Wines of Germany – Part One

There’s much more to German wines than Black Tower and Blue Nun!

The main growing regions consist of the following:

• Mittelrhein
• Rheingau
• Ahr
• Nahe
• Rheinhessen
• Mosel-saar-ruwer
• Rheinfalz
• Hessische bergstrasse
• Franken
• Wutrremburg
• Baden

Generally the climatic conditions for the growing of grapes are often referred to as “marginal” however the vineyards still manage to produce wines of variety both low in alcohol but high in acidity.  When balancing the wines  to achieve the desired finish ,the maker will use “chaptalisation” to enhance the alcohol and unfermented grape juice to give a little sweetness and fruit to balance the acidity.

There are two categories of wine produced in Germany;  Table wine and Quality wine.

Table Wine

Deutscher Tafelwein

This describes wine that has been made from grapes grown in Germany.

Tafelwein

If the word above is used on its own then it describes a wine that is blended with imported wine from other EU countries and is therefore not German wine in its entirety.

Deutscher Landwein

This classification is similar to that of the French “vin de pays”, is a regional wine and is a category of tafelwein.  Landwein is made a lot drier than other German wines and has a particular taste which is distinctive. It is identified by two descriptions;

Trocken; meaning “dry” or Halbtroken  “semi-dry”.

Quality Wine

These wines are known and referred to as “Qualitatswein” and have two categories:

QbA

In German  “Qualitatswein  bestimmte  Anbaugebeite”  . On the wine label it will clearly show this or just simply “QbA”.  The translation of the above is “designated quality wine region”.

There are 11 quality wine regions in Germany and are known as “Anbaugebeite”. Within these regions there are sub divisions known as “Bereich” and yes you`ve guessed it within these regions there are “Grosslagens”!  A Grosslage consists of a collection/group of vineyards producing wines of a similar character.

However… there is a further division smaller than a grosslage… The Einzellage

QmP

QmP means Qualitatschwein mit Pradikat and means that these wines are made with extra qualities.

There are 6  different “QmP”  categories:

• Kabinett
• Spatlese
• Auslese
• Beerenauslese
• Eiswein
• Trockenbeerenauslese

As mentioned before the climate is cool, but the winters are very cold . The summers can be exceptionally warm  and in certain years can result in the grape harvest being abundant and concentrated.

The grape varieties concentrate on three main types;

Reisling

This is probably the best known and accounts for up to 30% of vineyard plantings. It is a late ripener and has strong acidity but delicious concentrated flavours.

Silvaner

Traditional German  variety yielding a much higher tonnage than the Reisling  and a lot softer tasting wine.

Muller-Thurgau

Of Swiss origin due to its creator Professor Muller, this is an early ripener and like the silvaner is a high yield vine.

Other grapes include the Gewurztraminer, Kerner, Bacchus, Morio-Muscat, Scheurebe, Faber and Ortega.

Viticulture

South facing slopes near rivers and mountains and even in areas of forestation .  Soils vary but in generally the poorer the soil the greater the yield, thats not to say of course that rich fertile soils do not produce high quality grape juice it is normally in much smaller quantities.

Vinification

Due to the cooler nature of German weather the grapes produce  wines of high acidity and low sugars. So the German producers overcome this by adding unfermented grape juice prior to bottling. This juice is called “ Sussreserve”. Through careful blending and dosage,  a wine is produced with out any harsh overacidic taste and an inviting touch of fruit and sweetness prevails.

Ok, you might think we have forgotten arguably the most famous of German mainstream wine…

Liebfraumilch

…well we haven’t!

This is a QbA wine  and can only come from a vineyard  in one of the four  Rhine Regions.

• Rheinhessen
• Rheinfalz
• Rheingau
• Nahe

This as we know is a easy drinking wine, soft, fruity and probably the first wine you ever tasted. Times have moved on though, and whilst it still has its place in popular drinking culture, generally its grape varieties have become less well known with the consumer.

There is one thing worth mentioning about German wines… and that is the high quality, variety and depth of flavours in the many different wines you can obtain from the smaller “boutique” vineyards often overlooked when purchasing your wine.

You can read part two of this article here where I cover the German grape types.

Regards
Peter