Germany Flashcards
1
Q
anbaugebit
A
1 of 13 major wine regions
2
Q
bereich
A
area within a wine region
3
Q
gemeinde
A
local community or village
4
Q
einzellage
A
single vineyard
5
Q
grosslage
A
a collection of vineyard sites of differing quality under one collective name
6
Q
steillage
A
“steep site” a term typically applied to an incline greater than 30%
7
Q
sonnenuhr
A
“sundial” vineyards
8
Q
winzer
A
winegrower
9
Q
kloster
A
“cloister” “monastery”
10
Q
fuder
A
traditional 1,000 liter cask
11
Q
stück
A
traditional 1,200 liter cask, a shortened form of stückfass
12
Q
edelfäule
A
the noble form of Botrytis cinerea, a fungus that concentrates grapes but can lead to gray rot
13
Q
alte rebe
A
“old vine”
14
Q
trocken
A
“dry” wines with up to 9 grams per liter of RS
15
Q
sekt
A
sparkling wine
16
Q
Prädikat
A
classification system based on must weight of grapes at harvest
17
Q
Grosse Lage
A
a single site (einzellage) of top ranking, as designated by the VDP
18
Q
Erste Lage
A
Premier Cru wine site, as designated bu the VDP
19
Q
Who planted grapevines in the first century?
A
Romans!
20
Q
How did the 1971 laws affect the industry?
A
- set out to combat problems of modernization but ended up tarnishing the industry’s reputation
- created anbaugebiete, equivalent to AOC
- these laws also prioritized ripeness levels above all else
- individual vineyards were also consolidated
21
Q
Why & when was the VDP created
A
to rectify the name confusion by reclassifying the original top vineyard areas as Grosse Lagen in order to recognize their prestige
- 1910
- peer based group
22
Q
Sekt winemaking
A
- been produced since 1826
- high quality
- Riesling (lower end), Chardonnay & Pinot-Noir
23
Q
Winzersekt
A
- single vintage sparkling wine & made in traditional method
- minimum of 9 months aging on the lees before disgorgement
24
Q
who is credited with creating the first Spätlese
A
Schloss Johannisberg
25
What are the 9 essential WHITE grapes of Germany
```
Riesling
Müller-Thurgau
Grauburgunder
Weissburgunder
Silvaner
Scheurebe
```
26
grau
gray
27
weiss
white
28
spät
late
29
burgunder
from burgundy
30
auslese
chosen
31
lese
harvest
32
beere
berry
33
What are the 3 essential RED grapes
Spätburgunder
Dornfelder
Lemberger
34
General climate
- NW section is modestly influenced by the Atlantic Ocean & North Sea
- S & E areas are generally more continental
- SE has an abundance of rivers & mountains that offer ideal aspects, prolonged sunlight & moderate temps
- Northernmost vineyards represent the extremes of viticulture in the Northern Hemisphere
35
What are the biggest viticulture challenge in Germany?
- Spring frost
| - reliable conditions resulting from the river systems, which can encourage Botrytis
36
How many anbaugebiete are there in Germany?
13
37
What are the three main soil types in Germany?
Devonian Slate
Rotliegend
Loess
38
Describe Devonian slate
- igneous rock soils
- friable, low in nutrients, retains heat, well-draining, resistant to phylloxera
- coveted for growling Riesling
- Found in Mosel & Ahr
39
Describe Rotliegend
- red slate or sandstone
- well-draining, retains heat
- found in Mosel, Rheinhessen, & Pfalz
40
Describe Loess
- wind-blown deposits of various degraded soil types
- well-draining, low in nutrients, fine in texture
- found in Rheinhessen. Nahe, Baden & Franken
41
What is Landwein
-85% of grapes must be harvested from 1 out of 26 delimited regions
42
What are the three tiers of the PDO system
- Qualitätswein
- Qualitätswein Erstes Gewächs
- Prädikatswein
43
Describe Qualitätswein
- wine made from a single anbaugebiet made from approved varieties
- no chaptalization is allowed
44
Describe Qualitätswein Erstes Gewäches
- established in 1999, limited to classified Riesling & Spätburgunder from the Rheingau
- distinct from the VDP's categories
45
Describe Prädikatswein
- categorized based on grape ripeness at harvest
- measured by Oechsle (must weight)
- 6 levels of ripeness
46
What are the 6 levels of Prädikatswein ripeness & must weight
1. Kabinett (70-85)
2. Spätlese "Late Harvest" (76-95)
3. Auslese "Selected Harvest" (83-105)
4. Beerenauslese "Selective Berry Harvest" (110-128)
5. Eiswein "Ice Wine" (110-128)
6. Trockenbeerenauslese "Dried selective berry harvest" (150-154)
47
What do Asterisks after vineyard names mean
wine is of greater ripeness than the stated Prädikat, with each additional star (up to three) indicating more ripeness
48
Goldkapsel
the unofficial way winemakers use to show high or special quality, with a longer gold capsules.
-generally used for Auslese Pradikat that would typically show higher must weights than stated
49
What are the four tiers of VDP & describe them
Gutswein: Regional wines sourced from a single anbaugebiet
Ortswein: Village wines from one gemeinde (village)
Erste Lage: 1er cru wines form approved sites
Grosse Lage: Grand cru wines from approved sites
50
Difference between Grosse Lage & grosselage
Grosse Lagen is an individual high-quality vineyard while grosslage is a collective vineyard, no quality implied
51
Is VDP, Grosse Lagen dry or sweet
Always dry, maximum of 9 g/l of RS
52
How will Grosse Lage be identified on the label
By vineyard name alone
53
What is the logo of the VDP
Eagle
54
Who is the IRF
International Riesling Foundation
55
Why was the IRF created
- to dispel confusion around sweetness
| - a sweetness scale was developed for producers for the back label
56
In general what is the Mosel known for?
pure, light, low ABV Riesling
57
What course does the Mosel river take?
Begins at the Vosges Mountains in France, flows eastward into Germany (merges with tributaries, Saar & Ruwer), then merges with the Rhine river
58
Name the 6 Bereiche in the Mosel
```
Bernkastel
Burg Cochem
Saar
Ruwertal
Obermosel
Moseltor
```
59
What is the largest of the Bereiche in the Mosel
Bernkastel, most of the greatest gemeinden & einzellagen are located here
60
What soils dominate the Mosel?
dark blue Devonian slate, well drained & phylloxera resistant
main challenge is erosion as slate can slide to the bottom of the slope, forcing winegrowers to physically carry it back up the hill
61
What is the aspect like of most Mosel vineyards
Extremely steep, southward-facing slopes. Impossible to mechanically harvest & cable systems are often employed to enable workers to traverse the cliff-side
62
Name the two tributaries of the Mosel
Saar & Ruwer
63
Where are the best vineyards planted in the Mosel?
Middle Mosel
64
Why is Riesling the dominant grape in Mosel?
-High tolerance to cold
65
Describe Mosel growing cycle?
- 30-50% longer than growing regions further south
- Riesling develops high phenolic ripeness
- thick skins & aromatics are well suited to botrytis
66
What is the classic style of the Mosel?
Prädikat wines with RS
67
How does the Mosel River moderate the vineyards along its slopes?
- Mitigates frost
- Mellows diurnal shifts
- bounces like back onto the vineyard to aid in ripening
68
What Bereich is home to the regions most famous producers & bulk of Mosel Production?
Bernkastel
69
What are the top three bereiche of Mosel?
Bernakastel, Ruwertal, Saar
-Highest concentration of top sites & producers
70
What were Blue Nun & Liebfraulmich wine
Poor quality sweet wines that tarnished Germanys reputation
71
What is Grosse Gewaches? Can it be on labels?
- Dry, hand-harvested only wines
- legally "trocken" level with no more than 9 g/l of sugar
- only GG state on Label as Grosses Gewachs is not legally allowed
- VDP rule
72
where is the Rheingau located
- Along the Rhine River on the Northern Bank with vineyards facing SouthEast
- Warmer than the Rheinhessen in the South due to the Rhine River reflecting sunlight
73
What is soil in the Rheingau
upper slopes are dominate by slate but lower slopes are mixture of clay, loess, alluvial sand near the River
74
What style of wines marks the Rheingau
dry is over half of the production
75
Where & what is the Assmanhausen
It is an anbaugebiet within the Rheingau that has most of the Spatburgunder production for the region
76
Where is the Rheinhessen located
directly South of Rheingau, bordered by the Rhine River to the North & East, bordered by the Name in the West & the Pfalz to the South
77
Describe the Rheinhessen's image & vine production
The most hectares of any anbaugebite
historically poor quality & bulk production
78
What grapes is the Rheinhessen known for
Riesling, Muller-Thurgau & Silvaner
79
where is the Pfalz located?
natural continuation of Alsace & South of the Rheinhessen
80
explains the soil type of the Pfalz
complex, varied soil due to ancient geological activity similar to Alsace
81
What mountain range is near the Pfalz
The Haardt Hills (aka Vosges Mtns in Alsace)
82
what style of wine is the Pfalz
Dry Rieslings, the complex soils make varied wines
83
What type of wine is in the Nahe
generally sweet Riesling
84
Explain the Ahr
- worlds most northernly wine region dedicated to red wine
- Spatburgunder production
- "mediterranean" climate
85
explain the Franken anbaugebitte
- mostly beer & silvaner production
- traditionally dry wines
- traditionally bottled in squat, flask shaped "bocksbeutel"
86
explain Mittelrhein
Riesling planted on steep, slate riverside slopes
| - 80% of wine is trocken or halbtrocken
87
Hessische-Bergstrasse
one of the smallest anbaugebitte
88
Explain Baden & Wuttenburg anbaugebite
- southern Germany
- Spatburgunder production
- mostly co-ops
89
Sachsen & Saale-Unstrut anbaugebite
- former east Germany
| - Muuler-Thurgau production
