Germany Flashcards
Germany wine region divisions
Anbaugebiete (13 Wine regions)
Bereiche (39 districts)
Grosslage (167 collections of vineyards)
Enzellage (individual vineyard sites. 2658 in 2013)
VDP hierarchy
Grosses Lage (grand Cru)
Erste Lage (1er Cru)
Ortswein (Village wine)
Gutswein (Basic wine from basic quality vineyard)
Mosel Vineyards
North limit of 49th parallel
All face south for sun
Mosel River reflects sun to help grapes
Some of the northernmost vineyards in the world, steepest too
What is VDP
Verband Deutscher Pradikatsweinguter
German association of over 200 top producers. Emulates Grand cru model of Burgundy.
Founded in 1910
VDP logo
Eagle bearing grape cluster
German Sweetness categories
Trocken- Bone dry. less than .9% RS
Halbtrocken 1/2 dry. less than 1.8% RS
Lieblich mild up to 4.5% RS
Pfalz Grapes
Riesling
Weissburgunder (Pinot blanc)
Grauburgunder (Pinot Gris)
Spatburgunder
Focus is on dry white wine
ripening is less challenging here
Pradikatswein
Ripeness of the grapes at harvest
Trockenbeerenauslese “dry berry”
Eiswein “Ice wine”
Beerenauslese “berry” usually has botrytis
Auslese “Select” only best years, lush
Spatlese “Late” Richer more intense
Kabinett- picked at normal time, light
bottom three can be fermented dry, look at alcohol level to determine
What is Sekt?
German sparkling wine
Riesling
Weissburgunder (Pinot blanc)
Grauburgunder (Pinot Gris)
GG
Grosses Gewächs
Dry/trocken wine from top vineyard sites in VDP
Best German Soil
Slate/basalt
Absorbs sun during day/retain at night
Rheinhessen
Germany’s Largest region
Fertile farm land
Riesling
Muller Thurgau
Silvaner
Nahe to the west, Pfalz to the south, Rhine river to north east
Quality varies
Pfalz Climate/geography
One of the warmest in Germany
Haardt Mountains provide protection
geographically contiguous with Alsace
Pfalz Soil
Limestone*
loess
gravel
red sandstone
Rheingau
On north banks of Rhine River, backdrop Tanus mountains
long south facing slope
*Rhine river reflects giving extra light for photosynthesis and warmth for ripening
Grapes: Riesling and Spatburgunder
Steepest Vineyard in the world
Calmont- on mosel
60-70 degree incline
Edelfaule
German word for botrytis
German Wine law
Wein- no geographic indication
Landwein (PGI)- Regional, rarely exported
Qualitatswein (PDO)- Quality wine from 1 of 13 Anbaugebiete. This category includes top trocken wines.
Pradikatswein (PDO)- Subset of Qualitatswein, categorized by ripeness at harvest. Often, but not necessarily sweet
Germany Climate
Contental
Cool with strong moderating influences from rivers and mountain ranges
13 Anbaugebiete
Ahr
Baden*
Franken*
Hessische Bergstraße
Mittelrhein*
Mosel*
Nahe*
Phalz*
Rheingau*
Rheinhessen*
Saale-Unstrut
Sachsen
Wurttemberg
What is Rotwein?
German red wine
What is Weisswein
German White wine
What is Weissherbst?
German Rose
What is Liebfraumilch?
Typically a mass-produced, semisweet, soft white wine. Usually lower in quality
most production of muller-thurgau is used for this
“milk of our blessed lady”
What is degrees Oechsle?
German unit of measurement of sugar content of grape juice or must at harvest determined by density
When were original Anbaugebiete established, how many then vs how many now?
1971-11
1989-13
2 tributaries that feed mosel
Saar and Ruwer rivers
What latitudes do germany’s wine regions lie between?
49-51
What is the german word for vineyard?
Weinberg aka “wine hill”
German soil, what is the benefit?
Heat retaining soil and rocks: slate and Basalt
Baden leading grape
Muller Thurgau
Franken leading grape/ bottle style
Silvaner, little riesling plated here
“bocksbeutel” literally goat scrotum, squat plump flagon
Mittelrhein
“middle rhine” located where mosel flows into the rhine
Germany top grapes
Riesling
Gewurztraminer
Muller-Thurgau (riesling cross)
Spatburgunder
(other notable)
Silvaner (pretty neutral)
Scheurebe (Riesling/silvaner genetic cross)
Dornfelder (2nd most planted red)
