Germany Flashcards
Tell us more about German sparkling wine?
Sekt, a German word for sparkling wine, has always been popular in Germany. Sekt production increased significantly after the mid-1950s because inexpensive base wines could be sourced within the European Union. Today, over 90 per cent of the production is inexpensive, high- volume brands. This meets the enormous German demand for inexpensive sparkling wine that, at 3.4 litres, or four and a half bottles, per capita per year, is the highest in the world.
There are several categories of Sekt; carbonation is not permitted as a method of production for any category.
Tell us about Sekt?
These are tank method wines, without mention of grape varieties or vintage, typically made from a range of base wines sourced from inexpensive regions of southern Europe and made sparkling in Germany. They can only be sold six months after second fermentation has been started, with a minimum of 90 days on the lees or 30 if the lees are stirred. They are non- vintage.
This is by far the largest category, accounting for 90 per cent of wines made. These wines have light intensity fruit and no autolytic notes. They are typically made in the Brut or Extra Dry style, with noticeable residual sugar and medium acidity. They are acceptable to good in quality and inexpensive in terms of price.
Tell us about Deutscher Sekt?
Deutscher Sekt must be made from German-grown fruit. It may be made by the tank method or traditional method, be vintage or non-vintage, and made from one variety (minimum 85 per cent of that variety if it is to be labelled with a single variety) or multiple varieties. The fruit may come from a number of different German regions. The wine cannot state its region of origin on the label.
Tell us about Deutscher Sekt bA
‘bA’ is the common abbreviation of bestimmter Anbaugebiete, ‘of a defined region’.
This is sparkling wine related to the general quality category, Qualitätswein bestimmter Anbaugebiete, quality wine from one of the 13 defined wine- growing regions (e.g. Rheingau). The name of the region must appear on the label. It may be made by tank method or traditional method.
Tell us about Winzersekt?
Winzersekt (Winzer = winegrower) refers to a sparkling wine which is estate-bottled, uses only grapes grown by the estate, is made by the traditional method and is kept for a minimum of nine months on the lees in the bottle. It is most typically made with Riesling, but a range of other varieties may be used. The vintage, grape variety and producer’s name must appear on the bottle. If made from Riesling, these wines combine medium intensity apple and peach fruit with toasty, smoky, autolytic notes. They have high acidity and are typically in the Brut style.
They are very good to outstanding in quality and are mid- to premium-priced.
In addition to Sekt, Perlwein, more commonly known as Secco, is made either by the tank method or by carbonation from inexpensive base wine, usually with less than three atmospheres of pressure. These wines are cheaper in Germany than fully sparkling wine (minimum three atmospheres) as they do not attract tax.
Explain the growing environment and grape growing for Sekt?
The grapes are grown in high-volume production areas of southern Europe. Low aromatic grape varieties from Italy, Spain and France are typically used, picked early to retain acidity. The grapes are typically crushed in the region of origin and the juice chilled and transported by truck or train to Germany.
Explain the growing environment and grape growing for Deutscher Sekt, Deutscher Sekt BA and Winzersekt?
The cool continental climate in the German wine-growing regions produces grapes with low potential alcohol and high acidity, suitable as base wines for sparkling wine. The grapes are typically picked early for sparkling wine, with under-ripe grapes being selected out. This results in wines with high acidity and just-ripe primary fruit. The wines are mainly made from single varieties, though blends based on Chardonnay and Pinot Noir are also made. Riesling makes the most prestigious wines, but a wide range of single varieties is used – Pinot Noir, Pinot Blanc, Pinot Gris, Chardonnay and Silvaner plus aromatic varieties (e.g. Scheurebe, a crossing of Riesling and an unknown variety). Hand harvesting is used for the higher quality wines, adding to cost and therefore the final price. Variations in climate and soil types are mainly overridden by blending of base wines prior to second fermentation.
Explain how the tank method works with Sekt?
First fermentation is carried out at low temperatures to retain the freshness of the fruit. Wines are blended to ensure consistency across batches and within the style of the brand. Second fermentation is conducted in tanks, with the higher quality wines being aged on lees for 3–6 months. The tank method means that large volumes of wine can be made and released after a relatively short production cycle, reducing cost and prices.
Grapes grown in Germany may be made into base wine by the grower and then delivered to large Sekt-producing specialist companies for the second fermentation.
Explain the traditional method with Sekt?
The traditional method is used with both Champagne varieties, but also with Riesling. In the latter case, base wines typically do not go through malolactic conversion. An issue is the desirability or otherwise of autolytic notes when the base wine is made from Riesling. Some producers prefer to focus on Riesling’s distinctive floral, apple and lemon primary notes. As a result, time on the lees may be the minimum required of nine months. Others prefer longer age on lees wines (18 months or longer) to develop an attractive smoky note, rather than the biscuit/brioche of Champagne varieties. Mature sweet Riesling may be used for the dosage in premium bottlings to add richness. The traditional method adds cost to the price of Winzersekt.
Some companies use the transfer method for less expensive bottle-fermented wines.
Explain the wine law for Sekt?
The main categories have already been covered. Sekt must be produced through a second fermentation (i.e. it cannot be made by injecting carbon dioxide). It must have an alcohol content of at least 10% abv and a CO2 pressure of at least 3.5 atmospheres. Wines labelled as Sekt can be made from base wine of grapes grown in any EU country.
Perlwein can be made from a quality wine from a specified region (Qualitätsperlwein bA) or as EU wine (Perlwein). In the production of Perlwein, CO2 can be injected or produced by fermentation (usually by the tank method). Perlwein is often sweeter than Sekt. If labelled Trocken (dry), it can have up to 35 g/L of residual sugar; Halbtrocken (off-dry) has between 33 and 50 g/L; and mild, more than 50 g/L.
In addition, wines sold as varietal or vintage wines must be 85 per cent of that variety and/ or vintage.
For tank method Sekt wines, the period from tirage to release from the winery for sale must last for a minimum of six months with a minimum of 90 days on the lees. This period on the lees can be reduced to 30 days if the wine is in a tank with stirrers. Traditional method wines must spend a minimum of nine months on the lees and can then be released for sale. Transfer method wines must spend a minimum of three months on the lees and can be released for sale after nine months.
See introduction to Germany for the key labelling terms. In addition, the following are produced:
• Flaschengärung – ‘bottle fermented’, but may be disgorged by the transfer method
• Klassische Flaschengärung or similar – ‘Classic bottle fermentation’, which is second
fermentation in this bottle and transfer method not allowed.
Explain wine business for Sekt?
In general, the Sekt market comprises three segments or price categories:
- low-end, price-driven sparkling wines that retail for up to €4.00 – which account for over half of all sales
- standard-quality sparkling wines that retail for up to €8.00
- high-quality sparkling wines, usually at considerably higher prices – a segment that has shown promising development in recent years.
The price of every bottle of Sekt automatically includes a government tax of €1.02 that has been levied since 1902.
The sparkling wine market in Germany is highly competitive, with a number of volume producers aggressively competing to get their brands placed in retail outlets and win customers. Because of this, Germany’s largest sparkling wine producers go to great efforts to support their brands with advertising. Big brands that have been on the market for decades are the driving force behind sales. The vast majority of these wines are sold in supermarkets, large and small. Winzersekt, by contrast, is sold from the cellar door, specialist wine retailers and in restaurants.
Sekt production is dominated by a small number of very large companies, Rotkäppchen– Mumm, Henkell & Co and Schloss Wachenheim, each with multiple brands. Between them, they account for around 80 per cent of production. Rotkäppchen is the leading producer of wine and sparkling wine in Germany. Its sparkling wine brands, including Rotkäppchen and Jules Mumm, have mass appeal for Germans due to their relatively high quality at low prices. Unlike many of its main competitors, Rotkäppchen continues to position itself predominantly in the economy segment, which is a lucrative area in the German still wine and sparkling wine categories. Private label products are strong too, especially from the dominant discounters, Aldi and Lidl. Significant producers of Winzersekt include Reichsrat von Buhl and Schloss Vaux.
Most Sekt is consumed in Germany and only a small proportion (a little over 10 per cent) is exported. However, the big companies do have brands in Eastern Europe. These either can be exported from Germany or are subsidiary brands made in Eastern Europe.
Sparkling wine (all categories, including Champagne and other imported wines) are sold predominantly via the retail sector (75 per cent). The wine market in general is extremely price conscious and German consumers, especially if buying a higher quality Sekt, generally prefer to buy via retailers for home consumption, rather than paying restaurant prices.
What is VDP Sekt?
In 2018, the VDP (Verband deutscher Prädikatsweingüter), the private association of wine companies committed to high quality, incorporated Sekt into its own statutes. The VDP Sekt classification requires VDP members to make the wine to these standards under the tag line ‘good Sekt from the beginning’:
- The fruit must be grown on the estate of a VDP member and be produced specifically for Sekt production
- The fruit must be picked early (in order to be appropriate for Sekt production) by hand, whole cluster pressed, and the wine made by the traditional method only
- There are two tiers: one that requires a minimum of 15 months on the lees and a second for single-vineyard and all vintage wines that require 36 months on the lees.
