Are all Riesling wines sweet?

Are all Riesling wines sweet?

By Sophia Luckett on February 25, 2022

German wine label Riesling alcohol level circled
Like all wine grapes, Riesling has the potential to be steely-bone-dry or honey sweet. But back in the supersounds of the 70s, Germany was totally digging the sweet thangs and that’s pretty much all we could get our hands on. They had their reasons though: their wines have porcupine sharp acidity from their cool climate so a little sweetness just balances that out.

But Bob told us about the times a changing, referring to, of course, Riesling sweetness levels.

Nowadays it’s super common to find crisp and dry humdingers from the likes of Australia (cooler regions), England, Canada, and Austria.

So how do you source the dry stuff from the sweet?

Easy. Just check out the alcohol level.


Above 12% = dry

10-11% = off dry

Under 10% = sweet

This is because dry wines are made by fermenting all of the sugar into alcohol which also results in a higher alcohol content 🍷

So the label pictured = sweet

Riesling also has some wonderfully wacko aromas: rubber hosepipes, petrol, smoke. Explore!

What about you? Are you a #rieslinglover ?
Read more
French Wines you should be buying - Pt 1 Alsace Riesling
Sophia Luckett
How to taste wine in a restaurant
Sophia Luckett
What makes a wine vegan?
Sophia Luckett