Germany Flashcards
What are German wines with no specific designation labeled as?
Wein
Tafelwein
Deutscher Wein
What are the 4 German wine classifications?
Wein (Deutscher Wein)
Landwein
Qualitatswein
Pradikatswein
List at least 4 common white wine varietals of Germany
Riesling Sylvaner Muller-Thurgau Baccus Kerber Grauburgunder Weissburgunder Gewurztraminer
List at least 2 common red wine varietals in Germany
Spatburgunder
Trollinger
Dornfelder
Schwarzriesling
What is an Anbaugebiete? How many of them are there in Germany?
German wine region
13
What is the German term for a single vineyard?
Einzellage
What are the 6 ripeness levels of Pradikat?
Kabinett Spatlese Auslese Beerenauslese Eiswein Trockenbeerenauslese
Most common soil character found throughout Germany?
Slate
What is the term for German sparkling wine?
Sekt
13 Anbaugebiete
Mosel Pfalz Nahe Ahr Franken Rheingau Rheinhessen Saale-Unstrut Sachsen Wurtemberg Mittelrhein Baden Hessische-Bergstrasse
What does VDP stand for? What is its symbol or logo?
Verband Deutscher Pradikatweinguter
Black Eagle
List these in appropriate order from worst to best: Erste lage, Grosse Gewachs, Gutswein, Grosse Lage, Ortswein
Gutswein Ortswein Erste Lage Grosse Lage Grosse Gewachs
What is the top category of German wine that is designated by site location and not ripeness level?
QbA (Qualitatswein)
What is the german term for Pinot Noir
Spatburgunder
What is the German term for Pinot Blanc?
Weissburgunder
What is the German term for Pinot Gris?
Grauburgunder
What is the German term for a sub-region of an Anbaugebiete?
Bereiche
What is a common practice in Germany used by winemakers to raise alcohol levels after fermentation?
Chaptalization
When looking at bottles of Rheingau and Mosel wines, what’s the easiest way to decipher which is which?
Mosel - green bottles
Rheingau - brown
Nahe - blue
What is the term for a unit of measurement when determining the level of sugar in grape must?
Oschle
The most prized vineyards of Germany face what direction?
South; South-west
Which wine region of Germany is historically the most important?
Rheingau
Which wine region of Germany has the most concentrated amount of slate in its soils?
Mosel
Name 2 important producers from the Mosel
Joh Jos Prum
Dr Loosen
Egon Muller
Selbach Oster
Name 2 important producers from the Rheingau
August Kesseler
Kuhn
JB Becker
Name 1 important producer from Pfalz
Von Buhl
Pfeffingen
Burkin-Wolf
Name 1 important producer from Nahe
Donnhoff
What particular body of water is so important to the wine production of Germany?
Rhine (runs North to South)
Where are Germany’s wine regions located?
49th parallel
What are the production limitations on Grosse Lage’s?
only one dry wine may be produced
range of sweet wine from pradikat levels may be made
What does Erste Lage translate to?
first site
Major difference between QbA and QmP
QbA can be chaptalized
Major Wine Law in Germany
German Wine Law of 1971
Who was responsible for much of the vineyard developments in Germany in the Middle Ages?
the Church
Who ended the Church’s influence in German viticulture
Napoleon
What are Bacchus and Faber known for?
Their ability to ripen where Riesling cannot
Most planted grape in Germany
Formerly Muller-Thurgau; Now Riesling
Most planted red & white varieties of Germany
Riesling & Spatburgunder (Pinot Noir)
When did Pinot Noir arrive in Germany?
14th century
How are Grosses Gewachs labelled?
By initial (GG)
The full term is barred on German wine labels
How are dry wines labeled in Grosse Lage and Erste Lage?
Grosse Lage - Grosses Gewachs
Erste Lage - Trocken
Widume - Manoth
month of vintage; replaced October in the Carolingian Calendar instituted by Charlemagne
einzellagen
vineyards (single vineyard sites)
When can Sekt be labelled as Qualitatswein?
If it is produced from traditional grapes grown in one of the anbaugebiete
What setback actually led to better wines in Germany?
The demand for more food stuffs led to pushing grapevines to the otherwise unworkable slopes
What quality level is many of the GG released as?
Qualitatswein
Einzellage
single vineyard
Edelfaule
Noble rot
How many wineries are in the VDP?
200
What is the logo for the VDP?
Black Eagle
6 degrees of ripeness or must weight
Kabinett Spatlese Auslese Beerenauslese Eiswein Trockenbeerenauslese
What practice that is common in German wine may not be done at the Pradikatswein level?
Chaptalization
Why may wines be declassified to a lower pradikat?
during warm vintages
Why are the minimums a range in pradikats?
Each anbaugebiete has its own minimum
What does Germany use to decide quality?
must weight
Which is the higher tier – Pradikatswein or Qualitatswein?
Pradikatswein
How much of the stated variety must be present to be varietally labeled in Germany?
85%
What is different about Burklin-Wolf labelling
Labels its Grosse Lage wines GC for Grand Cru instead of GG
What did Germany’s VDP base its tiers on?
Burgundy
Can a site be recognized under VDP & German Wine Law?
Yes, but VDP is more restrictive and thus not all land from 1971 may be included
When was the “discovery” of Spatlese harvesting?
1775
Weinkellerei
Wine cellar or winery
Unfermented grape must
Sussreserve - literally meaning sweet reserve
Major grape varieties of Germany
Riesling
Sylvaner
Muller-Thurgau
Spatburgunder (Pinot Noir)
How many regions in Germany?
13
German for Regions
Anbaugebiete
What are the 13 Anbaugebiete
Ahr, Baden, Franken, Hessische Bergstrasse, Mittelrhein, Mosel, Nahe, Pfalz, Rheinessen, Rheingau, Saale-Unstrut, Sachsen, Wurthemberg
German equivalent to vin de pays
Deutscher Landwein
Climate of Germany
cool continental
moderated by various rivers
Zentralkellerei
a central cooperative that gets its wine or must from small cellars in the areas and blends, produces, and bottles the wine
Winzergenassenschaft
Co-op
Winzer
Wine Grower
Weissherbst
Rose from a single variety of red grape
Weinsaure
Tartaric acid
Weinberg
German for vineyard
Vorlese
A pre-harvest before the main harvest to eliminate rotten or defective bunches
Trocken
dry; generally 4 g/L or less but residual sugar but can be up to 9g/L if total acidity is within 2 g/L of total residual sugar
Ton
Clay
Spritzig
German term for the taste sensation of a wine which contains just enough CO2 to be apparent on the tongue as a prickly sensation (but not enough to be obviously sparkling)
Effervescence
Steillage
Literally : steep site
A vineyard with an inclination of more than 30%
Spontangarung
German tasting term for wines made by spontaneous fermentation versus wines inoculated by cultured yeasts. The former has an earthiness versus the cleaner fruit-forward smells of selected yeasts
Sonnenuhr
A sundial often very large on steep vineyard sites
Scholter
Gravel
Badisch Rotgold
A rotling from the Baden region. Made from Grauburgunder (min 51%) and Spatburgunder. Composition must be declared on the label.
How does Chaptalization differ from Anreicherung?
Chaptelization means addition of sugar only
Enrichment also includes the addition of grape must, concentrated grape must, and RCGM (Rectified Concentrated Grape Must)
Anreicherung
Broad term for sweetening must before or during fermentation
What is the AP #?
What all does it include?
Amtliche Prufungsnummer
Exam Board number, commune number, producers registered number, an application number, and the year of the application
Some use the application number as a sequential indication of sweetness
Amtliche Prufungsnummer
commonly referred to as the AP#; a quality control number on all QbA and QmP wines
Alte Reben
Old vines
Alleinbesitz
A vineyard which is owned by only one owner
similar to a monopole in France
Absetzen
The process settling of solids (dead yeast cells, leftover grape skin fragments, etc.) to the bottom of a vat of wine or must
What two ways are German wines of quality labeled?
dry - Grosses Gewachs (GG)
sweet - by pradikat
Gutswein maximum yield
75 hl/ha
Ortswein maximum yield
75 hl/ha
Erste Lage maximum yield
60 hl/ha
Grosse Lage maximum yield
50 hl/ha
VDP Classification Levels
Grosse Lage - Grand Cru wines
Erste Lage - Premier Cru wines
Ortswein - Village wines
Gutswein - Regional wines
What created the VDP?
2002 VDP accord
How does the VDP accomplish its goal?
It counts nearly 200 of Germany’s finest estates as members and promotes their wines through an extralegal, tiered hierarchy, and more restrictive classification of einzellagen than the government provides
What is VDP’s ideology?
core belief in the quality and tradition of dry wines & an emphasis on terroir and vineyard site as a measure of quality
What does Charta represent?
First attempt by producers to validate dry wines within a system that only rewards sugar
Charta’s symbol
3 Roman arches - styled from the balcony of Graue Haus in Winkel
Charta
Founded in 1984, it was formed to promote the classic, dry style of Rheingau Riesling
Former name/purpose of VDP
Verband Deutscher Naturweinvesteigerer
originally strove to promote unchaptalized natur wines (principally through wine auctions)
VDP
Verband Deutscher Pradikatsweinguter
national German association of producers committed to quality
Lieblich
medium-sweet
Eiswein minimum Ochsle
110-128 degrees
Trockenbeerenauslese minimum Ochsle
150-154 degrees
Beerenauslese minimum Ochsle
110-128 degrees
Auslese minimum Ochsle
88-105 degrees
Spatlese minimum Ochsle
80-95 degrees
Abfuller
bottler or shipper who assumes the responsibility for the origin & quality of a wine
Grosser Ring
Mosel growers association