Australian riesling could be your new spring into summer white. You will have to pay at least a tenner for the privilege and more like £20-plus for the top dogs but, oh my, it is worth it. For starters, Aussie riesling is generally dry, not sweet like Germany’s, and ticks all those white, crisp, refreshing, lower-alcohol, contemporary drinkers’ boxes. In addition, it has a blow-your-socks-off, tongue-tingling, steely, complex, floral, lime zest quality all of its own, often with a whiff of petrol that I love, although some don’t.
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Riesling’s kerosene whiff pops up on vines in sunny spots and in warmer vintages. Curiously, leading producers such as Jeffrey Grosset from the Clare Valley hate this kerosene note and think it’s a fault, while in Germany lots of winemakers love it.
It is most likely that riesling arrived in Australia with the First Fleet and since then has popped up in 40 of Australia’s 65 wine regions. South Australia’s Clare Valley and Eden Valley are home to about a third of the country’s production and renowned for their world-class wines.
Given the heat and dust of both regions, it is a wonder how their rieslings remain so vibrant, crisp and complex but it is the continental climate, early slow ripening, higher elevation and cold nights that are the answer. Old vines and ancient soils make for different styles. Eden Valley’s rocky, sandy hills produce aromatic, green apple and citrus swigs with Pewsey Vale’s Museum Releases (see star buy) a firm favourite. Hop north to the Clare Valley and you will find vibrant rieslings from terra rossa over limestone and the intense, flinty, rapier stars from Polish Hill’s broken slate and shale.
The great attribute of Aussie riesling is that it is a brilliant food wine. Anyone serving Aussie riesling with a fresh seafood platter or a punchy fish dish will have a wonderful time. My vote goes to the Eden Valley’s elegant, herby, grapefruit-tangy 2018 Peter Lehmann Masters Wigan Riesling (nywines.co.uk, £25.75). It is also the perfect bottle to crack open with those fiercely flavoured summer standbys of coronation chicken and vitello tonnato. Try either with the minerally, lemon zest lick of a Southern Ocean-cooled Frankland River riesling from Western Australia, such as Forest Hill’s 2024 Vineyard Estate Riesling (yapp.co.uk, £22).
Whatever you do please try to splurge on the stellar 2025 Grosset Polish Hill Riesling (bbr.com, £45), made from 30-year-old vines grown on a 500 million-year-old blue slate Clare Valley vineyard with gorgeous, tingly, floral, steely, lemongrass pizzazz. If that is too much plump for a bright, racy but softly citrus style with just 10.5 per cent alcohol, Yalumba’s 2024 Y Series Riesling from South Australia (vinvm.co.uk, £11.70). It’s the perfect, mouthwatering sunny day aperitif.
Aussie riesling stars
2024 Finest Tingleup Riesling, Western Australia
12 per cent, Tesco, £11.50
Howard Park’s appositely titled, machine-harvested riesling bursts with crisp yet exotic floral, lemony zing.
2018 Pewsey Vale The Contours, Museum Reserve, Eden Valley, South Australia
12.5 per cent, vinvm.co.uk, £26.95
Dazzling, intense, petrol, green apple and lime-licked majestic, mature, single-site, old-vine riesling.
2024 The Lodge Hill Riesling, Clare Valley, South Australia
11.5 per cent, Co-op, £11.25
Jim Barry’s fragrant, smoky, lime juice-sparky Lodge Hill is an old friend and great value for money.
2023 Wakefield Riesling, Clare Valley, South Australia
12 per cent, Asda, £10 down from £13
Wakefield’s spicy, greeny-gold gooseberry and mature, kerosene-charged 2023 packs a cut-price punch.
This week’s best buys
2023 Josh Cellars Merlot, California
13.5 per cent, Majestic, £17.50
Aged for almost two years in oak, this juicy, damson plum-packed merlot is pumped up with a dab of cabernet.
2025 Specially Selected Pinot Grigio Rosato, Italy
12 per cent, Aldi, £6.99
Simple yet satisfying, rounded, floral, fruity, food-friendly and exclusively pinot grigio Veneto Pink.
2022 Errazuriz Gran Reserva Cabernet Sauvignon, Chile
13.5 per cent, Waitrose, £8 down from £12.25
Cracking, richly black fruited Chilean, easily £8’s worth of cabernet topped up with petit verdot and malbec.
2024 Toro Loco Superior Tempranillo Bobal, Spain
12 per cent, Tesco, £5.29
Cheap as chips, robust, tannic, inky Utiel-Requena black and red fruited tempranillo, topped up with bobal.
Dining and Cooking