Anthony Rose: 'A touch of sweet Riesling can make for something lovely on a sunny day'

The German grape is perhaps the only known, great, non-French white grape

In the spring this writer's fancy lightly turns to thoughts of riesling. Nothing else refreshes or lingers so scentedly in the nostrils, and no other grape runs the gamut from mouthwateringly bone dry to lusciously sweet. The German grape is perhaps the only known, great, non-French white grape.

My preference is usually for the drier style of riesling thanks to its greater versatility with food, but a touch of sweet can make for something lovely on a sunny day. The 2012 Balthasar Ress Hattenheimer Schützenhaus Riesling Kabinett, £15.95, Oakham Wines, £74.48/6 in bond, Christopher Keiller, fits that bill. Cross the border to Alsace and you'll find superb off-dry intensity of rich, lime-juicy flavours in the 2012 Rolly Gassmann Riesling, £17.99, Waitrose.

Outside Europe, New Zealand's cool climate disposes it to similar styles and producers are now grasping the nettle. Central Otago's 2014 Felton Road Riesling Bannockburn, £20.30-£21.50, Tanners, Free Run Juice, Field & Fawcett, for instance, is a marvel of tropical scents and tongue-tingling lemon and lime zest. From Waipara comes Pegasus Bay's 2012 Aria Late Picked Riesling, Waipara, £17.95, winedirect.co.uk, which is intensely floral with apple, peach and honeyed richness.

I'm increasingly a fan of drier rieslings from New Zealand, such as Marlborough's 2013 Esk Valley Riesling, £13.25, Hoults, Wimbledon Wine, Flagship Wines, whose lime-citrusy fresh scent is complemented by a refreshing prickle and tropical citrusy tang.

Nonetheless, the Antipodean benchmark for the style remains Australia. Try, for instance, the wonderfully fragrant, new vintage 2014 Snake + Herring High and Dry Clare Riesling, £16, Marks & Spencer, with its intense appley core flecked with zesty limes, or, if you're on a budget, the tropically juicy 2014 The Exquisite Collection Clare Valley Riesling, £6.99, Aldi.

It's good to see that riesling-mania is finally spreading to the Americas, both north and south. Chile has cooler spots for the variety, notably the Pacific-cooled San Antonio Valley, the origin of the stylish dry and refreshing 2011 Undurraga TH San Antonio Riesling, £10.53, The Drink Shop, with riesling's classic hint of "petrol". North America, too, is taking quality riesling seriously, namely in the form of wonderfully ripe and zingily citrus-fresh 2012 Tatomer Kick-on Ranch Riesling, £26.95-£28.95, Roberson, Prohibition Wines, and, further north still, from Washington, the 2011 Poet's Leap Riesling, Long Shadow Vintners, Columbia Valley, £21.54, Yorkshire Vintners, all jasmine-scented lemon-and-lime fruitiness and vibrant mineral dry aftertaste.