Germany Flashcards
1
Q
Baden geography and climate
A
- Southern region on Rhein’s east bank
- Varying mesoclimates, elevations and soils play a significant roll in this long and big region
- Warm and dry climate
- Prestigious areas
- Ortenau, S. Of Baden-Baden
- Kaiserstuhl district—Pinot planted on steep volcanic slopes near Rhein
2
Q
Baden Soils
A
volcanic
3
Q
Baden Grapes
A
- Pinot country: Spatburgunder (mainly), Grauburgunder, Weissburgunder
- Riesling at 10%, grown on the cooler sites
4
Q
Baden Market
A
- 70% sold to co-ops
5
Q
Pfalz Market
A
- Important for both quality and quantity
- Once known for cheap and cheerful wines a la Rheinhessen, huge uptick in quality
- vineyard restructuring and investment (Flurbereinigung) from 1980s
- These vines are now maturing
- Experimentation and innovation encouraged
- Vineyard work taking priority—meticulous growers
- Young vintners and family run wineries are driving quality
- vineyard restructuring and investment (Flurbereinigung) from 1980s
- Once known for cheap and cheerful wines a la Rheinhessen, huge uptick in quality
6
Q
Pfalz producers
A
- Basserman-Jordan and Von Winning in the North
7
Q
Pfalz geography and climate
A
- South of Rheinhessen
- Well protected from wind and rain by mountain range—northern extension of Vosges
- Warm—>fuller bodied white wines
- Varying elevations account for differences in wine
- Noted villages North to South
- Bad Durkheim
- Forster Pechstein
- Deidesheim
- Ruppertsberg
8
Q
Pfalz soils
A
- Variety of soils lead to characterful rieslings
- Limestone
- Sandstone
- Basalt
9
Q
Pfalz viticulture
A
- History of high yields and mechanical harvesting
10
Q
Pfalz grapes
A
- History of crosses MT
- Riesling dominates in prestigious Mittelhaardt
- Reds of dornfelder and PN account for 33%
11
Q
Nahe Geo and clime
A
- 4k ha of vineyards on either side of the river Nahe
- West of Rhein, south of Mosel
- Warmer than Mosel, protected by mountain range
- Warmer as you move downstream
- From west to east: Schonleber, Donnhoff, Schafer-Frolich
12
Q
Nahe soil
A
- Complexity of soil
* Oberhauser-Brucke, tiny Donnhoff monopole, has sandstone, porphyry and slate
13
Q
Nahe Grapes
A
- MT and sylvaner grown on sandy loams
14
Q
Nahe market
A
- Historically fruit blended into anonymous Rhine blends—>not much acclaim before mid-20th century
15
Q
Rheinhessen Geography and climate
A
- Largest Anbaugebeite and region by land under vine
- Roter Hang in NE historical area for quality
- Nierstein and Openheim here
- Protected from wind and rain in West by hills
- Roter Hang in NE historical area for quality
16
Q
Rheinhessen Soil
A
- Red soils in Roter Hang, Nierstein and Openheim in NE
* Limestone soils in SW around Florsheim-Dalsheim
17
Q
Rheinhessen Grapes
A
- No dominant variety
- MT still about 1/5 of vineyard plantings for bulk wine
- Dornfelder cross also often planted
18
Q
Rheinhessen Market
A
- Quality rising in some parts but historically known for inexpensive
- Still struggling to lift itself out of low-quality label
- Tide is turning, Keller brings international fame
19
Q
Germany viticulture
A
- mechanization nearly impossible
* Steep slopes
* Selective harvests- recent trend to find ways to lower cost by mechanizing
- Individual post training giving way to wires in rows with wider spacing
- Yields historically high
- Selective picking became common because such variability of ripeness even within a bunch is common
- Organics not very common, disease pressure from lots of rain
- recent trend to find ways to lower cost by mechanizing
- smallness of holdings, 30% of all wine goes to coops
20
Q
Germany winemaking
A
- Minimal intervention and traditional methods are significant
* Soft pressing or basket presses used
* Gravitational settling
* Spontaneous fermentations- Some lees aging
- Dry wine dominating market since the 1980s
- Arresting fermentations at low temps used much more than sussreserve for off-dry wine
- Sulfur additions and sterile bottling to ensure refermentations do not occur
21
Q
Germany Grapes
A
- 1971 Wine Law disadvantages riesling as achieving minimum must weights was faster and more reliable with some of the early ripening German crosses, MT
- Riesling is 23% of German vines
- Muller-Thurgau 13%
- Spatburgunder 12%, climate change increasing plantings
22
Q
Rheingau geography and climate
A
- North bank of Rhein, south facing vineyards
- Protected in North by mountains—>rain shadow
- Warm enough that the higher elevation, breezier sites are favored
- Lower and closer to river, potential alcohols can get too high and rot can occur
- at Assmannshausen Rhein runs N-S, no suitable South facing vienyards
- Rudesheim-westernmost south facing vineyards in
- Schloss Johannisberg vineyard
23
Q
Rheingau grapes
A
- Riesling is king, havent been invaded by crosses as much as Rheinhessen and Pfalz
24
Q
Rheingau viticulture
A
- Early adopter of lowering yields and Erstes Gewachs for classifying top sites
- History of estates having small holdings in vineyards throughout the region—scattering presents a huge challenge
- Small window to pick and many tries
- Smaller labor pool
- Estates with vineyard proximity have huge advantage
- History of estates having small holdings in vineyards throughout the region—scattering presents a huge challenge
25
Q
Rheingau soils
A
- stony slate and quartzite in the west
- Loess, sand and marl in central around Erbach
- Calcareous in east around Hochheim, distinct for heavier style, mineral complexity
26
Q
Rheingau history
A
- Historically the highest quality German Rieslings
* consistently only produced dry
27
Q
Rheingau market and trade
A
- Proximity to urban centers like Frankfurt helped establish early reputation
- Lots of domestic competition
- Baden-warmer and fashionable
- Rheinhessen
- Nahe—exciting place for delicate rieslings with synergy of fruit, acid and RS
- Lots of domestic competition
28
Q
Rheingau producers
A
- Kloster Eberbach is powerful state-owned estate with long history and large holdings
- Schloss Johannisberg
- Historical estate which played an important role in the discovery of Botrytized wines
- Johannisberg riesling synonym for German Riesling
- Schloss Johannisberg
29
Q
Mosel - Lower Mosel
A
- North of Mittelmosel
* Growers for centuries, gaining new reputation only recently
* at a commercial disadvantage
* Small holdings
* Very steep
* Isolated
* More in common with Mittelrhein
* Known as Terrassenmosel
* Devonian (blue) slate, red slate and quartzite meet notably at Winningen,
* high levels of ripeness
* Uhlen vineyard
30
Q
Mosel - Mittelmosel
A
- most Einzellagen with outstanding potential in Mosel
* Piesporter-Goldtropchen—south facing amphitheater
* Grosslage name Piesporter-Michelsberg brings down reputation of this top quality site
* Graacher-Himmelreich
* Bernkasteler-Doktor—signature black cherry note
31
Q
Mosel - Saar
A
- cooler than Middle Mosel
* higher in elevation
* Smaller river
* Tributaries of Mosel
* Egon Muller at Wiltingener-Scharzhofberg
32
Q
Mosel viticulture
A
- So steep, 3x man hours than flat lands or gentle slopes
- Devonian slate soil
- Mechanization impossible because of selective harvests and steep slopes
- bottle prices just barely cover labor intensive work
33
Q
Mosel grapes
A
- Riesling dominates, 60% of all vines
* Mosel has signature fruity tasting tartaric acid which balances RS nicely
* vague taste of wet stones- MT grown on less steep slopes or where there isn’t slate
- Elbling in Upper Mosel west of Saar
34
Q
Mosel market and trade
A
- Moselland co-op producers 20% of region’s output
- Over-production and price warfare, along with catchall geographical designations as debased the standing of Mosel riesling
35
Q
Muller-Thurgau
A
- Cross between riesling and Madeleine Royale created in Switzerland in the 19th century
- German plantings on the decline
- Early ripening, easy to work with in extreme German climate
- Planted on the flatter and less slate-y parts of Mosel
- Susceptible to rot, thin skinned
- Peachy aromas with a flabby mid-palate
- Embraced by German wine industry after WWII to rebuild industry rapidly
- Often used with a great deal of Sussreserve
- Main component of Liebfraumilch
- Grown in Hungary, Austria, Switzerland and most successfully Alto Adige
- High elevation, steep, stony slopes are best
36
Q
Silvaner
A
- Early ripening and vigorous originating from Austria
- Full-bodied, firm, high acidity and aromatically discreet
- Best on clay-limestone soil
- Best examples come from Franken, but also does well in Rheinhessen
- Also grown in Alto Adige, Alsace
37
Q
Franken
A
- Silvaner is flagship grape—age worthy and mineral complex wines
- Riesling and Pinot Noir do well here too
- Up and coming region, vine area has trebled in the last 50 years
- Harsh autumns and spring frosts make yields very variable here
- Clay-limestone soils
- Mostly known for the distinctive bottle it comes in and high prices
- Most wine consumed within Franken itself
38
Q
Grosses Gewächs
A
- Dry wine from VDP designated superior vineyards (Grosse Lagen)
- Only one wine per vineyard
- From traditional grapes
- Hand harvesting
- Must weights at Spatlese level
- Subject to sensory review
- VDP attempt to create a recognizable full-bodied trocken wine
- GG embossed on label
- A la Burgundy Grand Cru, no village name on label, only named vineyard
39
Q
VDP self-imposed regulations for higher quality
A
- Members must have holdings in top vineyard sites
- Lower yields than required by German Wine Law
- Higher must weights than required by GWL
- 80% of plantings should be traditional varieties
- Sound environmental methods
- Regular VDP inspections
40
Q
VDP
A
- Most influential and prestigious German growers’ association
- Started in 2012 to introduce new regulations and classification system with the intent on highlighting renowned vineyard sites
- Estates from all 13 wine-growing regions (Anbaugebeite)
- 3.5% of total vineyard area, but a huge proportion of Germany’s finest wines
- Uncompromising rules for high quality, self-imposed regulation
41
Q
Grosslagen
A
- Collection of vineyards near a famous town intended to deceive consumers
- Piesporter Michelsberg refers to a range of undistinguished sites, not necessarily the top vineyards right around Piesport
- Labeling on the decline
42
Q
Einzellagen
A
- Literally individual site
- Almost all of Germany’s vineyards are officially registered as one of approx. 2600 Einzellagen
- Typically about 38 ha, range from 1 to 200 ha
- Vines divided among many different growers
- Town (with -er) + vineyard name for labeling
43
Q
Deutscher Wein/Landwein/Tafelwein
A
- Wine that does not qualify for qualitatswein
* Not from one of the 13 Anbaugebeite
* Not have high enough ripeness/must weight levels- Less than 5% of all German wine
44
Q
Qualitatswein (QbA)
A
- Lowest level of German quality wine
* Higher ripeness than Deutscher wein
* From one of 13 Anbaugebeite- Dry to semi-sweet
- Label must state region and style
- Must be analyzed and tasted to earn AP number
- Failure rate extremely low—90% of wine submitted qualifies
- Chaptalization allowed
- Majority of German wine
- Bulk wine can sneak into this category because very high limit on yields
45
Q
Pradikatswein
A
- Made from riper grapes than QbA,
* Level determined through must weights in
* From a single Bereich within one of the 13 Anbaugebeite- Dry to intensely sweet
- Kabinett, Spatlese, Auslese, Beerenauslese, Trockenbeerenauslese, Eiswein
- Volume of each produced varies dramatically with the weather
- Chaptalization not allowed but sussreserve permitted
- Doesn’t encourage real quality and harmony
- Must weights only, no limits to yields
46
Q
AP Number
A
- On every btl of German QbA wine
- Signifies wine has passed official testing procedure of analysis and blind tasting
- Numbers indicate
- Region of test
- location of vineyard
- producer
- Lot identity, distinguishes otherwise identical wines
- Testing year
