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German wine
*** Shopping-Tip: German wine
Image:Bocksbeutels.jpg 200px|thumb|right|German wine from [[Franconia|Franken in the characteristic round bottles (
Bocksbeutel)]]
Many people think of
Germany as a
German beer beer producing country, and the beers of
Bavaria in particular are known very well internationally. However '''German wine''' is produced in many parts of Germany, and due to the northerly location have produced
wines quite unlike any others in Europe, many of outstanding quality. Despite this it is still better known abroad for cheap, sweet, low-quality mass-produced wines such as
Liebfraumilch.
German wines
The wines have historically been predominantly white, and the finest made from
riesling. Many wines have been sweet and low in
alcohol, light and
unoaked. Historically many of the wines (other than late harvest wines) were probably dry (
trocken), as techniques to stop fermentation did not exist. Recently much more German white wine is being made in the dry style again. Much of the wine sold in Germany is dry, especially in restaurants. However most exports are still of sweet wines, particularly to the traditional export markets such as
Great Britain. Red wine has always been hard to produce in the German climate, and in the past was usually light coloured, closer to
rosé or the red wines of
Alsace. However recently there has been greatly increased demand and darker, richer red wines (often
barrique aged) are produced from grapes such as
Dornfelder and Spätburgunder, the German name for
pinot noir.
Because of the northerly climate, there has been a search for suitable grape varieties (particularly frost resistant and early harvesting ones), and many crosses have been developed, such as
Müller-Thurgau. However these have generally been of much lower quality than the grapes used historically, and have merely been used to produce large amounts of low quality wine. Recently there has been an increase in plantings of riesling as local, and to a lesser extent, international demand has been demanding high quality wines.
The wines are all produced around rivers, mainly the
Rhine and its tributaries, often sheltered by mountains. The great sites are often extremely steep so they catch the most sunlight and so are difficult to harvest mechanically. Many are also extremely small, and several wines may be produced from grapes of different ripenesses, and different grape varieties. This makes the lists of wines produced long and complex, and many wines hard to obtain as production is so limited.
Perhaps the most distinctive characteristic of German wines is the high level of
acidity in them caused both by the lesser ripeness in a northerly climate, and by the selection of grapes such as
riesling which retain acidity even at high ripeness levels.
Many wines in Germany are produced using
biodynamic agriculture biodynamic or
organic farming methods.
Grapes
These are listed roughly in order of importance, although this varies significantly by region.
White wine grapes
Principal varieties are listed below; there are larger numbers of less important varieties too.
*
Riesling (Klingelberger)
*
Müller-Thurgau
*
Silvaner
*
Kerner
*
Bacchus grape Bacchus
*
Scheurebe
*
Gewürztraminer
*Grauer Burgunder or Ruländer (
Pinot Gris)
*Weisser Burgunder (
Pinot Blanc)
Red wine grapes
*Spätburgunder and Frühburgunder (
Pinot Noir)
*
Portugieser
*
Dornfelder
*
Trollinger
*Schwarzriesling (
Pinot Meunier)
*
Lemberger
Types of wine
German wine classification:
*
Deutscher Tafelwein (German
table wine)
*
Deutscher Landwein (German
country wine)
*Qualitätswein bestimmter Anbaugebiete (
QbA)
*Qualitätswein mit Prädikat (
QmP)
**
Kabinett
**
Spätlese
**
Auslese
**
Beerenauslese
**
Trockenbeerenauslese
**
Eiswein (
ice wine)
Other entries
*
Classic
*
Öchsle scale
*
Grosse Gewachs
*
Liebfraumilch
*
Blue Nun
*
trocken
*
Halbtrocken
*
Lieblich
*
Hock (wine) Hock
*
Federweißer
*
Sekt (
sparkling wine)
Regions
Image:German wine regions.jpg 450px|right|
'''There are 13 regions where wine is grown in Germany''':
:1.
Ahr
:2.
Baden Germany Baden
:3.
Franken
:4.
Hessische Bergstrasse
:5.
Mittelrhein
:6.
Mosel-Saar-Ruwer
:7.
Nahe
:8.
Pfalz
:9.
Rheingau
:10.
Rheinhessen
:11.
Saale-Unstrut
:12.
Sächsische Weinstrasse
:13.
Württemberg
References
*Stephen Brook, ''The Wines of Germany''. ISBN 1840007915.
*Alfred Langenbach, ''German Wines and Vines''. Vista Books 1962.
*S.F. Hallgarten, ''German Wines''. ISBN 0950741000.
*Andrew Barr, ''Wine Snobbery: An Insiders Guide to the Booze Business''. ISBN 0571150608. Especially Chapter 8 on history of sweetness in German wines.
See also
*
wine
*
Globalization of wine
*
Berlin Wine Tasting of 2004
*
Cuisine of Germany
{{Wine by country}}
Category:Wines by country
de:Weinbau in Deutschland
fr:Viticulture en Allemagne
nl:Wijnstreken van Duitsland
ja:ドイツ�ワイン
sv:Tyska viner
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