Riesling
Discover the Riesling wine appellation
Riesling is one of the most famous German grape varieties. It was supposedly introduced in the Rheingau wine province (on the left bank of the Rhine River) by Louis II of Germany, in the 9th century. He was the first one to produce a wine blend known as "Gentil", which could have been the ancestor of the Riesling as we know it. Around the early 15th century, the German Riesling made its way to France and landed in Alsace first.
The name "Riesling" could come from the German verb "rieseln", which means "to fall down". The grape variety was infamous for its weakness against cold and rain during the crucial flowering period. Riesling blossoms had a tendency to easily wither and fall to the ground when faced with bad weather conditions, which of course prevented the birth of the berries and completely ruined the harvest.
Today, in the Alsace region, there are 3,000 hectares of vineyard dedicated to Riesling (which is not a lot, when you compare it to the 22,000 hectares you find in Germany). It has managed to perfectly adapt to the local weather and the rocky soils. Since the 19th century, its popularity has progressively risen and it’s now planted all over the world, in countries like the United States, South Africa, Romania…
Check out the Alsace Riesling.
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