Mosel

Question 1

What does a gold-colored capsule called and what does it imply?

Answer 1

It is called “Goldkapsel” and it generally indicates additional sweetness due to a higher must weight, and is most commonly encountered on Auslese bottlings.
Even richer bottlings are marked with a Lange Goldkapsel—a longer gold capsule—and this length and color of capsule may be the only clue to a substantial difference in price and character.

Question 2

The Mosel is divided into six bereiche:

Answer 2

Bernkastel, Burg Cochem, Saar, Ruwertal, Obermosel, and Moseltor.

Question 3

What does Gemeinde [ger-MINE-der] mean?

Answer 3

A German word for “community” or “village.” On German wine labels the name of the 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”; the Grosslage named Auflangen associated with the town of Nierstein appears as “Niersteiner Auflangen.”

Question 4

Define Einzellage; pl. Einzellagen

[I’n-tsuh-lah-guh; I’n-tsuh-lahgehn]

Answer 4

As defined by the German wine laws of 1971, an Einzellage is an individual vineyard site with a minimum size of 5 HECTARES (about 121/2 acres). This law caused the absorption of many tiny vineyards into larger ones, reducing the total number of vineyards from approximately 25,000 to about 2,600. The result is a situation similar to France’s BURGUNDY region where a vineyard may be divided among many different growers.

Question 5

Mosel: Important Gemeinden and Einzellagen

Answer 5

- Saar
        Wiltingen: Scharzhofberger
        Saarburg: Rausch
   - Ruwer
        Eitelsbach: Karthäuserhofberg
        Mertesdorf: Abtsberg, Herrenberg, Bruderberg
   - Mosel
        Trittenheim: Apotheke
        Piesport: Goldtröpfchen, Domherr
        Brauneberg: Juffer, Juffer Sonnenuhr
        Bernkastel-Kues: Doctor, Lay
        Graach an der Mosel: Domprobst, Josephshöfer (monopole of Reichsgraff von Kesselstatt)
        Wehlen: Sonnenuhr
        Zeltingen: Sonnenuhr
        Ürzig: Würzgarten
        Erden: Prälat, Treppchen

Question 6

Piesport’s greatest vineyard is ______?

Answer 6

Piesport’s greatest vineyard is Goldtröpfchen—“droplets of gold”—and wines bearing the title Piesporter Goldtröpfchen are a world apart from those labeled Piesporter Michelsberg. Immortalized in the wines of producers such as Reinhold Haart and Reichsgraff von Kesselstatt, the Goldtröpfchen vineyard, a natural amphitheatre, provides excellent terroir for Riesling and is one of the Mosel’s most pedigreed sites.