Are all Rieslings sweet?

While the common assumption is that all Rieslings are very sweet, many Rieslings can be very dry as well. Rieslings from Austria, Australia and New Zealand are almost always dry.

A dry Riesling will give you a taste profile of more minerals whereas a sweet Riesling will have more pronounced flavors of tropical fruit and a sweet honey finish.

Rieslings are very versatile in food pairing. Sweet Riesling will go well with spicy food or desssert while drier styles of Riesling pair well with shellfish and other light seafood, chicken and pork. Some of those drier styles are also great as aperitifs.

There are some easy clues to decipher if a bottle of Riesling is sweet and that is to look at the alcohol level: If the label says 8 percent to 10 percent, the wine is likely to have some perceptible sweetness.