GERMAN wine - long ridiculed for its association with 1970s dinner parties - has bounced back in style to surprisingly become one of Britain's trendiest wines.

After nearly 25 years of derision, newly improved Riesling wines have grown from cult status to hard sales after glowing reports from the wine press.

In the last year UK sales of Riesling have rocketed by a staggering 71 per cent at Tesco - growing faster than any other white wine.

So strong is the demand that it is one of the driving forces behind a 6.5 per cent growth for white wine across all UK retailers (TNS data) in the last year.

Tesco wine buyer James Davis said: "Just a few years ago it would have been unimaginable, but Riesling has become one of Britain's trendiest wines right now.

"The wine's image unfortunately suffered after being indelibly associated with the glut of sweet white wines that were considered the height of sophistication in the '70s, along with flares and dodgy perm hairdos. Now a new generation of drinkers is discovering that Riesling can span a variety of styles such as dry, crisp and sweet.

"Riesling is again being hailed as one of the best white grapes around and much of that has to do with its recognition among today's drinkers as one of the most food-friendly wines. Another important element of the revival is the current growing trend for lower-strength wines. A lot of people are looking for lighter wines and Riesling, which is about 10 per cent AbV, perfectly fits that bill."

Riesling is Germany's most popular grape variety and originated in the Rhein and Mosel valleys. It is one of the oldest grapes in the world, first being documented in 1435.

It is extremely versatile with food and can be served with fish, poultry and pork. It also goes well with many appetisers and desserts and is a particularly good match with Thai, Chinese and other Oriental cuisine.

Davis added: "The Riesling revival has also been prompted by the success of varieties from Australia and Alsace.

"Riesling is now our fastest-growing wine type and we have seen demand increase significantly over the last two years.

"Two years ago we only stocked five different types of Riesling but now, due to the extra interest, we have 12 types and are currently looking to increase our range even further."