Germany Section 6

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Section 6 – The Wines of Germany

Overview of the Regions, Wines & Grapes of Germany

Introduction

Arguably the most under appreciated wine region in Western Europe, Germanyproduces some of the greatest white wine in the world. Germany is also home ofthe Riesling grape, which many consider to be the greatest of all white grapevarieties. Vineyards were established in Germany during Roman times, and thencontrolled by the church until they were handed over to private land owner’sfollowing Napoleonic conquest.

Appellation System

German wine labels are notoriously difficult for the novice to decipher.Information on the label includes the region, sometimes the town and vineyard,the ripeness level of the grapes at harvest and the degree of dryness of the wine.Germany’s vineyards are ‘on the edge’ as far as where grapes can be grown andripened with any degree of success. Because of the marginal nature of viticulturehere, producers avail themselves of every trick in the book: grapes are plantedon slopes steeply angled towards the sun and close to rivers and the vineyardsare planted with grapes adapted to the cool conditions. The climate is harsh,however, and ripening the grapes fully is no easy task; this is why Germany’shighest quality wine category is based on the degree of ripeness of the grapes atharvest time. This category, the QmP will be discussed below.Another complicating factor is that place names and vineyard names oftenoverlap or repeat. So a great quality vineyard, town and group of vineyards mayhave very similar names, and the label gives no indication as to which is which.In this course book, however, the main focus will be the ripeness level of thegrapes as an indicator of style and quality.The categories of German wines will be listed from lowest to highest.

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Tafelwein: This is the equivalent of the Vin de Table, or table wine in theFrench appellation and represents a fairly insignificant proportion of winein Germany. Almost none of it is exported.

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Landwein: This category is the equivalent of the French Vin de Pays.These wine can be made from non-traditional varieties and using non-traditional methods. Unlike in Italy, Spain or France, this category is verysmall in Germany and very little of the wine is exported.

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Qualitaswein Bestimmter Anbaugabiet (QbA): This is the lower of the twotop-tier quality designations for German wines. QbA means ‘quality winesfrom specified regions’. There are 13 demarcated wine regions where thewine may be made from approved grape varieties. The bottle mustindicate the place of origin, grape variety and vintage on the label. At thisquality category wines may be Chaptalized (sugar added to increase

alcohol content). These are generally simple, inexpensive and slightlysweet wines.

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Qualitatswein mit Pradikat (QmP): This represents the highest qualitycategory of German wines. QmP means ‘quality wines with attributes’.These attributes are a label designation that indicates the level of ripenessof the grapes at the time of picking. The sugar content of the grape isdetermined using a scale called Oeschle, which measures the mustweight of the grapes. There are six categories listed here from least ripe toripest: Kabinett, Spatlese, Auslese, Beerenauslese (BA), Eiswein, andTrockenbeerenauslese (TBA). These wines may not be Chaptalized,however they may be sweetened by adding

sussreserve

, or unfermentedgrape must.The ripeness levels are:

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Kabinett: Usually light wines made from ripe grapes intended tobe light quaffing wines or to be matched with light food. Theycan be dry, medium-dry or sweet and thebest can be very flavorful and crisp.

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Spatlese: This term means ‘late harvest’.These wines are made from grapesharvested after the first pass through thevineyard or from more favorable sites.Spatlese are more intense in flavor andconcentration than Kabinetts. May bematched with richer food or consumedalone; also a great match with spicy Asiandishes. The later harvest allows thegrapes to dry and ripen on sunny autumndays, increasing the intensity of theflavors. These can be dry, medium-dry orsweet in style.

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Auslese: Harvest of selected, very ripebunches. Great wines with intense in bouquets and flavors.These are usually sweet, although they may be vinified dry,making them higher in alcohol but still very crisp and aromatic.Great for matching with heavier dishes such as baked ham andother main course dishes. Until

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Beerenauslese (BA): This translates roughly to ‘selectivelypicked berries’ and is made from individually harvested overripegrapes often affected by noble rot. Remarkably rich, sweetdessert wines to be enjoyed as dessert by themselves or withdessert.

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Eiswein: Literally, ice wine, this wine is made from BA ripenesslevel grapes that are left to freeze on the vine. When pressed,

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