I think I’ve just discovered the perfect wine for the heatwave and it’s our old friend Riesling.
You call it Reee-sling, I call it Rye--sling but whatever you call it, it was the grape that introduced many of us into the wonderful world of wine in the first place, with most of it coming from Germany. In general though, I tend to favour the Rieslings from New Zealand, Australia and Alsace these days.
Whichever country you favour when shopping, the grape is just so flexible. You can serve it lightly chilled for easy consumption of in the current heat, you can also take it down to the same temperature of a penguins bum without it suffering the normal white wine ill of losing much of its flavour.
The flavour by the way is just gorgeous with enough tropical fruits to fill a bowl and a lovely waxy mouth feel that just envelops your palate. As for food, Riesling is superb with shellfish, white fish, pork cuts and chicken, so most of our barbecue fantasies are taken care of!
Erbacher Marcobrunn Riesling Kabinett Schloss Schonborn 2018
This is gorgeous, a mouthful of a name but absolutely gorgeous. Soft fleshy fruits and hints of apples mix superbly and the finish is crisp and refreshing. Perfect for summer chilling folks and a cracker for the price.
www.corneyandbarrow.com £22.50
Ancient Lakes ‘Eight thousand lakes riesling’, Washington State 2019
Its always refreshing to find something different and this is one of those wines. Flowery on the nose with lemon zest and a hint of apples and a crisp refreshing almost chablis like finish.
www.majestic.co.uk £9.99 mix six
Follow me on Twitter @gerardfinewine or Instagram @RichardsonsWines
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