Editor’s note, before we get started:
Thank you for this article goes to Bill Warry of Chateau Select. Rather than just articles on flowers and chocolates (both passions of mine 
) I thought it would be great to expand this section with guest bloggers. Bill has kindly supplied the following original article on Riesling for us, and will be a regular on this blog, I believe (and hope). Please thank Bill by visiting his website, which includes selected wines and even a wine club.
What’s happened with Riesling?
Riesling is generally reckoned to be one of the top three white grape varietals along with Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc.
It is more versatile than either of the other two, both in terms of producing dry, medium or sweet wine and in terms of food pairing.
So why is Riesling lagging behind the other two in popularity?
The decline can probably partly be attributed to the popularity of the Niersteiners and Liebfraumilchs some 20 years ago. German wine came to be associated in people’s minds with “cheap” rather than “quality”.
Price also probably has something to do with it. The fact is that Rieslings, German Rieslings in particular, are quality wines and this is reflected in their cost.
Riesling usually produces an intensely aromatic wine that is wonderful to drink on its own. It also goes well with a wide gamut of food. It tend to have hints of apple that make it suitable for drinking with roast pork, but can be recommended with veal, poultry, grilled fish and spicy food.
A search on Google on “Riesling revival” will bring up a whole host of articles on the coming back to fashion of Riesling. Sensing this change of mood in the buying public, one German grower has labelled his Riesling “Renaissance”. It is included in a mixed case offer currently being made by Chateau Select. It allows you to try out four different Rieslings.