Riesling
WhiteCool climate
Highly aromatic with naturally high acidity. Produced across a full sweetness spectrum from bone-dry to botrytis-affected dessert wines. Susceptible to noble rot.
Exceptional ageing potential; great Riesling can develop for 20-30 years.
Climate
Cool
Regions
20 regions
Color
White
Typical Structure & Aromas
Typical profile for this variety. Style varies by region, climate, and winemaking.
Structure
Where Riesling grows
Australia
Clare Valley
Bone-dry, lime-driven Riesling with mouth-watering acidity. Lime zest and grapefruit in youth; aged bottles develop honey, toast, and kerosene.
Eden Valley
Elegant, dry to off-dry Riesling with stone fruit and delicate floral notes
Austria
Kamptal
Mineral, age-worthy Riesling from the Heiligenstein and Zöbinger Gaisberg
Kremstal
Elegant Riesling with citrus and stone fruit. Between Wachau power and Kamptal precision.
Wachau
Powerful Austrian Riesling on gneiss terraces above the Danube. Stone fruit, citrus, and mineral cut, with the Smaragd tier showing concentration and ageing potential.
Germany
Ahr
Rare, from the steepest slate sites
Baden
Thrives in the northern Bereiche (Ortenau, Kraichgau) with a richer, warmer profile than Mosel
Franken
Increasingly successful as the climate warms; leaner and more mineral than Mosel or Pfalz Riesling
Mittelrhein
Racy, flinty, steep-slate minerality
Mosel
Featherlight Riesling on blue slate. Green apple, lime, and wet stone, around 8-10% alcohol with racing acidity. Kabinett and Spätlese reward finesse over power.
Nahe
Mineral, precise, volcanic influence
Pfalz
Warmer, fuller-bodied Riesling than the Mosel. Mostly bone-dry, with stone fruit, mango, and citrus over loam and limestone, and 12-13% alcohol that carries weight.
Rheingau
Riesling with more backbone than the Mosel. Drier styles dominate, with apricot, white peach, and firm mineral grip that rewards bottle age.
Rheinhessen
Riesling at its most powerful and structured, especially the dry GGs of the Roter Hang and Wonnegau (Pettenthal, Hipping, Morstein, Brunnenhäuschen).
Württemberg
Württemberg's leading white. Mineral, medium-bodied from the Neckar slopes.
United States
Columbia Valley
From bone-dry to lusciously sweet, with racy acidity and stone fruit. Washington is America's largest Riesling producer.
New York
The Finger Lakes are the American Riesling capital, producing dry, off-dry and late-harvest styles with bracing acidity and slate-like minerality.