RETURNING TO
As the trade prepares for the 31 Days of German Riesling
RIESLING
I
t’s perhaps stretching things a bit to call Riesling a Marmite grape variety. It’s not that everyone either loves it or hates it, more that they either retain an almost evangelical zeal in singing its praises or are completely indifferent towards it. The home of Riesling is Germany, of course, where almost 60% of the world’s supplies of the variety are grown, where northern altitude, rocky soils and sleep slopes provide the optimum growing conditions to achieve minerality, acidity and backbone. Some 77% of the vineyard area of Rheingau is accounted for by the grape, and almost two-thirds of Mosel. It’s reasonable to assert that Germany, like Riesling, hasn’t featured in the most in-vogue wine nations in the UK market for several decades now. But while other countries have been cutting their cloth to suit the shifting tastes of export markets, Germany has been sticking to what it does well – and modern trends now seem to be tilting back in its favour. Wines of Germany says the country’s wine exports to the UK increased by 62% in value during 2021, and that Riesling increased its share of all white wine consumed in the UK from 15% to 16%. A tendency towards wines with relatively low
promotion, Nigel Huddleston considers the variety’s unique position in wine industry lore – and why consumers are rediscovering a classic style
alcohol levels plays to the trend for moderation, while its high acidity makes it, for many, the perfect match for spicy, Asian cuisine, tapping into major food trends of recent years. Add in its unusual ageing potential – for a white wine – and a versatility that makes Riesling equally at home making dry, off-dry, sparkling or dessert wines and it clearly has a lot going for it. “Riesling can be any flavour and run across the taste spectrum,” says Philip Amps, at Amps Wine Merchants in Oundle. “People are happy to talk to a wine merchant and get advice. We can say: ‘This will go with … ’. That means they can try any Riesling with confidence.” All of German Riesling’s positive attributes have at some point featured in the campaigns of retailers taking part in Wines of Germany’s 31 Days of Riesling promotion, which returns again this year. But for the true fans of German Riesling, it’s a grape variety that is for life, not just July.
A
mps Wine Merchants was the off-trade runner-up in last year’s promotion, for a strong social media campaign, and interest in German Riesling is definitely growing, says Philip Amps. “It went through the doldrums but it’s now something that people are asking for as they
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grow in their wine drinking experiences,” he says. “The older generation will just say it’s too sweet and won’t even look at it. But there’s a younger generation who are coming through and recognise it for what it really is. “People used to just want ‘a dry white wine’ but now they’re looking for something a bit more fruity and are honest enough to say they like that in a wine. “With the plethora of spicy food available there is now people are finding Riesling works extremely well with it. As more international cuisine is coming in, it’s a reason why people are turning back to German Riesling. “Also, it’s a bloody good price at the moment. Some of the wines deliver really good quality for the money.” While many German producers may have stuck to their stylistic guns more than those in, say, Iberia or South America, the country’s prevailing Riesling character – in as much as it conforms to any generic trope – has evolved in some measure. “As it’s moved away from the petrol, kerosene [style] to pure fruit flavours it’s been a distinct advantage,” observes Amps. “When people try the classic petrol-style Riesling, particularly from Alsace, they say, ‘ooh, classic Riesling’ and then they go and buy something else. People are actually looking for a more fruit-driven style.”
