22. Germany Flashcards
Describe the climate of the Germany.
- mostly cool continental climate
- Baden is noticeably warmer
- wet summers
- drier autumns
- long cool ripening = retain acidity
- long growing season (wines characterized by must weight/ripeness)
Where are the best sites in Germany located?
- steep, stony slopes w/ southerly aspect
- hand harvesting
- head-pruned
- individually staked
- canes tied at the top
-near rivers: reflected sunlight to retain heat, air flow
What is the most widely planted grape variety in Germany?
Riesling
Describe German Riesling.
- ranges from delicate and floral to richer and peachy
- ranges fro bone dry to luciously sweet
Describe Qualitatsweine wines.
- dry
- ranges from light/fruity to very concentrated/intense
- best are Grosses Gewachs (GG)
Describe Pradikatsweine wines.
- nearly all will have residual sugar
- can still be dry
- indicator of style
What are the levels of the Pradikatswine classification?
- Kabinett
- Spatlese
- Auslese
- Beerenauslese
- Trockenbeerenauslese
Describe Kabinett Riesling.
- most delicate
- light body
- high acidity
- green apple, citrus
- balanced with residual sweetness
- sweeter will have lower alcohol
- drier will have medium alcohol
Describe Spatlese Riesling.
- more concentrated, riper
- more body, alcohol
- could be sweeter
- citrus, stone fruit (peach, apricot)
Describe Auslese Riesling.
- made from individually selected, extra-ripe bunches of grapes
- range from dry to sweet
- richer, riper
- sometime noble rot
Describe Beerenauslese and Trockenbeerenauslese Riesling.
- noble rot typical for BA
- noble rot essential for TBA
- sweet
- low alcohol
- honey, dried stone fruit candied peel, flowers
- best sweet wines in the world
Describe Eiswein.
- extremely rare
- key is varietal purity
- no noble rot
- careful winemaking techniques (selective yeasts, no MLF, no new oak)
What are the two PDO labelling systems in Germany?
- Qualitatswein
- Pradikatswein
What is GI wine labelled?
Landwein
What is wine without a GI labelled?
Wein
How many PDO regions are there in Germany?
13
What is different about the labelling system in Germany (as opposed to France)?
Regions are not tied to specific varieties. Wines are labelled by their minimum must weight at harvest.
What two items must be on the label of a PDO wine? What might else you see
- Region (must come from only 1 region)
- Pradikat level
__
Other:
-Sweetness level term
-Village + Vineyard Name
-Indication of Quality
What are German wine labelling terms for sweetness?
Trocken: dry
Halbtrocken, feinherb*: off-dry, medium
Note: Halbtrocken has connotation of being a lower quality wine label
*not legally defined
How do German winemakers indicate quality on their wine labels?
- a group of producers called the Verband Deutscher Pradikatsweinguter (VDP) classified their vineyards
- only seen on dry Qualitatsweine from the best vineyard sites
- labelled Grosses Gewächs (GG) on the neck of the bottle
Describe Muller-Thurgau.
- crossing of Riesling and Madeleine Royale
- floral, fruity
- rarely high quality
- acidity not as high as riesling
- second most widely planted white variety in Germany
Describe Silvaner.
- third most widely planted white variety in Germany
- Rheinhessen, Franken
- dry and sweet
- less acidic
- less fruity
- earthy quality
What other white wines are produced in Germany?
Grauburgunder/Rulander (Pinot Gris)
Weibburgunder (Pinot Blanc)
What are the two main black grape varieties produced in Germany? What are other black grape varieties?
- Spatburgunder (Pinot Noir)
- third most planted grape variety in Germany
- Pfalz, Baden
- dry
- light, fruity or more concentrated with oak - Dornfelder
- deeply colored
Other: Portugieser, Trollinger, Schwarzriesling (Meunier) -typically light, fruity -Qualitatswein -domestic consumption
Name the most well known villages in the Middle Mosel. Describe the best vineyards here.
- Piesport
- Bernkastel
- Wehlen
-sleep slopes, slate soils, river next to the river
Describe Mosel Riesling.
- light body
- high acidity
- floral, green fruit flavors
- only permitted variety for GG wines in Mosel
What are the two small tributaries of the Mosel? What are wines from these areas like?
Saar, Ruwer
-similar in style but higher in acidity than Middle Mosel
Where does the River Mosel run?
From the River Rhine to the German border
Where is the Nahe? Where are the best vineyards located? What are the wines like?
- between Mosel and Rheinhessen
- best vineyards: on the banks of the River Nahe, steep, south-facing slopes,
- pronounced acidity of the Mosel, slightly fuller body (less than Rheinhessen, Rheingau and Pfalz), slightly riper fruit
- GG wines can only be made from Riesling
- villages: Schlossbockelheim and Bad Kreuznach
Describe the geography of the Rheingau and where the best vineyards are located. Describe the wines here.
- small but prestigious region
- best vineyards: west, slopes of the north bank of the river Rhine and River Main, southerly aspect
- Taunus hills in the north: optimal ripening conditions
- villages: Johannisberg, Rüdesheim
- medium-to-full body
- distinct ripe peach
- BA/TBA popular here (humidity from rivers)
- GG wines can be made from Riesling and Spatburgunder
Where is great Spatburgunder made in the Rheingau?
- to the west of Rudesheim
- village of Assmannshausen
What is the Rheinhessen? What black and white grapes are grown here?
- largest wine-growing region
- white: Muller Thurgau, Riesling
- black: Dorfelder, Portugieser, Spatburgunder
- GG made from Riesling or Spatburgunder
Where are the best vineyards in the Rheinhessen? What the Rieslings like?
- steep slopes
- west bank of the Rhine
- centered around the village Niersetin
-fullest bodied Rieslings
Describe Pfalz. What black and white grapes are grown here?
-second largest wine-growing region
-continuation of Alsace (Haardt Mountains, continuation of the Vosges)
-driest region of Germany
White: Riesling, Muller Thurgau, GrauBurgunder, Weibburgunder
Black: Dornfelder, Portugieser, Spatburgunder
-GG wines from Riesling, Weibburgunder, Spatburgunde
What are the most established quality vineyards of the Pfalz? What are the wines like here?
Forst & Deidesheim (Mittelhaardt)
-steep slopes
- ripe, fuller-bodied Riesling
- drier styles
Describe Baden. What are the wines like here? What’s the most widely planted grape here? Other grapes?
- warmest
- most southerly region
- fullest bodied
- highest alcohols
- Spatburgunder
- Also: Muller Thurgau, Grauburgunder, Riesling
- GG can be made from a variety of different grapes
What are the most popular areas of Baden? Where are the best vineyard located?
-Kaiserstuhl, Tuniberg
Best vineyards: south-facing slope of the Kaiserstuhl (extinct volcano)
What is the primary grape of Franken? What are the wines like? Where are the best vineyards? What’s special about the bottling?
- Silvaner is most prestigious grape variety
- early flowering and ripening
- susceptible to frost
-south-facing slopes around Wurzburg
- dry
- rich
- earthy
- flask shaped bottles
- GG wines: Silvaner, Riesling, Weibburgunder, Grauburgunder, Spatburgunder
