Germany Flashcards
What are the 4 main varietals in Germany?
Whites (70% of production):
Riesling
Silvaner
Muller-Thurgau
Reds:
Spatburgunder (Pinot Noir)
What is Germany’s stance on chaptalization?
It is both controversial and against the law in most quality levels.
What is the difference between Qualitatswein and Pradikatswein?
Qualitatswein (QbA) is a quality wine from one of 13 regions called Anbaugebiete.
Pradikatswein is a subset of Qualitaswein categorized by ripeness at harvest.
What are the levels of the Pradikate, from lowest (driest) to highest (sweetest)?
Kabinett* Spatlese* Auslese* Beerenauslese (BA) Eiswein Trockenbeerenauslese (TBA)
***May be sweet or dry
Where are most German wine regions in relation to the rest of the country?
The vast majority are on the Southwestern borders with France, Luxembourg, and Belgium.
The more northerly winemaking regions of Germany straddle the 50th parallel and are amongst the world’s coolest vineyards.
What is the German term for noble rot?
Edelfäule
What is Müller-Thurgau and how did it come to be?
A grape cross between Riesling and Madeleine Royale, it was created in an attempt to find a grape that would ripen more reliably across various vineyard sites.
What is Dornfelder?
A crossing of two German grapes - Helfensteiner and Heroldrebe - that was developed in 1956.
It is the most prominent German red crossing and is currently the country’s second most planted red grape.
What is an anbaugebiete?
How many are there?
It is German for “growing area”. There are 13 anbaugebietes in Germany.
What is sekt and how is it produced?
German sparkling wine.
It is produced using the Charmat method.
What are the German VDP classifications and their corresponding yields?
Grosse Lage: “Grand Cru” Wines (max. 50 hl/ha)
Erste Lage: “Premier Cru” Wines (max. 60 hl/ha)
Ortswein: Village Wines (max. 75 hl/ha)
Gutswein: Regional Wines (max. 75 hl/ha)
What does it mean if a German wine label says Grosses Gewächs?
Means dry, but is used instead of trochen for wines of Grosse Lage level. Maximum 9 g/L RS
When was the German VDP’s current 4-tier system implemented?
2012
How many dry wines can a Grosse Lage vineyard produce?
Only one - they can produce multiple pradikat levels however.
Describe the geographical layout of the Mosel.
Geographical features, climate, soil
It is in southwestern Germany, the westernmost of the anbaugebietes. The vineyards follow the Mosel river, hugging tightly to some of the steepest slopes in the world - the best of which have southern exposure.
The climate is a cold continental - the Mosel is on the 49th parallel.
The soil is a trademark blue slate, that both reflects sunlight and offers the vine difficulty enough to produce great wine.
Describe the path of the Mosel river.
Include tributaries, and the river it merges with
The Mosel River emerges from the Vosges Mountains in France and flows eastward into Germany, joining with its tributaries (the Saar and Ruwer) until it merges with the Rhine at Koblenz, marking the end of the Mosel Valley and the border of the Mittelrhein anbaugebiete.
Which village of the Mittelmosel is characterized by a red slate?
Erden.
What is the German name for Pinot Blanc?
Wiessburgunder
What is the German name for Pinot Gris?
Grauburguner
Describe the geographical layout of Pfalz.
Geographical features, climate, soil
It is in southwestern Germany, and is a natural continuation of Alsace, which borders it to the south. The Vosges mountains are renamed the Haardt mountains, and are somewhat lower in Germany.
The climate here is similar to Alsace, and is one of the warmest wine regions in Germany.
Soil here, again like Alsace, is widely varied, with limestone, red slate,
What was the Pfalz called until 1992?
Rheinpfalz
The Pfalz is subdivided into two regions; name them from north to south.
Mittelhaardt-Deutsche Weinstrasse
Südliche-Weinstrasse
Where is the Mittelhaardt-Deutsche?
Name its 7 most important wine villages from north to south.
It is the northernmost of the 2 subzones of the Pfalz wine region in SW Germany.
Kallstadt Ungstein Bad Dürkheim Wachenheim Forst Deidesheim Ruppertsberg
Where is the Südliche-Weinstrasse?
It is the southernmost of the 2 subzones of the Pfalz wine region in SW Germany.
What kind of grapes are grown in the Pfalz?
Riesling, and also Pinot varieties (wiessburgunder, spatburgunder, grauburgunder) and even some Sauv Blanc and Sangiovese.
In what village is Pfalz’s warmest and most exceptional vineyard site?
What is it called?
Forst
The vineyard is the Grosse Lage Kirchenstüc
What are the 4 best known estates of Pfalz’s Mittelhaardt-Deutsche?
The 3 B’s:
Bassermann-Jordan
von Buhl
Bürklin-Wolf
and
Müller-Catoir
What is Scheurebe?
An aromatic grape varietal seen mostly in Germany and Austria, often used to make sweet wines.
AKA Sämling 88
Describe the geographical layout of the Rheinghau.
Geographical features, climate, soil
It is in SW Germany, south of the Mosel and north of the Rheinhessen, essentially one long southeastern-facing slope on the northern bank of the Rhein River. The Taunus mountains lie to the north.
The climate is warmer than the Rheinhessen to tha south thanks to reflection from the Rhein river.
The soil is mostly slate at the top of the slope, moving to clay and alluvial soils closer to the bank of the Rhein.
Which anbaugebiete has the highest proportion of Riesling planted?
The Rheinghau - 80% Riesling
How are Germany’s wine regions broken down, from largest to smallest.
Anbaugebiete - a major wine region (ie Mosel)
Bereich - a district within an anbaugebiete (ie Bernkastel)
Grosslage - a collection of vineyards within a bereich (ie Badstube)
Einzellage - a single vineyard
How does Rheinghau riesling compare to that of the Mosel?
Rheinghau riesling is a more powerful style of Riesling than the Mosel. The wines are typically fuller in body and more concentrated.
Where is the village of Assmannshausen?
What is notable about it?
It is a village on the western end of the main slope of the Rheinghau.
It produces the majority of the regions red grape, spatburgunder. (Pinot Noir)
What is a Gemeinden?
A German village, or community.
Name a producer of Spatlese Riesling from the Mosel.
Dr. Loosen, Urziger Wurzgarten, Riesling Spatlese
Name a producer of Auslese Riesling from the Mosel.
Willi Schaefer, Graacher Himmelreich, Riesling Auslese
Name a producer of Trockenbeerenauslese Riesling from the Mosel.
Fritz Haag, Brauneberger Juffer-Sonnenuhr, Riesling Trockenbeerenauslese
Name a producer of Eiswein Riesling from the Mosel.
Joh. Jos. Christoffel, Urziger Wurzgarten, Riesling Eiswein
Name a dry Riesling from the Rheingau.
Kunstler, Kirchenstuck, Riesling, Grosses Gewachs
Name an off-dry Riesling from the Rheingau.
Spreitzer, Oestricher Lenchen, Riesling Spatlese “303”
From which anbaugebiete is the infamous Liebfraumilch from?
Rheinhessen
Name the 13 anbaugebietes of Germany.
Sachsen Saale-Unstrut Ahr Mittelrhein Mosel Rheingau Rheinhessen Nahe Pfalz Franken Hessische Bergstrasse Wurttemburg Baden
(Saul slapped a man - Matheson. Really, really, nasty perforations from hot water burns.)
What wine is Franken known for?
What other beverage?
Sylvaner
Beer
What is the name of the squat, flask shaped wine bottle sometimes used in Germany?
Bocksbeutel
Which anbaugebiete of Germany produces mostly red wines?
Baden
