Wines of Germany
and nearby areas
K. E. Limburg
-- Outline -What this lecture covers:
• Some geography
• Some history
• Some pronunciation
• German wine law and classification
• Focus on 4 areas in Germany, 6-7
grapes
• A bit on Alsace and Austria (if time
permits)
Univ. of Reading Library,
Wikipedia
Lonely Planet
Worldatlas.com
1
Alsace
Lonely Planet
Rhine River: 1,320 km long (820 mi.)
Watershed area: 185,000 km2
Basin population: 50 x 106 in 9 countries
Drains into the North Sea through the
Netherlands
Most German wines in Rhine R. basin.
http://www.grid.unep.ch/product/publication/freshwater_europe/rhine.php
Wikipedia
2
German wine history...
…again, the Romans (but earlier trading)
Ancient Roman bridge across the Mosel at Trier
– called Mosella around AD 370 (Ausonius)
German Wine Society
Wikipedia
Eberbach Abbey –example of the
monasteries that produced wine
Trellising
practiced by
the Romans
Most of the
grapes grown
pre-Middle
Ages appear to
have been red
Oxford Companion to Wine
Wikipedia
3
The Hanseatic League...
Wikipedia
Widespread trading network
in 1200s – lasted into 1600s
Germans traded wines to
Scandinavia, got herring and
“stockfish” in exchange
www.german-architecture.info
Why?
Oxford Companion to Wine
Thermal deviation from mid-20th Century average
Oxford Companion to Wine
Grape growing and
wine production
was much more
widespread in
medieval Germany
than it is today –
Lübeck in
Germany was
the “Queen of
the Hanseatic
League” –
important
wine trading
port
Red wines produced
“Little Ice Age”
Oxford Companion to Wine
4
Deutsch Aussprache
(a bit of German pronunciation)
German spelling
How to pronounce it
ie
ee
ei
I
au
ow
a
ah
ä
eh (short)
e
ay
ü
u
u
oo
Fear of Wine
German Wine Law
In Germany, vineyards aren’t classified as they are
in France. Rather, wines are assigned a
classification by quality (secondarily by region).
The three major categories of quality are
• Deutscher Tafelwein = German table wine (cheap,
not great quality, sold widely in Germany but not really
outside) – chaptalization is allowed
• Qualitätswein bestimmter Anbaugebiete (“QbA”) =
quality wine, coming from specified areas, with
minimum must weight (dissolved sugar content) of ca.
60° Oechsle – must carry a test number (“A.P. Nr.”)
• Qualitätswein mit Prädikat (QmP) – see next slide
Qualitätswein mit Prädikat - continued
This is the grade of the top wines. Cannot add
sugar – it must all come from the grapes.
QmP is further classified by the must weight of the
juice – at least 73° Oechsle (about 9.5% alcohol)
Wines must be made of
specific grape varieties
Must come from a particular
area (Bereich)
Must be quality tested, and
bear the test number
5
Qualitätswein mit Prädikat - continued
Kabinett – the minimum QmP wine, at least 73°
How to read a
German wine
label!
Spätlese (means “late picked”) – at least 85°
Auslese (means “picked out”) – at least 90°
Beerenauslese – late harvest, selected berry by
berry – at least 120°
Trockenbeerenauslese – essentially raisins –
must be at least 150° - the most precious of all
German wines
Eiswein – must be made of grapes that are
frozen solid when picked (emulated here in
the Finger Lakes and elsewhere)
Fear of Wine
German grape varieties
Silvaner
Traminer, or
Gewürztraminer
Over 135 grape varieties are grown in Germany,
but the most common are
Riesling
Wikipedia
Müller-Thurgow
Wikipedia
6
Spätburgunder und Weißburgunder
Increasing in production:
Blaufrankisch, “Blue
Frankish”
also known as
Lemberger or
Limburger
a.k.a. Pinot Noir and Pinot Blanc
Wikipedia
Wikipedia
Four Wine Regions to Know in Germany
Grüner Veltliner
Actually, a grape grown
almost exclusively in
Austria and the Czech
Republic
Very “food friendly,”
easy to drink,
inexpensive wine
There are 13
wine regions in
Deutschland,
but these are
the “famous
four”
(even goes with
asparagus)
(first tasting)
Wikipedia
German Wine Society
7
Mosel – Saar - Ruwer
Mosel – the largest river in this group –
has steep slopes of slate that form part
of the “terroir” – beautiful rieslings –
look for “Piesporter Michelsberg”,
Bernkastel
Saar – small area (600 ha), difficult to
make good wines due to cool climate.
But when the autumns are long and
warm, makes lush, honey-like whites
Ruwer – a small (46 km long) tributary of
the Mosel. Also difficult conditions, but
capable of producing great wines with
complexity
Wine #2:
Maximin Grünhäuser
QbA Riesling 2007
This vinter is ranked
4-stars by Hugh
Johnson (his highest
grade!)
Wikipedia
The Rheingau
(“The climax of the wine-growing Rhine”)
Produces the finest
German wines. Some
estates 600 years
old, some cloisters >
1000 years old,
producing wine for
much of that time.
Stars & Stripes
Rieslings are the grape of
choice here, but there’s a
small production of reds
(pinot noir)
Our #3 wine is
de-classified
Spätlese…very
good!
Schloss-Johannisberg (Wikipedia)
8
Pfalz (“Rheinpfalz”)
Also known as the Palatinate, just north of Alsace in
France. Largest region, sunniest and driest of the
German wine regions (even grow figs & lemons there)
“Deutsche
Weinstrasse”
goes through
here (German
wine trail)
Rheinhessen (the Hessian Rhine)
A 20 x 30 mile area south of a bend in the
Rhine, ca. 150 villages. Divided up into
“Grosslage” and the better wineries will list
their individual “lage.”
Much of the
production is
unremarkable,
goes into
Liebfraumilch
But look for
Niersteiner,
Grosslage Rehbach
Look for
Mittelhaardt or
Ruppertsberg on
the labels
Wikipedia
Wikipedia
Wines nearby of a similar ilk:
Austria
Switzerland
Alsace (*)
Alsatian wines most
famous, make memorable
Gewürtztraminers ($$)
Austrians make very
decent whites, and fine
reds (rare to find in the
US, but worth it)
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