Section II: Wine Regions of Section II: Wine Regions of EuropeEurope

Chapter 9: Germany

IntroductionIntroduction

Postwar, majority of German wine exported to the US of inferior wines of Liebfraumilch category.

Americans assumed that all German wines were slightly sweet whites of lower quality.

Labels hard to decipher Actually, most German whites are dry or off-dry. Currently, one-third of German wine production is

red. Just under 5% of world’s total wine production Best wines are in the highest tiers of quality

German Wine - HistoryGerman Wine - History

Viticulture brought by the Romans in the 1st century

Until the 9th century, vineyards concentrated on the west side of the Rhine River.

Christian monks moved eastward• Built monasteries• Planted and tended vineyards• Kept fine wine-making alive during the Middle Ages• Improved viticultural practices, which led to international

trade• Expansion in trade gave rise to the bourgeoisie, or middle

class.

German Wine – History (cont.)German Wine – History (cont.)

By late 1700s, governors, growers and merchants establish a system of regulations• Set quality standards for wine• Simplified wine naming• Emphasis on planting noble varietals suited to the climate In the early 19th century, wine market opens up• Railroads expand• Internal customs and tariffs between France and German

states disappear• Competition from wines of other regions• First designations of higher quality wines

German Wine – History German Wine – History (19(19thth century cont.) century cont.)

Introduction to dessert wines Oechsle system

• measures sugar levels, grape ripeness 1892, first national wine law passed Small neighboring landowners formed

cooperatives Progression into international wine market

German Wine – History (cont.)German Wine – History (cont.)

Major set backs• Pests and mildew destroyed region in 1880s• World War I and II

• Decimated economy, culture, labor supply and export market

• 1960s-1970s, increased demand for slightly sweet and very affordable Liebfraumilch• Weakening quality controls• 1980s, US demand dropped

Turnaround in the 21st century• German producers putting more emphasis on quality

wines• US responding favorably to quality Riesling wines

Wine LawsWine Laws

Original national Wine Law of 1892 • Defined boundaries of major regions• Specified winemaking practices that were forbidden

Wine Law of 1930• Refined definition of “quality wine”• Levels of quality were outlined• Certain winemaking practices were abolished.

Wine Law of 1971 Greatly simplified previous systems Basis for producing and labeling German wines ever since

WINE CATEGORIESWINE CATEGORIES

Tafelwein Table wine or ordinary wine Landwein Regional wine Qualitätswein bestimmter Anbaugebiet

(often written as QbA) Quality wine Qualitätswein mit Prädikat (also written as

QmP) Quality wine with designation

TafelweinTafelwein

Table wine Few, if any, standards Consumed locally, rarely exported Can have imported grapes blended in One of four main regions must appear on the

label• Mosel und Rhein• Bayern• Neckar• Oberrhein

LandweinLandwein

Parallel’s Frances vin de pays designation Rarely used Assumed higher quality than Tafelwein Some growing guidelines One of the 21 Landwein regions must appear

on the label

QUALITÄTSWEIN BESTIMMTER QUALITÄTSWEIN BESTIMMTER ANBAUGEBIET ANBAUGEBIET

“Quality wine from a specified geographic location” Lower level of Germany’s quality wine production Usually encompasses the largest percentage of

German production. Standards of quality must be met. Grapes must be grown in one of 13 approved

regions. Chapitalization (adding natural sugars) is allowed

at this level.

QUALITÄTSWEIN MIT PRÄDIKATQUALITÄTSWEIN MIT PRÄDIKAT

“Quality wine with designation” Highest category of classified wines in Germany Signifies the geographic location where the grapes

were grown and their level of ripeness at harvest The name of the wine has at least three words in it:

the village, the vineyard and the Prädikat. No chapitalization of wines is allowed at this level. Since 2007, term shortened to Prädikatwein on

labels

SIX CATEGORIES OF PRÄDIKATSIX CATEGORIES OF PRÄDIKAT

Kabinett: lightest and the driest of the Prädikat wines • Can be matched to a wide variety of foods • Make excellent aperitifs

Spätlese: slightly off-dry wine• Sugar is usually detectable, but the acidity is still fresh

enough that the impression is not one of “sweetness.” • Match with foods that are either very spicy, tartly acidic or

have a lot of fruit Auslese: decidedly off-dry wine

• Nicely balanced with clean acidity to hold up the ripe fruit flavors and residual sugar

• Nice as aperitifs• Can be matched to crab meat, lobster or pâté.

SIX CATEGORIES OF PRÄDIKAT SIX CATEGORIES OF PRÄDIKAT (CONT.)(CONT.)

The last three designations fall into the category of dessert wines and are truly sweet.• Beerenauslese• Eiswein• Trockenbeerenauslese

BeerenausleseBeerenauslese

“Selected berries” Grapes with high levels of sugar and some

botrytis (noble rot) Wines are gold in color, incredibly rich and ripe

flavor Risky to make and labor-intensive to produce Very expensive In some drier years, noble rot does not occur

and wine cannot be made at all.

EisweinEiswein

“Ice wine” Richly sweet, but not fully botrytized Grapes are picked while still frozen. Reflects varietal flavors more clearly

TrockenbeerenausleseTrockenbeerenauslese

“Selected dried berries” Picked in late autumn or early December Fully infected with botrytis, shriveled on the

vine, water of the grape evaporates Deep golden color, honeyed nose redolent of

dried apricots and nuances of the varietal with rich deep raisiny flavors.

Quantities always limited. In some years, cannot be produced due to a lack of the boytritis.

Very expensive to compensate producers’ risk

Reading the LabelsReading the Labels

Within the QbA level, the geographic designation gets smaller and more specific.

At the Prädikat level, there is the added designation of quality.• Tells you exactly where the grapes were grown• Gives you an idea of the character of the wine since

the terroir of each Bereich and village is unique• Indicates where the wine falls on the stylistic

spectrum from very dry to very sweet

Revision to the Wine LawsRevision to the Wine Laws

The Wine Law of 1971• Winemakers wanted to indicate to the buyer that their

wines were not in the traditional off-dry styles, but were still Qualitätswein.

• Government approved use of labeling terms for dry and half-dry.

Classic and Selection wine terminology in 2001

Trade OrganizationsTrade Organizations

Charta Wines• Dedicated to producing only the very highest quality

wines that are typical of their region • Promotes the wines from their estates as the best

from the Rheingau Verband Deutscher Prädikatsweingüter (VDP)

• Dedicated to high-quality wines that “reflect the distinct character of their German origin”

• Committed to the traditional style of German wines and to maintaining the Prädikat system

ClimateClimate

One of the northernmost fine wine regions in the world. Heavily continental climate The Rhein and its many tributaries provide a

moderating influence on the climate, reflecting heat and light back onto the vines.

The steepness of the slopes allows vines to capture as much sun as possible.

It is estimated that it takes three times as many man-hours to tend the vines on the steep terraced vineyards along Germany’s rivers than is the case for flat rolling terrain.

Because of this, Germany produces a very small percentage of the world’s wine.

Grape VarietalsGrape Varietals

Cool-climate grapes that thrive in Germany• Riesling• Müller-Thurgau• Silvaner• Pinot Noir

Two rare red grapes showing small increases:• Dornfelder• Portugieser

The MoselThe Mosel

Romans cultivated wine grapes here 16 centuries ago.

Noted for the slate, here called Schieferton Gives the best Mosel Rieslings minerality that

offsets the natural fresh green apple aromas and flavors

Vineyards of the Mosel are divided into 5 subregions.

Throughout the Mosel there is an impressive commitment to quality and pride in heritage.

The RheingauThe Rheingau

The most commercially successful wine region of Germany

Except along the Main where the land is gentle and flat, the vineyards of the Rheingau are on steep sloping hills.

Overwhelmingly a white wine region, and the majority of the vineyards are planted to Riesling

Wines from the Rheingau are fuller, firmer, and more assertive than wines from the Mosel.

RheinhessenRheinhessen

Mostly flat rolling agricultural land Large region with different microclimates Best vineyard sites are located on the eastern

edge There are over 400 individual vineyards in the

Rheinhessen, very few of them of any merit. Most of the grapes from small vineyards are sold

to cooperatives• Made into pleasant, inexpensive still wines or

increasingly, into decent, affordable sparkling wine One-third of all German exports come from here.

The PfalzThe Pfalz

Germany’s second largest wine region Spring sets in early, and summers are long and

warm. For decades many of the bulk wines produced

from these grapes were of mediocre quality In the 1970s and 1980s the reputation of the

Pfalz was for inexpensive, pleasant, but unexciting wines.

That is now changing with standards rising fast.

Other RegionsOther Regions

Ahr Mittelrhein Nahe Baden Hessische Bergstrasse Württemberg Franken Saale-Unstrut and Sachsen