Looking for an elegant white wine that won't get you too tipsy and pairs beautifully with delicate fish and seafood dishes?
Try a riesling! Riesling is one of the world's seven noble grape varieties. The word 'riesling' means 'hard wood'. Because this grape variety's vines have very strong, hard arms that protect the precious branches or cordons from the cold, you usually find riesling cultivated in cool climates with long growing seasons, such as New Zealand, the American state of Washington, Austria, parts of Australia and, of course, France, in a region called Alsace.
But it is in Germany where riesling is king. It's easy to spot German riesling on store shelves because it comes in a long, slim bottle that is either green (occasionally blue-green) or brown. Given its northern-European climate, Germany's cool summer temperatures mean grapes can have trouble ripening but, in the finest years, the slow-growing season allows them to develop unparalleled elegant, complex flavours.
Top German rieslings typically have low alcohol levels, so you can order two bottles for lunch instead of one.
If there were a classed growth ranking in the Mosel-Saar-Ruwer valley, Weingut Egon Muller would surely be among the greatest. Muller's vines are on the Saar hills, a quiet contributory to the more well-known core of the region's Mosel River. Muller is humble, reticent and refined, just like his wine, and his rieslings are among the most collectible in the world. His ethereal wines consistently command the highest prices during the annual September auction in Trier, Germany, when Mosel wines are first released to market. And this year was no exception.
The 2009 vintages were recently released to market via the VDP Grosser Ring auction but, until they reach Hong Kong's shores (ETA: in the spring), the 2008 vintages are sold through Onereddot (tel: 2408 8320).
2009 Scharzhofberger, riesling, Auslese Goldkapsel, Weingut Egon Muller (pictured)