Ask a gathering of wine experts to name the finest grape varieties on earth. Experience suggests that while the odd wild card – Touriga Nacional, Albariño – will emerge, a few names will consistently appear. Cabernet Sauvignon is one; Riesling is another.
And yet, despite this apparently unending wine trade Riesling love-in, consumer enthusiasm for the grape has historically remained frustratingly luke-warm. Whatever the reasons, as Peter McAtamney, principal of Wine Business Solutions (WBS), puts it: “You have a trade who is so enamoured with it that they wish to force it upon an audience that plain doesn’t like it any more than they like coffee without sugar. You cannot change those people.”
Historical hangover
In the UK, lingering anti-Riesling sentiment is often blamed on the boom and bust of sweeter German styles such as Liebfraumilch (although most of these wines contained little or no Riesling and were more focused on Müller-Thurgau). “It seemed that the Brits could simply never forgive the Germans [for Liebfraumilch],” McAtamney says.
But Liebfraumilch is practically ancient history now, and Riesling overtook Müller-Thurgau as Germany’s most planted grape variety as long ago as 1995. If older consumers still shudder at the anticipated sugar levels of anything packaged in a tall, slender bottle, their younger counterparts are less likely to entertain the same prejudices. Generational change is taking effect.
“Over the last few years, we have seen the German wine consumer changing as the younger generation tastes and gets behind German wines,” reports Steffen Schindler, director of marketing at the German Wine Institute. “Many younger consumers are coming new to the German category and starting with Riesling and Pinot Noir.”
As evidence for this, he points to successful sampling activities at UK food and drink festivals over the past couple of years, which will be repeated in 2015 with the “Give it a whirl” consumer tour, as well as The 31 Days of German Riesling promotion with restaurants and retailers in July, and the “Get It On…” competition aimed at persuading UK buyers to extend their German listings.
Is it working? McAtamney – looking at Riesling as a whole, not just from Germany – believes it is, at restaurant level at any rate.
“What does seem to be happening, and our on-premise research backs this up fairly strongly, is that the people coming into the market are changing,” he says. “The emergence of the ‘Master Chef Generation’ means that there are simply a lot more people with a lot more sophisticated tastes at a much younger age. Certainly they are vastly more adventurous than any previous group of wine drinkers.”
Looking at Australia’s on-premise sector first, he notes that mainstream white wine styles are losing ground in terms of restaurant listings, but there has been a boom for the likes of Albariño (listings up 305% in 2015), Grüner Veltliner (+147%) and Italian white varietals (Fiano +70%, Arneis +104% , Vermentino +166%, Verdicchio +1,109% ).
But alongside this quest for “something new”, consumers are finding new respect for classic, indigenous wine styles with real heritage, such as Hunter Valley Semillon, McAtamney says.
Riesling is yet to reap the benefits of this in Australia (listings down 16% in 2015, according to WBS), but the picture is subtly different in the UK. Here the same broad trends are observed – mainstream Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc down, Albariño, Grüner Veltliner, white Rioja and even Verdelho up – but Riesling too has seen its share of listings lift appreciably, rising 30% between 2013 and 2014.
“Just as the emerging on-premise audience in Australia has a new respect for Semillon, Riesling is lifting significantly in the UK,” says McAtamney, adding that Germany increased its share of listings by 83% last year as a result. “All the signs are there, in other words, that Riesling will make a major breakthrough in the UK in the next few years.”
Schindler sees a similarly buoyant picture in the UK retail sector, reporting that Germany has increased its sales in all segments over £7.00 ($10.40), rising 90% in the £7.00 to £8.00 category, +17% in £8.00 to £9.00, +138% in £9.00 to £10.00 and +14% above £10.00 (Nielsen, MAT to week ending 11 October 2014).
Anecdotally, he adds that Oddbins has more than doubled its German listings, and that Marks & Spencer reported 100%-plus growth for German wine last November, driven by brands over £8.00. “The picture is broadly similar in the on- and off-trade, with volume and value experiencing decline, and the average price per 75 cl continuing to rise,” Schindler adds.
International variety
While Germany continues to dominate the global Riesling picture, other countries are increasingly pushing their own take on the variety – although it can sometimes languish in the shadow of more important national priorities.
Take Austria, for example. “Austria is one of the best Riesling destinations in the world, but Riesling does not play such a predominant role as it covers only 4% of the country’s vineyards,” says Willi Klinger, general manager of the Austrian Wine Marketing Board (AWMB). “Grüner Veltliner is our signature grape and has become a ‘must’ in a serious importer’s portfolio. The country is more identified with GV and maybe also Blaufränkisch and Zweigelt. But Austrian Riesling is a high-quality speciality – no serious Riesling selection of a good wine list can be without Austria.”
It’s a similar story in New Zealand, where New Zealand Winegrowers CEO Philip Gregan admits that Riesling is still overshadowed by Sauvignon Blanc. “I am not sure NZ Riesling has yet carved out a clear image for itself, rather it reflects the overall image for New Zealand wine – high-quality, distinctively New Zealand, sustainable, etc,” he says. “Asia/China is a promising market for the future, but it will take a long time to develop.”
Like Schindler, Gregan is bullish about Riesling’s current prospects. “Yes, in many markets Riesling does suffer from that negativity, but that is really a story of yesterday, not today and tomorrow,” he says. “From a New Zealand perspective, I don’t think there is any negativity towards New Zealand Riesling at all, there is just some negativity around the Riesling category as a whole.”
In Australia, even as Riesling production has almost halved over the past decade, it has also become more focused on the hotspots of the Clare and Eden Valleys, where plantings have increased. For Laura Jewell MW, regional director at Wine Australia, the wines are “definitely about fresh cut lime and zingy, vibrant flavours”, and the emphasis is on promoting food matches, especially Asian, Thai and fusion foods.
“We also do masterclasses on Rieslings from Australia, as well as including them in tastings about the evolution of wine styles in Australia,” she adds. “Promotions with on-trade customers will always feature Riesling, such as the D&D Restaurants promo running this month [April] – the Wonderful Wines of Aus.”
This internationalisation of Riesling can be both a boon and a burden to the category as a whole. “The more aware consumers are of Riesling as a grape in general, the better in terms of getting them to try different styles and appreciate the variations across the different regions and different parts of the world,” says Schindler.
But consumer confusion is an issue. Understanding German Riesling – the regions, the varying levels of sweetness, the labels – can be challenging enough. Throw in other producing countries and styles and the problem is magnified.
“The overarching perception of German Rieslings is that they are sweet, but the style of most Aussie Rieslings is very different,” says Jewell. “The average consumer can struggle to understand the difference, particularly as there is rarely information on the label about levels of sweetness. Using a different bottle shape can help, as per Jacob’s Creek, for instance.”
“The challenge for Riesling producers looking to ensure that this [resurgence] happens is that there is more variability within Riesling than there is between most Italian varietals, for example,” adds McAtamney. “You are therefore asking the consumer not to understand one wine style, but four or five at least.”
But even here he finds grounds for optimism. “Where just a year or so ago this was a major inhibitor, I believe it now to be of great benefit. We have a market that is becoming ever more curious, ever more capable of managing this complexity and appreciative of this great diversity of wine styles.”
Has Riesling’s moment come at last? Time will tell…
Germany
> Riesling plantings reached 23,293 ha in 2013, up from 22,837 ha in 2012, but essentially flat since 1995
> That makes Germany the dominant Riesling-producing country in the world, accounting for roughly 45% of global production
> Riesling is hugely dominant in the German regions of Mosel, Rheingau and Mittelrhein, and is the most commonly planted variety in Rheinhessen, Pfalz, Nahe and Hessische Bergstrasse
Austria
> Riesling only accounts for 4% of Austria’s vineyard plantings, but assumes greater importance in the Wachau (20% of plantings), as well as Kremstal, Kamptal and Traisental
> Riesling plantings currently cover about 2,000 ha in Austria, most of it in Niederösterreich (1,763 ha in 2014, up from 1,538 ha in 2009). There are also small pockets in Wien, Burgenland and Steiermark
> The Austrian Wine Marketing Board estimates that about 30% of Riesling is exported, with main destinations the US, Benelux, Switzerland and Scandinavia. Demand is also growing in Italy, central and eastern Europe, and Asia
Australia
> Riesling production peaked at 41,000 tonnes in 2005, but fell to 23,000 tonnes in 2014
> Clare Valley and Eden Valley are the two biggest Riesling-producing regions: Riesling plantings in Clare rose from 600 ha in 2001 to 1,090 ha in 2012, while Eden grew from 400 ha to 522 ha
> Some 305 Australian companies export Riesling to 102 countries. The US accounts for 47% of exports, followed by Canada (18%), the UK (11%), China (4%), Japan (3%), Sweden (3%) and Finland (3%)
New Zealand
> New Zealand’s Riesling plantings currently number about 787 ha, down from the peak of just under 1,000 ha in 2009-11, according to New Zealand Winegrowers
> About half of Riesling production comes from Marlborough and another 25% from Waipara, making it predominantly a South Island grape
> Only about 1m L of New Zealand Riesling are exported each year, with the UK taking the largest share (about 25%), followed by Sweden
