Germany, Austria and Eastern Europe Flashcards
Name three interesting facts about Germany.
- Its northmost wine regions are well above the 50th parallel.
- It is among the world’s largest importers of wine.
- It is among the top 10 exporters of wine.
Name three moderating geographical features in Germany.
1) Lake Constance
2) Mosel River
3) Rhine River
In which 3 states are most are most of Germany’s grapes grown?
1) Baden-Wurttemberg
2) Hesse
3) Rhineland-Palatinate
Name 2 ways the rivers in Germany moderate the climate.
1) Flowing water slows the change in temperature
2) River reflects sunlight back onto the vines
Describe the soils in Germany’s top vineyard sites.
Blue or red slate-based soils that absorb solar heat during the day and radiate it back at night.
What is the top white grape in Germany and what four others are popular?
a) Riesling
b) Grauburgunder, Weissburgunder, Muller-Thurgau, Silvaner
Muller-Thurgau is a cross between ____________ x _________________.
a) Riesling
b) Madeleine Royale
What is another name for Grauburgunder?
Rulander or Pinot Gris
Kerner is a cross between ________________ x __________________.
a) Riesling
b) Schiava Grossa
What is the top red grape in Germany and what four others are popular?
a) Spatburgunder
b) Dornfelder, Blauer Portugieser, Trollinger, Blaufrankisch, St. Laurent
What are the three broad categories of wine in Germany?
1) Wein (formerly Tafelwein)
2) PGI or ggA (geschutzte geographische Angabe, formly Landwein)
3) PDO or gU (geschutzte Ursprungsbezeichnung
What are the requirements of the Wein, ggA and gU categories?
a) very few - Deutscher Wein must be 100% German in origin
b) 85% of grapes must be from 26 Landwein regions
c) must be from one of 13 Anbaugebietes, 100% of grapes must be from place-name on the label
Into what two categories are gU wines divided and what is the key distinction between them?
1) Qualitatswein
2) Pradikatswein
3) Chaptalization is NOT permitted in the Pradikatswein.
What are the six levels of the Pradikat system, from least to most ripe?
1) Kabinett - light bodied
2) Spatlese - late harvest
3) Auslese - select harvest
4) Beerenauslese - selected berries, may be botrytized
5) Eiswein - frozen on the vine
6) Trockenbeerenauslese - selected dried berries
Kabinett grapes may range from ___________ to ___________ Oechsle.
a) 70
b) 85
Anbaugebietes are further divided into which geographical areas, from largest to smallest?
a) Bereiche - region or district
b) Grosslagen - grouping of vineyards
c) Einzellagen - single vineyard
How many Anbaugebietes, Bereiches, Grosslagens and Einzellagens are there currently?
a) 13
b) 40
c) 160
d) 2700+
Name two new PDOs in Germany meant to mimic the appellation system in France and focus more on terroir?
1) Monzinger Niederberg
2) Uhlen Blaufusser Lay
What two villages does the vineyard of Sonnenuhr stretch across?
1) Wehlen
2) Zeltingen
What is the German term for estate-bottled?
Gutsabfullung
What is the German term for producer bottled?
Erzeugerabfullung
What does Abfuller mean on a German wine label?
wine produced at a commercial winery that buys grapes from other sources
What is the Amtliche Prufungsnummber number on a German wine label?
identifies the testing center where the wine was governmentally approved as well as the village of origin and winery of origin
What does VDP stand for and what is it?
a) Verband Deutscher Pradikatsweingutter
b) an organization of top producers committed to terroir
What are the 13 Anbaugebietes of Germany?
1) Ahr
2) Mosel
3) Rheingau
4) Mittelrhein
5) Rheinhessen
6) Pfalz
7) Baden
8) Wurttemberg
9) Sachsen
10) Franken
11) Hessische Berstrasse
12) Nahe
13) Saale-Unstrut
VDP divides wines into which 4 categories from greatest to least quality?
1) Grosse Lage (or Grosse Gewachs, for Trocken)
2) Ernst Lage
3) Orstwein
4) Gutswein
What is “sussreserve” and how does it differ from chaptalization?
a) unfermented grape juice
b) it’s used to increase the sweetness in the finished wine, whereas Chaptalization increased the alcohol in the finished wine
What is the Riesling Taste Profile?
A voluntary diagram producers can add to their labels to indicated the dryness or sweetness of the wine.
How much residual sugar do the following terms indicate?
1) trocken
2) halbtrocken
3) feinherb
4) lieblich, halbsuss
5) suss
1) up to 9 g/l
2) 9-18 g/l
3) same as halbtrocken
4) 18 g/l - 45 g/l
5) more than 45 g/l
What is the labeling term for rose in Germany?
Weissherbst
What are the three dessert wines Germany is known for and what is their Oechsle range?
1) Beerenauslese - 110 - 125
2) Eiswein - 110 - 125
3) Trockenbeerenauslese - 150 - 154
What is the ideal temperature for harvesting Eiswein?
18 degrees F
What is the difference between Schaumwein and Sekt?
Schaumwein (foam wine) is simple, fruity sparking wine made by carbonation method; Sekt is made in tank or sometimes traditional method.
Which tributaries are important in the Mosel?
Saar and Ruwer
Describe the topography of the Mosel?
Very winding rivers, steep banks
Where are the top sites in the Mosel located?
On the north banks (facing south) of the Mosel River.
How many Bereiches and Einzellagens are located in the Mosel?
6 and over 500 - more than any other region.
Bernkastel is a _______________ in ______________________.
a) Bereiche
b) Mosel
Which region in Germany produces just 2% of the countries wine but has a reputation equal to Mosel?
Rheingau
What is the leading grape in the Mosel?
Riesling
What soils are found in the Rheingau?
Red slate
What is the only Bereich in the Rheingau?
Johannisberg
How much production is Riesling in the Nahe?
25%
What is Germany’s leader in both acres under vine and overall wine production?
Rheinhessen
What are the top three grapes in the Rheinhessen?
1) Riesling
2) Muller-Thurgau
3) Dornfelder
Where does the name Pfalz come from?
The Latin word “palatium” meaning palace.
What kind of wine is Pfalz mainly known for?
Simple inexpensive wines.
What is the eastmost wine region in the former West Germany?
Franken
What are the squat green or brown bottles used in Franken called?
Bocksbeutel
What does Hessische Bergstrasse mean?
Hessian Mountain Road
What grapes are grown in Wurtemberg?
Mostly red–Trollinger, Schwarzriesling and Lemberger
Which large wine growing region is comprised of two large disconnect segment and three small satellite areas?
Baden
What is the warmest winegrowing region in Germany?
Baden, specifically the Bereich of Kaiserstuhl
What is the leading grape in Baden?
Spatburgunder
What two former East German regions are the north and eastmost wine regions in Germany respectively, and produce very little wine?
Saschen and Saale-Unstrut
What is the Mittelrhein?
A small region down river from the Rheingau, dotted with small, terraced vineyards planted to Riesling.
Describe the wines of the Ahr?
Relatively high-tannic reds, specifically Spatburgunder, Portugieser and Dornfelder
What soils allow the northern region of the Ahr to retain heat?
Dark slate and greywacke (sandstone)
What two historical factors halted the wine industry in Eastern Europe for many years?
1) World War II
2) Soviet occupation