There is a long history of making semi-sweet, or off-dry, white wines in Australia, both still and sparkling. Orlando introduced Barossa Pearl in 1956, and Kaiser Stuhl was quick to react to the success of the style, bringing a young German winemaker to Australia in 1961 to do battle with Orlando. Wolf Blass developed Pineapple Pearl in a bottle shaped like a pineapple, which even he must have thought wasn’t particularly elegant.

It mattered not: by 1984 the market had become more sophisticated, and Australia’s top-selling wines were Kaiser Stuhl Summer Wine (its Cold Duck experiment had not been a success) in first place, Leo Buring Liebfrauwein in third, and Lindemans Ben Ean Moselle in fourth place.

As the next generation came on-stream, sweet wines were more than just passé: they were either derided or ignored by regular wine consumers. Only a few understood the great Leo Buring Spatlese Rieslings made by John Vickery in ’71, ’72, ’73 and ’75, now betrayed by their corks, but magnificent through the ’90s if the cork gods smiled. They were a curiosity, and winemakers of high-quality riesling focused on bone-dry (or close thereto) styles. (One exception was Brian Croser, whose first wine under the Petaluma label was a 1977 Spatlese Riesling.) It was not until the present century that a few brave souls decided to try again: one of the first was Andrew Hood of Tasmania’s Wellington Wines, who made and marketed what he called FGR Riesling. It is now made (very well) under the Frogmore Creek label.

There were plenty willing to suggest FGR was the acronym for a particularly ribald name, but it in fact stood for forty grams residual (sugar), and the inspiration for the wine had come from the Mosel Valley of Germany, the subject of last week’s column.

Each year brings more such wines into play; from high profile winemakers such as Louisa Rose of Yalumba through to little-known makers such as Dinny Goonan and Greg Melick of Pressing Matters (Melick is a high-profile lawyer seldom in his home state of Tasmania, and with enough intelligence to have his wines contract-made).

The cooler the region, and the more continental the climate, the more easily riesling can be cajoled into producing what is a very different but beautiful varietal expression. Easily is a comparative term: the margin for error in vineyard and winery alike is small.


2008 Dinny Goonan Family Estate Early Harvest Riesling
I have to admit this wine caught me by surprise, big surprise. There was no track record, and while Geelong’s Otway Coast is a cool region, it is maritime. But you can’t argue about the wine, with its sunburst of gloriously juicy sweet lime fruit on the palate, perfectly balanced and corralled by the vibrant acidity on the finish.
Screwcap; 8% alc; to 2018.
Rating: 94 points
Price: $25
info@dinnygoonan.com.au

2008 Bloodwood Silk Purse Riesling
Stephen and Rhonda Doyle have been making wine in Orange since 1983, their vineyards planted at an elevation of 810 to 860 metres – very continental, and visited by snow and frost most winters. This wine is very long and intense, with pure riesling fruit augmented (not subverted) by some botrytis; it has perfectly counterpoised sweetness and acidity. Screwcap; 10.5% alc; to 2013.
Rating: 94 points
Price: $23
sdoyle@bloodwood.com.au

2008 macforbes RS37 Strathbogie Ranges Riesling
Mac Forbes is one of the young guns of the Yarra Valley; he was winemaker at Mount Mary for several years before heading to Europe, returning in time for the ’05 vintage. This is a single vineyard wine, with superb balance of residual sugar (37 grams, of course) and juicy acidity, the varietal expression crystal clear.
Screwcap; 9.5% alc; to 2018.
Rating: 95 points
Price: $28
mac@macforbes.com