The best dry and off-dry Rieslings for summer garden sipping

Ranging wildly in style, this reliably refreshing grape makes a versatile food pairing

Five summery Riesling to try

Aoife Carrigy

When compiling my recent ‘25 summer wines’ round-up, I struggled to choose which of the many quintessentially summery Riesling to include. In the end, I recommended Kendermann’s Schiefer Steillage Riesling Feinherb from the Mosel (€11, Dunnes Stores), hoping its bargain price tag might tempt some Riesling newbies across the line. Today’s selection spotlights several other gorgeous candidates — each of them summer in a glass, and well-priced for grabbing en route to a sunny garden.

I’m not sure I’d describe Riesling itself as a quintessentially summery varietal wine, though as a light-to-medium-bodied wine with racy acidity, it’s reliably refreshing. A versatile grape, famously expressive of the terroir it’s grown in and offering winemakers broad creative scope, Riesling ranges wildly in style.