Skip to Content

Riesling guide: tasting notes, wine suggestions and pairings

Riesling is a variety of wine very easy like.

Sometimes dry, semi-dry or on the sweeter side, there is a wide variety of riesling, making this type of wine easy to pair with your favorite dishes unless you would prefer to have it as an aperitif.

Here is a small overview of Riesling, its pairings and 6 suggestions of Riesling to enjoy!

March 13, National Riesling Day

Why is March 13 the birthday of the Riesling?

This day was officially launched by the German Wines (Deustches Weininstitut) in 2019.

The choice of March 13 was made because the first mention of the grape variety in Germany dates back to March 13, 1435, when a German administrator, Klaus Kleinfisch, is said to have noted on an invoice that he had bought vines to plant with Rieslingen.

Riesling in brief

Vineyard
Photo: Sven Wilhelm, Unsplash

Riesling is generally a fresh wine with a certain minerality, with fruity and floral aromas.

The following aromas are most often found following aromas

  • citrus fruits (lime, lemon or tangerine)
  • exotic fruits
  • melons
  • peaches and
  • green apples.

You can also taste aromas of white flowers, spices and honey.

Riesling is produced in Alsace and Germany, of course, but also in the United States, mainly in Washington State, Australia and Canada.

The different styles of Riesling

Sometimes very sweet, other times sharp and dry, there are different styles of Riesling with different levels of residual sugar. A Riesling can be described as :

  • dry when the sugar level is less than 9 g/L
  • semi-dry when the sugar level is between 9 and 50 g/L
  • sweet when the sugar level is between 50 and 100 g/L

Good to know if you are looking for a dry Riesling: look for the mention“TROCKEN” on the bottle, which means dry in German.

The food and wine pairing with Riesling

One of the beauties of Riesling is that it is easy to pair with food.

Riesling: food and wine pairing
Photo: Stefan Johnson, Unsplash

Generally speaking, Riesling goes very well with dishes containing citrus notes (lime, lemon), lemongrass or kafir lime. In short, with Asian cuisine!

A dry Riesling will be perfect with fish, seafood and white meat dishes.

A semi-dry Riesling, a little softer, will work well with lightly spiced or fruitier cuisine. Think Thai or Indian cuisine, white meat or pork dishes with a fruit sauce (peach, apricot, pineapple or apple). And of course, we must not forget the white wine sauerkraut.

As for the sweet Riesling, it will be excellent with cheese dishes, desserts or foie gras.

6 Rieslings to be discovered

1. Avantgarde Riesling Trocken Moselland 2020

Avantgarde Riesling Trocken Moselland 2020
Photo: SAQ

This dry Riesling is a new arrival at the SAQ. With its stylish bottle, this wine is a great hostess gift! Crispy and dry, we love its fruity aromas, with a nice acidity and lime notes.(Available at the SAQ)

Food and wine pairing: sushi, goat cheese, veal or served as an aperitif.

2.. Reh Kendermann Vom Kalkstein Riesling 2020

Reh Kendermann Vom Kalkstein Riesling 2020
Photo: SAQ

This German wine has a nice acidity. The mineral notes bring a lot of finesse to this white wine, which also has aromas of green apple and passion fruit with a citrus finish. (Available at the SAQ)

Food and wine pairing: Asian cuisine, fish dishes, white meat.

3. Léon Beyer Riesling Réserve

Leon Beyer Riesling
Photo: SAQ

This dry Riesling, which comes from Alsace, stands out for its lively and light side. In the glass, it presents notes of lemongrass, white peach, flowers and citrus.(Available at the SAQ)

Food and wine pairing: can be served as an aperitif or with salmon, grilled seafood, cold cuts and sauerkraut.

4. J.Bäumer Riesling 2020

J. Baumer Riesling
Photo: SAQ

With notes of tropical fruit, melon and lime, as well as a nice acidity, this fruity Riesling is all about freshness. (Available at the SAQ)

Food pairing: can be served as an aperitif or with spicy dishes.

5. Bergdolt-Reif & Nett Glaube-Liebe-Hoffnung Riesling Trocken 2019

Hoffnung Riesling
Photo: SAQ

This mineral wine, all in finesse and lightness, presents aromas of green apple, white peach as well as vegetable notes, tarragon and coriander.(Available at the SAQ)

Food and wine pairing: sauerkraut, rabbit or pork dishes.

6. Charles Smith Wines Kung Fu Girl Riesling Washington State

Kung Fu Girl Riesling
Photo: SAQ

Made by Charles Smith, in Washington’s Walla Walla Valley, this Riesling charms every time with its melon and citrus notes.(Available at the SAQ)

Food pairing: Asian cuisine, grilled seafood.

Partager

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.