Elbling

White wine grapeprobably Rhine, Germany

The style profiled here is a dry, light-bodied white Elbling wine: lean, tart, light, often sparkling. Typical alcohol is 9.5 to 11.5%. Serve it at 7 to 9 °C.

Also called Weißer Elbling, Gelber Elbling, other synonyms, Elbling grape.

The grape

Elbling is an old white grape that survives most visibly around the upper Mosel and in Luxembourg. It gives an important reminder that Mosel wine is not synonymous with Riesling. The usual attraction is a light, bright, uncomplicated white, with enough acidity to make the grape useful for sparkling wine as well as still bottlings.

Compared with a richly perfumed white, Elbling tends to put freshness ahead of aromatic drama. That makes it easy to overlook in a tasting built around intense wines, but useful in an ordinary glass at the table. A dry still bottle and a sparkling cuvée share the grape's refreshing potential while offering quite different textures.

Choose it when the meal calls for a clean interruption rather than a dominant flavour. Light fish, cold starters and simple vegetable dishes are good places to begin. A sparkling version can serve as an aperitif. Buy for freshness and keep expectations of weight in check: a quiet wine can be exactly the right wine for a quiet dish.

BuyingTry a dry Elbling from the upper Mosel or Luxembourg, or look for it in a sparkling wine when a brisk aperitif is the goal.

Style profile

Our rating of a representative wine
Sweetness
Bone dry
Body
Light
Tannin
Very low
Acidity
Very high

Sweetness and structure vary with the producer, region and winemaking. These ratings describe the style above; check the label for the bottle in front of you.

Food pairings

Where it grows

Notable regions
MoselLuxembourg

Countries that build on it

Similar grapes

Sources