Riesling always seems to create controversy. Many people who were drinking in the 80s and 90s remember riesling to be fruity and sweet thanks to wines like Blue Nun (don't act like you don't remember it). A lot of the riesling on the market was made off-dry to sweet which had people both loving and hating it.

Today, riesling is mightily underrated. What is it? It's an aromatic white wine that can be fermented from very sweet to bone-dry, I find them all so complex, great with food, clean and ageable. It's important to note that Germany is the most important country in the world for producing Riesling. That doesn't mean there aren't some exceptional examples of riesling all over the world. Australia's Clare Valley is notorious, 

The bone-dry, mineral and ageable wines are some of my absolute favourites. I love how they develop into a petro-chemical, honeysuckle aroma and oily texture from a youthful lime, apple, beeswax and jasmine aroma as a freshly bottled wine. Experiencing the age changes on riesling over the years gets me very excited and it's one of the only white varietals that I will buy a case of just to leave in the cellar (Chardonnay is my other go-to ageable white). 

So, apart from Germany, you can also find top quality Riesling in a few regions but the key is the region can't be too hot, which makes Clare and Eden Valley Riesling quite an anomaly as South Australia is famous for its hot temperature.

Some key regions are:

• Alsace (a big favourite of mine) which is the most Germanic of French regions.
• New Zealand - which is becoming admired for its riesling production. 
• Canada - Perfect climate for growing riesling and retaining outstanding acidity
• USA - The Finger Lakes district of New York is very underrated for many reasons and thankfully, the world is waking up to it's remarkably delicate Riesling production. 

Unfortunately, we don't stock a lot of Riesling here at Direct Wine Cellars but we do have the Tohu Single Vineyard Riesling from Nelson which is off-dry with mouthwatering acidity so it's extremely well balanced and ageable. 

So, dear reader, have you tried riesling? Do you have a favourite? Let me know in the comments below. 

Tohu Single Vineyard Riesling 

A pale, bright and vibrant golden green in the glass, this single vineyard wine displays aromas of citrus zest, green apple and spring florals. The lively palate balances flavours of mandarin orange, makrut lime and hints of white peach and pink grapefruit with bright natural acidity; leading to a crisp and juicy finish.  Fresh, clean and fruit-forward in its youth, this wine will continue to develop over the years with careful cellaring.

I'll try a bottle