General Knowledge Flashcards
What percent of the world’s Riesling does Germany account for?
What percent of its own production does Riesling account for?
About 40%
About 23% (of plantings)
What is Hock?
An English term for German wines, coined in the 1700’s
When did the Mosel start showing up on the labels of German wine bottlings?
Towards the end of the 1800’s, as “Moselle”
What characterized the German wine industry during the years following WWII?
An approach of quantity over quality.
Cold hardy and volume were the name of the game. High yielding grape vines and hybrids were planted like Muller Thurgau. Vineyards were also re-shaped so modern machinery could be employed. Sweet and cheap was how German wines became perceived.
When was German wine law first codified? What were the 4 levels of quality established?
1971
Wein, or Deutscher Wine if made from German grapes.
Landwein (IGT)
Qualitatswein (PDO)
Pradikatswein - covering the sweet wines
What percent of German production is at the Qualitatswein (PDO) Level?
96%
What is Flurbereinigung?
A term describing the consolidation of separate vineyard parcels into larger more homogeneous chunks, often by restructuring the land so machines could be used.
What is Liebfraumilch by definition?
More commonly, what is Liebfraumilch used to describe?
By law, a quality wine of at least 70% Riesling, Silvaner, Muller-Thurgau, or Kerner.
Cheap and sweet wines from Germany. The moniker stems from the ocean of cheap and sweet exports the industry put out during the 60’s 70’s and 80’s
At what quality levels is chaptalization allowed under any set of German wine laws?
All of them, with the exception of the Pradikatswein category. Even for VDP wines, despite the original intent of the organization.
How are must weights measured?
For Pradikatswein, what is the minimum must weight for Kabinett, Spatlese, and Auslese?
In degrees Ochsle
Kabinett 70
Spatlese 76
Auslese 83
What is the minimum must weight for Riesling Spatlese wines from the Mosel? and Pfalz?
Why the difference?
Spatlese from Mosel 80
Spatlese from Pfalz 90
For Mosel, the bar for quality is higher. Climate varies by region, and its warmer in Pfalz, so its also higher, just as one example.
Classic on a German wine label denotes what?
a single varietal wine but NOT from a single vineyard, harmoniously dry, max r/s of 15g/L
What does Selection on a German wine label mean?
single varietal from a single vineyard, superior dry, max r/s 9g/L (12 for Riesling)
What is the VDP?
Founded in 1910, the group originally promoted “natur” wines, or unchaptalized.
Today they are responsible for a Burgundian classification system of German wines, high quality, traditional varieties, preserving a sense of place.
Producers must adhere to what rules in order to be in the VDP?
-Higher min. must weights, lower yields
-Hand harvesting for single vineyard and Auslese or higher wines.
-only estate grown fruit
What is a Grosslagen?
What is a Grosse Lage?
A large collection of vineyards, created in 1971 when the pradikat system shrunk the number of ‘eizellagen’ from 30,000 down to 2,700.
Grosse Lage is a ‘Grand Cru’ under the VDP classification.
Of Piesporter Goldtropfchen and Piesporter Michelsberg, which is a Grosslagen and which is a Grosse Lage?
P. Goldtropfchen is a Grosse Lage, it sits within the much larger P. Michelsberg Grosslagen.
A Gutswein is what?
A wine at the lowest VDP quality level, regional, like “Bourgogne” for example.
Only the Anbaugebiet will be listed on the label.
An Ortswein is what?
In the VDP system, a village wine, the 2nd quality tier. You’ll see the village name and/or a soil type.
What are Erste Lage and Grosse Lage?
Premier cru, and Grand Cru, the top two quality levels for the VDP classification.
The traditional village+vineyard name will appear for Erste Lage, like Iphofer-Kronsberg in Franken.
Just the vineyard will appear for Gross Lage, like Kalkofen on a bottle of Von Winning, Basserman Jordan, or Dr. Burklin Wolf from Pfalz.
What are these soils?
Kalkstein
Blauen Schiefer
Buntsandstein
Limestone
Blue Slate
Red Sandstone
What is the name of the VDP logo that appears on all VDP bottle capsules?
Traubenadler
In what year was the VDP classification system enacted? When was it recently updated?
2002
2012
What term denotes a dry wine for the first 3 quality tiers of the VDP system?
Trocken
What does GG stand for? What does it say about the wine in the bottle?
Grosses Gewachs
That it is a dry wine from a Grosse Lage vineyard.
How much time must a GG red wine spend ageing in wood?
12 months
What is the large wooden vessel traditionally used in German wine production? About how big is it?
Stuck 1200L
When did sekt production begin in Germany?
Today, what percent of production is Charmat method?
1826
85%
Muller Thurgau is a crossing of what 2 grapes?
Riesling and Madeleine Royale
Riesling was known as what in the new world, during the 19th century?
In which Anbaugebiet might this name have originated?
Johannisberger
Rheingau, Schloss Johannisberg is there?
Which anbaugebiet leads Germany in Pinot Noir production? (%)
What percent of German production does Pinot Noir account for?
Baden 50%
About 12% (by plantings)
What is Fruhburgunder?
A mutation of pinot noir that ripens 2 weeks sooner and has thicker skins.
What is the 2nd most planted red in Germany?
Dornfelder
What is Grauburgunder? In what Anbaugebiet does it shine?
What is the sweet botrytized wine made from it called?
Pinot Gris
In Baden, near Alsace
Rulander
What is Blaufrankisch known as in Germany?
In what Anbaugebiet will I most likely find it?
Lemberger
Wurttemberg
What are the minimum must weights for Beerenauslese, Eiswein, and Trockenbeerenauslese?
110 for BA and Eiswein
150 for TBA
What is the name of Chasselas in Germany?
Gutedel
What is Pinot Meunier known as in Germany?
Schwarzriesling
What is Schillerwein?
From which Anbaugebiet does it hail?
A rose, made from blending separate lots of unfermented juice. can be trocken or halbtrocken
Wurttemberg
The Italian grape Schiava goes by what name in Germany?
Trollinger
In the lesser known Anbaugebiet of Mittelrhein and Hessiche Bergstrasse, what grape leads total plantings?
Riesling
Which 2 Anbaugebiet were under Russian control until 1990?
What grape leads plantings here?
Saale-Unstrut and Sachsen
Muller Thurgau
In the Ahr, what grape is the star? Whats the soil type? What vine training technique helps?
Spatburgunder
Slate
Guyot took over starting in the 80’s. Single post before.
What is Germany’s 3rd largest Anbaugebiet?
What grapes dominate plantings here?
What river separates the region from France? What AOC is on the other side?
Baden
The 3 Pinots, Spat, Grau, and Weiss
Rhine, Alsace
Of Baden’s 9 Bereiche, which 4 are the center of the action?
Ortenau
Breisgau
Kaiserstuhl
Tuniberg
What does Gutsabfullung mean?
Feinherb?
Estate bottled
unofficially, “off-dry”
What is an Abfuller?
What is erzeugerabfullung?
The bottler or shipper.
Also, estate bottled
What is a goldkapsel?
What is an Erstes Gewachs?
A producer’s best offering.
Denotes a top site, specific to Rheingau.
What is Rotling?
What is Rot Wein?
Similar to Schillerwein, a rose blended from different lots of unfermented juice.
Red Wine
What is Weissherbst?
What is a Winzergenossenschaft?
A rose, but single varietal.
A grower co-op.
On what river will I find the Franken Anbaugebiet?
What 2 grapes lead plantings here? (%)
Main River
Muller Thurgau (26%) and Silvaner (24%)
Of Franken’s 3 Bereiche, which one claims 75% of production?
What is the Einzellagen to know here?
Whats the soil type here?
Maindreieck (Steigerwald, Mainviereck)
Wurzburger Stein
Limestone
What is the special bottle from Franken?
Why is it shaped this way?
The bocksbeutel
To prevent it from rolling away. (on a vineyard slope while you’re working.)
What is Edelfaule?
Botrytis, noble rot
What is Alte Rebe?
Old Vine
Meyer Nakel is a quality producer in which Anbaugebiet?
Ahr
What mountains form the backbone of Rheingau?
Taunus
In Baden, what grapes are permitted for Grosse Lage wines?
Weiss, Grau, and Spatburgunder
Riesling, Chardonnay
What is the maximum r.s. for a Grosses Gewachs?
9 g/L
