Germany Flashcards
most German wines possess - g/l of total acid
7-9
one of the key benefits of acidity in wine
it preserves flavor - helps make German wines highly capable of aging
Kerner is a cross of…
Riesling and Trollinger
You expect a wine made from Dornfelder to taste…
fruity and grapey
Pinot Meunier is known as… in Germany
Schwartzriesling
Why were German wines historically categorized by ripeness?
ripeness was not a given due to the marginal nature of the climate
Sweetness categories
trocken
halbtrocken
mild (“meeld”) or lieblich (leeb-lick)
suss
what does lieblich (“leeb-lick”) indicate?
some sweetness: between halbtrocken and suss
How is ripeness measured in Germany?
Oechsle (erks-leh) - the density of the must
why are oechlse requirements varied from region to region?
to account for difficulty of ripening the grapes , eg, the mosel vs pfalz
“spat” means
late
“aus” means
select
at what ripeness level do you start seeing wine made with edelfaule grape?
auslese - sometimes botrytised grapes are used
at what ripeness level are individual grapes hand picked?
beerenauslese
Why are most VDP wines dry?
(due to climate change) all of Germany’s top vineyards can now achieve spatlese to auslese ripeness levels every year. VDP believes sugar masks terroir
Under the VDP system, what do the terms spatlese, auslese, beerenauslese, and trockenbeerenauslese indicate?
sweetness - vdp wines with these labels will have sweetness
Heirarchy of VDP vineyards
Grosse lage
Erste lage
Ortswein
Gutswein
vdp equiv to premier cru
erste lage
vdp equiv to village wine
ortswein
VDP term for basic quality wine made from vineyard owned by the estate
gutswein
vdp equiv to grand cru
grosse lage
a dry wine made from a Grosse Lage vineyard is known as…
Grosses Gewachs (GG)
what does Grosses Gewachs (GG) indicate
dry wine made from Grosse Lage vineyard
High quality German Sekt is typically made with these grape
Riesling, Weissburgunder, Grauburgunder
Where are the three Sonnenuhr vineyards located?
Mittelmosel
history of the sundial vineyards
massive sundials built in the 1600s so that vineyard workers could tell time
Mountain range north of Rheingau
Taunus Mountains
first wine in Germany to be made with edelfaule
Spatlese Schloss Johanissberg Rheingau 1775
This region has the highest % of Riesling planted
Rheingau
compare mosel riesling to rheingau riesling
rheingau: richer, rounder, earthier, fruit instead of minerality
mosel: sharpness, slate minerality
Rheingau’s greatest red wine region
assmanshausen
this vineyard in assmanshausen is considered the best spatburgunder vineyard
hollenberg
when did the concept of qualifying wines by the ripeness of their grapes begin?
early 1700s in Rheingau
Where is the gemeinde Winkel found?
rheingau
name 5 important gemeinde in Rheingau
Assmanshausen
Johanissberg
Winkel
Hochheim
Rudesheim
Hattenheim
leading variety of Pfalz
riesling
mt range that gives Pfalz a rain shadow
Haardt Mountain Range
due to more southerly latitude + generous sun, Pfalz wines are extroverted with ___
fruit
What other grapes do you find in Pfalz?
weissburgunder
grauburgunder
Kerner
scheurube
spatburgunder
dornfelder
Where is the gemeinde Forst?
Pfalz
region with the highest % of red wine made
Ahr
lead grape of Baden
spatburgunder (40% of plantings)
Baden is dominated by…
co-ops
Franken wines are usually ___-dry
bone
two top grapes of Franken
silvaner and muller thurgau
