Welschriesling

Welschriesling is one of Central and Eastern Europe's most widely planted white grapes — a high-yielding, late-ripening Vitis vinifera variety that is, despite its name, no relation whatsoever to the noble Riesling of the Rhine. Known as Olaszrizling in Hungary, Graševina in Croatia and Laški Rizling in Slovenia, it makes light, dry, crisp everyday whites built on green apple, citrus and a lightly floral, sometimes bitter-almond edge, drunk young and cold as the region's house white. On the right cool sites it climbs far higher: Austria's Neusiedlersee is famous for botrytised Welschriesling dessert wines of real class, and Croatia's Kutjevo makes serious, mineral dry Graševina that many rank among the country's finest whites. Ubiquitous, versatile and easy to underrate, it is a workhorse that quietly overperforms.