Chap 22: Germany Flashcards
1
Q
What climate does the majority of Germany’s vineyard areas have? (cool, mod, warm AND continental, maritime, medit)
A
Cool continental (with the associated viticultural challenges) Wet summers with rain declining in autumn prior to harvest
2
Q
Where in Germany are vineyards noticeably warmer?
A
Baden in the far south
3
Q
What effect does Germany’s climate have on grapes?
A
The long, cool ripening period allows grapes to reach sugar ripeness while retaining acidity
4
Q
What kind of wines can be made in every region of Germany?
A
Botrytised sweet wines
5
Q
Why is there so much variance in German wines from year to year?
A
Due to high variations in annual water conditions
6
Q
What is the result of the marginal conditions in Germany?
A
Small differences in vineyards can have a large impact on the wines produced
7
Q
Describe the typically best site in all german regions
A
Steep, often stony slopes w/ southerly aspect
8
Q
Describe grape-growing practices for sites located on steep slopes in Germany (how is equipment moved if used and how are vines pruned and canopy managed?)
A
- Worked on by hand In steepest parts, equipment is manoeuvred into place by winches
- Vines are head-pruned, individually staked with canes tied in at the top of the stakes to maximise grape exposure to light and air circulation
9
Q
What might the benefits be to a vine’s proximity to rivers in Germany?
A
- Reflected sunlight can help grapes to ripen
- Air movement caused by flowing water can help to protect against frosts
10
Q
By which oenological characteristic are grapes classified in Germany? What effect does this have on the growing season?
A
By must weight (level of sugar in grape juice) The harvest can be spread out over a period of weeks and months
11
Q
It is possible to make a range of Qualitätsweine and Prädikatsweine each year from…
A
An individual vineyard
12
Q
How will harvest be performed in vineyards producing different levels of Qualitätsweine?
A
Pickers will pass through the vineyard several times to ensure that they get the ideal grapes for each category of wine
13
Q
Besides picking-passes, how else may grapes be sorted for different levels of wine in Germany?
A
They may be sorted and categorised after each picking
14
Q
What is the style trend in Germany? What has dictated this?
A
For dry wines, based on the demands of the local market
15
Q
How may the red and white wines (of varying quality) of Germany be sold?
A
As Qualitätsweine
16
Q
Why are the dry red and white mass wines of Germany not usually labelled as Prädikatsweine?
A
This is largely the preserve of white wines
17
Q
In terms of vineyard plantings and quality, what is the most important wine grape of Germany?
A
Riesling
18
Q
Which grape must be used for Prädikatsweine?
A
This book only talks about Reisling but there are other varieties that can be used
19
Q
What is the most widely planted grape variety in Germany?
A
Riesling
20
Q
What is the style of Riesling wines in Germany?
A
It varies due to differences in soil and climate:
* From delicate and floral to richer peachy fruit character
* Bone dry to lusciously sweet
21
Q
How are dry styles of Riesling in Germany often labelled?
A
Qualitätsweine
22
Q
What is the style range for dry Rieslings in Germany?
A
From light and fruity to very concentrated and intense
23
Q
How are many of the very best dry Rieslings of Germany labelled?
A
Grosses Gewächs (GG)
24
Q
Nearly all wines labelled as Prädikatsweine will have…
A
Residual sugar
25
Up to which Pradikat category is possible to make a wine in a dry style?
Auslese
26
What is the key to understanding Prädikatsweine?
To think of them as an indicator of style
27
What is the most delicate of the Prädikatsweine styles?
Kabinett
28
Describe Kabinett wines:
* Body
* Acidity
* Flavors
* Sweetness
* Level of alc. if made Dry and level of alc. if made med-sweet
Light in body
High acidity
Flavours of green apple or citrus fruit, balanced with residual sweetness
Sweet styles will have an alcohol level of 8-9% abv
Drier styles can reach 12% abv
29
How can Kabinett wines be made sweet?
By stopping fermentation early (better quality wines) or by adding sugar after fermentation (Süssreserve)
30
Why is stopping fermentation seen as a better quality way of creating sweetness?
It achieves a better sugar/acid balance
31
Describe Spätlese wines:
* Production method
* Alc.
* Body
* Sweetness
* Aromas - when made from Riesling
* Made in the same way as Kabinett wines
* More body than Kabinett wines
* More alc. than Kabinett wines
* Dry - Med-Sweet
* More concentrated & riper than Kabinett wines. For riesling spatlese: citrus and stone fruit aromas (peach or apricot)
32
Describe **how** Auslese wines are made AND their **charectoristics** when compared to Spatlese wines from the same region.
* Made from individually selected extra-ripe bunches
* Can be made dry - sweet, but regardless these wines are richer and riper than Spätlese wines from the same region.
* Regardless of style, noble rot can play an important part of the flavor profile of these wines.
33
Describe Beerenauslese (BA) and Trockenbeerenauslese (TBA) wines
* How are they made
* Site selection
* Typ. Volume
* Sweetness, Alcohol, Flavor
* Quality
* Noble rot essential to achieving required must weights for TBA - not essential for BA wines, but noble rot still typical.
* Some sites more suitable than others, but these styles not necessarily produced every year.
* Volumes vary considerably when produced.
* Wines are sweet and low in alcohol w/ flavors of honey, dried stone fruit, candied peel and flowers.
* They rank amoung some of the best sweet wines in the world
34
Describe Eiswein (Frequency and Flavors)
Genuinely rare and made infrequently
Very sweet w/ pure varietal fruit flavours and best achieve a balance between acidity and sweetness.
35
Which additional winemaking methods may winemakers use to maintain varietal flavours in Eiswein?
Using carefully selected yeast, handling juice with care and avoiding processes which can mask the flavours of the grape such as MLF and new oak
36
Give an alternative name for Müller-Thurgau
Rivaner
37
When was Müller-Thurgau created and between which grapes?
1880s
Riesling and Madeleine Royale
38
How does MT compare with Riesling?
It ripens earlier, but does not have the same level of acidity or intensity of flavour
39
What kinds of flavours can Müller-Thurgau produce?
Attractive floral and fruity flavours
40
What are quality levels of MT like in Germany?
Rarely produces wine of high quality
41
What is the second most widely planted white grape variety in Germany?
Müller-Thurgau
42
Which white grape is on a steady decline? Why?
Müller-Thurgau, because the market for inexpensive medium-dry/medium-sweet Qualitätsweine made from the variety has declined
43
What is Germany's third most widely planted white grape variety?
Silvaner
44
Where is Silvaner mainly found in Germany?
Mainly grown in Rheinhessen and Franken
45
What style is Silvaner made into?
Dry and sweet styles
46
What is the profile of Silvaner wines in Germany when compared to Riesling? What flavor/aroma compond/quality does it sometimes have?
* Less acidic and less overtly fruity than Riesling
* Sometimes has an earthy quality
47
What kind of quality can Silvaner produce (and under what condition)?
High quality on the right sites
48
Name the 'other' white varieties which are growing in importance in Germany
Grauburgunder (Pinot Gris) Weißburgunder (Pinot Blanc)
49
How are Grauburgunder and Weißburgunder often labelled?
Using the French or Italian name
50
What style are Grauburgunder and Weißburgunder often made into?
Dry styles
51
How else is Spätburgunder known?
Pinot Noir
52
What is the third most planted grape variety in Germany?
Spätburgunder
53
What kind of German vineyards does Spätburgunder thrive in?
The warmer sites
54
Where is Spätburgunder most important in Germany?
Pfalz and Baden
55
What styles are Spätburgunder wines made into?
Dry Either relatively light and fruity or in a more concentrated style with oak aromas
56
Which is the other widely planted black variety in Germany?
Dornfelder
57
What is fairly unique to Dornfelder wines in Germany?
They are very deeply coloured
58
List three additional popular black grape varieties in Germany (not Spatburgunder or Dornfelder).
What style do they usually produce?
* Portugieser, Trollinger and Scwarzriesling (Pinot Meunier).
* These varieties usually produce light-bodied and fruity wines, though some intensely coloured and flavoured examples with some oak character do exist.
59
How are Germany's red wines labelled and where is their primary market?
As Qualitätsweine and consumed by the domestic market
60
Where is the Mosel region?
Includes the River Mosel, from where it joins the River Rhine to the German border and its two small tributaries; the Saar and the Ruwer
61
Which grapes dominate the Mosel?
White grapes, particularly Riesling
62
Which varieties are permitted for Grosses Gewächs wines in the Mosel?
Only Riesling
63
Where in the Mosel is production concentrated?
In the centre of the region, in an area called the Middle Mosel
64
What are the Middle Mosel villages with an established reputation for top-quality wine?
Piesport, Bernkastel, Wehlen
65
Describe the best vineyards of the Middle Mosel
Very steep slopes w/ slate soils right next to the river
66
Describe the Riesling wines of **Mosel's** best vineyards
Lighter in body, lower in alcohol and higher in acidity than those of Rheingau, Rheinhessen and Pfalz
Floral and green fruit flavours
67
How many plantings of Riesling are in the cooler Saar and Ruwer areas of Mosel
Only a tiny percentage of the overall plantings
68
How do the best wines of the Saar/Ruwer compare with those of the Middle Mosel?
They are comparable in style and quality, with even more acidity
69
What can happen in Saar and Ruwer in cooler vintages?
Grapes may not ripen in even the best sites and the grapes may then be used in sparkling wine production
70
Where is the Nahe region?
Wide area between Mosel and Rheinhessen
71
Where are the best sites in Nahe?
On steep, south-facing slopes on the banks of the river Nahe, between the villages of Schlossböckelheim and Bad Kreuznach
72
What are the best wines of Nahe made from?
Riesling
73
What is the most widely planted variety of Nahe?
Riesling
74
What style is Riesling made into in Nahe?
Somewhere between that of Mosel and the fuller-bodied style of Rheingau, Rheinhessen and Pfalz
Pronounced acidity of Mosel
Riper fruit character than that of Mosel due to warmer character
75
Which varieties are permitted for Grosses-Gewächs wines in Nahe?
Riesling only
76
How is Rheingau best described?
Small but prestigious
77
Where is Rheingau?
North of Rheinhessen, east of Mosel
78
Where in Rheingau are most vineyards situated? Describe them
On the steep southerly facing slopes of the north bank of the River Rhine (in the west of the region) and the River Main (in the east)
79
Other than their southerly aspect, what other feature of the best sites in Rheingau contributes to their favourable terroir?
The protection from winds offered by the Taunus Hills to the north
80
Where are the majority of vineyards in Rheingau?
On the slopes to the west of the region and surrounding the villages of Johannisberg and Rüdesheim
81
Which grape variety dominates plantings in Rheingau?
Riesling
82
Describe Rieslings of Rheingau
Dry
Medium to full-body
Distinctive ripe peach character
83
What other style of wines can be made in Rheingau? Why?
Some of Germany's best BA and TBA wines
Due to high humidity
84
Around which **village to the east** of Rheingau are vineyards centred around?
Hochheim
85
Describe wines from around Hochheim
Can be riper and fuller bodied due to a slightly warmer climate
86
Which other grape variety can do well in Rheingau? Where specifically?
Spätburgunder
To the west of Rüdesheim in the village of Assmannhausen
87
Which grapes of Rheingau can be used for Grosses Gewächs wines?
Riesling
Spätburgunder
88
What is the largest wine region in Germany?
Rheinhessen
89
Which varieties are planted in Rheinhessen?
There's a very broad range of varieties planted
90
What are the most planted white varieties in Rheinhessen?
Müller-Thurgau and Riesling
91
Which red varieties dominate in Rheinhessen?
What percentage of plantings do they occupy here?
Dornfelder
Portugieser
Spätburgunder
30%
92
Which wines of Rheinhessen can be used for GG?
Riesling
Spätburgunder
93
Where are the best wines of Rheinhessen produced?
On the steeply terraced vineyards on the west bank of the Rhine, centred around the village of Nierstein
94
What are the terraces around Nierstein sometimes called?
The Rheinterrasse
95
What reputation do the Rheinterrasse have in the wine world of Germany?
As producing some the fullest bodied Rieslings in Germany
96
What other wine movement is happening in Germany? Whereabouts and what is happening?
In some less known parts of Rheinhessen e.g. the area in the south near Worms, top-quality wines have begun to be produced
97
What reputation does Rheinhessen have?
As a result of its new winemaking movement, it has a reputation for innovation and excellence
98
What is the second largest wine producing area of Germany?
Pfalz
99
How can the vineyards of Pfalz be seen geographically?
As a continuation of the vineyards of Alsace
100
Describe the vineyards of Pfalz
They run in a narrow 80km strip from the french border and lie to the east of the Haardt mountains (which are a continuation of the Vosges mountains)
101
Describe the climate of Pfalz and its effect on vines
It is the driest of the German regions and the vines can suffer from water stress
102
What is the most widely planted variety in Pfalz?
Riesling
103
What reputation does Pfalz have in Germany for winemaking?
It has the longest reputation for high quality winemaking
104
Which other white grape is widely grown in Pfalz?
Müller-Thurgau
Increasing plantings of Grauburgunder and Weißburgunder
105
What percentage of vineyard area do black grape plantings account for in Pfalz?
Just under 40%
106
What is the second most planted grape of either colour in Pfalz?
Dornfelder
107
Which other red grapes are grown in Pfalz?
Portugieser (for the local market)
Spätburgunder (which is gaining an international reputation)
108
From which varieties can GG wines be made in Pfalz?
Riesling
Weißburgunder
Spätburgunder
109
Where are Pfalz's most established quality vineyards located?
Surrounding Forst and Deidesheim
110
What is the collective name for Forst and Deidesheim?
Mittelhaardt
111
Where in relation to Mittelhaardt are the vineyards?
On the steep slopes to the west of the villages
112
What is the style of wines produced in Mittelhaardt?
Ripe and fuller-bodied
113
Besides Rheinhessen, where else in Germany are new and young producers making top-quality wines?
Pfalz
114
What style are the wines of Pfalz being made into?
Drier styles
115
What is the warmest/most southerly region of Germany?
Baden
116
What are the wines of Baden like?
Fullest-bodied with highest alcohols
117
Describe the size of Baden
The vineyards are spread over a large area, but in terms of vineyard area, it's only the third largest in Germany
118
Where in Baden are most of the vineyards located?
They are spaced out over a narrow strip of land that follows the Rhine to the Swiss border
119
Around which areas are nearly a third of plantings focused in Baden?
Kaiserstuhl and Tuniberg (opposite Colmar in Alsace)
120
How and where are the best vineyards of Baden situated?
They are on the south facing slope of Kaiserstuhl (an extinct volcano)
121
What is the most widely planted variety in Baden?
Spätburgunder
122
Which area has the best reputation for Spätburgunder in Baden?
Kaiserstuhl
123
After Spätburgunder, what are the most widely planted varieties in Baden, listed in descending order?
Müller-Thurgau
Grauburgunder
Weißburgunder
Riesling
124
Which variety can be used for GG wines in Baden?
A range of red and white wines can be used
125
What is unusual about Franken in relation to the rest of Germany?
Riesling is neither most widely planted, nor is it considered to be prestigious
126
What is seen as the top wine grape of Franken?
Silvaner
127
What are the key viticultural characteristics of Silvaner?
Early flowering and ripening, making it susceptible to frost damage
128
On what kinds of sites is Silvaner planted in Franken?
In the warmest sites
129
What is the result of Silvaner being planted in the warmest sites of Franken?
It is able to reach a level of concentration rarely achieved elsewhere in Germany
130
Where are the best wines of Franken?
From the south-facing slopes around Würzburg
131
Describe the best wines of Franken
Dry, with a richness on the palate and often an earthy quality
132
What is distinctive about the way Franken Silvaner is packaged?
They are bottled in distinctive flask-shaped bottles
133
Which varieties can be used for GG wines in Franken?
Silvaner
Riesling
Weißburgunder
Grauburgunder
Spätburgunder
134
How are some German PGI wines labelled?
Landwein
135
How is German wine without a GI labelled?
Deutscher Wein
136
How many designated
regions are there for German PDO wines?
13
137
What is the category for German PDOs called?
Qualitätswein
138
What are the requirements to qualify as a Qualitätswein? What must appear on the label?
Must come from one of the 13 designated wine growing areas AND that winegrowing area must appear on the label.
139
What is Prädikatswein? What are the requirements to qualify? What are the labeling requirements?
* It is a category within Qualitätswein. Generally they must be made from grapes with higher must weights (sugar levels), than required for Qualitätswein.
* There are 6 Prädikat categories based on increasing min. must weights.
* The Prädikat level must appear on the label.
140
Other than Prädikat levels, what other labeling terms may be used?
Dry= Trocken
Off-dry/medium= Halbtrocken
141
What is the alternative to Halbtrocken as a labelling term in Germany? Why may this be used instead?
Feinherb, as some producers believe 'Halbtrocken' has an association with lower quality wines
142
What is the legal definition of 'Feinherb'?
There is no legal definition
143
Other than written indications, how else may sugar levels be deduced for a German wine?
From the wine category or alcohol level
144
What geographical label hierarchy is being introduced? What will print on the label for each category?
Wines may be either labelled with a winegrowing area (largest), region, village or single vineyard.
* Region - the term "region" must appear on the wine label
* For village wines - simply the name of the village will appear on the label
* Single-vineyard wines - can be identified by both the village and vineyard name appearing on the label.
145
During the transition period what could be confused with single vineyard wines, based on the labelling? How can you tell?
lower quality wines from regions, so you need to have a good knowledge of vineyard names or rely on price to identify single vineyard wines.
146
Wines from a single vineyard may also be able to use these two labeling terms if they follow what regulations?
* Erstes Gewächs - must be dry and made to stricter regulations than other single vineyard wines.
* Grosses Gewächs - must also be dry and regulations are particularly strict.
147
List in order, German categories by minimum must weight, from lowest to highest, including what style they can be made into
Qualitätswein - dry to medium sweet
Prädikatswein:
* Kabinett - dry to medium sweet
* Spätlese- dry to medium sweet
* Auslese - dry to sweet
* Beerenauslese - sweet only
* Eiswein - sweet only
* Trockenbeerenauslese - sweet only
148
Which German organisation has attempted to address the issue of labelling quality indications? Who are they?
Verband Deutscher Prädikatsweingüter (VDP) - A producers' association who have classified, by consensus, the vast majority of the best vineyard sites in Germany
149
Under VDP, how can single vineyard wines be classified?
VDP.Erste Lage or VDP.Grosse Lage, with the later representing the best sites and stricter regulations.
150
Dry wines coming from VDP.Grosse Lage sites are called what? How is it indicated on a wine bottle/label?
VDP.Grosses Gewächs - these wines are indicated by the letters 'GG' and a bunch of grapes that are embossed on the neck of the bottle.
151
Wines made by members of the VDP can be identified how on a wine bottle?
With an icon of an eagle on the capsule
152
What grape varieties are permitted by the VDP in each region?
It varies region to region.
153
When did VDP.Grosses Gewächs become a part of German law?
It is not a part of German law, it is just a trademark of the VDP. Nevertheless, these are considered to be the very best dry wines made in Germany.
