D4 Sparkling: Germany

Question 1

What is the climate of Germany, and how does that affect the grapes that will go into German Sekt?

Answer 1

• Cool continental climate;
• Grapes will have low potential alcohol and high acidity, which is optimal for base wines for German sparkling wine.

Question 2

Why did Sekt production in Germany take off in the mid-1950s?

Answer 2

Sourcing of cheap base wines (outside of Germany) became available and permissible in the EU.

Question 3

Today’s Sekt is:

• high volume, cheap
• low volume, expensive

Answer 3

High volume, cheap

Question 4

What is the one method of production that Sekt is not allowed to be made in?

Answer 4

Carbonation

Sekt must be made through secondary fermentation

Question 5

What are the four categories of Sekt?

Answer 5

1. Sekt;
2. Deutscher Sekt;
3. Deutscher Sekt bA;
4. Winzersekt.

Question 6

Answer each bullet point.

When you see just the term Sekt on a bottle, you know that it is:

• Tank or Traditional Method?
• Juice sourced from where?
• Vinified where?
• Always Non-vintage or Vintage?
• Describe its general style.

Answer 6

• Tank Method;
• Sourced from inexpensive regions of southern Europe;
• Made sparkling in Germany;
• Non-vintage;
• Light fruit intensity, not autolytic, generally Brut or Extra Dry.

Note that these inexpensive Sekts generally do not even mention NV on the label (p.85)

Question 7

What is the period from tirage to release for tank method Sekt?

Answer 7

Can only be sold six months after second fermentation has been started, with a minimum of 90 days sur lie OR 30 days if the lees are stirred.

Question 8

When you see the term Deutscher Sekt on a bottle, you know that it is:

• Tank or Traditional Method?
• Juice sourced from where?
• Can it be made from one grape variety or several?
• Is it Non-vintage or Vintage?

Answer 8

• Can be Tank or Traditional Method;
• Sourced from Germany, although region not allowed on label;
• Can be single grape variety (minimum 85%) or blend;
• Can be Non-vintage or Vintage.

Question 9

When you see the term Deutscher Sekt bA on a bottle, you know that it is:

• Tank or Traditional Method?
• Juice sourced from where?
• What does the bA stand for?

Answer 9

• Can be Tank or Traditional Method;
• Juice sourced from one of Germany’s 13 Anbaugebiete;
• bestimmter Anbaugebiete (“of a defined region”)
  
  • meaning the name of region MUST appear on label, e.g. Rheinhessen

Question 10

When you see the term Winzersekt on a bottle, you know that it is:

• Tank or Traditional Method?
• Details about grapes’ origin and bottling?
• Most commonly used grape?
• What must appear on the label?
• Typically what style (Brut Nature, Brut, etc.)?
• What is its general profile if made from Riesling?

Answer 10

• Traditional Method only;
• Estate-grown fruit and estate bottled;
• Most often Riesling (but can be Pinot varieties and others);
• Label must have: vintage, grape, producer’s name;
• Typically Brut;
• Green apple, white peach, toasty autolytic notes, high acidity.

Question 11

What is the minimum amount of time Traditional Method Sekt must spend sur lie?

Answer 11

Traditional Method Sekt (Winzersekt) must spend a minimum of 9 months sur lie.

Question 12

What is the general quality of Winzersekt, and where does the pricing hover?

Answer 12

• Very good to outstanding quality;
• Mid- to premium-priced.

Question 13

Is Perlwein a Sekt?

Give details surrounding Perlwein - how it can be made, quality level, and permissible pressure.

Is Perlwein cheaper or more expensive than Sekt?

Answer 13

No, Perlwein is not Sekt.

Perlwein is a sparkling wine, also known as Secco, made either by Tank Method or carbonation.

Its base wine is inexpensive and is bottled with less than 3 atmospheres of pressure.

Perlwein is cheaper than Sekt.

Question 14

What are the 7 grapes allowed in Deutscher Sekt, Deutscher Sekt BA, and Winzersekt?

Which grape makes the most prestigious Sekt?

Answer 14

1. Riesling
2. Chardonnay
3. Pinot Blanc
4. Pinot Grigio
5. Pinot Noir
6. Sylvaner
7. Scheurebe

Question 15

When Riesling is made into Sekt, does it go through malolactic conversion?

Answer 15

No, not typically – Sekt needs to retain high acidity and producers prefer to focus on Riesling’s distinctive floral, green apple and lemon primary notes rather than buttery flavors from malo.

Question 16

Give a quick overview of how high volume Sekt (Tank Method) is made.

Answer 16

• Low-aromatic grape varietals grown in high production areas of southern EU are picked early for correct acidity and neutral aromas;
• Grapes crushed and made into base wine in the area in which they’re harvested;
• Base wine chilled;
• Base wine sent to Germany via truck or rail;
• Made sparkling using Tank Method in Germany.

Remember: Sekt can be sold 6 months after second fermentation has been started, with a minimum of 90 days sur lie or 30 days if the lees are stirred.

Question 17

Go through the steps of how Tank Method Sekt is made.

Answer 17

1. Primary fermentation happens at low temperatures to retain freshness;
2. Blending - this ensures consistency for the brand;
3. Secondary fermentation happens in tank;
   
   • higher-quality Sekt will age sur lie 3-6 months;
4. Filtration;
5. Bottling;
6. Market release.

Question 18

What is the benefit of making sparkling wine using Tank Method?

Answer 18

Large volumes of wine can be made and released after a relatively short production cycle, reducing cost and prices.

Question 19

For German-grown grapes that will go into Deutscher Sekt, Deutscher Sekt bA, or Winzersekt, when are they typically harvested?

By which method are they harvested?

Answer 19

• Grapes are typically picked early for sparkling wine, with underripe grapes being selected out resulting in wines with high acidity and fresh primary fruit;
• Hand harvested for higher-quality wines, machine harvested for lower quality.

Question 20

In Germany, what do some producers use for dosage?

Answer 20

Mature sweet Riesling to add richness – typically for premium bottlings.

Question 21

Perlwein is often sweeter than Sekt.

If it is labelled Trocken (dry), it can have up to ___ g/L of residual sugar.

If it is labelled as Halbtrocken (off-dry), it has between ___ to ___ g/L of residual sugar.

If it is labelled as mild, it has more than ___ g/L residual sugar.

Answer 21

Trocken = up to 35g/L

Halbtrocken = 33-50g/L

Mild = more than 50g/L

Question 22

What percent rule does Sekt follow if there is a declared grape and vintage on the bottle?

Answer 22

85%

Question 23

Tank Method Sekt can be sold ___ months after the second fermentation has started.

Answer 23

6 months

Question 24

In Germany, Tank Method Sekt must spend a minimum of ___ days sur lie, or ___ days if the lees are stirred.

Answer 24

Minimum 90 days sur lie, or 30 days if stirred

Question 25

In Germany, Transfer Method sparkling wines must spend a minimum of ___ months sur lie and can be released for sale after ___ months.

Answer 25

3 months sur lie

Released for sale after 9 months

Question 26

In Germany, Traditional Method sparkling wines must spend a minimum of ___ months sur lie.

Answer 26

9 months

Question 27

What is the difference between:

• Flaschengärung
• Klassische Flaschengärung

Answer 27

Flaschengärung

• “bottle fermented”;
• may be disgorged by Transfer Method.

Klassische Flaschengärung

• “classic bottle fermentation”;
• also known as Traditional Method; cannot be Transfer Method.

Question 28

What are the 3 segments/price categories of Sekt?

Answer 28

1. Low end
   
   • retail up to €4 (1/2 of all Sekt sales!)
2. Standard quality
   
   • retail up to €8
3. High quality
   
   • shows promising development in >€8

Question 29

Since 1902, what has been automatically included with every bottle of Sekt?

Answer 29

Government tax of €1.02

Question 30

Where is the majority of Winzersekt sold?

Where is the majority of big brand Sekt sold?

Answer 30

• Majority sold from the winemaker’s cellar, restaurants, and specialist wine retailers;
• Big brands sold in supermarkets.

Question 31

Name 3 large Sekt companies.

Answer 31

1. Rotkäppchen-Mumm
2. Henkell + Co.
3. Schloss Wachenheim

• each company has multiple brands
• these 3 companies account for 80% of Sekt production

Question 32

How much Sekt is exported?

Answer 32

10%

That means 90% stays (and is consumed) in the domestic market!

Question 33

2018 VDP Classification requires VDP members to make Sekt under these standards:

Answer 33

• Must be estate fruit grown especially for Sekt production;
• Hand harvested and picked early;
• Whole-cluster pressed;
• Traditional Method only.

Question 34

Since 2020, what are the 3 tiers of VDP Sekt?
What are their sur lie aging requirements?

Answer 34

1. NV VDP Sekt - requires minimum 15 months sur lie;
2. Vintage VDP Sekt - 24 months sur lie;
3. VDP Sekt Prestige® - 36 months sur lie.

Question 35

What is the minimum alcohol content for Sekt?

Answer 35

10% abv

Question 36

What are the minimum bars of pressure for Sekt?

Answer 36

3.5 atmospheres

Question 37

What is the difference between Qualitätsperlwein bA and Perlwein as far as their origin of grapes?

Answer 37

Qualitätsperlwein bA is Perlwein made from German grapes from a specified region.

Perlwein is sparkling wine whose base juice came from the EU (countries other than Germany).

Question 38

Perlwein generally is bottled at what pressure?

Answer 38

1-2.5 bars*

semi-sparkling, which is the equivalent of frizzante (see pages 88 and 57, respectively)