GERMANY Flashcards
What are the influencing climatic factors on German wine regions
Most northerly classic wine region of Europe
The Vosges mountains
Rainshadow
The riversystems are important
Rhine river
Main river
Mosel river
Sunreflection, temperature regulation
Explain the German quality structure
German Wine Law mainly concerned with
grape maturity
Measured in mustweight, named
Oechsle, Oe*
1 litre of water =
1000 g
1 litre of grapejuice =
1095 g (1000 g water and 95 Oe*)
95 Oe* equals potentional ABV of 13%
From Top
Qualitätswein mit Prädikat (QmP)
Qualitätswein bestimmter Anbaugebeite (QbA)
Deutscher Landwein
Deutscher Wein (Tafelwein)
QmP can further subdivided into:
Trockenbeerenauslese (TBA)
Eiswein
Beerenauslese
Auslese
Spätlese
Kabinett
Another rank of quality is made by the Organization
Verband Deutscher Prädikatsweingutter (VDP)
VDP focus more on terroir than grap must
What does the terms Qualitätswein and Prädikatswein refer to?
Key terms in German wine law
Prädikatswein
Qualitätswein
Landwein
Prädikatswein can be further levelled by
grape quality or VDP system
What is Anbaugebeit?
Anbaugebeit =
Wine-growing areas for
Qualitätswein and Prädikatswein in German
13 Anbaugebete
Ahr
Hessiche-Bergstrasse
Mittelrhein
Mosel
Nahe
Rheingau
Rheinhessen
Pfalz
Franken
Wûrttemberg
Baden
Saale-Unstrut
Sachsen
Describe the terms Einzellage, Grosslage, Bereich, Ortswein, Sekt, estate bottling
Einzellage =
Individual vineyard site
Grosslage =
Collection of vineyards fx
Rosengarten in Rüdesheim
Bereich=
A district within an Anbaugebiet fx
Bereich Bernkastel
Ortswein =
Wines that express regionality
Sekt =
German sparkling wine
Estate bottling
Name the principal grape varietals and crossings
Appr. 140 grape varieties permitted
RIE
MÜT (Riesling + Madeleine Royale)
SIL +
Grauburgunder (PNG, Rülander)
Weissburgunder (PNB)
Kerner
Bacchus
Scheurebe
CHA
Gutedel
Spätburgunder (PNN)
Dornfelder
Blauer Portugieser
Mention the notable wine villages in Mosel
Divided into six Bereich
Bernkastel
Burg Cochem
Moseltor
Obermosel
Ruwertal
Saar
The best villages are in Bereich Bernkastel or
Mittelmosel:
Trittenheim
Neumagen
Piesport
Bernkastel
Brauneberg
Graach
Wehlen
Zeltingen
Ürzig
Erden
Wines sold in traditional elongated green bottles
Mention the notable wine villages in Rheingau
Bereich Johannisberg only
Best villages are
Lorchhausen
Rüdesheim
Winkel
Johannisberg
Oestrich
Erbach
Hattenheim
Rauenthal
Eberbach
Kiedrich
Eltville
Hochheim
Wines sold in traditional elengated brown bottles
Mention the notable wine villages in Pfalz
Pfalz is the worlds largest Riesling area
Two Bereiche:
Mittelhaardt-Deutsche Weinstrasse
Südliche Weinstrasse
Best villages:
Wachenheim
Forst
Deidesheim
Ruppertsberg
Bad Dürkheim
Haardt
Kallstadt
Königsbach
Neustadt
Ungstein
Siebeldingen
Birkweiler
Schweigen
Wines sold in traditional elongated brown bottles
Spätburgunder in Burgundy bottles
Mention the notable wine villages in Rheinhessen
Three Bereich:
Bingen
Nierstein
Wonnegau
Best villages are:
Nackenheim
Dienheim
Flörsheim-Dalsheim
Westhofen
Osthofen
Wines sold in traditional elengated brown bottles
Explain the soil structure in Mosel
Large quantities of
red/blue slate which
radiates heat on to the grapes day and night
helping to ripen the grapes, while
increasing drainage and
slow down erosion of the soil
Explain the soil structure in Rheingau
Loess, quatzite, clay
Slate-clay around Lorchhausen and Rüdesheim
What are the labelling terms fx Trocken, Halbtrocken
The six Prädikate or
degrees of ripeness
Trockenbeerenauslese
Beerenauslese
Auslese
are all dessert wines
Trcoken =
dry with a maximum of
4 g/L RS
Halbtrocke =
semi-dry with maximum of
18 g/L RS
Kabinett, Spätlese and Auslese are sometimes produced either Trocken or Halbtrocken
Feinherb is an un-regulated term meaning
off-dry
Explain VDP structure and terms
VDP refers to a
regional quality index,
inspired from Burgundian wine law:
Grosse Lage or
Grosses Gewächs (GG)
Erste Lage
Ortswein
Gutswein
What does the terms Classic and Selection refer to?
The term “Selection” is specifically for the
wines of Rheingau that have been hand-harvested
Halbtrocken/Classic:
“half-dry” or
slightly sweet wine with up to 12 g/l RS
