Background
In the 19th century, German Rieslings were acknowledged as the world's greatest whites. And many of the world's greatest wine experts today, such as England's Hugh Johnson, find their greatest fascination in German white wines. And yet, say "German wine" or even "Riesling" to the average American consumer, and get ready for the answer: "I don't like sweet wine." As for the production of sweet wine in Germany today, most of it is dry! Admittedly, the Germans send mostly sweet wine to America

Shopper’s Tips

• Summer is the perfect season to tackle the "sweet wine" issue. The most important point is: A lot of it is not as sweet as you think!

• If a Riesling is very sweet, which is rare, it is intended to be drunk either by itself or as an accompaniment to dessert. I personally love these honeyed, luscious, insanely expensive wines, as do many other wine fanatics. But if you just can't handle that high level of sugar, it doesn't mean you won't like lightly sweet Rieslings.

• If the label reports anywhere from about 10 grams of sugar to 25 grams of sugar per liter, that puts the wine in the off-dry or lightly sweet category.

• Most of the Rieslings in our wine shops, from Germany or elsewhere, are lightly sweet. Producers can indicate this on labels by describing the wine as an "off-dry" Riesling, or by advertising an actual count of the sugar in the wine.

Serving Tips
Try serving off-dry Riesling with sushi (the sweetened rice is the key), lightly sweet Chinese or Thai food, with pork roasts that have light fruit sauces, or with salads that have fruit dimensions (say, a chicken and apple salad with mayo.) In July, off-dry Riesling is especially tantalizing with corn on the cob.

Recommendations
Try any off-dry Riesling you like. Today, the market holds great examples from California, Washington, New York, New Zealand, and Australia. To find a good off-dry wine from Germany, seek out wine labels that -- in addition to carrying all the other Gothic info -- express one of the following:

• QbA
  
• Kabinett
  
• Kabinett Halbtrocken
  
• Spatlese
  
• Spatlese Halbtrocken
  
• Auslese Halbtrocken
  
  -David Rosengarten