Germany Flashcards
(113 cards)
1
Q
What is the climate?
A
Cool continental climate.
2
Q
Describe the rainfall.
A
Wet summers, rain decreases in the autumn & dry winters.
3
Q
Describe the ripening season.
A
Long and cool ripening season.
4
Q
Is vintage variation high or low?
A
High vintage variation.
5
Q
Wines with no geographical indication (GI) are labelled _______.
A
Deutscher Wein.
6
Q
Some PGI wines are labelled ______.
A
Landwein.
7
Q
Contains how many delimited regions for PDO wine?
A
13.
8
Q
Is the vast majority of wine PDO or PGI?
A
PDO.
9
Q
What are wines labels classified by?
A
Must weight at harvest.
10
Q
What are the levels of the German labelling system?
A
Qualitatswein and Pradikatswein.
Pradikatswein is sub-divided into six Pradikats based on must weight/ sweetness.
11
Q
What is the one thing all PDO wines need to be?
A
100% from one region.
12
Q
How do you know if a wine is a pradikatswein?
A
The pradikat will be on the label.
13
Q
What indications of sweetness may be on a label?
A
Trocken - dry
Halbtrocken (poor quality) & Feinherb - off dry to medium sweet
14
Q
What location is often on labels?
A
The village name followed by the vineyard name.
15
Q
What can you expect from a wine labelled “Piesporter Michelsberg?”
A
A wine from the “Michelsberg” vineyard in the town of Piesporter.
A lower quality wine because its from a large number of neighboring vineyards associated with poor quality.
16
Q
What do pradikat levels indicate?
A
Style and must weight at harvest.
17
Q
Name the independent group of wine producers that includes the majority of the best sites in Germany and list what they do.
A
Verband Deutscher Pradikatsweinguter (VDP).
The members classify their vineyards by quality. They add restrictions on the grape varieties allowed in regions.
Grosses Gewächs.
18
Q
Dry Qualitatswein from the best vineyard sites are ______.
A
Grosses Gewächs.
19
Q
How do you know if a wine is a Grosses Gewäch.
A
“GG” embossed on bottle.
20
Q
What are the best dry wines made in Germany.
A
Grosses Gewächs.
21
Q
Where can noble rote wines be produced in Germany?
A
Everywhere.
22
Q
How does the long, cool ripening season effect the final wine?
A
It allows the grapes to reach full ripeness while also retaining acidity.
23
Q
Describe the best sites of Germany.
A
Steep, stoney slopes with a southerly aspect.
24
Q
How are vines on slopes trained?
A
Head trained and individually staked with the canes tied to the top of the stake to maximize sunlight and air circulation.
25
How are grapes generally harvested here?
With multiple passes through the vineyard.
26
What is the most widely planted grape?
Riesling.
27
What can you expect from a German riesling?
Delicate & floral to rich & peachy.
| Bone dry to lusciously sweet.
28
Dry styles of riesling are often labelled as ______.
Qualitatswein.
29
Nearly all riesling labelled Pradikatswein will have ______ _______.
Residual sugar.
30
What are the pradikats?
Kabinett, Spatlese, Auslese, Beerenauslese, Trockenbeerenauslese, & Eiswein.
31
What style of wine can you expect from a kabinett?
Light body, high acidity, and flavors of green apple and citrus often with a bit of residual sugar.
32
How can you determine if a kabinett is sweet or dry?
Sweet styles will have 8-9% abv.
| Dry styles will have around 12% abv.
33
What is "sussreserve" and what is it used for?
Unfermented grape juice used to sweeten wines after fermentation - never in high quality wines.
34
How are high-quality kabinett wines sweetened?
By stopping fermentation early.
35
What style of wine can you expect from a spatlese?
Concentrated, and ripe with more body, alcohol, and sweetness than kabinett and flavors of citrus, peach, and apricot.
36
What style of wine can you expect from an auslese?
Richer than spatlese.
37
How are auslese wines produced?
They use individually selected extra-ripe berries.
| Noble rot may be involved.
38
What style of wine can you expect from a beerenauslese and a trockenbeerenauslese?
Sweet, low alcohol, and flavors of honey, dried stone fruit, candied peel, and flowers.
39
Noble rot is necessary to achieve the must weight for what style of wine?
Trockenbeerenauslese.
40
What is the "genuine rarity" of wine styles and what can you expect from it?
Eiswein.
| Focus on varietal purity and has a very fine balance od acidity and sweetness.
41
List the white grapes of Germany.
Riesling, Muller-Thurgau, Silvaner, Grauburgunder, and Weiburgunder.
42
Muller-Thurgau is a crossing of what two grapes?
Riesling and Madeleine Royal.
43
Muller-Thurgau is also known as ________.
Rivaner.
44
Describe Muller-Thurgau.
It has less acidity and flavor intensity than riesling. It produced attractive floral and fruity wine but is rarely very high quality.
45
What is the second most planted white grape variety?
Muller-Thurgau.
46
What is the third most planted white grape variety?
Silvaner.
47
What two regions are home to the majority of Silvaner?
Rheinhessen and Franken.
48
Grauburgunder is also known as ________ & ________.
Pinot Gris & Rulander.
49
Weiburgunger is also known as _________.
Pinot Blanc.
50
Grauburgunder and Weiburgunger are mainly produced in a _____ style.
Dry.
51
List the black grapes of Germany.
Spatburgunder, Dornfelder, Portugieser, Trollinger, and Schwarzsreisling.
52
What is the third most planted grape variety?
Spatburgunder.
53
Spatburgunder is also known as _______.
Pinot Noir.
54
What two regions is Spatburgunder most significant in?
The warmer regions of Pfalz and Baden.
55
What can you expect from a Spatburgunder?
It ranges from light and fruity to oaked and concentrated.
56
Besides Spatburgunder, what is the "other" wildely planted black grape?
Dornfelder.
57
Describe Dornfelder.
Produces wines that are deeply colored.
58
Describe Portugieser, Trollinger, and Schwarzsreisling (Meunier).
Typically deeply colored, light-bodied, and fruity.
59
What is the majority of Portugieser, Trollinger, and Schwarzsreisling sold as?
Qualitatswein.
60
Name the 8 most significant German wine regions.
Ahr, Mosel, Nahe, Rheingau, Rheinhessen, Pfalz, Baden, and Franken.
61
Important water ways in the Mosel.
The River Mosel from where it joins the River Rhine at the German border to the two tributaries, the Saar and Ruwer.
62
What dominates wine production in the Mosel?
Riesling and other white grapes.
63
What grape varieties does the VDP allow in Mosel?
Only riesling.
64
Where is the production of Mosel concentrated?
In the Middle Mosel.
65
What villages in the Mosel are known for high-quality and why?
Piesport and Bernkastel because they are surrounded by steep, slate slopes right next to the river.
66
Describe a Mosel riesling.
Light body, low alcohol, very high acidity, with green fruit and floral flavors.
67
How does the riesling of the Saar and Ruwer areas compare to that of the Middle Mosel?
The cooler Saar and Ruwer areas give wine with even higher acidity than the Middle Mosel.
68
Where are the best vineyards of Nahe?
Along the River Nahe between the villages of Schlossbockelheim and Bad Kreuznach.
69
Where is the Nahe?
In between the Mosel and Rheinhessen.
70
Describe the wine production in Nahe.
The best wines are made from riesling.
71
Describe a Nahe riesling.
Fuller-bodied than the Mosel and lighter-bodied then Rheinhessen/Rheingau/Pfalz with riper fruit character than the Mosel.
72
Rank the regions of Germany from coolest to warmest.
```
Mosel.
Nahe.
Rheingau/Rheinhessen/Pfalz.
Franken.
Baden.
```
73
"A small but prestigious region."
Rheingau.
74
Describe the terrior of Rheingau.
The region is situated on the northern banks of the River Rhine (west) and the River Maine (east) with all vineyards facing the south. To the north of the region is the Taunus hills, blocking the region from cool northerly influence.
75
Is the Mosel or Nahe warmer?
Nahe.
76
Where are the majority of Rheingau's vineyards? What villages does this area include?
To the west of the region around the villages of Johannisburg and Rudesheim.
77
Describe the production of Rheingau.
Medium to full-bodied riesling in a dry style with a distinct ripe peach flavor.
78
What is the most planted grape of the Rheingau region?
Reisling.
79
What region produces Germany's best BA and TBA? Why?
Rheingau because of the humidity of the River Rhine.
80
What town are the vineyards of eastern Rheingau surround?
Hocheim.
81
How do the rieslings of east and west Rheingau compare?
The east is a bit warmer thus will produce slightly fuller body than the cooler west.
82
Is Spatburgunder produced in the Rheingau? If so, where?
Yes, in Assmannshausen.
83
What grape varietals does the VDP allow from Rheingau?
Riesling and spatburgunder.
84
What is Germanys largest wine growing region?
Rheinhessen.
85
What are the two most-panted grapes of Rheinhessen?
Muller-Thurgau and Riesling.
86
What percentage of plantings in Rheinhessen are black grapes? What are the majority of these grapes?
30%.
| Dornfelder, Portugieser, and Spatburgunder.
87
What varietals does the VDP allow from Rheinhessen?
Riesling and spatburgunder.
88
The reputation of the Rheinhessen was based on the steeply sloping vineyards on the West Bank of the River Rhine, centered around what village? What is this area often called and what is it known for?
Nierstein.
Rheinterrase.
Some of the fullest-bodied rieslings of Germany.
89
What has Rheinhessen recently gained a reputation for? Why?
Innovation and excellence because areas with no history of wine production (south of Worms) are now producing top-quality wines.
90
What is Germany's second largest wine-growing region?
Pfalz.
91
What region here is considered "a continuation of Alsace?"
Pfalz.
92
Describe the terrior of Pfalz.
It's an 80km strip North from the French border, bordered by the Haardt Mountains to the east (a continuation of the Vosges).
93
What is the driest region of Germany?
Pfalz, so much so the vines can suffer from water stress.
94
Whats the most widely planted grape of Pfalz?
Riesling, followed by Muller-Thurgau.
95
List the grapes of Pfalz.
Riesling, Muller-Thurgau, Grauburgunder, Weiburgunder, Dornfelder, Portugieser, and Spatburgunder.
96
What percentage of vines in Pfalz are black grapes?
40%.
97
What grape varieties does the VDP allow in Pfalz?
Riesling, Weiburgunder, and Spatburgunder.
98
Where are the highest concentration of high-quality vineyards in Pfalz?
In the Mittlehaardt on steep slopes around the town of Forst and Deidesheim.
99
Describe the wine production in Pfalz.
Dry (probably), ripe, full-bodied riesling.
100
What is Germany's warmest, most southerly wine region?
Baden.
101
What region in Germany produces the lightest/fullest rieslings?
```
Lightest = Mosel.
Fullest = Baden.
```
102
What is Germanys third largest wine growing region?
Baden.
103
Where are the majority of Baden's vineyards?
Along a narrow strip of land that follows the River Rhine to the Swiss border. One third (1/3) of all vineyards are in the area as Kaiserstuhl and Tuniberg.
104
What two areas in Germany are the same latitude as Colmar in Alsace?
Kaiserstuhl and Tuniberg in Baden.
105
What area of Baden produces the best wine?
The south facing slope of the extinct Kaiserstuhl volcano.
106
What is Kaiserstuhl in Baden known for?
Spatburgunder.
107
List the grapes of Baden. (in descending order)
Spatburgunder, Muller-Thurgau, Grauburgunder, Weiburgunder, and Riesling.
108
What grape varieties does the VDP allow in Baden?
A range of white and black grape varieties.
109
What dominates production in Franken?
Whites, especially Silvaner.
110
Describe Silvaner.
Its an early flowering and early ripening grape that is susceptible to frost damage. It has less acidity and fruitiness than riesling but richer texture and often has an earthy quality. Dry to sweet styles are made.
111
Where are the best vineyards of Franken and what are they known for?
The south-facing slopes around Wurzburg. They are known for dry, full-bodied Silvaner with an earthy quality.
112
What kind of bottle is used to bottle Silvaner from Franken?
Flask-shaped.
113
What grape varieties does the VDP allow in Franken?
Silvaner, Riesling, Weiburgunder, Grauburgunder, and Spatburgunder.
