What Foods Pair Well With Riesling Wine

Riesling wine has been around since the 1400's, perhaps longer. Its home is in the Rhine region of Germany. Its parentage hails from Croatia, having traveled to Burgundy with the Romans, where they assigned the region to the Germanic people of the Burgandians. Its other parent is Traminer crossed with a wild vine. The Riesling name has come to be more generalized today as white wine, though there are red variants. There are 50 known clonally and myriad hybrids. The low alcohol content and fruity aroma might make you think it has poor aging potential, but it ages better than red wines and it can last over a hundred years.

It's very acidic and the aroma is like flower-like. These wines range from very dry to honeyed. The honeyed effect results from using Botrytis-affected dehydrated berries that are picked late. The perfect interaction between sugar and acid are what makes a Riesling and gives it longevity. Riesling in general is good with ham, chicken, turkey and Asian foods. It goes with an array of flavors: sweet, salty, spicy.

Alsace Riesling comes from the Alsace region of France. The climate of the region makes a very different wine than the German. Alsace Riesling is drier, fruitier, and fuller-bodied. It's a dry wine and is considered the best Alsace wine. It pairs well with fish, shell-fish, poultry, cold meat, sauerkraut, and smoked ham.

Pinot Blanc is the least aromatic of Alsace. Klevner and Auxerrois are combined sometimes with the Pinot Blanc grape, which adds more alsacian flavor to the wine. It's a dry wine with peach, pear, and flower flavors. It's good with fish poultry, onion tart, and Munster.

Chicken in Riesling recommended by Ruth Cousineau is made with Alsace's dry Riesling though it has generally been made with a red wine. She says it makes the dish creamier.

Here are some recipes recommended to be good with Riesling: Creole Shrimp and Pasta Meuniere, Pan Roasted Pork Tenderloin with a Blue cheese and Olive Stuffing, Deep-Fried Turkey, Cajun Crawfish and Shrimp Etouffe, Barbequed Thai Style Chicken, and African Curry, which is best with off-dry Riesling.