Welschriesling

Welschriesling is a fresh white grape grown across Austria and Central Europe, producing everything from crisp, dry wines to intensely sweet dessert styles. Expect green apple, lemon and pear with floral, herbal and mineral notes. Refreshing and versatile, it’s brilliant with seafood, salads, roast chicken, schnitzel, spicy Asian food and fruit desserts.

Taste:

Fresh, zesty and – despite the name – not actually Riesling.

Dry Welschriesling is typically light-bodied with high acidity and flavours of green apple, lemon, lime and pear. Expect subtle white flowers, fresh herbs and a clean mineral edge alongside the fruit.

The grape can also produce excellent sweet wines, particularly when affected by noble rot. These richer styles move towards peach, apricot, honey and citrus while keeping plenty of acidity to balance the sweetness.

So Welschriesling can go from crisp summer white to full-blown dessert wine without changing grapes.

Range.

Food Pairings:

Dry Welschriesling’s fresh acidity makes it a brilliant match for seafood and lighter dishes.

Try it with prawns, mussels, grilled fish, sea bass, cod, crab or seafood salad. Sushi and sashimi work beautifully too.

For meat, pair it with roast chicken, grilled chicken, pork or schnitzel.

Salads, grilled vegetables and fresh herb dishes are also excellent matches, particularly with lemon or citrus-based dressings.

Off-dry styles can work well with spicy Asian food, including Thai curry, spicy noodles and stir-fries with ginger, chilli or aromatic herbs.

Sweet Welschriesling is a completely different proposition. Try it with apricot tart, peach desserts, fruit tart, cheesecake or blue cheese.

Checking the sweetness level before you start cooking remains strongly advised.

Similar Wines:

Despite the name, Riesling isn't closely related to Welschriesling, but it's still a great wine to explore if you enjoy high acidity and styles ranging from dry to intensely sweet.

Grüner Veltliner is an obvious Austrian next step for crisp fruit, herbs and food-friendly freshness.

Silvaner offers another understated, fresh Central European white, while Pinot Blanc brings gentle apple, pear and citrus flavours.

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More About Welschriesling:

Welschriesling is widely planted across Central and southeastern Europe, particularly in Austria, Hungary, Croatia and Slovenia.

And now for the unnecessarily confusing part: Welschriesling has no close relationship to Riesling.

Depending on the country, you'll also find it under names including Olaszrizling in Hungary, Graševina in Croatia and Laški Rizling in Slovenia.

In Austria, it’s used for fresh, everyday dry whites but can also play an important role in sweet wines from Burgenland, where conditions around Lake Neusiedl can encourage noble rot.

Welschriesling. Olaszrizling. Graševina. Laški Rizling.

One grape, four names and none of them particularly helpful.

Classic wine.