Wine & Beer: 2009 Pfalz Riesling (Lidl)

I took a total punt on this one.  Albeit a reasonably educated one.  My logic, thrashed out while standing in Lidl staring at the wine aisle – looking rather odd to passing customers, no doubt – was that I was in a German store. Riesling is a German wine generally, so surely they’re likely to get this one right. Surely?

Phew, I was right. Why was it such a punt? Because it costs an utterly ridiculous €5.49. I broke my hard-and-fast rule of not drinking anything costing less than €6 in this country, and I’m glad I did.

First glass was a little warm; that’s not to be recommended. Second glass however, was nicely chilled and crisp to taste.  I know two German words; one a filthy insult my foreign friends used to shout at each other – completely unprintable here – and the other is ‘trocken’, which means ‘dry’ or something like that. I know this because I don’t like sweet wines, and have learned just enough to ensure I don’t accidentally buy one. This wine is dry alright, but with interesting citrus-y notes which adds a hint of fruitiness without wandering into sugary territory. I had this with Prawn Pad-Thai, and while I don’t usually pay as much attention to my pairings as I should, I had read previously that Riesling stands up well to the heady spices of Asian food, and this was borne true.

I can’t really tell who makes it, or where as it’s in German and as we already outlined my abilities here are somewhat limited. But if you look for the label with a big ‘R’ on it you should be in the right direction.  At 11.5% nobody’s going to be too twisted after a glass or two, which I like, and it really is an enjoyable – and very affordable – clean, fresh wine to be savoured with the paper on a summer’s day, or cold from the fridge after a long day’s work. Well done Lidl, this one’s a definite runner. Wineometer: 4/5