If I had £1 for every time I read that the riesling revival was just around the corner, I’d be laughing. And if I were a rich man, oy, I’d fill my cellar with lots of 2009 German riesling. In fact, compared to much extravagantly priced 2009 Bordeaux, current offers of 2009 German riesling look positively cheap. Riesling generally is good value. Which brings me back to the revival, if that’s the right word for something that never really happened in the first place. It’s not just around the corner but happening under our aroma-filled nostrils: in Germany , Alsace, Austria, Australia and New Zealand.

Riesling has had its personality problems. Mistaken for the lesser rieslings of central Europe, it’s been derided and debased. Dismissed as a bland, sweet wine, it’s been misunderstood. Baptised a German, it’s missed out on French kudos. Appended to incomprehensible names on unfashionable labels, it’s been ignored. As an aromatic grape with no oak and a thrilling streak of acidity, too much character does not a popular grape make. Look at pinot grigio if you don’t believe me. Character, purity, freshness, moderate alcohol and a sense of place: these are what good riesling stands for.

Where it scores handsomely over chardonnay is in its versatile capacity to be both deliciously dry and sweet. Germany has re-discovered dry riesling and even if we in the UK haven’t yet fully cottoned onto the style, there are some excellent ones around in 2009. Notable among them, try Georg Mosbacher’s intense, stonefruity, mineral 2009 Pechstein Forst Grosses Gewächs, £17, bottle / case, in bond, Howard Ripley (020 8877 3065). Alsace produces some of the world’s finest dry rieslings, Trimbach in particular as their full-bodied, rich, yet restrained, mouthwateringly dry 2008 Trimbach Riesling, £9.99, Majestic, suggests.

Austria too, alongside its grüner veltliner, makes superb dry riesling, one of the best of which is the very pure and complex 2008 Prager Kaiserberg Riesling Smaragd, £25.99, Waitrose, 2 stores and waitrosewine.com, floral, spritz fresh and full of lemongrass and grapefruit-like zest. As for Australia, it’s a byword for riesling value with such wines as the 2008 Peter Lehmann Eden Valley Riesling, £8.69, buy 2 = £6.95, Majestic, typical cool climate, citrus-crisp dry Eden Valley Riesling at an atypically affordable price.

Dry is good, but it’s riesling’s ability to produce thrilling sweet wines varying from off-dry to lusciously rich that sets it apart. This is where Germany excels, with voluptuously off-dry beauties such as the delicately grapefruity 2007 Hattenheimer Pfaffenberg Riesling Spätlese, Schloss Schönborn, £14.99, Corney & Barrow (corneyandbarrow.com), or the intensely aromatic and delicate yet rich, peachy 2008 Leitz Rudesheimer Berg Roseneck Riesling Spätlese 2008, £19.00, Marks & Spencer, whose refreshing spritz and featherweight alcohol act as a counterweight to the honeyed richness.

New Zealand has started to get in convincingly on the sweet riesling act with marvels such as the 2006 Forrest Collection Noble Riesling, Brancott Valley, Marlborough, £19.99, half bottle, Adnams Cellar and Kitchen Stores (adnams.co.uk), an apricot and lime scented liquid pudding with a hedonistic fusion of apricot jam viscosity and invigorating crystallised citrus fruits. Which brings me back to the 2009 offers from Germany. Try the gorgeous spätlese rieslings of Fritz Haag, von Schubert, Dr.Loosen, Dönnhoff, Willi Schaefer, Robert Weil and many more and you will not be disappointed. Offers (in bond, delivery next Spring) of the 2009 German vintage from Justerini & Brooks, Howard Ripley, O.W.Loeb. Anthonyrosewine.com

Something For the Weekend 17 July 2010

2009 Asda Argentinian Torrontés

When it’s good, Argentina’s signature white grape variety, the Torrontés, can be delightfully floral scented and spicy, almost gewürztraminer-like, and this is a good example, a perfumed, spicy, zingy, dry white that’s all the better for eschewing oak. £4.47, Asda.

Under a Tenner

2008 Windy Peak Pinot Noir

Fragrantly scented with raspberry, this succulently juicy, spicy pinot noir from De Bortoli may not have quite the intensity of the pricier 2008 Gulf Station, but it’s nonetheless a charmingly moreish attempt at the red Burgundy style. £7.99, Sainsbury’s.

Splash Out

2006 Domaines Schlumberger Pinot Gris Grand Cru 'Kitterlé'

Showing aromas of dried apricots and honey, this luscious, medium sweet Alsace white is intensely flavoured with exotic yet trenchantly fresh dried mango fruit richness. £25 - £28.50, Avery's of Bristol (averys.com), The Sampler (thesampler.co.uk), Fortnum and Mason.