Germany L4.D3 Flashcards
Did the 1830s saw the introduction of new wine laws, based on must weight of grapes?
Yes
What effect had 2 World Wards on Germany’s wine business?
Both wars had a devastating effect on Germany’s ecocnomy and its exports. High volumes of inexpensive branded wines started to be produced.
What is Flurbereinigung?
A program of vineyard restructuring, that involved the consolidation of many small, fragmented vineyards and the building of access roads, both aimed at increasing efficiency, making machanisation easier and so reducing the costs of viticulture. Without this, many vineyards would have become economically unviable.
What would have happened if Germany didn’t start the Flurbereinigungsprogram?
Many vineyards would have become economically unviable.
What is Germany’s overall main climate?
Cool continental climate
What is the location of German vineyards in latitudes?
The wine producing regions lie aroung 49-50N.
Why is site selection in Germany crutial for grape ripeness.
Regions might otherwise be too cold if not chosen for the right vineyard site, and grapes aren’t able to ripen fully.
What vital role does the Rivers play in Germany?
They radiate the heat; moderate temperatures and extending therefor the growing season, making many regions viable for grape growing and grape ripeness.
Alongside what are most of Germany’s vineyards situated?
Most are situated along the river Rhine and its tributaries.
What are often the best vineyard sites found in Germany?
The best sites are often on steep, southfacing slopes for a max. sun exposure. Some of them are extremely steep up to a gradient of 70%.
What are the main viticultural risks, vineyards in Germany face?
- In spring the risk of major frosts, but can/wil be mitigated by the rivers and planting on slopes.
- Warm, wet summers eventhough there is just 500-800mm of rain (not much) it falls mainly during growing season, increasing risk of fungal disease, dilution.
- Heavy (hail) storms
What important role do the German mountain ranges Taunus & Haardt play?
They shelter the vineyards from cold winds and the worst of the rain.
Why is vintage variation in Germany reducing?
Due to climate change and global warming but also du to significant advances in vineyard management techniques.
Why are vineyards not planted higher up the hills at higher latitudes in winegrowing regions?
Because the temperatures get colder and in terms of higher latitudes its not an advantages, when you are closer to the equator it can truly make a difference in ripe /over-ripeness, but in higher latitudes it can make grapes struggle to ripen fully. Mainly the vines are not planted above 200m above sealevel.
Why do the soils play an important role in grape ripening?
They play an important role in fruit ripening in the coolest regions. The dark-coloured slate (Mosel/Ahr), retains the heat and radiates it out at night.
What soiltype is mainly found in the Mosel / Ahr?
Dark-coloured slate
What soiltype is mainly found in Baden, Pfalz, Rheinhessen & Franken?
There are significant pockets of calcareous soils, good for planing Pinot Noir/Blanc and Chardonnay.
What soiltype is preferred by Grauburgunder?
Heavy clayey soils
Is erosion a problem in Mosel/Rehingau? And what do they do about this?
Yes, vineyard owners are regularly forced to winch soil and rocks back up the slopes adding to costs of vineyard maintenance.
Why is good canopy management in Germany so important?
It is essential to maximise sun exposure on the grapes and also to improve air circulation in order to reduce the risk of disease in wet summers.
How large is Germany’s vineyard size since 2018?
100,000 ha, being the 7th largest country with area under vine.
What is Germany’s average annual production?
9 million hL
How has fruit ripeness improved in Germany? (!)
Due to better clonal selection, summer pruning, green harvesting and selective hand harvesting.
How are the vines on slopes traditionally trained, and now seen way less?
On the slopes vines were staked individually with canes tied at the top.
What is the average maximum yields for Deutscher Wein and Landwein?
150 hl/ha
What is the average maximum yield for Qualitätswein
105 hl/ha
What do most of the steepest vineyards use for trellissing?
Nowadays they use single and double replacement-cane pruning and VSP trellising and Pendelbogen.
Explain what “Pendelbogen” is.
It is replacement-cane pruning with the canes arched in the trellis. The arching of the canes is thought to improve the flow of sap in the vine and increase the number of viable buds, in turn increasing yields.
How common is organic viticulture in Germany?
Around 9% of German vineyards are certified organic.
Why is the topography of many German vineyards challenging in terms of Viticulture?
Steeper slopes, vineyards are terraced or planted up the slopes. Mechanisation is difficult or even impossible, in some cases workers have to be winched up and down.
Why is German wine production focussed on mainly white wine?
Because of the cool climate and their grapevarietals are naturally tolerated to the conditions
Do grape varieties need to be stated on a German Wine label?
No, but it does usually happen.
Describe Riesling as a varietal.
Late budding with thick wood, relatively frost resistant. Late ripening, needs good sun exposure and dry autumns. It has high accidity levels from itself, giving ageing potential. Susceptible to botrytis.
Decribe the winestyle(s) of Riesling.
Making wines with pronounced intensity and great aromatic complexity, fruit flavours range from green fruit to tropical fruit. It can also show floral aromas, like white flowers, honeysuckle. WIth age, the wines develop toast, honeyed and petrol-like aromas. They come in dry to lusciously sweet styles.
How large is Riesling in terms of vineyardsize plantings in Germany?
about 24,000 ha - its 23% of all plantings.
How is Muller-Thurgau also called?
Rivaner
Describe Müller-Thurgau as a winestyle.
Medium acidity, little structure and character but can produce wines attractive but relatively simple floral and fruity aromas for early drinking wines.
Describe Müller-Thurgau as a varietal.
Earliest German crossings, earlier ripening than Riesling, high yielding. Used mainly for production of Liebfraumilch.
Which high yielding varietal was/is used for Liebfraumilch?
Müller-Thurgau
In which German region thrives Spätburgunder and why?
In Baden and in the Ahr region. Baden being the warmest region of Germany making growing conditions suited for Spatburgunder, also in the Ahr region having the small valley of the river Ahr creating the right circumstances incl, southern slope exposure and dark slate soils.
Which black varietal is Germany’s most planted?
Spätburgunder, with a total of 11,5%
What are the two most grown black varieties in Germany?
Spätburgunder and Dornfelder (crossing)
Describe the general winemaking style of Spätburgunder in Germany.
Some use whole bunch fermentation; the tannins from stems contributing to tannins without needing to use oak for this purpose. Others use less (new) oak and more larger oak vessels.
Describe Dornfelder as a winestyle.
It produces deep coloured, high aciditc wines with fruity and floral notes. Two styles;
- a fruity, early-drinking style, with occasionally some RS an sour cherry, blackberry aromas
- a more complex style with ageing potential, lower yields, greater focus on tannins and structure, fermented in oak.
In which region is Dornfelder as a varietal succesful?
Rheinhessen and Pfalz.
Can Silvaner produce high quality wines?
Yes
Describe the general winestyle of Silvaner
Lower in acidity and less aromatic than Riesling. When high quality, it is dry, medium bodied with med-med(+) acidity and distinctive earthy characteristics.
Which white varietals have grown in popularity since the 1990s?
Grauburgunder, Weissburgunder - specifically in Rheinhessen, Pfalz and Baden.
How is Grauburgunder often labelled?
Ruländer.
Since when did German viticulture started using crossings?
As early as 1880.
What are German crosses and wy where they developed.
It is a group of mainly white varieties developed to cope with Germany’s cool climate. (like Müller-Thurgau) The number of new crossings increased rapidly in the mid 20th century.
What was the reason for loosing interest in the use of crossings?
As techniques developed to allow better ripening in other varieties, relience on and interest in the crosses has fallen considerably.
What characteristics do most of the crossings posses?
Most of the varieties produced wines with a high level of sugar but without sufficient acidity or aromatic character to balance it.
Are there any succesful crossing varietals made?
Certainly;
- Scheurebe (full-bodied wines with intense aromas, med (+) acidity, ageworthy wines.
- Kerner (Prädikats levels, high acidity, fruity, floral characteristics of Riesling)
- Dornfelder, perhaps most succesful of all.
In which EU-zones does Germany fall and why is this of any significance
Most fall in EU-zone A and Baden is in Zone B. Which tells you that enrichment is allowed up to 3% for Zone A and up to 2% for Zone B. But becomes increasingly rare.
Are de-acidification and/or acidification permitted in German winemaking?
Yes, as is acidification only allowed in the hottest years.
Is fermentation in stainless steel mandatory in Germany?
No, but it is more common.
What is Süssreserve?
Unfermented or partially-fermented grape must.
