Ever come across a movie that has a 32 percent audience score but 90 percent critics score? That’s kind of like Riesling. Many wine drinkers avoid the grape due to its reputation as “sweet,” while sommeliers and wine professionals sing its praises as a complex, age-worthy, high-acid wine.
In reality, Riesling takes on a wide range of expressions. Many examples are bone dry with laser-like acidity and a crisp mineral edge, while others offer ripe fruit flavors and, yes, a slight hint of sweetness. The profile can depend on region, harvest date, and the winemaking. It’s all about finding the right bottle that fits your preferred style.
This list showcases the full spectrum of Riesling from austere and focused to rounded and weighty. Some are tart with zesty citrus and green apple flavors while others are overflowing with notes of juicy peaches and pineapples. There are wines from across Germany including Spätlese bottlings from the Mosel and fuller-bodied wines from the Pfalz, as well as Rieslings from Alsace, Austria, the Finger Lakes, and even a unique cool-climate site in California. Whether you’re a devout member of the fan club or are a skeptic waiting to be convinced, here are 16 bottles to explore on your Riesling journey.
Best Rieslings Under $25
Von Winning ‘Winnings’ Riesling 2023
Dating back to 1849, von Winning is an historic producer in Germany’s Pfalz region, an area known for producing rich, full-bodied expressions of Riesling due to its relatively warm climate. The sunshine in this region comes through in this ripe and expressive wine. Aromas of peaches, jasmine flowers, and rose petals float out of the glass. The palate is full of juicy mango and apricot flavors, complemented by hints of green tea and minerals.
Average price: $20
Rating: 92
Apollo’s Praise Lahoma Vineyard Dry Riesling 2023
Apollo’s Praise is a new project run by Kelby James Russell in the Finger Lakes. If that name sounds familiar, it’s because he was the head winemaker at Red Newt Cellars, a leading producer in the region, for the past decade. In 2023, Russell purchased the esteemed Lahoma Vineyard on Seneca Lake to start his own winemaking venture, and this is the winery’s first vintage. The dry Riesling is expressive on the nose with aromas of apricots, mango, grapefruit, and smoke. The palate is full of ripe stone fruit and tropical fruit notes, but still comes across as clean and crisp. A great new addition to the world of Finger Lakes Riesling, indeed.
Average price: $22
Rating: 92
Forge Cellars Dry Riesling Classique 2022
The “Classique” bottlings from Forge Cellars are meant to represent a snapshot of the vintage across Seneca Lake, blending the winery’s 16 vineyard sites into one cohesive wine. While Forge also offers a range of stellar single-vineyard bottlings that are well worth exploring, this is the perfect introduction to the winery’s crisp, bone-dry style. Pouring an impressive golden hue, the nose has notes of lemon oil, white cherries, and freshly baked biscuits. The palate offers concentrated citrus flavor and a rich, rounded texture that’s balanced by bright acidity.
Average price: $22
Rating: 91
A.J. Adam Riesling Trocken 2023
A.J. Adam is a 12-acre estate in the steep, south-facing vineyards of Dhron, a small area in Germany’s iconic Mosel. Like many wines from the region, this dry Riesling offers incredible value, serving delicate notes of lime, lemon, and green apples on the nose, and a full spectrum of citrus flavors from tart and bitter grapefruit juice to round and fatty lemon oil on the palate.
Average price: $23
Rating: 92
Pfeffingen Dry Riesling 2021
Pfeffingen’s wines benefit from the estate’s unique position in the historic Bad Dürkheim town in the northern Pfalz. Here, the vineyards are protected by the Palatinate Forest, creating a distinct microclimate that translates to mineral-driven wines full of rich character. The nose brings delicate citrus and apple aromas, but the palate is really where this wine shines. Zippy notes of grapefruit, lime, and slate reach from the front to the back of the palate and linger on the finish. The wine is wonderfully balanced between fruit, minerality, acidity, and body.
Average price: $23
Rating: 91
Best Rieslings Under $50
Reichsrat von Buhl ‘Armand’ Riesling Kabinett 2022
The von Buhl estate has been committed to producing high-quality Rieslings since its founding in 1849. Named after Franz Armand von Buhl, who took over the winery from his father in 1862, the “Armand” bottling is a tribute to the estate’s history and significance in the region. Sipping this wine is like biting into a juicy white cherry. The palate pops with ripe stone fruit flavors and a hint of sweetness, lifted by a bright acidity.
Average price: $25
Rating: 92
Albert Mann Riesling Cuvée Albert 2020
Sitting on the edge of the France-Germany border is Alsace, a region that’s been controlled by the two countries on several occasions. It’s no surprise, then, that Riesling thrives in this hilly French region. Due to the sunshine here, the wines tend to be rounded, and though this example does have a bit more body than average on the palate, the chalky minerality and crisp citrus notes still shine through.
Average price: $26
Rating: 90
Ravines Dry Riesling Limestone Vineyard 2021
Ravines has been a leader in establishing the Finger Lakes as a high-quality region for dry, mineral-driven Rieslings since its founding in 2001. This example comes from the Limestone Vineyard, named for its limestone-based soils. It’s a beautiful golden color in the glass, and offers notes of lemon, orchard fruit, and underripe mango. But the real star of this wine is the racy acidity.
Average price: $29
Rating: 90
Trestle Thirty One Dry Riesling 2022
This bottle showcases the lean, mineral-driven side of Finger Lakes Riesling. There’s a slight petrol note on the nose, and the palate has delicate citrus and stone fruit flavors and a slate-like minerality. Acidity dominates each sip, but without being too austere.
Average price: $32
Rating: 90
Cobb Wines Vonarburg Vineyard Riesling 2021
Cobb Wines was a pioneer in crafting elegant, site-specific Pinot Noirs on the cool Sonoma Coast. It applies that same precision to making expressive and focused Rieslings. This bottle comes from the two-acre Vonarburg Vineyard in Anderson Valley. It’s fermented in stainless steel and aged for six months in neutral oak. The nose is perfumed with notes of honeysuckle and petrol. The palate is rich and expressive with notes of yellow pears, orchard fruit, hazelnuts, and lemon oil with a waxy texture.
Average price: $45
Rating: 92
Hermann J. Wiemer HJW Vineyard Riesling 2022
The HJW Vineyard is where Hermann J. Wiemer’s legacy began. Perched on a land bench 700 feet above Seneca Lake, this site is where Hermann planted the estate’s first Riesling vines in 1977. The area’s relatively cool mesoclimate leads to a distinct expression of the variety. Precise notes of lemon oil and zest fill the nose. The palate is packed with notes of citrus, underripe pineapple, grapefruit pith, and minerals that linger on the finish.
Average price: $45
Rating: 94
Wagner-Stempel ‘Porphyr’ Siefersheim Riesling 2022
This bottle from Germany’s Rheinhessen region is a Riesling for the Chardonnay lover. It shows a richer, rounder style of the variety with notes of lemon curd, vanilla, and ripe apples. Though the palate has a good weight to it, the acidity still shines through on the finish.
Average price: $46
Rating: 90
Robert Weil Riesling Spätlese 2022
This wine from historic Rheingau producer Robert Weil is a textbook example of Germany’s Spätlese category. These wines are made with grapes harvested later in the growing season, which allows them to accumulate more sugar and concentrated, ripe flavors. While they do have a touch of sweetness, vibrant acidity balances it out. This bottle offers zingy notes of freshly squeezed lemon, grapefruit pith, and juicy apricots. Break it out for your toughest spicy food pairings.
Average price: $49
Rating: 91
Best Riesling Over $50
Domane Wachau ‘Achleiten’ Riesling Smaragd 2022
Neighboring Germany, Austria also makes some remarkable Riesling expressions. This single-vineyard bottling from the Wachau comes from the renowned Achleiten site, known for its gneiss soils that make wines with a strong mineral character and racy acidity. Intense aromas of tangerine, orange zest, and honeysuckle float out the glass, and the palate has an impressive concentration of fruit, with rich notes of apples and citrus.
Average price: $51
Rating: 93
Reinhold Haart Goldtröpfchen Riesling Spätlese 2022
Another stunning example of German Spätlese, but this time from the historic Haart estate in the Mosel. It’s wonderfully complex with layers of ripe peach and lemon bundt cake. Though it does land on the sweeter side, it’s extremely lively with bright acidity and streaks of electric lime breaking through the weight on the palate.
Average price: $54
Rating: 93
Rebholz ‘vom Rotliegenden’ Riesling 2022
The Rebholz estate is a leader in organic and natural winemaking in the Pfalz region of Germany. The winery has been certified organic since 2005 and practicing biodynamic since 2006, while the tradition of winegrowing in this family dates back to 1632. This bottling is named for the red slate soils that the vines grow in, which lead to a vibrant and expressive wine. The nose is a melange of ripe stone fruits and flowers, with aromatic notes of peaches, white cherries, honeysuckle, and rose petals. The palate brings more stone fruit notes with added hints of jasmine tea, pineapple, and lychee.
Average price: $60
Rating: 94
FAQs
What regions make good Riesling?
Riesling tends to thrive in cool-climate nations and regions like Germany, Alsace, Austria, Australia’s Eden Valley, and the Finger Lakes in upstate New York. Many of the world’s best Rieslings come from vineyards located at high altitudes or on steep slopes, giving the grapes the perfect balance of cool temperatures and sun exposure. Many of the great Riesling regions also feature slate soils, like Germany’s Mosel region. The style can vary between each of these all-star regions, so it’s worth exploring all of them to find your favorite.
How can I tell if a Riesling will be dry or sweet?
Germany has a long history of Riesling production, so the country has a specific labeling system that indicates the residual sugar levels in the wine. Typically, if the wine has “trocken” on the label, that means the wine is dry. Other terms like “Halbtrocken” and “Feinherb” are used to indicate an off-dry wine, and “Liebliche” or “Süss” signals a sweet wine. Outside of Germany, many regions like the Finger Lakes have started to include “dry” or “off-dry” on the labels, or include the residual sugar level on the back. When in doubt, check the alcohol level of the bottle, if it is 12 percent or higher, that tends to mean the wine is dry, and if the wine is 8 to 10 percent alcohol, that can indicate there’s some sweetness.
VinePair’s tasting methodology
Throughout the year, VinePair conducts numerous tastings for our popular Buy This Booze column, and wine and spirits reviews. Our mission is to provide a clear, reliable source of information for drinkers, providing an overview applicable to day-to-day buying and drinking.
Tastings are not typically conducted blind. In alignment with our reviews mission, we believe in purposefully tasting all products as our readers typically would, with full knowledge of the producer, the region, and — importantly — the price.
