Rheingau

Question 1

What styles of wine are made in the Rheingau?

Answer 1

Sweet to dry white
Rosé
Dry red
Sekt

Question 2

What are the major & minor grapes of the Rheingau?

Answer 2

Same as in Mosel!
Riesling, Spätburgunder, Muller-Thurgau

Question 3

What are the Rheingau’s important geographical features?

Answer 3

The Rhine river and its tributary Main
The Tanus Mountains to the North

Question 4

What are the Rheingau’s important landmarks?

Answer 4

Geisenheim Wine Institute
Kloster Eberbach
Schloss Johanisberg

Question 5

What is the Rheingau’s climate?

Answer 5

True continental with slight rain shadow from Tanus mountains

Question 6

What are the vineyard conditions in the Rheingau?

Answer 6

South-facing slopes with good drainage on the North bank of the river.

Question 7

What are the soils of the Rheingau?

Answer 7

Upper slope: Slate
Lower slope: Red slate with clay, loess, alluvial sand

Question 8

Give a brief history of the Rheingau

Answer 8

1136: Cistercian monks from Burgundy found Kloster Eberbach
1402: First evidence of Riesling plantings
1700s: Vines were relegated to infertile river valley slopes, inadvertently improving their quality
1775: First Spãtlese grapes harvested & vinified by Schloss Jo
1787: First Aüslese grapes harvest & vinified by Schloss Jo
1858: First Eiswein grapes harvested & vinified by Schloss Jo
1872: Geisenheim Wine Institute founded in Rüdesheim to go on to create many crossings, like Muller-Thurgau
Bernhard Breuer of George Breuer Wines spearheads Charta’s Erstes Gewächs movement for qualiity dry riesling

Question 9

What are the styles of excellent Rheingau wines?
How do they differ from Mosel wines?

Answer 9

Focus on dry riesling or concentrated examples of Prädikat wines, like Schloss Johannisberg; tend to be drier & higher alcohol with more concentration than those of mosel.

Expensive pinot aged in new french oak, a la August Kessler in Assmannhausen; tends to be fuller bodied and more concentrated than mosel

Question 10

Is Estate Bottling important in the Rheingau?

Answer 10

Yes, extremely, as reflected by their wine’s focus on terroir.

Question 11

What 2 gemeinden bookend the Rheingau?

Answer 11

Lorch & Hockheim

Question 12

How many bereich in Rheingau?

Answer 12

1! Johannisberg

Question 13

What are the 11 key Gemeinden of the Rheingau?

Answer 13

Assmannshausen
Rudesheim
Geisenheim
Johannisberg
Winkel
Hattenheim
Hallgarten
Erbach
Kiedrich
Eltville
Hocheim am Main

Question 14

What is the key Einzellagen of Assmannshausen?

Answer 14

Höllenberg

Question 15

What are the key Einzellagen of Rüdesheim?

Answer 15

Berg Roseneck, Berg Rottland, Berg Schlossberg

Question 16

What is the key Einzellagen of Geisenheim?

Answer 16

Schloss Johannisberg

Question 17

What is the key Einzellagen of Johannisberg?

Answer 17

Hölle

Question 18

What are the key Einzellagen of Winkle?

Answer 18

Schloss Volrads, Jesuitgarten, Hasensprung

Question 19

What are the key Einzellagen of Hallgarten?

Answer 19

Schönhell, Jungfer

Question 20

What are the key Einzellagen of Hattenheim?

Answer 20

Pfaffenberg, Mannberg, Steinberg

Question 21

What is Pfaffenberg?

Answer 21

A Hattenheim monopole of Schloss Schonborne

Question 22

What is the key Einzellagen of Erbach?

Answer 22

Marcobrunn

Question 23

What is the key Einzellagen of Kiedrich

Answer 23

Gräfenberg

Question 24

What is the key Einzellagen of Eltville?

Answer 24

Sonnenberg

Question 25

What are the key Einzellagen of Hocheim am Main?

Answer 25

Höle, Kirchenstück

Question 26

How dominant is Riesling in Rheingau?

Answer 26

Moreso there than anywhere else. 80% of plantings!

Question 27

What is a Rheingauer Flöte?

Answer 27

The brown flute bottles popular in the Rheingau, in contrast to the Mosel's green flutes.

Question 28

In what Gemeinden can you find Kloster Eberbach?

Answer 28

Hallgarten!

Question 29

Which Gemeinden is best known for Pinot Noir? Name the key Einzellagen & producer

Answer 29

August Kessler, in Höllenberg, in Assmannshausen