What food goes with Riesling?
The best foods for Riesling
Spicy Asian food
A little sweetness in an off-dry Riesling cools the chili heat in Thai, Szechuan and Indian dishes, and its high acidity keeps each bite fresh.
Roast pork
Roast pork, schnitzel and ham are a German and Alsace tradition: Riesling acidity cuts the fat while its orchard fruit echoes a side of apple.
Duck
The bright acidity slices through rich, fatty duck, while an off-dry style mirrors the fruit in a cherry or orange sauce.
Sushi and sashimi
A bone-dry Riesling has the citrus and mineral edge to match raw fish, with no oak to clash with soy or pickled ginger.
Blue cheese
A sweet, late-harvest Riesling is the classic partner for salty blue cheese, its sugar and bright acidity balancing the sharp, savoury punch.
What is Riesling?
Riesling is an aromatic white grape from Germany, now grown across Alsace, Austria, Australia and the US too. It is light to medium-bodied with high acidity and no oak or tannin, so it stays crisp at every sweetness level. Look for green apple, lime, peach and honey, plus a flinty or petrol note with age, in a wine that runs from bone-dry to very sweet.
Why these pairings work
There is no single food for Riesling because there is no single Riesling. The same grape runs from bone-dry to lusciously sweet, and its high acidity is the thread that ties every style to the table. Match a dry bottle to light seafood and salads, an off-dry one to spice and pork, and a sweet one to blue cheese or a fruit dessert.
Grappi profiles Riesling by body, acidity and sweetness, then matches it against a reference of 185,000 wines to score each pairing out of 100.
Serving tips
- Serve Riesling cold, around 8C for dry bottles and a touch colder for sweet ones, so the acidity stays crisp.
- For spicy food, choose an off-dry or Kabinett Riesling: the hint of sugar tames the heat better than a bone-dry bottle.
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