Yes, quality half-dry wines are a thing!

In Australia, there seems to be a rule that quality white wine has to one of two things – either bone-dry or extremely sweet (dessert wine). There are plenty of medium-dry wines but they are usually of poorer quality, the added sugar there to mask flaws.

This is weird. In Europe, quality half-dry wines are more common, especially in cooler wine growing regions. In the Mosel Valley of Germany, which is seriously cool, some glorious half-dry rieslings are made and often labelled Kabinett. Mosel rieslings often demand a little residual sugar to balance their searing acidity, especially in the cooler years. These are exciting wines – a little lower in alcohol than most white wines with exciting tension between sugar and acid.

2023 Colmar Estate Block 6 Riesling

This wine represents our first attempt at making a Kabinett-style riesling, and what a wine! The vintage was one of the coolest we have experienced and ideal for riesling. Our dry Block 5 Riesling from the same year took out the trophy for best riesling at the Orange Wine Show in 2025, but I digress. The fruit off Block 6 was picked earlier than Block 5 to capture frisky acidity and then the fermentation stopped before completion, leaving some unfermented sugar in the wine.

The resulting wine is a stunner. The palate is fresh and intense, with citrus and crunchy green apple flavours, and some of that classic ‘wet stones’ minerality. Vibrant acidity and sweetness dance beautifully together, but who’s in the lead? The finish is clean and bright with great persistence.

2023 Colmar Estate Le Moche (riesling-pinot gris-gewurztraminer)

Our cult wine has always been made half-dry and, remarkably, it’s our best seller at the cellar door, year after year. The tasting experience always follows the same pattern – people are initially perplexed as they are unfamiliar with Alsace-style blends; after a sniff the response is “mmm, that’s different”; then when they have a taste “oh yeah, love it!”.

Matching off-dry wines with food

For me, spicy Asian cuisine is the perfect match for half-dry white wines, the subtle sweetness quenching the fire of chili. In contrast, foods largely comprised of protein and fat also to work well. In Germany some fatty pork, maybe cured, salted or smoked, is often the preferred match. A glass of half-dry white wine with paté is a great way to kick off a meal with friends. Cheese works well for the same reason.

Can you age half-dry whites?

Yes! Acidity is the preservative is white wines and our half-dry wines have it in abundance. The 2023 Block 6 is a 15-year proposition.