LIQUOR: The 11 best Rieslings in 2021

Written by Jonathan Cristaldi | Updated 01/14/21 | Original Article

Culinarily speaking, Germany is known best for its bratwurst, pretzels, sauerkraut and beer. But in the wine department, Germany is near-synonymous with riesling. Not to say that only Germany can make a decent bottle of their homegrown variety (as you shall see).

Riesling is a tough grape; it’s drought-tolerant, heat tolerant, and packs a relatively high acidity. And yet, its structure is determined by the terroir where it grows, easily manipulated by soils and climates.

It has a reputation for being a sweet wine, but there are plenty of dry rieslings to prove otherwise. It ages well, it’s a notoriously excellent food-pairing wine, but more than anything, it’s just tasty. The selections listed below are some of the best rieslings to drink right now.

Check out the Palmaz Vineyards 2017 Louise Riesling here.

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Jonathan Cristaldi has written about wine and spirits for over a decade. He regularly tastes wines from around the globe, and personally tasted every wine in this roundup, except for the 1996 Domäne Wachau. Cristaldi was named a “Wine Prophet” by Time Out New York for his witty and often avant-garde approach to wine education.