History

Question 1

1. 276 Emp Probus - founder of Viti
2. 370 Roman Ausonius describes steepness
3. 4-8C winegrowing West of Rhine (Pfalz + Rheinessen)
4. 8/9C extension of growing area to N,M + Ahr
5. 11-16C Rapid expansion of Viti via Church.
   
   1. 11C Johan Bene abbey became Schloss Johan (Frank)
   2. Late 13C spread further into Rheing, B, Wurt + Franken
6. 1500-1650 Viti moved from cooler valleys to better sites + grape var. 30 yr War
7. 1650-1800 slow + painful recovery, focus on Q
8. 19C L Bank of Rhine to FR, admin regions + change of ownership.
   
   1. 1815 Mos part of Prussia
   2. Devt of transport esp Rail
9. 1830s Oechsle scale of measure grape sugars based on density of gr juice, push for Q
10. 1881 Phy in A
11. 1900-45 area under V halved, War damage to trade + exp
12. 1950-90 Large inc in prod, higher Y, restructure (Flur) hi Q v/y
13. 1971 G law intro Q system based on grape ripe

Answer 1

1. 276-82AD: Emperor Probus believed to be the founder of viticulture in Germany.
2. 370: Ausonius, roman author, describes the steep vineyards of Mosel in the Mosella tract.
3. 4th-8th century: wine-growing concentrated west of the Rhine i.e. modern Pfalz & Rheinessen
4. Late 8th-9th century (Charlemagne era): extension of wine-growing to the Nahe valley, Mosel & Ahr.
5. 11th-16th: rapid expansion of viticulture, via the Church, the aristocracy but individual merchants too, is helped by the recovery in population, the rise of towns. Cologne & Frankfurt dominated the trade.
   
   1. 11th: foundation of the Johannisberg Bendectine abbey by Archbishop Ruthard that will become Schloss Johannisberg.
   2. Late 13th: spread of wine-growing further from main towns into Rheingau, Baden, Wurttemberg & Franken.
6. 1500-1650: viticulture retreated from the cooler more remote valleys to focus on better sites & grape varieties before the 30 years war (early 17th) ravaged most viticultural regions
7. 1650-1800: slow and painful recovery in most regions with a focus on quality via new sites with better-quality grapes and prevention of low potential new sites.
8. 19th: left bank of the Rhine ceded to France -> administrative regions established & change of ownership
   
   1. 1815: Congress of Vienna sees Mosel becoming a province of Prussia and the wine regions changing hands and thence competing against each other.
   2. Devt of transport network (esp. railways) -> rapid development of the better wines. Wurttemberg & Franken massively down while other regions contributed to increase in quality and fruit ripeness.
9. 1830s: Oechsle designs a scale of measuring grape sugars (-> grape ripeness) based on the density of grape juice. 1850s: creation of regional grower’s associations + state authorities push for research in quality.
10. 1881: first appearance of Phylloxera in Ahr valley
11. 1900-45: area under vine halved (90,000ha to 50,000ha) with wars causing damage to the trade, the vines & the export
12. 1950-90: large increase in production due to mainly higher yields accompanied by a radical restructuring (Flurbereinigung) with improvements to access, drainage & workability of the high quality site vineyards.
13. 1971: German wine law introduces a quality system based on grape ripeness.