Riesling: taste, styles and the dishes that match
26 styles and 240 dish scores from our sommelier database
Riesling belongs to the grapes every wine lover meets sooner or later. This guide lays out what defines the grape, which styles exist and — based on our sommelier scoring — which dishes it performs best with, Oven prepared sauerkraut with pineapple leading the list.
Taste profile (Wine DNA)
Averaged across the styles in our database, Riesling shows pronounced freshness, is medium-bodied and exuberantly fruity, with barely any tannin.
Well-known Riesling styles
- Riesling Trocken · Germany — light-bodied, pronounced freshness, lightly mineral
Classic dry German Riesling with crisp acidity, white stone fruit and mineral precision. - Riesling d'Alsace · Alsace — medium-bodied, pronounced freshness, lightly mineral
Dry Alsace Riesling with fuller body and gastronomic weight than many German counterparts. - Riesling Grosses Gewächs · Germany — full-bodied, pronounced freshness, pronounced minerality
The pinnacle of dry German Riesling from grand cru sites: concentrated, mineral and built for ageing. - Riesling Austria · Austria — full-bodied, fresh acidity, pronounced minerality
Full-flavoured dry Austrian Riesling (such as Wachau and Kamptal) with intense stone fruit and a mineral finish. - Riesling Clare Valley · Australia — medium-bodied, pronounced freshness, lightly mineral
Bone-dry Australian Riesling with vibrant lime and citrus notes. - Riesling Central Europe · Central Europe — light-bodied, pronounced freshness
Crisp, high-acidity dry Riesling from cooler Central European regions. - Riesling Kabinett · Germany — light-bodied, pronounced freshness
Friendly and agreable, sweeter style and fine fruity type of Riesling from Germany. - Riesling Spätlese · Germany — medium-bodied, pronounced freshness, off-dry to sweet
Late harvested and medium sweet white wine from Germany from the grape variey by the same name, High acidity and very floral.
Price-wise Riesling covers the full range: of the 26 styles in our database, 58% sit in the entry segment, 35% mid-range and 8% at the top end. You will find both a weekday bottle and a cellar-worthy wine in this grape.
The best-scoring dishes with Riesling
The dishes below come from our expert scoring: every combination was scored by sommeliers using the Wine DNA of both dish and wine. These are the strongest matches for Riesling styles, from classic to surprising.
- Oven prepared sauerkraut with pineapple — best style: Riesling Kabinett
- Gravlax with asparagus — best style: Riesling
- Gravlax with asparagus and caviar — best style: Riesling
- Braised farm chicken with riesling — best style: Riesling Grosses Gewächs
- Steamed Pheasant with Asparagus — best style: Riesling Grosses Gewächs
- Massaman curry — best style: Riesling Grosses Gewächs
- Khao Soi (Northern Thai curry noodles) — best style: Riesling Grosses Gewächs
- Dakgalbi (spicy Korean chicken) — best style: Riesling Grosses Gewächs
- Chicken tikka masala — best style: Riesling Grosses Gewächs
- Curry — best style: Riesling Grosses Gewächs
- Tandoori chicken — best style: Riesling Grosses Gewächs
- Oven prepared pike perch with hollandaise sauce — best style: Riesling
Want to know if a specific bottle of Riesling matches your dish? Scan the label in the SommelierX app and see the match instantly.
Open the app →Or get the app:
Frequently asked questions
- What does Riesling taste like?
- Averaged across the styles in our database, Riesling shows pronounced freshness, is medium-bodied and exuberantly fruity, with barely any tannin. It varies by style: see the overview above.
- What food goes with Riesling?
- The highest scores in our sommelier work: Oven prepared sauerkraut with pineapple, Duck liver terrine with apple, Oven prepared sauerkraut with pineapple. The full list is above.
- Is Riesling a white wine?
- In our database Riesling is mostly made as a white wine (26 linked styles); regional exceptions exist.