German History Flashcards
Who introduced the vine in the Rheingau?
The Romans
Who was responsible in the Rheingau for the growth of winemaking and causing wine growing to dominate the area?
The Church
When did the Benedictines arrive in the Rheingau?
Early 12th Century
When did the Cistercians arrive from Burgundy to the Rheingau?
1136
What did the Cistercians do for Rheingau that they did for Burgundy?
Created a massive network of vineyards.
What is the famous winery that the Cistercians created in the Rheingau? And when?
Schloss Johanisburg
-early 12th Century
When do the monks start cultivating riesling in the Rheingau?
1435
What happened to the Church and its landholding in the Rheingau at the beginning of the 19th Century?
The Church lost a lot of its land due to the secularization instigated by Napoleon.
By whom and when was Kabinett defined and when?
Kloster Eberlbach in 1712
When was the first planned Spatelese harvest of botyritis fruit and by whom?
Schloss Johannisberg in 1775
Who were the first producers from the Rheingau to produce glass bottles in Germany and when?
Schloss Schonborn and Schloss Johannisberg in the early 1700s.
Who is the largest single wine producer in Germany?
Hessen State Winery
-Located in the Rheingau
Who owns Eberback Abbey and its famous walled Steinberg domaine?
Hessen State Winery
How much did the vinification of dry wine increase from 1985 to 2015?
16 to 46%
When did Vitis Vinifera arrive in Germany?
With the Romans whose legionnaires crossed the Alps over 2,000 years ago and extended their eastern frontier to the Rhine River.
Who introduced the cultivation of Riesling and Pinot Noir in Germany?
The Cistercians
Why did the amount of vines shrink in Germany between the 16th and 17th Centuries?
-War
-A suddenly cooling climate
-Social and religious upheavals of the day
What happened to vineyard ownership in Germany after the French Revolution? What did this inspire?
-Vineyard ownership moved to the private sector
-This inspired liquidation of church holdings in Germany by the early 180ss
What is Hock?
Wines that were arriving in London to indicate wines from the Middle Rhine
-Rare, noble sweet wines
-Were fetching greater prices than the best reds of Bordeaux
Why did new grape crossings spread throughout Germany by the mid 20th Century?
-American-born grapevine diseases
-Annual struggle with a cold climate
-Spurred interest in viticultural science and the development of hardy new varieties like Müller-Thurgua
When did phylloxera spread in Germany?
After the First World War
Why did the aristocratic wine estates enter a period of decline in Germany?
-Abdication of Kaiser Wilhelm II in 1918
-Subsequent loss of political privilege for the German nobility
Why did exports plummet after WWI in Germany?
The French and British boycotted German products, including Hock.
Why was Germany not able to export to the US and Russia in between WWII and WWII?
Russian Revolution
Prohibition in America
