Not just sweet
Rieslings are probably one of the least-understood wines in India, weaned as we are on a steady diet of Chardonnays and Sauvignon Blancs.
Perhaps it’s because there’s a contradiction between what the wine smells like and how it tastes: the aroma promises a sweet wine, while, in taste, Rieslings vary from the dry Kabinett to the sweeter Spatlese and Auslese to the rare and expensive Beernauslese, Trockenbeerenauslese and Eiswein wines, whose sugar (going up to 300 g/litre) is always balanced by a refreshing acidity, and which can remain drinkable for upto 50 years!
Since most wine drinkers don’t want to be seen drinking wines perceived as sweet wines (on the principle that “sweet wines are for beginners”), Rieslings lose out to other whites when choosing a wine to pair with food. Another reason why they might be losing out, I suspect, could be because many of the German names are difficult to pronounce, or decipher, for most Indians.
While cultivated and produced in cool climates worldwide, the best Rieslings, undoubtedly, come from Germany, where the grape originated. If you’ve never had a good German Riesling (and unfortunately the first Rieslings available in India were mostly entry-level brands), you wouldn’t know of the wonderful complexity of aroma and taste these wines bring to the glass. Flavours range from floral and apple notes to slate, peach and apricot and toast and honey; some mature German Rieslings develop a classic petrol smell — startling, but true — and are highly prized (and priced) for that character.
Rieslings may be all-time champions when it comes to food pairings as the wine goes with a wide variety of Continental cuisines (well, the Germans have been using it to wash down their sausages and sauerkraut for centuries) as well as Asian and oriental preparations. In particular, Rieslings are terrific with many Indian dishes as the acidity in the wine is a good foil for oil and spice and chillies in our food.
No wonder that Taj hotels have put all nine Rieslings imported by the Wine Park on their list, and I recommend you try the following (these are also wines which I’ve been fortunate enough to have sampled recently):
St Urbans-Hof Riesling QbA 2007 (90 points Wine Spectator, Rs 1,950 in Bangalore): Rich, firm and complex, with aromas of grapefruit, vanilla, slate and spice, this wine, from the Mosel region of Germany, is beautifully balanced and was featured at number 56 in Wine Spectator’s 2008 Top 100 Wines of the world.
Kesselstatt ‘Josephshofer’ Riesling Spatlese 2003 (91 points, Rs 3,070): Full-bodied, spicy and aromatic and yet elegant, with good ageing potential. An overwhelming nose of complex herbs, peaches and tropical fruits, with some hint of minerality; a beautifully balanced sweetness and acidity on the palate. A perfect match for those hot and spicy Indian and Thai dishes.
So go on, be a bit adventurous the next time you go out. Try a German (or French or even an Australian) Riesling — I guarantee that you’ll be pleasantly surprised.
Prost!