Tuesday, April 26, 2011

RIESLING

The Riesling grape is refreshing in more ways than one. Of course, as anyone who has tried true Riesling will know, it is one of the worlds greatest aperitifs - naturally light and elegant yet racy, with mouth watering citrus and apple fruit and quite a crisp finish. So it's refreshing in the most obvious sense of the word. But Riesling is also refreshing in that it makes a welcome change from all the Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc that fills our shop shelves.



It is a quite different style of wine, as will become clear below. But why the need to say 'true' Riesling? That's because this poor grape gets blamed- unfairly - for much of the light, white dross out there. Many have the wrong idea about Riesling; they think it is the variety behind the blandest, least memorable light whites, when cheaper, less well-known grapes are usually responsible. If I handed you a glass of fine Riesling, you'd probably be amazed at how much delicious there is - and how tangy, vivacious and delightfully fresh the wine seems. So, don't confuse Riesling with lesser wines. It's consistently delightful, and remarkably long lived to boot. In fact, for many serious wine buffs, this is the greatest white grape of all.

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