Skip to content

Top Navigation

Food & Wine Food & Wine
  • Recipes & Cooking
  • Drinks
  • Travel
  • Holidays + Events
  • News
  • F&W Classic
  • Video
  • Lifestyle
  • F&W Pro
  • About Us

Profile Menu

Your Profile

Your Profile

  • Join Now
  • Newsletters
  • F&W Classic Insiders this link opens in a new tab
  • Manage Your Subscription this link opens in a new tab
  • Give a Gift Subscription this link opens in a new tab
  • Wine Club
  • Podcast
  • Food & Wine Books this link opens in a new tab
  • Logout
Login
Subscribe Subscribe
Pin FB

Explore Food & Wine

Food & Wine Food & Wine
  • Explore

    Explore

    • F&W Cooks

      F&W Cooks

      Food and Wine presents a new network of food pros delivering the most cookable recipes and delicious ideas online. Read More
    • Our 22 Best Crock Pot and Slow-Cooker Recipes

      Our 22 Best Crock Pot and Slow-Cooker Recipes

      Looking to amp up your beef stew but unsure where to start? A slow cooker can can take your comfort food to the next level. Read More
    • 50 Affordable Wines You Can Always Trust

      50 Affordable Wines You Can Always Trust

      We’ve assembled a list of 50 of the world’s most reliable, inexpensive wines – bottles that offer amazing quality for their price year in and year out. Read More
  • Recipes & Cooking

    Recipes & Cooking

    See All Recipes & Cooking
    • Chicken
    • Comfort Food
    • Breakfast + Brunch
    • Salads
    • Desserts
    • Vegetables
    • Pasta + Noodles
    • Chefs
    • Meat + Poultry
    • Soup
    • Appetizers
    • Side Dishes
    • Fruits
    • Seafood
    • Special Diets
    • Cooking Techniques
    • Steal This Trick
  • Drinks

    Drinks

    See All Drinks
    • Wine
    • Cocktails + Spirits
    • Coffee
    • Juices
    • Beer
    • Champagne + Sparkling Wine
    • Tea
  • Travel

    Travel

    See All Travel
    • Wine Regions
    • Restaurants
  • Holidays + Events

    Holidays + Events

    See All Holidays + Events
    • Valentine's Day
    • Halloween
    • Passover
    • Hanukkah
    • Christmas
    • Gifts
    • Super Bowl
    • Easter
    • Thanksgiving
    • New Year's Eve
    • Holiday Entertaining
  • News
  • F&W Classic

    F&W Classic

    See All F&W Classic
    • F&W Classic Insider
  • Video
  • Lifestyle
  • F&W Pro
  • About Us

Profile Menu

Subscribe this link opens in a new tab
Your Profile

Your Profile

  • Join Now
  • Newsletters
  • F&W Classic Insiders this link opens in a new tab
  • Manage Your Subscription this link opens in a new tab
  • Give a Gift Subscription this link opens in a new tab
  • Wine Club
  • Podcast
  • Food & Wine Books this link opens in a new tab
  • Logout
Login
Sweepstakes

Follow Us

  1. Home
  2. Wine
  3. Riesling Pairings

Riesling Pairings

By Food & Wine Updated June 15, 2016
Skip gallery slides
FB Tweet
Sheep-Cheese Soufflés
Wrongly maligned as overly sweet, good Riesling has a brightness and balance that make it delicious with an astonishing range of foods. Here, a look at six of the most important styles of Riesling, from steely to luscious, with recipes to match.—Megan Krigbaum
Start Slideshow

1 of 6

FB Tweet
Pinterest Email Send Text Message Print

Steely & Dry Rieslings

Steely & Dry Riesling Wine Pairings
Credit: Snapper with Charred Tomatillos & Pepper Salsa
Go to Recipe

These bright, citrusy Rieslings are similar to Sauvignon Blanc. They're delicious with foods that have "green" flavors, like the lime, jalapeño and tomatillo in this snapper dish. Their vibrant acidity and minerality can also be terrific with rich dishes flavored with a squeeze of lime, like beef curry.

Wines to Seek Out:
Most Australian Rieslings

  • Pairing: Snapper with Charred Tomatillos & Pepper Salsa
  • Pairing: Penang Beef Curry

1 of 6

Advertisement
Advertisement

2 of 6

FB Tweet
Pinterest Email Send Text Message Print

Rich & Dry Rieslings

Coq au Riesling
Go to Recipe

Much like white Burgundy, full-bodied Rieslings are great with earthy flavors and perfect with luscious sauces like the ones in the dishes here.

Wines to Seek Out:
Alsatian Rieslings and smaragd bottlings from Austria

  • Pairing: Coq au Riesling
  • Pairing: Halibut with Orange-Miso Sauce and Fennel Salad

2 of 6

3 of 6

FB Tweet
Pinterest Email Send Text Message Print

Faintly Sweet Rieslings

Bacon-and-Egg Pizza
Credit: CON POULOS
Go to Recipe

Sommeliers sometimes call these daytime wines. Their low alcohol and whisper of sweetness are superb for light meals or salty snacks.

Wines to Seek Out:
Many Washington bottlings and German feinherbs

  • Pairing: Bacon-and-Egg Pizza
  • Pairing: Radish Salad with Pumpkin Seeds and Pumpkin Oil

3 of 6

Advertisement

4 of 6

FB Tweet
Pinterest Email Send Text Message Print

Moderately Sweet Rieslings

Drunken Noodles
Go to Recipe

If a dish is so intense or fiery that beer seems the only option, try an off-dry Riesling instead. The extra sugar in the wine counters the heat, while the chiles in the dish make the wine taste less sweet.

Wines to Seek Out:
Traditional German Kabinetts and most New Zealand Rieslings

  • Pairing: Drunken Noodles
  • Pairing: Tandoori Marinated Quail

4 of 6

5 of 6

FB Tweet
Pinterest Email Send Text Message Print

Distinctly Sweet Rieslings

Honey-Soy-Roasted Pork with Braised Vegetables
Go to Recipe

Whether light or decadent, dishes that combine sweet and savory flavors work best with sweet Rieslings that still have refreshing acidity.

Wines to Seek Out:
Semisweet Finger Lakes wines and traditional German Spätleses

  • Pairing: Honey-Soy-Roasted Pork with Braised Vegetables
  • Pairing: Golden Beet Carpaccio with Pickled Mustard Seeds

5 of 6

6 of 6

FB Tweet
Pinterest Email Send Text Message Print

Dessert Rieslings

Sheep-Cheese Soufflés
Go to Recipe

While dessert Rieslings could be paired with fruit tarts, sommeliers love them with cheese.

Wines to Seek Out:
Eisweins and German Beerenausleses

  • Pairing: Sheep-Cheese Soufflé

6 of 6

Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Replay gallery

Share the Gallery

Pinterest Facebook

Up Next

By Food & Wine

    Share the Gallery

    Pinterest Facebook
    Trending Videos
    Advertisement
    Skip slide summaries

    Everything in This Slideshow

    Advertisement

    View All

    1 of 6 Steely & Dry Rieslings
    2 of 6 Rich & Dry Rieslings
    3 of 6 Faintly Sweet Rieslings
    4 of 6 Moderately Sweet Rieslings
    5 of 6 Distinctly Sweet Rieslings
    6 of 6 Dessert Rieslings

    Share & More

    Pinterest Email Send Text Message Print
    Food & Wine

    Magazines & More

    Learn More

    • Subscribe this link opens in a new tab
    • Books from Food & Wine
    • Contact Us
    • Advertise
    • Content Licensing
    • Accolades this link opens in a new tab

    Connect

    Follow Us
    Subscribe to Our Newsletter
    Sign Up
    MeredithFood & Wine is part of the Meredith Corporation Allrecipes Food Group. © Copyright 2022 Meredith Corporation. All Rights Reserved. Privacy Policythis link opens in a new tab Terms of Servicethis link opens in a new tab Ad Choicesthis link opens in a new tab California Do Not Sellthis link opens a modal window Web Accessibilitythis link opens in a new tab
    © Copyright Food & Wine. All rights reserved. Printed from https://www.foodandwine.com

    Sign in

    View image

    Riesling Pairings
    this link is to an external site that may or may not meet accessibility guidelines.