Banging the drum for Riesling

On the cusp of another summer, we begin to reach for chilled bottles of Riesling. There is an instant connection between Riesling and the warmest time of the year – although the truly committed would assert it to be an ‘any time of the year’ drink.

A crisp, light and refreshing Riesling can be enjoyed by itself throughout the day and adapts easily to a variety of food from fresh oysters to slow roasted pork shoulder. It is a delight to enjoy in its youth and all along the journey to glorious old age. When it comes to bang for buck, Riesling is the hands down winner compared to Chardonnay of similar provenance and pedigree. Although there was a time in the mid 19^th century when the great Riesling wines of Germany were fetching a handsome premium to the best of Bordeaux, Champagne and Burgundy.

Australia has an extraordinary Riesling story to tell. The great John Vickery established new benchmarks with the Rieslings he made at Leo Buring in the early 1970’s. Vickery’s wines served as both inspiration and a challenge during my early winemaking days. To beat a Vickery wine at a wine show was a hard earned and much valued prize – one I was fortunate to claim on a few occasions.

The Lindeman’s Watervale Rieslings of that era remain Australian classics to this day. There were also exceptional Rieslings appearing under the Steingarten label from Orlando, a winery where I played a part in their Riesling story. I made the first St Helga Riesling and the first Jacob’s Creek white wine – also a Riesling.

Wolf Blass becomes an enormously powerful voice for Riesling in the 1980’s. His Yellow Label ‘Rhine Riesling’ was Australia’s top selling white wine for many years, a feature on any wine list or dining table. Then along came the red wine and Chardonnay boom of late 1980’s, and Riesling fell foul of changing fashions, wrongly accused of being ‘too sweet’.

The fashionistas might have moved on, but true believers and followers of style never abandoned Riesling. Andrew ‘Wig’ Wigan at Peter Lehmann Wines and Louisa Rose at Yalumba / Pewsey Vale led the way in the early 1990’s. Peter Barry took over the reins from his father at Jim Barry Wines to put Clare Valley Riesling on the map. His sons Sam and Tom have since extended their family’s hugely successful wine enterprise into a third generation. Neil Pike is held in similar high standing, and Geoffrey Grosset lent an air of prestige to the Riesling conversation. John Hughes at Rieslingfreak produces over 15 different Rieslings each vintage, placing himself at a vanguard of the Riesling conversation in Australia.

Above all the universal (almost!) adoption of the screwcap by Australian winemakers starting around the year 2000 proved the game changer for Riesling in Australia. Yielding brighter and fresher young wines and enabling growing and full appreciation of the age worthiness of Riesling over the next two decades. We’ve also vastly improved vineyard management, aiming for quality over quantity in the classic Riesling districts. In the winery, better equipment and better processing management has yielded better Riesling wines than ever before.

As for me? I’ve been a part of this story from the first chapter to the one that’s currently being written. I’m continuing my personal Riesling journey making wines from two outstanding vineyards in the Clare and Eden Valley. I’m sure my greatest Riesling still lies ahead!