Riesling has had a bit of a rocky ride in SA, mainly because there are two, very different, grape varieties with the same name. Somewhere, deep in the murky viticultural past, a relatively-obscure French grape called Crouchen Blanc was mistaken for the real Riesling. To try and distinguish it, the ‘proper stuff’ was labelled Rhine Riesling or Weisser Riesling, harking back to the classic roots of Germany, whilst the inferior French wine became known as Cape Riesling or sometimes Paarl Riesling since that was where much of it was planted. The law was changed recently and now the original, German grape is the only real Riesling around – as indeed it should be – so no need for added Germanic soubriquets now.