This article originally appeared in the Fall/Winter 2023-2024 print issue of Quench Magazine.

More than any other grape variety, Riesling is misunderstood, undervalued and stylistically undefinable. In spite of Riesling’s non-conformist personality, we wine professionals feel compelled to force it into a neat package for consumers and are then frustrated when they don’t understand or appreciate it. The general populous, it seems, doesn’t value tension, depth, complexity, length and ageability in a wine as much as we do.

Riesling has never taken off the way many of us predicted it would. In fact, in British Columbia, it is harder to sell than ever; today shoppers are nine times more likely to reach for a Pinot Gris. Great wine producers talk about staying out of the way of terroir and stewarding the grapes toward the wines they are destined to be. Perhaps we can try a similar tact with marketing Riesling. Recognize it for the maverick that it is and let curious consumers find their way to it. Traditional marketing tactics are not effective with Riesling as there is an enduring bias against its potential sweetness, the wines can be complicated as they reflect the extreme conditions in which they are grown, and the innate character of the variety is an acquired taste.

Catherine Faller, proprietor of Domaine Weinbach in Alsace, puts it bluntly: “Several markets including North America were flooded with bad, sweet, cheap/industrial German Rieslings a few decades ago. Many consumers still carry a prejudice towards Riesling in general because of that and despite the fact that nowadays most of German and all of Alsace Rieslings are dry.”

Indeed. What sommelier, wine merchant or tasting room host hasn’t heard, “I don’t like sweet wines” when a customer declines a suggestion of Riesling? As an industry, we have tried patiently to explain that, while some of these wines are sweet, many are dry and there is a delicious range of possibilities everywhere in between. It’s all about the balance, we say, as the customer’s eyes glaze over. We’ve developed labeling systems, put on seminars, written articles and poured hundreds of wines to try to prove our point. And yet the reputation persists. Meanwhile other trends come and go. Sweet Moscato, sweet red blends, sweet Cabernet, sweet Pinot Noir have all had their time in the spotlight in North America. So why is the fear of sweetness levied only at Riesling? Could it be because the wine trade focuses so much on it? Are Riesling lovers inadvertently propagating this prejudice?

Top Riesling comes from unapologetic vineyards that convey their strong personalities to the grapes. Thoughtful producers respect their sites and learn how to guide the grapes through the winemaking process without imposing their will. Nowhere are conditions more dramatic than in the dangerously steep slopes of Germany’s Mosel Valley. The vineyards where Johannes Selbach and his family work have been farmed continuously for over 2,000 years, yet he says, “what the combination of a long, gentle growing season and a unique, crumbly, mineral-rich, 400 million years-old soil hold in store for us, certainly still fascinates and influences us.” Selbach admits that there is some consideration for market trends during the winemaking but, ultimately, the terroir has the final say.

Catherine Faller, whose Schlossberg Riesling is nothing short of transcendent, calls Riesling, “one of the most terroir-transparent grape varieties.” She refers to the Schlossberg vineyard as a very “demanding” site that “is double the work and half the yields compared to most other Crus in Alsace. It is a poor soil, very dry, steep and terraced, where you need to give young vines 20-25 years before they can start to thrive and produce great fruits.” Wine from this kind of vineyard can never be simple.

In Austria, Riesling, not Grüner Veltliner, is planted on the steepest sites along the Danube where the combination of marginal climate, slope and weathered rock soils produce uncompromising wines. The most extreme examples both in terms of topography and style are the Smaragd Rieslings from the Wachau that bring the boldness of the terroir to the glass.

Producers outside of Europe generally have a wider choice of what to grow in their vineyards and the non-conformist nature of Riesling has meant few regions have embraced it as a signature variety. Where you do find it, you also find producers that don’t shy away from taking risks.

In Ontario, Riesling is valued for its ability to transmit the raciness of cool climate terroir. While there are a range of styles, the pronounced minerality and relentless acidity are constants. As far as the issue of sweetness goes, producers are aiming for the best quality wine regardless of what the final tech sheet says. The goal, according to Magdalena Kaiser of the Wine Marketing Association of Ontario, is “for balance in their Rieslings so that the high natural acidity is in harmony with the natural sugars.”

One of the earliest vinifera planted in British Columbia, Riesling was traditionally modeled in a sweet and light bodied Germanic style. In the early 2000s, Tantalus Vineyards broke with tradition by making a brazenly austere Riesling and have been trailblazers for drier, full-bodied examples.

Tangy, lime-scented whites are not what most consumers think about when they consider Australian wine but with the work of producers like Stephanie Toole from Mt Horrocks and Jeffrey Grosset of Grosset Wines, Clare Valley Riesling has become a benchmark. In 2000, mavericks Jane and Andrew Mitchell along with Toole, Grosset and 10 other Clare producers, changed the course of winemaking history when they made a pact to bottle their top Rieslings in screwcap.

As wine professionals, we recognize that stunning wine is made from Riesling grown in some of the most impressive vineyard sites in the world. We also have to acknowledge that only a small percentage of drinkers will get to the level of wine appreciation that allows them to fully embrace it. For most, intense minerality and driving acidity are way scarier than sweetness. “Riesling is something people graduate to,” says David Paterson, winemaker for Tantalus.

Catherine Faller agrees that the variety is not necessarily for beginners: “It is not an immediate wine like Chardonnays or Pinot Gris can be, with their soft, rounder profiles. Some Riesling may be a little austere when young, showing a sharp acidity, it could be compared to music: the first approach might be difficult, but once you enjoy, you get addicted…!!!” Johannes Selbach explains, “a big, commercial producer might be tempted to make a small number of ‘easy-to understand’ wines by blending many of the small batches made during a given harvest,” but for Selbach-Oster, “the family and the team alike will go to great lengths to preserve characterful wines, to bottle multifaceted, ‘complicated’ but delicious wines in relatively small batches.”

Those of us who believe in Riesling, believe in it fiercely and are thankful there are dedicated producers willing to make the racy and complex wines we love. But the very things that excite us about Riesling are what makes it a niche product. Like great art and interesting people, the best wines are complicated and thought-provoking. And not for everyone. Those curious enough to get to know this maverick variety, however, will be richly rewarded.

_{Feature image: Flat Rock Nadja’s Vineyard | photo credit: courtesy of Flat Rock Cellars}