Bobby Stuckey: The Brilliance of Dry Riesling

In this tasting, Master Sommelier Bobby Stuckey takes us on an exploration of the great dry riesling of Germany and Austria; don’t be fooled by the German bottle - these wines are dry and exciting!

By Food & Wine Editors
Updated on December 22, 2021
  • Wine #1: 2008 Weingut Leitz Rüdesheimer Berg Rottland Riesling trocken "Alte Reben"

    This wine is fresh on the palette, super dry but complex, and beautifully ageable.

  • Wine #2: 2019 Weingut Dönnhoff Höllenpfad im Mühlenberg Riesling Grosses Gewächs

    From a vineyard whose name means "path to hell," Carlin finds this wine a perfect example of Dry German Riesling, and notes that this wine is so good and so refreshing on a warm day.

  • Wine #3: 2019 Alzinger Ried Loibenberg Smaragd Riesling (Wachau)

    This Austrian Riesling from alongside the Danube River bears the unmistakable floral, ethereal quality of the region.

  • Wine #4: 2018 Prager Riesling Smaragd Wachstum Bodenstein

    Bobby describes this Riesling as having an intense minerality that really showcases the terroir of the Wachau.

  • Wine #5: 2018 Domaine Ostertag Riesling, Grand Cru Muenchberg

    Carlin notes that the complex, exotic, winter spice flavors of Rieslings from Alsace, like this one from Domaine Osterag, pair well with cheese, skiing, and holidays like Thanksgiving.

  • Wine #6: 2018 Domaine Weinbach Riesling Schlossberg Grand Cru 2018

    Carlin describes this Riesling as "the O.G. Grand Cru, the biggest Grand Cru of Alsace" and notes that the acid, alcohol, sugar is all in balance here. It's delicious.

bobby stuckey

To me, every one of these wines could be a thesis statement of how here in the United States we might get Riesling wrong. Because every one of these is drier than we expected, more brilliant than we expected, a vehicle of terroir more than we expected ...

— bobby stuckey
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