Super Glossary

Riesling

Life Style / Wine Grapes / Riesling: Recent DNA analysis proposed the origin of this variety to be that of a Heunisch cross with a so-called Franconian (ie: Traminer) seedling. The variety has several synonym names including White Riesling in New York state (USA), Ontario and British Columbia (Canada), Riesling in Germany, Rheinriesling in Austria, Riesling Renano in Italy and Rhine Riesling in Australia). A white-wine producer variety widely grown along the Rhine river and tributaries - (e.g: Rheingau, Rheinhessen, Mosel, Nahe regions etc.) - in Germany and also in other cool temperate regions of Europe. It is also grown in N. America, where it can produce a flowery, fruity dry wine with high acid and low alcohol not unlike the german 'Kabinett' version or a semi-dry style with some residual sugar similar to the german 'Sp?tlese' version. If infected with appropriate amounts of 'botrytis', it can make outstanding late-harvest wines - (e.g: comparable to the german 'Auslese' series). The Finger Lakes region of New York state in the U.S. and the Niagara region of Ontario, Canada produce excellent dry versions in the Mosel and Alsation styles in addition to consistent freezing temperature extracted juice made into 'ice-wine', (aka 'eiswein'). Successful clones in New York include the Neustadt selected Clone 90 (recommended by the Frank winery), Clone 198, Clone 239 of the Mosel (also recommended for the Niagara region) and Clone 356 from Geisenheim. Growers in the Niagara region of Ontario, Canada, have found that the Weiss 21-B clone gives a very good Upper Mosel style of wine with racy acidity and delicate but firm fruit. Clone 239 gives a fruitier, more Rhine-like wine than the Weiss. Several wineries are currently experimenting with blending wines made from selected vine clones with the aim of creating a regional 'taste' consistency. Growers on the North-West coast of N. America, presumably using U.C Davis selected clones, seem to creat the richer, earthier Rheinhessen taste in many versions, as do the cooler regions of California. Australia now produces excellent versions of the dry, crisp Alsation-style, as well as fruitier semi-sweet Mosel-type wines, as has New Zealand in recent years. A recent report (Regner, F., et al., Wein-Wissenshaft, 53(3), 114-18, 1998) has shown that this variety, along with Elbling, and Silvaner, are possibly derived from certain ancient crossings of the even more ancient Heunisch (Weiss) and Frankisch cepage varieties now considered to be the progenitors of all our modern winegrapes: the core cultivar of the former variety being identical to Gouais Blanc.
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