There are times when I think a gap opens up between wine nerds like me and the rest of the world. Wine nerds take certain things for granted that the rest of the world doesn't necessarily believe. We think screw tops make an excellent closure for wines that will be drunk in less than a year. The consumer world remains to be convinced. We think that terroir is a far better guide to a wine's quality than a brand name. The consumer remains to be convinced. We nerds think that the Riesling grape makes wonderful wines and is a noble grape, the consumer thinks 'sweet German wine' and walks away in search of an oaked Chardonnay.

Well actually, today maybe not in search of a Chardonnay. Today it's more likely to be a Sauvignon Blanc, the new flavour of the month that produces a pleasingly crisp white wine that can go more harmoniosly with food than a creamy, oaked Chardonnay. Either way, the choice of a Riesling instead doesn't seem to be coming up on the radar screen. So the question is why? Why should a noble grape that makes fine wine be universally dismissed?

Okay, think Riesling and what springs to mind? A sweet German wine and a long thin bottle. Right? How many of us cut our teeth on such jewels as Liebfraumilch, Piesporter and Niersteiner? I'm ashamed to admit it, but I once enjoyed a bottle of Blue Nun back in the seventies. But that's the problem, these are now seen as ineffably naff wines that no one would seriously consider putting on a table for a dinner party. It's a grape that is indelably associated with sweet or semi-sweet wines, and sweet wines with food is about as extreme a social solecism as can be.

But the fact is that there are plenty of Riesling varietals out there that are neither German nor sweet. The Riesling grape is essentially a noble grape because it can transmit the terroir of a place through to the wine, plus it can make a wine of sufficient complexity to age in a bottle. If this grape is to break out its prison of naffness and become a sophisticated choice for discerning wine buyers it will have break away from its association with sweetness and change its presentation to something less redolent of the past, perhaps with a new bottle shape that proclaims a change in direction. It may never outsell Chardonnay, but with a little encouragement it could at least be a contender.

Wine of the Week

Riesling Kabinett Trocken, 2001

This is a dry Riesling (trocken) which comes from Franconia, the province of Germany that bordered on the old GDR. Its wines have always been distinctive, because Franken wines come in the traditional 'bocksbeutel', the flask-shaped bottle adopted by Mateus Rose, so at least we're not dealing with tall and thin. It has a truly dry finish that almost tickles the tip of the tongue, but has all the complexity of flavours that come from a good Riesling. An alternative to a Sauvignon with a lightly sauced fish dish.
Available from RM Wines, RRP €15.95