Germany General/History Flashcards
Who introduced vitis vinifera to the Germans and when?
The Romans
Near the end of the 3rd century, Emperor Probus overturned Domitian’s 92 CE ban on new vineyard plantings, and viticulture followed the Romans into provinces north of the Alps.
Who owned the largest vineyard holdings during the Middle Ages in Germany?
Cistercians of Burgundy founded the famous Kloster Eberbach monastery in the Rheingau in 1136, where they amassed the largest vineyard holdings in Europe by the end of the Middle Ages (476 AD-1500), with over 700 acres of vines.
Who ended the Church’s influence over viticulture in Germany?
Napoleon after defeating Germany (aka) Holy Roman Empire. Secularized in 1803. As in Burgundy, the Napoleonic Code led to fractured ownership and a gradual, significant splintering of vineyards.
With reorganization and registration mandated from the German Wine Law of 1971, what was the drop in Einzellagen?
From over 30,000 to 2,700. Viewed, in retrospect, as the most damaging aspect of the 1971 wine law.
Define Ortsteil “ORT-sty-yul”. Give two examples.
Ortsteil: a historic part of a vineyard or a clos (such as the walled Steinberg vineyard within Hattenheim, or Schloss Vollrads in the Rheingau.)
A German term referring to an area that’s part of a larger community (as a suburb is of a city), yet is independent of that larger community. For example, the village of ERBACH is an Ortsteil of Eltville. Esteemed vineyards like Schloss Johannisberg and Steinberg are classified as Ortsteil; therefore, unlike other vineyards, they aren’t required to put the name of their village (the larger community) on bottle labels. For example, wines from the Steinberg vineyard, which is part of HATTENHEIM, are labeled simply “Steinberg,” whereas wines from the neighboring Schützenhaus vineyard are labeled “Hattenheimer Schützenhaus.”
What is the minimum size of an einzellagen in Germany? What are the exceptions?
Minimum five hectares.
The Doctor vineyard in Bernkastel in the Mosel
The Kirchenstück and Freundstück vineyards in Forst in the Pfalz
The Schloss Vollrads ortsteil vineyard in Rheingau
Who made the first Eiswein in Germany? When?
Schloss Johannisberg in 1858
Who “discovered” Spätlese? When?
1775, when harvesters at Schloss Johannisberg in the Rheingau found that, despite their appearance, grapes afflicted with edelfäule (noble rot) made pretty good wine.
What is Hock?
Term for the best wine produced along the Middle Rhine in the 19th century, often sold at prices above even first growth Bordeaux. “Hock” expanded to become a generic term for all German wines.
Name five rivers in Germany where wine is grown
Mosel, Rhine, Main, Nahe, and Elbe
What is Liebfraumilch? (“LEEB-frow-milch”)
Which regions can it be blended from? (4)
Sweet, cheap, characterless beverage, usually produced from Müller-Thurgau, Liebfraumilch cannot carry a grape name on the label, and it may be blended from vineyards throughout Rheinhessen, Nahe, Rheingau, and the Pfalz—not a recipe for typicity or complexity. It was a resounding commercial success, but almost singlehandedly destroyed the image of German wine internationally. It became the face of German wine to the outside world—in the 1980s, over 60% of all German vinous exports had Liebfraumilch printed on the label.
The Liebfrauenstift-Kirchstück (Our Lady’s Cloister) in Worms from which the name Liebfraumilch was derived continues to be a source of good Riesling.
What are two major viticultural concerns in Germany?
Reliability of ripening and susceptibility to frost.
What is the second most planted red grape in Germany?
Dornfelder, it is also the most prominent German red crossing.
What are Germany’s 13 anbaugebiete?
Ahr Baden Franken Hessische Bergstraße ("HES-zhig-zig-BERG STRA-zeh") Mittelrhein Mosel Nahe Pfalz Rheingau Rheinhessen Saale-Unstrut ("SAH-lay UN-stroot") Sachsen Württemberg
What was Moselle?
By the end of the 1800s, fruity and crisp white wines from the Mosel River region evolved as a category distinct from generic Hock.
What is Flurbereinigung? “FLUR-bur-RHINE-in-GUNG”
Refers to wholesale restructuring to which most of Germany’s vineyards have been subjected since the 1950s, involving improved accessibility, grading, consolidation of growers’ highly fragmented holdings, and of course replanting.
PROS- Consolidated parcels of land previously divided, inaccessible vineyards could employ machines and increase production.
CONS-Eliminated many of the centuries old terraces critical to winegrowing on some of Germany’s most vertical slopes and leveled uneven vineyards with construction waste. Also allowed Muller-Thurgau to become the dominant grape variety.
What is Süssreserve? How is it different from chaptalization?
“Sweet reserve” sterilized fresh (unfermented) grape must. Different from chaptalization, as chaptalization is adding sugar to unfermented grape must used to raise the potential alcohol of a wine before fermentation, while Süssreserve is added after fermentation.
What is Grosses Gewächs? When was it established? Yield? Must weight equivalent? Aging white and red? Other requirements?
“Great Growth”; A prestige wine category devised by Germany’s VDP since 2002, Grosses Gewächs wine is a dry wine from a Grosse Lage vineyard, identified by the appearance of the trademarked acronym “GG” on the label (terminology is not recognized by German wine law).
- Grape variety is restricted
- Max. yield 50 hl/ha
- Wines are produced according to traditional methods
- Vineyards, cellars, and wines are subject to strict inspections
- Minimum must weight equivalent to Spätlese
- Selective hand harvesting
- Wines are aged prior to release: Whites released after -September 1st in the year following the vintage. Red category requires an additional year of aging and at least 12 months in wood.
What is Scheurebe?
Riesling x Bukettrebe “boo-KET-ray-ba” (a silvaner x schiava grossa crossing)
What wine categories are below QbA and Prädikatswein?
What particular style is made in one of these categories?
Landwein=PGI category; must originate in one of 26 broad regions and must be trocken or halbtrocken in style
Deutscher Wein=Wines without geographic indication; must be 100% German in origin, or a statement must be included on the label naming the countries that contribute to the blend. Deutscher Wein may state variety on the label.
-Most Sekt, or German sparkling wine is made at this level of quality and is produced by the Charmat Method. Sekt may be labeled as QbA if it is produced from traditional grapes grown in one of the thirteen anbaugebiete of Germany.
What was the Charta symbol?
icon of three Roman arches—styled from the balcony of Graue Haus, in Winkel
What do terms Classic and Selection indicate?
These are legal terms defined by the state-affiliated German Wine Institute at Mainz
Classic-intended to replace halbtrocken; Single varietal wines considered “harmoniously dry” with a max residual sugar content of 15 g/l. Must omit any mention of a vineyard on the label. Min alcohol content of 12% (11.5% in Mosel)
Selection wines-intended to replace trocken; Are single vineyard wines from a single varietal considered “superior dry” with a maximum rs content of 9 g/l (12 g/l for Riesling) Yields are restricted to 60 hl/ha. Must weight for Selection wines must be equivalent to Auslese and vineyards are hand-harvested. May not be released till September 1 of the year following harvest.
What is a gemeinden?
Village
a commune or village. Gemeinde (appended with an er, which converts it to an adjective) precedes that of the grosslage or einzellage. For example, the Einzellage named Mäuerchen associated with the village named Geisenheim appears on the label as “Geisenheimer Mäuerchen”
What is an anbaugebiete?
Region
What year was Charta formed and what year did it assimilate into the Rheingau branch of VDP?
1984 and 1999