauslese. Both are notable for their richness, sweetness and complexity, especially the latter, which requires a long autumn of sunshine and damp to allow the grape and its parasite to thrive, conditions that occur only a few years in each decade.

The final category that, once again, tests the judgement and gambling skills of the producer is Eiswein (Icewine), made from frozen grapes that have survived rains, storms, birds, insects, and rot (although botrytised grapes can be used), and whose pure concentrated nectar can be separated from the solid ice that would normally dilute it.

In recent times, responding to the current disdain for sweet wines, German producers have begun making wines in a deliberately drier style. By prolonging fermentation, they are able to lower the sugar and raise the alcohol content. This technique works best when the grapes start with the sugar level expected of Late Harvest grapes. The resulting wines are designated Trocken (dry) or Halb-Trocken (semi-dry) based upon the residual sugar.

Less expensive German wines are a blend of all sorts of white grapes, including Riesling, and are often known by the generic name Liebfraumilch. They are one step above lemonade, and have served a useful role in introducing new wine drinkers to the beverage.

Fine Riesling grapes need no assistance and do not enjoy the company of other varietals. Fresh and fruity when young, they can age beautifully for 20 years, gaining a complexity that other white grapes can only achieve by skilful blending or barrel aging. Typically, Mosel Rieslings have a pale green colour, aromas of rose and orange blossom laced with gasoline, a palate that is light, petillant (spritzy) and flush with citric acidity, and flavours that can include: sweet oatmeal, cashew, raisin, fig, papaya, honey and butterscotch. The texture becomes thicker and the honeyed toffee more pronounced as one goes from the quality of Kabinett to Trockenbeerenauslese.

The wines of the most Northern part of the Rhine Valley (Rheingau) are fuller in body and higher in alcohol than those of the Mosel. They represent the Riesling grape at its most powerful and flavoursome character, often attaining the elegance and intensity of the finest Mosel, but if one word has to be selected to epitomize the latter, it is charm. Some splendid Rieslings hail from two other regions of North Germany, Rheinpfalz (Palatinate) and Rheinhessia. They can be fat, fruity and very favoursome, depending on the style, but they do not attain the superlative intensity and elegance with anything like the same consistency as wine from the Mosel and Rheingau regions.

Alsace

This is the only region in France where Riesling wines are produced, mostly due to its strong historical, geographical and viticultural links with Germany. Bounded by the Rhine to the east and sheltered by the Vosges mountains to the west, the vines receive the lowest rainfall in all of France and enjoy cold winters followed by warm summers. The vineyards are planted in rolling hills that surround the fairy-tale timbered mediaeval villages along the celebrated and rather narrow strip of land known as the Route des Vins dÍAlsace that runs in a north-south direction. Some are terraced, rising to an altitude of 2,000 feet where the tree line terminates.

Apart from cheaper blends (Edelzwicker) that up to a point mimic Liebfraumilch, Riesling grapes are, as in Germany, invariably used to produce single varietal wines. They are usually fermented bone dry and reach a high alcohol content. Whereas a Mosel Kabinett will frequently contain 7.5 to 8.5% alcohol, Alsatian Rieslings seldom carry less than 12%. Consequently, the wines are characterized by a steely astringence. Fruit flavours are less evident than those of cut grass, asparagus, green olives and Earl Grey tea, although the high acidity is often reminiscent of lemon and grapefruit. Whiffs of gasoline and rose blossom may betray the signature aromas of Riesling, but the intensity of flavour is modulated by an austerity calling to mind a Bach fugue, alongside which German Rieslings dance on the palate like a Strauss waltz.

In addition to their regular cuvÚe, most winemakers will produce a Reserve, notable for its superior quality that may be the outcome of older vines, lower yields, or riper bunches. Some will carry the name of a single vineyard. Richer and more luscious wines are fermented from grapes that are picked late; they must be chosen after a certain date decreed annually by the authorities, and they must also reach a minimum prescribed sugar content. Such wines are designated Vendange Tardive (Late Harvested). An extension of the growing season coupled with a proportion of botrytised berries can result in an even richer beverage approaching the style of German Trockenbeerenauslesen, but designated Selection des Grains Nobles (SGN) in Alsace. Finally, around 50 individual vineyards, each of which is parceled up among several different producers, have been classified as Grands Crus. These generally give birth to wines of great flavour and finesse similar in style to Reserve wines, but usually finer. They are not necessarily sweeter than regular cuvÚes.

Canada

In our own backyard a cornucopia of Riesling wines are produced that are thrilling the palates of the locals, astonishing the judges at international competitions, and striking fear and envy into the hearts of their competitors. Indeed, in the last several years, Canada (particularly Ontario) has won many more medals for wine than for Olympic sports. The Niagara Peninsula, especially the escarpment known as the Beamsville Bench, provides a climate and a geological “terroir” ideal for Riesling. Many of the pioneers who set up shop in the region hailed from Germanic countries (just think of Konzelman, Reif, Hillebrand, and Alan Schmidt of Vineland) and were steeped in the traditions needed to bring out the best in the grape and to exploit the many different styles it can offer. The spectrum of products runs the full gamut from bone dry to a richness so saturating that the wine is sold in 200 ml bottles, as well as the more usual 375 ml.

Regular wines are often designated “dry” or “semi-dry”, Reserve wines also fall into these categories. Various sweetness levels are recognized and are described as Late Harvest, Indian Summer, Select Late Harvest, Botrytis Affected and Icewine. Ontario is now globally applauded as home to the most consistently fine Icewines on the planet. It has the right kind of winters year after year in contrast to Germany where only a few years per decade provide the right conditions, Austria (where antifreeze has been dumped in the wine to simulate the desired chemistry), and California (where grapes are artificially frozen in deep-freezers). There is an Ontario Riesling to match the style and flavour of every wine that can be found in Germany and Alsace, with the exception of the great Mosel Spatlese and Auslese Rieslings from distinguished producers such as Von Schubert, J.J. Prum, Von Kesselstatt and Egon Muller. These wines have a lightness, intensity and elegance of celestial dimensions sporting alcohol concentrations around 10% with sugar and acid in perfect harmony.

On the whole, Ontario Rieslings increase their flavour in parallel with sugar and alcohol and at the expense of elegance. But we in this province are blessed with prices that are generally only 50 to 70% of what would be required to put a bottle of comparable German Riesling on the dinner table. Even in Germany, the cost of a great Riesling is well below that of white Burgundy, Bordeaux or California Chardonnay. Of all the Noble varietals, Riesling offers the consumer the finest value as well as the widest product range.

The recommendations in this article list Ontario Rieslings that I consider to be highly recommendable and priced at fair or bargain levels. Only regular bottles (not dessert wines) are included. Our native vignerons are less fearful than their Teutonic cousins about blending Riesling with other white varietals, Gewurztraminer being the preferred companion.

Other Regions

The Finger Lake wineries of New York State produce a range of wines stylistically similar to those of Ontario, but the value of our dollar makes them more expensive than they should be. I have not had many good California Rieslings apart from a few Late Harvest products, some of which were very impressive. Although the Barossa Valley in South Australia, like Niagara, was a favoured refuge for German emigrants and the Riesling cuttings they took with them, I have enjoyed very few bottles of the genre. Its most typical features are a green robe and a limejuice quality to the nose and palate. Few display the floral and gasoline characteristics of the finest German and Canadian Rieslings.

Returning to the Old World, Austria and the Balkan Countries to the East make Rieslings that are generally coarse and flabby. Those of North Italy tend to be dry, aromatic and thin.

As befits one of the worldÍs most widely planted grapes, a mention of all the countries where Riesling is grown would involve a lesson in world geography. It is time to terminate our globetrotting, having touched on the major highlights, but ten years from now the tale may be much longer as new regions stake out a serious claim for our attention.

Riesling Wine and Food

With what should Rieslings be enjoyed? When Alexandre Dumas was asked the same question about his favourite white wine, Le Montrachet from Burgundy, he replied: ñwith the knees bent and the head bowed!î. The same might be said of the greatest Rieslings, but as a general rule one word will suffice: everything.

The versatility of Riesling as a wine for all food and all seasons was brilliantly exploited several decades ago by the producers of Blue Nun in a series of cartoon advertisements under the overall title: Blue Nun right through the meal! Stereotypical “foreigners” in national attireÜcloak and sword (Spain), kilt and bagpipes (Scotland), black beret and a string of onions (France), lederhosen and feathered hat (Germany), turban and snake (India)Üurged the English to drink Blue Nun with their gazpacho, their haggis, their frogsÍ legs, their bratwurst and sauerkraut, and their curried chicken. In fact, one does not need to wait for the first bite or stop at the last. Why not sip a glass of Alsatian half-an-hour before eating to get the gastric juices going, and a small noggin of Icewine after the dessert to get them to stop flowing? The choice is up to you, with the wonderfully versatile, delicious Riesling.

You pays your money and you takes your choice.