A cult following

Riesling, like Manchester City Football Club, is always just about to turn the corner, get back to the glory days and regain its former popularity. It has a number of highly distinguished supporters, including Hugh Johnson and Jancis Robinson MW. One of its latest converts to "come out" is Jasper Morris MW. Yet despite its influential fans, Riesling remains a "cult" wine unlikely ever to be as popular as the serried ranks of "easy drinking" Chardonnay. Perhaps Riesling is just too cerebral - quite without the easy, blowsy charms of seductive Merlot.

High acidity is a notable characteristic that permits top Riesling to age for decades. It is also one of the main reasons why the Trocken movement from northern Germany has failed in the UK despite the evangelic zeal of some of the producers of these austerely dry wines.

Vive la différence

Riesling produces a remarkably diverse range of wines, running from very austere, dry whites through to intensely rich German Trockenbeerenauslese. The flavours also vary considerably. For example, in strict flavour characteristics, an Australian Riesling, with its often predominantly lime and lemon flavours, has little in common with a delicate Mosel or minerally Riesling from the Saar. This can pose difficulties for restaurants as customers may well be unsure of what style of Riesling is on the restaurant list.

Equally, this is a real opportunity. Riesling's very diversity could easily be highlighted on restaurant lists that group their wines by grape variety with notes designed to encourage customers to explore the range.

So which wines to put on such a list?

Certainly there have to be some light Rieslings from the Mosel or the Saar. These low-alcohol wines make wonderful aperitifs. Wines from the Mosel estate of Max Ferd Richter are consistently fine across an extensive range right up to eiswein. Prices for the Kabinett start from £48 (Charles Taylor Wines, 0171-928 8151). Ernie Loosen has that rare combination of making high-quality wines, understanding that these have to be marketed intelligently and be media-friendly. His wines start from £59 for the Dr L Riesling QbA (Walter S Siegel, 01256 701101).

Alsace Rieslings are very different from their German neighbours. They have more alcohol and often a marked mineral character. I find they tend to match food better. André Ostertag has become the region's youthful Riesling guru. The Riesling d'Epfig 1996 (£75, Morris & Verdin, 0171-357 8866) is a good introduction to his wines.

So far the most successful Rieslings from the southern hemisphere come from Australia and New Zealand. Try the well-balanced 1996 Riesling Forrest Estate from Marlborough (£77.16, Adnams, 01502 727220).

With such a range of Riesling, the next step would be to have a Riesling and food-matching set-price menu that offered a glass of an appropriate Riesling from the apéritif through to dessert. And why stop at Riesling? n

by Jim Budd