OW - Germany Flashcards
Germany
What is an einzellagen?
Vineyard
Germany
What is a walled vineyard called?
Ortsteil
Germany
What is a monopole in German?
Alleinbesitz
Germany
What was the influence of Napoleon in German wine?
Seizure of vineyards from the church and the Napoleonic Code of Succession
Germany
How many different vineyard sites were in West Germany in the 1960’s?
Over 30,000 Major reason for vineyard reorganization and registration in German Wine Law of 1971
Germany
What were the major effects of the German Wine Law of 1971?
Organizing 30,000+ vineyards into 2,600 registered vineyards with a min 5 hectares Only exception is Doctor vineyard in Bernkastel (three proprietors shrunk boundaries to 8 acres in 1984)
Germany
What is the significance of Schloss Johannisberg?
Monastery in Rhiengau that discovered” Spatlese in 1775”
Germany
What is Edelfaule?
Noble rot
Germany
When was Auslese introduced?
1787 by Schloss Johannisberg
Germany
Was the English market important for German wine?
Yes. In 19th century best wines from the Rhine were called Hock in English markets and sold often over the prices of first growth Bordeaux
Germany
Why are German vineyards located so high up on slopes?
Demand for farmland in 1700’s pushed vineyards up slopes
Germany
What is Muller-Thurgau?
Grape crossing created in Giesenheim in 1882 In late 1960’s displaced Silvaner to become Germany’s most planted grape Thought to be a cross between Riesling x Silvaner, but recent testing says Riesling x Madeline Royale
Germany
What happened post-WWII in German wine?
Phylloxera, mildew, WWI, Great Depression and WWII shrunk domestic wine Focused on higher yields from crosses planted on flat land for mechanical harvesting
Germany
What is Liebfraumilch?
Wine with 18th century origin In 1980s 60% of German wine exports had this on label Sweet, cheap, character-less wine usually from Muller Thurgau No varietal labeling and often blended from across the country
Germany
What is the Verband Deutscher Pradikatsweinguter?
Committee of top 200 producers, as voted on by their peers
Germany
What are the top white grapes in Germany?
Riesling Muller Thurgau X Silvaner Grauburgunder (Pinot Gris) Weisburgunder (Pinot Blanc) Kerner X Bacchus X
Germany
What are the top red grapes in Germany?
Spatburgunder Dornfelder X Blauer Portugeiser Trollinger Schwarzriesling (Pinot Munier)
Germany
What are the four major German wine categories?
Deutscher Wein Landwein Qualitatswein bestimmter Anbaugebite Qualitatswein mit Pradikat
Germany
What are the levels of QmP wine?
Determined by levels of sugar at harvest on the Oechsle scale Kabinett Spatlese (late harvest) Auslese (selection) Beerenauslese (BA - berries selection) Eiswein Trockenbeerenauslese (TBA - dry berries selection)
Germany
What are some of the peculiarities of QmP wine?
Each anbaugebiete has its own minimum requirements for authorized grapes Winemakers can declassify their wines from a higher QmP level to a lower one
Germany
What are the minimum alcohol levels for QmP wines?
7% (5.5% for BA, TBA and Eiswein)
Germany
What is Amtliche Prufungsnummer (AP Number)?
Set of five sets of numbers indicating that the wine has been approved by a tasting panel. 1st set is region 2nd set is commune 3rd set is bottler’s code 4th set is unique code for the bottling 5th set is year in which the application was filed
Germany
What is Grosses Gewachs?
Used to indicate top level dry wines from selected sites (except Mosel and Rheingau)
Germany
What is trocken? Halbdtrocken?
Dry and off dry
Germany
What are the Anbaugebite of Germany?
Mosel Ahr Mittelrhein Rheingau Rheinhessen Nahe Pfalz Hessische-Bergstrasse Baden Wurttemberg Franken Sachsen Saale-Unstrut
Germany
When was the VDP founded?
1910 as the Verband Deutscher Naturweinversteigerer Originally to promote unchaptalized wines
Germany
What is Charta?
Organization founded in 1984 to promote classic, dry style of Rheingau Riesling Distinguished by an icon of three Roman arches Assimilated into Rheingau branch of the VDP in 1999
Germany
What is the first tier of VDP wine? What are its requirements? When my they be released?
Created in 2002 Erste Lage - dry are Grosses Gewachs (Rheingau are Erstes Gewachs), sweet are labeled by Pradikat Hand harvested with max yield of 50 hl/ha Min must equiavlent of Spatlese Grosses Gewachs whites may not be released until Sept 1 after harvest, reds get 1 more year of aging Erste Lage Pradikats may be released May 1 after harvest Einzellage must be on label and vineyard approved by VDP (stricter than German wine law’s demarcation)
Germany
What is the second tier of VDP Classification?
Klassifizierte Lagenweine (classified sites) Ortsweine (from specific regions or villages, but not grosslagen or bereiche) max 65 hl/ha Distinct from Grand Gru sites in Erste Lange
Germany
What is the third tier of VDP Classification? What are the criteria?
Gutswein Basic house style of traditional grapes from a region max 75 hl/ha
Germany
What are Classic” German wines?”
Labeling term selected by the German Wine Institute at Mainz for drier styles of wine Introduced in 2000 vintage Harmoniously dry with max 15 g/L RS Single varietal and no vineyard mentioned on label Min alcohol 12% (11.5% in Mosel)
Germany
What are Selection” German wines? When were they introduced? What are the specs?”
Labeling term selected by the German Wine Institute at Mainz for drier styles of wine Introduced in 2000 vintage Superior dry with max 9 g/L RS (12 g/L for Riesling) Single varietal and vineyard Min alcohol 12% (11.5% in Mosel) Yields restricted to 60 hl/ha Must weight equivalent to Auslese Hand harvested May not be released until Sept 1 after harvest
Germany
What are the typical characteristics of Mosel Kabinett Riesling?
Star bright with green apple, slate and candle wax Rarely more than 8% alcohol Racy, high acidity
Germany
What is the significance of a Goldkapsel on a German wine?
Indicates a Mosel Riesling, typically a reserve, with additional sweetness due to a higher must weight
Germany
What is a Lange Goldkapsel?
Longer golden capsule which indicates a richer bottling
Germany
What are the geographic levels of classification in German wine?
Anbaugebiet - Region (13) Bereich - District (39) Grosslage- Collective site (170) Eincellage - Single vineyard (2600)
Germany
What does Erzeugerabfullung mean?
Estate wine from one grower or a cooperative of growers
Germany
What does Gutsabfullung mean?
Estate wine in which the estate grows, produces and bottles its own wine
Germany
What is region 1?
Ahr
Germany
What is region 3?
Franken
Germany
What is region 4?
Hessische Bergstrasse
Germany
What is region 6?
Mosel