Germany Flashcards
History of German wine?
Flurbereinigung - vineyard restructuring after WW2
5th German wine law in 1971 - established regions and classifications based on must weight
Liebfraumilch was 60% of export in 1980s - Blue Nun and Black Tower
General German climate?
Cool continental
Moderate rainfall - mostly in summer
Morning mists
General German Topography?
Steep, south-facing slopes
Rivers radiate heat - moderate temp and extend growing season
Taunus and Haardt mountain ranges
German production?
7th largest area under vine
100,000ha planted
9mil hL produced
Vineyard management in Germany?
Average yields: 150hL/ha Deutscher Wein/Landwein; 105hL/ha Qualitatswein
VSP Trellising
Pendelbogen (replacement cane with arches), also single/double
Mostly hand harvesting - steep slopes, required by Beerenauslese and above
Little organic/sustainable due to climate
How is fruit ripeness improved in Germany?
Better clonal selection
Summer pruning
Green harvesting
Selective hand harvesting
Describe Riesling:
23% of total plantings
Late budding
Late ripening
Thick wood
Needs sun exposure and dry autumns
High level of sugar
Susceptible to botrytis
Great ageability
Describe Muller-Thurgau:
AKA Rivaner
Earlier-ripening than Riesling
High yields
Much lower acidity than Riesling
Popular in Liebfraumilch
Describe Spatburgunder:
AKA Pinot Noir
11.5% of total plantings
High quality, complex, oak-aged examples
Whole bunch common
Describe Dornfelder:
Deep color
High acid
Fruity, floral
Mainly grown in Rheinhessen and Pfalz
Describe Silvaner:
Simple, inexpensive wines
High quality in Franken
Lower acidity than Riesling
Plantings declining
Early budding
Early ripening
Winemaking in Germany:
Experimentation with lees/oak for whites
Enrichment common
- prohibited in Pradikatswein
Deacidification allowed, not often used
Sweetening practices in Germany?
Sussreserve - traditionally used to sweeten wines that had been fermented to dry
Sussreserve must be made from the same region/quality level as the wine
RCGM can only be used for Deutscher Wein
Now, quality producers stop fermentation with SO2, racking, or filtering
Describe Deutscher Wein:
Formerly Tafelwein
Grapes grown in Germany
No Geographical Indication
Tiny production
Describe Landwein:
Equivalent to PGI
85% must be from region
Trocken or Halbtrocken
Tiny production
Describe Qualitatswein:
13 Anbaugebiete (named quality regions)
Must undergo analysis and tasting panel
Given AP number for vineyard/lot/testing location (Amtliche Prufungsnummer)
Describe Pradikatswein:
All grapes must come from a Bereich (one of small 40 districts)
Classified as one of six levels based on must weights
Half the production of Qualitatswein
Describe Kabinett:
Lightest bodied
Highest in acidity
Dry to med-sweet
7%-12%ABV
Green and citrus fruit
Describe Spatlese:
Fully ripe grapes
Harvest 2 weeks later than Kabinett
Ripe stone fruits
Slightly higher alc and body (min. 7%)
Dry to med-sweet
Describe Auslese:
Extra ripe grapes
Riper, concentrated flavors
Honey character; some grapes may have botrytis
Dry to sweet
Min 7% ABV
Describe Beerenauslese:
Individually selected berries
Min 5.5% ABV
Often botrytized
Very ripe and dried stone fruit
Yields very low, very labor intensive
Describe Eiswein:
Grapes picked when frozen (below -7*C)
Healthy grapes only
Risk of losing grapes while freezing - cover in plastic sheeting
Pressed when frozen
High acidity
Min. 5.5% ABV
Concentrated peach and grapefruit
Describe Trockenbeerenauslese:
Must use only botrytis grapes
Min 5.5% ABV
High acidity
Extremely low yields/production - most expensive wines in Germany
Sweetness scale in Germany:
Trocken - max 4g/L, or up to 9g/L when sugar does not exceed acidity by more than 2g/L
Halbtrocken - 4-12g/L, or up to 18g/L “”” than 10g/L
Lieblich - 12-45g/L
Suss - more than 45g/L
Geographic Labeling Tiers:
Bereiche (districts)
Grosslagen (collective vineyard sites - 167)
Einzellagen (single vineyards - 2658)
Grosslage/Einzellagen only used for Qual/Prad
Labels name “District - Vineyard”
Describe Liebfraumilch:
Medium-dry white Qualitatswein
Min. 18g/L
At least 70% Riesling, Silvaner, Muller-Thurgau, Kerner
Rheinhessen and Pfalz produce majority
On the decline
What is the VDP?
Verband Deutscher Pradikatsweinguter
Producer group founded in 1910
Around 200 members
VDP logo (eagle w/grapes) on their wine capsules
5% of vineyard area, 3% of production
Stricter regulations - audited every 5 years
Encourages sustainability
VDP categories:
VDP Gutswein: “regional level”, 75hL/ha
VDP Ortswein: “village level”, 75hL/ha
VDP Erste Lage: “premier cru”, 60hL/ha; ripe enough for Spatlese, traditional techniques, and village + vineyard on label
VDP Grosse Lage: “grand cru”, 50hL/ha; outstanding and ageable
What is Grosses Gewachs:
Dry wines made from grapes from Grosse Lage
“GG”
Only vineyard name on label, no village
German wine law changes?
Revised in Jan 2021
Transitional period until 2025
Changes to Qualitatswein hierarchy:
- Anbaugebeit
- Region
- Ortwein - (village)
- Einzellage (single vineyard)
Regions in eastern Germany:
Saale-Unstrut
Sachsen
Small, produce Muller-Thurgau, Weissburgunder, Riesling
Describe Rheinhessen:
25% of vineyards
“warm” and dry
Riesling, Muller-Thurgau, and Dornfelder dominate
Bulk wines dominate
Weingut Keller - producer
Describe Rheinterrasse:
Stretch of steep east-facing slopes on the Rhine
Rotleigenden soil - smoky character from iron-rich red soil
Describe Pfalz:
Driest region
Riesling, Muller-Thurgau, Dornfelder, Spatburgunder, Grauburgunder, Weissburgunder
Mittelhaardt has most renowned vineyards
Dr. Burklin-Wolf - producer
Describe Baden:
Benefits from Vosges rainshadow
Warmest, sunniest, driest
Best known for reds - Spatburgunder (oaked)
Whites still 59% - Mulller leads
Co-ops lead - Badischer Winzerkeller
Describe Wurttemberg:
Light, fruity reds
68% red
Spatburgunder, Trollinger, Lemberger, Schwarzriesling
Domestic consumption
Co-op - Moglingen
Describe Mosel:
Riesling 60%
Site selection essential to ensure ripening
South facing slope over the Mosel
Dark slate soils for heat radiation
Upper Mosel, Middle Mosel, and Lower Mosel
Lower alcohol, high acid
Pronouned floral, green fruit, long ageing
Moselland - co-op that is world’s largest producer of Riesling
Describe Franken:
Most continental climate
Short growing season
Dry styles
92% white grapes - Muller + Silvaner; Spatburgunder
Horst Sauer - producer
Describe Bocksbeutel:
Flat, round bottle with a short neck
Traditional, widely used in Franken
Describe Nahe:
Mild temp
Low rainfall
Gentle slopes with deep, fertile soil
Dornfelder, Muller, Spat, Grau, Weiss
Describe Rheingau:
Small but prestigious
South-facing slopes
Fuller-bodied, riper fruit
Moderated by widest part of the Rhine
Lower yields
Riesling 78% - dry to botrytized
Spatburgunder - Hollenberg vineyard
Describe Ahr:
83% black grapes
Traditionally late harvested reds, now typical Spatburgunder
Mayschoss - oldest co-op in the world
Wine business in Germany?
Germany 4th largest consumer of wine
Cost of farming becoming unsustainable for growers
Weinkellerei (merchant houses) and co-ops common
German exports declining - 10%
USA, Netherlands, UK, Norway, Sweden
DWI - Deutsches Weininstitut - promotional body
