My resolution: Make mine riesling

First, a New Year confession: I am finally warming to New Zealand pinot gris, previously a rather nondescript white which is starting to find its way and to earn the enormous popularity that it has enjoyed since the trendies made it thus.

No doubt they will soon discover something else over which to fawn – gruner veltliner, perhaps, maybe even pinot blanc, both of them worth more than a passing glance.

Which leaves those who really appreciate this stuff, aptly described by my good friend Bob Campbell, Master of Wines, as difficult not to like, to buy with greater assurance pinot gris which more consistently reflects the peary, peachy, spicy character of the grape and the fullness of the better wines that it produces.

For me, however, my New Year's resolution is to drink more of the white wine we have for years mostly ignored.

And more's the pity.

I am talking, of course, about riesling which in its most famous German form was just 100 years ago the world's most sought-after and most expensive wine.

Its fall from grace is generally attributed to a scandal which began in Austria in the 1980s and involved the addition of glycol (as in anti-freeze) to beef up light acidic wines, including riesling.

Sugared mass-productions such as Blue Nun and other "liebfrauenmilch" did not help either.

While this rubbed off on rieslings everywhere the variety, most often made with a touch of sweetness to balance the grape's naturally high acidity, has probably suffered most in New Zealand as a result of a shift in tastes from sweet to dry white wines.

It now seems, however, we are learning to live with a a bit of sweetness as the trend moves now towards fresh, mineral-inspired white wines with more moderate alcohol levels, a shift simplified through the skilful balancing of sugar and acidity to produce a dryish finish.

We are also learning that riesling needs and deserves a couple of years in the bottle to develop the mineral, toasty, honeyed characters for which it is most prized.

None of which rules out earlier drinking though, especially if you're looking for a crisp, pure and refreshing summer drink with mostly citrus-fruit flavours.To get the taste, try these:Pegasus Bay 2008 Riesling, $27

The Donaldson family winery at Waipara is one of our most distinguished and the wines that it produces among the country's best. This riesling is one of them.

Intensely fragrant, rich and luscious, with an extra scrape of honey. Medium. Framingham 2008 Classic Riesling , $23

The aromatic whites, riesling in particular, have become almost an obsession for winemaker Dr Andrew Hedley. The result is a family of beauties such as this classy soft, off-dry, low-alcohol Marlborough model. None better for the long summer lunch.Palliser Estate 2010 Riesling, $18

Palliser's riesling is, as it claims, one of Martinborough's top white wines and here is a perfect example of winemaker Allan Johnson's delicate touch at work.

Beautifully perfumed and fruited, gently sweet and crisp. The honey and toast will follow.The Doctors' 2010 Riesling, $22

John and Brigid Forrest are both doctors, hence the label worn by an innovative range of wines. This one has helped set the pace for a new breed of New Zealand rieslings – refreshingly light (only 8.9 per cent alcohol), sweet and delicious.Mt Difficulty 2009 Dry Riesling, $25

A wine from the deep South to satisfy the cognoscenti – those who enjoy the precision and purity of dry riesling in its youth or who prefer to try it later. A citrus-driven wine of exceptional power and concentration. Buy online.