Riesling Week 2011

Right now, we are in the middle of Riesling week.

What`s Riesling week? Restaurants across the UK as well as independent wine merchants will be running German Riesling promotions including special discounts and tastings to help you discover why this wine variety is so popular in top restaurants, and set to be the next big thing in the UK wine scene.

If you think about wine trends, Australian Chardonnay was the wine of choice in the nineties. More recently, it has been the turn of Italian Pinot Grigio and New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc.

Now, it seems that it`s the decade of Riesling. The popularity of this German white wine is growing at an extraordinary rate. Sales of bottles costing over £5 shot up 72% last year.

Known for its incredible versatility and unrivaled quality, German Riesling is beloved by sommeliers across the world for its ability to pair with almost any food, including those that are not traditionally easy to match with wine, such as curries and sushi.

Still not convinced Riesling is the way forward? When I discovered restaurants like The Ledbury, Home House and Lutyens are part of Riesling week, it put things into perspective.

As well as these top restaurants, the best independent wine merchants from around the UK – including Avery`s in Bristol, Corks Out in Cheshire and Ex-cellar in London – will also be taking part in Riesling Week.

Full details of restaurants and independent merchants taking part can be found on Wines of Germany`s website.