Germany Flashcards
Germany has some of the ___most and ___est vineyards in the northern hemisphere.
Northeast and coolest
What is the principal white grape of Germany?
Riesling
What are the 2 main rivers in Germany and in what regions are they?
Mosel River = runs through the Mosel region
Rhine River = runs through the Rheingau region
German wine regions are called ___.
Anbaugebiete (ahn-BAU-guh-beet)
Germany has 13 anbaugebiete (wine regions).
Which 4 do you need to know for the exam?
Mosel
Rheingau
Rheinhessen
Pfalz
In which quadrant of Germany are the bulk of Germany’s wine regions located?
Southwestern quadrant, near France and Switzerland.
What are some features that help moderate the climate of Germany?
Rivers (e.g. the Mosel and Rhine)
Mountains (e.g. Tanus, Haardt)
What are the soils of Germany?
They vary depending on the region, but the top vineyards are planted on:
Blue slate (Mosel) Red slate (Rheingau) Basalt (Baden)
What are the advantages of German vineyards being planted on slate and basalt?
Absorb heat during the day
Release that heat overnight in this very cool climate
What are the white grapes of Germany?
Riesling
Müller-Thurgau
Silvaner
What is Germany’s red grape?
Pinot Noir, aka Spätburgunder
What percent of production in Germany is white wine?
70%
Is chaptalization allowed in Germany?
Yes, but it’s really only used for low-quality level wines (not Prädikat wines).
What does the term ‘Trocken’ mean in English?
Dry
In Germany, wines WITHOUT geographic indication are called ___.
Wein
In Germany, wines WITH geographic indication have three levels:
Landwein (PGI)
Qualitätswein (PDO)
Prädikastwein (PDO)
Landwein (PGI) wines are:
Regional, acceptable quality, rarely exported
What is a Qualitätswein?
A wine from one of the 13 anbaugebiete.
Wines of this level can be dry to sweet.
Prädikatswein is a subset of ___ wines.
How many prädikat levels are there?
Subset of Qualitätswein
6 prädikat levels
What are the 6 prädikat levels from lowest price/ripeness to highest price/ripeness?
Kabinett Spätlese Auslese Beerenauslese Eiswein Trockenbeerenauslese
(Kissing Sexy Aussies Better End Tonight)
Which 3 of the prädikat levels are most used as table wines?
Kabinett
Spätlese
Auslese
What does Spätlese translate to in English?
Spätlese = late harvest
What does Auslese translate to in English?
Auslese = selected harvest
What kind of grapes are Eisweins made from?
Frozen grapes
Of the 3 highest price/ripeness prädikat levels, which 2 will always be affected by botrytis?
Beerenauslese (BA)
Trockenbeerenauslese (TBA)
Which 3 prädikat levels can be fermented dry and have Trocken on the label?
Kabinett
Spätlese
Auslese
What does VDP stand for (what is it spelled out)?
Verband Deutscher Prädikatsweingüter: a group that represents the country’s top producers/ an organization of >200 of Germany’s best winemakers committed to excellence
What region outside of Germany does the VDP emulate and model their classification after?
Burgundy
What are the typical wines made under the VDP classifications?
Dry Rieslings
In what year was the VDP founded?
1910
Grosses Gewächs:
what does it translate to in English?
these wines are always ___.
grapes come from ___.
Translates to Great Growth
Wines are always DRY
Grapes from top vineyards
What does the German term Gemeinde mean in English?
Village
For example, if you see Ürziger Würzgarten on a wine label, it means the grapes came from the village of Ürzig and the Würzgarten vineyard.
On a German wine label, the first word (of the two words together) that ends in -er is the ___.
Village, or gemeinde.
What is an einzellage?
Single vineyard
Which of Germany’s wine regions is the oldest?
Mosel
On what parallel is the Mosel wine region?
49th parallel
Which river helps moderate the Mosel wine region?
Mosel river
What is the soil of the Mosel wine region?
Slate
What grapes are grown in the Mosel?
Riesling
Riesling grown in the Mosel is typically:
Just-ripe, high acid, low alcohol, off-dry
Why do most Mosel Rieslings have residual sugar?
To balance out the ripping-high acidity.
Name two gemeinden (villages) in the Mosel famous for their Rieslings.
Ürzig
Piesport