Germany - Sekt Flashcards
1
Q
Sekt in one card
A
- German for sparkling wine
- 90% inexpensive & high volume brands
- Germans love Sekt - highest per capita 3.7l in world
- Big increase in production in 1950s as cheap base wines from all over EU
- Several styles of Sekt from tank to trad method (no carbonated) Sekt, Deutscher Sekt, Deutscher Sekt bA, Winzersekt
- Perlwein (not Sekt - tank or carbonated)
2
Q
What and why is Perlwein (aka Secco)?
A
- Tank or carbonated method wine
- inexpensive base wine
- less than 3 atmospheres of pressure (so no tax)
- WHY? cheaper in Germany than fully sparkling as don’t attract tax of min 3 bars pressure fully sparkling wines)
3
Q
What are the four categories of Sekt?
A
- Sekt
- Deutscher Sekt
- Deutscher Sekt bA
- Winzersekt
4
Q
Define Sekt
A
- Tank fermented
- NV : no mention grapes/ vintage
- blended base wines from S Europe made sparkling in Germany
- can sell 6 mths after start of 2nd fermentation
- min 90 days on lees or 30 days if stirred
- 90% of all Sekt
- Brut or Extra Dry, med acidity, noticeable resid sugar
- Light intensity fruit, no autolytic notes
- Acceptable to good, cheap price
5
Q
Define Deutscher Sekt
A
- Sparkling wine from German grown fruit
- Tank or trad method
- Vintage or NV
- Single or blend
- If labelled one variety must be 85% of that grape
- Fruit can come from many different German regions, but cannot state region(s) on label
6
Q
Define Deutscher Sekt bA
A
- bA = bestimmte Anbaugebiete “of a defined region”
- related to Qualitatswein bestimmte Anbaugebiete (Qba)
- quality wine from one of 13 defined wine growing regions eg Rheingau, Rheinhessen
- Name of region must appear on label
- Tank or traditional method
7
Q
Define Winzersekt
A
- Winzer = wine grower, so winegrower sparkling
- estate bottled
- only grapes grown by estate
- traditional method
- min 9 months on lees in bottle
- usually made with Riesling, but range possible
- Vintage, grape variety, producers name must be on label
- If Riesling, medium intensity green apple, white peach, toasty,smoky autolytic notes, high acidity, Brut style
- V good to outstanding, med to premium priced
8
Q
Growing environment for high volume tank-fermented Sekt
A
- High vol production areas S Europe - Italy, Spain, France
- Low aromatic varieties preferred, picked early to ensure high acid, low aromatic base wine
- Typically crushed in region of origin and juice chilled and truck /train to Germany
9
Q
Wine growing and harvest for Sekt from German-grown fruit
(ie Deutscher Sekt, QBa, Winzersekt)
A
- Cool continental climate German regions gives grapes of low pot alcohol, high acidity - suitable base wines
- Picked early for primary fruit, high acid - unripe fruit selected out
- Mainly single variety wines, some Chardonnay & Pinot Noir blends
- Riesling makes most prestigious wines, but also Pinots Noir, Blanc & Gris, Chardonnay & Silvaner, plus some aromatics like Scheurebe
- Hand harvest for better wines, adds cost & to final price
- Variations of climate/soils overridden in blending of base wines prior to second fermentation
10
Q
Tank method for German Sekt
A
- First ferment cool to retain fruit
- Wines then blended for consistency across batches & brand style
- Second ferment in tanks
- Better wines lees aged 3-6mths before filtration, bottling and release to market
- Tank method means large vols made & released in short time, reducing costs & prices
- Grapes grown in Germany may be made into base wine by grower and then delivered to large specialist Sekt producers for second fermentation
11
Q
Traditional method Sekt
A
- used for both champagne varieties (C & PN) and Riesling
- Riesling does not go through malo
- CHOICE If base wine from Riesling do you want
- distinctive floral, green apple and lemon primary (in which case do min 9 months lees) OR
- attractive smoky note which develops rather than biscuit/brioche of champagne varieties (in which case do extended 18mths + lees)
- Mature sweet Riesling may be used for dosage in premium wines to add richness
- Trad method means Winzersekt more expensive
- Some companies use transfer method for cheaper bottle fermented wines
12
Q
Wine Law for Sekt (not Perlwein)
A
- Sekt must
- be made by second fermentation (no carbonation)
- at least 10% abv
- CO2 of min 3.5 atmospheres
- from base wine from grapes any EU country
- Varietal/vintage wines must be 85% that variety/vintage
- Both trad/transfer method wines lees contact min 90 days, can be sold after 9 mths
- Flaschengärung“bottle fermented” but may be disgorged by transfer method
- Klassische Flaschengärung cannot use transfer method
13
Q
Wine laws for Perlwein
A
- Perlwein can be
- from specified region (Qualitatsperlwein bA) or as EU wine (Perlwein)
- Us tank method, but CO2 injection allowed
- often sweeter than Sekt (diff sugar scale)
- Trocken (dry) uo to 35g/L residual sugar
- Halbtrocken (off-dry) 33-50 g/L
- Mild (sweet) more than 50g/L
- Varietal/vintage wines must be 85% that variety/vintage
14
Q
Price breakdown of Sekt market
A
Three price categories:
- low end, price-driven up to €4 over half of all sales
- standard quality up to €8
- high quality, much more expensive - growing market
15
Q
How much is the tax on every bottle of of Sekt levied since 1902?
A
€1.02
