riesling's hangover
TRANSCRIPT
NOVEMBER 2013 / / 47
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WINING GOLFER [ LIFESTYLE ]
GiveitagoRiesling’s old stigma belies a truly classic and underestimated varietal. By GrantDodd
MENTIONtheword ‘Riesling’ in politecompanyand
you’ll get an ambivalent response.Formany, it’s a word
thatstrikes fearintothe heart.Notmerelythe name
ofa grape variety, Rieslingsomehowbecame synonymouswith
bag-in-a-boxgoon,hangovers, headaches,inexpensive dross
anda three-daygrowth. Itis thefit-allwinetermofyesteryear
forwhitewineof indeterminateorigin.
Timeshavechanged, but thestigmaof thepastremains.
Despitebeinglauded bycritics,and showing thatit is capable
ofproducingoutstandingly expressive, long-livedwinesin
bothsweet and dry styles,Rieslingis a hard sell for allbuta few
specialists ofthe variety in thiscountry.
Those specialistsare concentrated in small pocketsof
Australiawhere climatic conditions suitthevariety.Riesling
prospers in thecold, with itsnominalbirthplace along the
steepbanksof theMosel Riverin Germany. There itretains
highnaturalacidity, helped alongbyfreezingwinters anda
marginalclimatefor ripening.Australia’s bestsites,in South
Australia’s ClareandEdenValley’s,WestAustralia’s Frankland
River( right ) andTasmania,don’treplicate the severity of
Germanconditionsbutdo enablededicatedgrowers tocreate
distinctively floral-,lime- and lemon-drivenRieslingsthatare
deserving ofrespect. A good startingpoint for thoselooking
toexplorewouldbe with nameslikeGrosset,Pikes,Kerri
Thompson, FranklandRiver, CastleRockandLeoBuring.
Thenofcourse,thereis Germany, andno explorationof
Riesling canbecompletewithoutdelving intothese remarkably
long-livedanduniquewines.Bya strangecoincidence,one
ofthemostadventurous importersof Riesling inAustralia
isa manwhowasa former deputyeditor ofAustralianGolf
Digest.NevilleYateswas atthe magazine during thereignof
ToaskGrant a question,e-mail us [email protected]
thelegendaryPhilTressider.Hecaught thewinebug
along theway, andin a twist offatemany years later,
foundhimself with accessto a handful ofhigh-quality
Germanproducerswhowere interested in selling
wine in the Australianmarket.
Yates nowhandles an enviableportfolioof someof
thegreatest namesin theRieslingworld, including
Willi Schaefer, FritzHaag,ReinholdHaart and
Zilliken.These arewinesof thevery highest order,
grown along the slopesofGermany’smain rivers
in some ofthemostextreme conditionsknown
toviticulture.Theycome ina range ofstylesand
sweetness, all theway fromdry to thelate-picked
style,whichcan havemore than300gof sugar
perlitre.Needlessto say, these arewinesthat
take some understanding,butthecombinationof
delicacy, power andpersistencethat thegreatest
Rieslings bring tothe table arean experience
that every wine lover should savourat somepoint
in their life.
Yatesis morethan happyto helppeople find something
to their liking,and canbe contacted throughhis company,
EurocentricWines.Onemore thing;many ofthesewines
weigh in around the 7-8 per centalcohol range,meaning you’ll
haveto drinkan awfullotto induceone ofthose
demonicRiesling hangoversofdayspast.
Riesling grapes growing at GrossetWines in South Australia’s Clare Valley.
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