Study and careerWhite grapes
Riesling: the grape, dry vs sweet, and how to read the label
Riesling makes bone-dry wines and some of the sweetest in the world. Here is how to tell which is in the bottle, where the great ones grow and what they taste like.
Updated October 2026
Rewritten by Alper Billik, Advanced Sommelier
4 min read
The short answer: Riesling is a white grape with very high acidity and a lot of perfume. It can be made bone dry, off-dry or lusciously sweet, and the label usually tells you which, once you know the words. Most Riesling from Alsace, Austria and Australia is dry. German Riesling comes in every style.
The grape in one minute
- Origin: Germany's Rhine country. The first written record is from 1435, in the cellar accounts of the Count of Katzenelnbogen. DNA studies name Gouais Blanc (Heunisch in German) as one of its parents.
- In the vineyard: a late-ripening grape that loves cool climates, steep slopes and a long autumn. It keeps its acidity even when very ripe.
- In the cellar: usually no new-oak flavour. Steel tanks or large old casks keep the fruit and the place in front.
- Pronunciation: “REESE-ling”.
What Riesling smells and tastes like
- Young and from a cool place: lime, lemon, green apple, white flowers, a stony, slatey edge.
- Riper: peach, apricot, pineapple, orange blossom.
- Sweet, with noble rot: honey, marmalade, dried apricot, saffron.
- With age: toast, honey, and the famous petrol note.
That petrol note is a compound called TDN. It builds up with sunshine on the grapes and with time in bottle, which is why it shows earlier in warm, sunny places like Australia and later in the Mosel. It does not come from slate. Some people love it, some don't; a little of it is a mark of an aged Riesling, not a fault.
Dry vs sweet: how to tell from the label
Sweetness depends on two things: how ripe the grapes were, and whether the winemaker lets the yeast eat all the sugar. Stop the fermentation early and sugar stays in the wine. Here are the clues.
| On the label | What it means | Usually tastes |
|---|---|---|
| Trocken (Germany) | Dry by law | Dry |
| Grosses Gewächs / GG | A VDP top-vineyard dry wine | Dry |
| Halbtrocken or Feinherb | Off-dry | A touch of sweetness |
| Kabinett, Spätlese | Ripeness at harvest, not sweetness | Often off-dry to sweet, unless also marked trocken |
| Auslese | Very ripe, selected bunches | Usually sweet |
| Beerenauslese, Trockenbeerenauslese, Eiswein | Overripe, noble-rot or frozen grapes | Very sweet |
| Vendanges Tardives (Alsace) | Late harvest | Sweet |
| Sélection de Grains Nobles (Alsace) | Noble-rot berries | Very sweet |
| Dry / Medium Dry / Medium Sweet / Sweet scale | The International Riesling Foundation's back-label scale, common in the US | As the arrow shows |
- Trocken (Germany)
- What it meansDry by law
- Usually tastesDry
- Grosses Gewächs / GG
- What it meansA VDP top-vineyard dry wine
- Usually tastesDry
- Halbtrocken or Feinherb
- What it meansOff-dry
- Usually tastesA touch of sweetness
- Kabinett, Spätlese
- What it meansRipeness at harvest, not sweetness
- Usually tastesOften off-dry to sweet, unless also marked trocken
- Auslese
- What it meansVery ripe, selected bunches
- Usually tastesUsually sweet
- Beerenauslese, Trockenbeerenauslese, Eiswein
- What it meansOverripe, noble-rot or frozen grapes
- Usually tastesVery sweet
- Vendanges Tardives (Alsace)
- What it meansLate harvest
- Usually tastesSweet
- Sélection de Grains Nobles (Alsace)
- What it meansNoble-rot berries
- Usually tastesVery sweet
- Dry / Medium Dry / Medium Sweet / Sweet scale
- What it meansThe International Riesling Foundation's back-label scale, common in the US
- Usually tastesAs the arrow shows
Two more rules of thumb. Alcohol: a German Riesling with low, single-digit alcohol almost always has sugar left in it; one at 12% or more is usually dry. Place: Alsace, Austria, Australia and most of the New World make mainly dry Riesling, so a sweet one will normally say so. For the full ladder of sweetness words across wine, see wine sweetness levels.
And the trap: Kabinett, Spätlese and Auslese are ripeness levels, measured as sugar in the grapes at harvest. A Spätlese can be sweet or, if it says trocken, dry. That one fact clears up most Riesling confusion.
Where the great Riesling grows
| Region | Style | Names to know |
|---|---|---|
| Mosel, Germany | Light, low alcohol, from dry to very sweet; steep slate slopes | Dr. Loosen, J.J. Prüm, Egon Müller |
| Rheingau, Germany | Fuller, often dry | Robert Weil |
| Alsace, France | Dry and full; sweet as VT and SGN | Trimbach, Domaine Weinbach, Zind-Humbrecht |
| Wachau and Kamptal, Austria | Dry, powerful, precise | F.X. Pichler, Prager, Bründlmayer |
| Clare and Eden Valley, Australia | Dry, lime and toast | Grosset, Henschke |
| Finger Lakes, New York | Dry to off-dry, bright | Hermann J. Wiemer, Dr. Konstantin Frank |
| Washington State | Fruity, dry to off-dry | Chateau Ste. Michelle |
- Mosel, Germany
- StyleLight, low alcohol, from dry to very sweet; steep slate slopes
- Names to knowDr. Loosen, J.J. Prüm, Egon Müller
- Rheingau, Germany
- StyleFuller, often dry
- Names to knowRobert Weil
- Alsace, France
- StyleDry and full; sweet as VT and SGN
- Names to knowTrimbach, Domaine Weinbach, Zind-Humbrecht
- Wachau and Kamptal, Austria
- StyleDry, powerful, precise
- Names to knowF.X. Pichler, Prager, Bründlmayer
- Clare and Eden Valley, Australia
- StyleDry, lime and toast
- Names to knowGrosset, Henschke
- Finger Lakes, New York
- StyleDry to off-dry, bright
- Names to knowHermann J. Wiemer, Dr. Konstantin Frank
- Washington State
- StyleFruity, dry to off-dry
- Names to knowChateau Ste. Michelle
In the Wachau, labels use their own words for dry wines by weight: Steinfeder (lightest), Federspiel and Smaragd (richest). In Alsace, Riesling is one of the main grapes of the Grand Cru vineyards, and the wines are labelled by grape. More on the region in the Alsace sommelier quiz.
Riesling with food
- Dry Riesling: oysters, shellfish, trout, pork, Alsace choucroute, anything with lemon.
- Off-dry Riesling: spicy food. Thai, Sichuan and Indian dishes love a little sugar and low alcohol.
- Sweet Riesling: fruit tarts, blue cheese, or on its own instead of dessert.
Serve it well chilled in a universal glass. If you want to pick a Riesling for a dinner tonight, ask SOMM DIGI AI with the dish in your own words.
Questions people ask
Is Riesling sweet or dry?
Both. Most Riesling from Alsace, Austria and Australia is dry. German Riesling ranges from dry (trocken) to very sweet (Beerenauslese, Trockenbeerenauslese, Eiswein).
What does Riesling taste like?
High acidity with lime, green apple, peach and white flowers when young; honey, toast and a petrol note with age.
Is Kabinett sweet?
Often lightly sweet, but Kabinett is a ripeness level, not a sweetness level. A Kabinett trocken is dry.
Why does Riesling smell like petrol?
From a compound called TDN, which builds up with sun on the grapes and with bottle age. It is normal in older Riesling.
Where are Riesling grapes grown?
Above all in Germany (Mosel, Rheingau, Pfalz), Alsace, Austria, Australia's Clare and Eden Valleys, New York's Finger Lakes and Washington State.
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