English name for the river known in German as the Rhein and French as the Rhin (where it lends its name to the two alsace départements Haut-Rhin and Bas-Rhin). See also switzerland and liechtenstein. ‘Rhine’ is frequently used as the name for German wines not from the mosel, and is used colloquially by Australians as an abbreviation for Rhine Riesling, their synonym for the riesling grape variety. The word Rhine has been incorporated into a host of names associated in the English-speaking world with white, usually medium dry, but not necessarily at all Germanic, wines.
