When I recommend Riesling to customers, I often get the response "Ooh... I don't like sweet wines." As a person obsessed with everything related to this varietal (my wife and I own a Riesling vineyard in the Finger Lakes region of New York State), I'm here to dispel the myth that all Rieslings are sweet. In fact, there are many different styles of Riesling, ranging from bone-dry to sweet dessert wines.

New World Rieslings, including those from the Finger Lakes region of New York state and New Zealand, incorporate a straight forward labeling system. Those labeled "dry" are just that -- crisp and dry and not at all sweet. "Semi-dry" refers to slightly sweeter wines and "sweet" generally means a dessert wine, or very sweet.

Old World Rieslings, specifically those from Germany, have a more precise classification system, making it easy to find a wine that best suits your taste buds and food pairing needs. Kabinett, the first level of grape ripeness, is an elegant wine that is dry or just slightly sweet. Spätlese, which literally means "late harvest," refers to Rieslings with a richer, fuller body that can be either dry or sweet. Auslese, or "selected harvest," are most often sweet and rich, but can be dry too. Beerenauslese and Trockenbeerenauslese are sweet, dessert wines. The former translates to "selected harvest of berries" and are rich, golden and sweet. On rare occasion, they can be drier. The latter refers to wines for which each dried individual berry is picked by hand and reserved for only the finest dessert wines.

If you prefer dry wines, I recommend the Wurtz Weinmann 2007 Riesling, a food-friendly choice from Germany for just $15. From the Finger Lakes region of New York, Frank makes award-winning selections at affordable price produced from the oldest Riesling vineyards in North America. Wine & Spirits awarded the 2007 Dry Riesling ($19) 93 points. For a wonderful and affordable sweet Riesling, St. Ludwin Bernkastler Auslese ($17) is a great choice.

No matter the style, one of Riesling's best qualities is that it pairs well with a myriad of cuisines and is a great complement to any food with a spicy kick. Try it with everything from cheese, such as a New York State Wasabi Cheddar to a pan-Asian seared tuna steak or salmon filet to spicy chicken dishes.

If you are a dry wine lover and thought you could never enjoy Riesling -- talk to your local wine specialist who can point you to the style you will like. You will open your eyes, and taste buds, to a whole new varietal.


Joseph Sheehy is a certified wine specialist and educator for Stew Leonard Wine. He can be reached at jsheehy@stewleonards.com to answer any wine-related questions.