At once charming and elemental, a great Riesling runs along the knife edge between sensuality and severity, extravagance and austerity. The aromatic riches that accumulate in Riesling grapes during the longest ripening season of any great wine provide the appeal; the mineral character from the soil and the grape’s hallmark racy acidity crank up the tension. Stuart Piggott, Planet Wine: A Grape by Grape Visual Guide to the Contemporary Wine World