The only thing guaranteed to get Brits talking about something other than coronavirus right now is the weather, so thank heavens the sun has come out, and that means one thing and one thing only. It’s time for our annual exploration into the wonderful and sometimes confusing world of Riesling, writes Gerard Richardson.

You say Rees-ling I say Rise-ling, but whichever way you pronounce it, you really should take a look because there are some crackers out there this summer.

Riesling is of course the grape of Germany and the Alsace region of France. I used to include Austria in that sentence until the silly blighters mixed antifreeze into the mix in the 80s and since then, there’s been no redemption in my eyes. It’s a grape that makes the full range of whites from bone suckingly dry to sweet enough to make your dentist wince and rather like politics, I hate the extreme ends of Riesling and prefer to sit in the middle ground.

The perfect style for me are the Kabinetts from the Mosel valley with their 11% ish alcohol level, waxy palates and masses of apple flavours. with just a hint of something plucked from a tropical tree by a lady wearing a grass skirt and flowers in her hair.

The waxy palate is typical of any decent Riesling by the way, and it distinguishes them from virtually all their rivals for your barbeque glass in the summer.It gives the wine a rounded, full feel on the palate and allows it to be so flexible with food pairing from shellfish to roast lamb and all manner of vegetarian dishes with peppers and spices. Yes folks, Riesling, especially the Kabinett style is the swiss army knife of wines and is almost pre programmed to forgive barbeque disasters such as chicken a la napalm or crispy burgers.

The only way to serve Kabinett by the way is lightly chilled. About 20 minutes in the fridge should do it but don’t put them on ice like Champagne. Too cold and the flavours whither, leaving you with crisp alcoholic water, too warm and you end up with a pungent wine with a flabby palate. There are some cracking Rieslings from all over the world these days, most notably New Zealand, Australia and California but they are all leagues behind the best of the Mosel so if you are new to the variety, give the old world a shot first and I very rarely say that folks!

Tesco Finest Mosel Steep Slopes Riesling: I wanted to hate this as I do with most own label products but Tesco has produced a cracker here. Close your eyes and you could be in an orchard with that lovely flowery nose. There’s a crispness to the palate that makes it perfect with shellfish – Tesco £7.

Von Kesselstatt Riesling Kabinett: This is absolutely gorgeous and mixes gentle hints of limes and peaches in with the traditional apple dominated palate. Crisp and refreshing on the finish. This is perhaps the best white wine of the year for spicy foods. Well done to the Coop. Coop £12.

Gerard Richardson owns Richardson's of Whitehaven. Go to www.richardsonsofwhitehaven.co.uk