Riesling is back in fashion

Riesling has become one of Britain’s trendiest wines. Tesco reports that sales of the grape variety have rocketed by 71 per cent in the past year, making it the supermarket’s fastest-growing wine type. Tesco wine buyer James Davis said, ‘The wine’s image unfortunately suffered after being indelibly associated with the glut of sweet white wines that were considered the height of sophistication in the 70s, along with flares and dodgy perm hairdos.’

Modern dry, crisp Rieslings are far removed from the much-derided flabby German wines of yesteryear, as are today’s sweet styles for which the grape variety is so well-suited.

Its current appeal is partly put down to it being one of the most food-friendly wines, according to James. However, the Riesling revival has also been prompted by the success of varieties from Australia and Alsace. James said that two years ago Tesco only stocked five different types of Riesling but now, due to the extra interest, it has 12 types and is currently looking to increase the range even further.