However most exports are still of sweet wines, particularly to the traditional export markets such as United States the Netherlands and Great Britain, which are the leading export markets both in terms of volume and value. Riesling has been documented from 1435 (close to Rheingau), and Pinot noir from 1318 on Lake Constance under the name Klebroth, from 1335 in Affenthal in Baden and from 1470 in Rheingau, where the monks kept a Clebroit-Wyngart in Hattenheim. German wine labels can be a bit intimidating: so many words! White wine accounts for almost two thirds of the total production. Rum with a high alcohol level is added generously to mulled wine, and the concoction is set in flames. The soil is slate in the steep valleys, to absorb the sun's heat and retain it overnight. Below are five regions you'll most likely encounter. Bowle loosely translates to punch, and it's served at every festival in Germany. [Photo: Maggie Hoffman]. Weingut Nigl Eiswein (Austria) If you are looking for an ice wine that you can leave in your wine cellar for decades, this is Weingut Nigl Eisewein . 1 V v. 11.3.2008 I 383, Wine Institute: German Wine Statistics 2009–2010, German Wine Institute: German Wine Statistics 2005–2006, German Wine Institute: German Wine Statistics 2006–2007, Wein-Plus Glossar: Hessische Staatsweingüter, List of wineries indicating the biggest German producers, http://michael-liebert.de/weintipps/schloss-reinhartshausen-lergenmueller-neuer-besitzer/, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=German_wine&oldid=993114993, Short description is different from Wikidata, All articles with vague or ambiguous time, Wikipedia articles incorporating a citation from The American Cyclopaedia, Wikipedia articles incorporating a citation from The American Cyclopaedia with a Wikisource reference, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Some crossings used for low-quality white wine yield up to 150–200 hl/ha, while quality-conscious producers who strive to produce well-balanced wines of concentrated flavours rarely exceed 50 hl/ha. Here is a creative option for you: German mulled wine (Gluhwein). The 1999 viticultural survey counted 68 598 vineyard owners, down from 76 683 in Western Germany in 1989/90, for an average size of 1.5 ha. Since several years ago[when?] Since the 1980s, demand for German red wine has constantly increased, and this has resulted in a doubling of the vineyards used for red wine. This means that most of the high-ranking German wineries each only produces around 100,000 bottles of wine per year. [19] After a few decades in the top spot, in the late 1960s Silvaner was overtaken by the high-yielding Müller-Thurgau, which in turn started to lose ground in the 1980s. A total of 5,864 vineyard owners owned more than 5 ha each in 2016, accounting for 81% of Germany's total vineyard surface, and it is in this category that the full-time vintners and commercial operations are primarily found. It is served hot or warm and is alcoholic, although there are non-alcoholic versions of it. Before I knew it, the bottle was empty (whoops) and I was wishing I had a Mary Poppins-like bag filled with more (I shared with my husband and it's only 11% alcohol—so give me a break). [5] However, it is not absolutely certain that these knives were used for viticultural purposes. The bright pop, the mouth-watering freshness of this riesling—and so many German wines—makes it easy to get excited. *Most wine is made from a family of grapes called “Vitus Vinifera”. Toasting with glasses of ice wine. Winemakers generally decide to emphasize the purity and precision of the fruit flavors when it comes to Spätburgunder, though the use of oak varies greatly. Yep, that's the sweet stuff: trocken means 'dry,' but here the term refers to the dried berries on the vine rather than the wine. A wine labeled with 'GG' will also be dry. What are the origins of mulled wine? To “mull,” according to Merriam-Webster, means “to heat, sweeten, and flavor with spices.” Typically, a red variety is steeped with mulling spices like cinnamon, cloves, allspice, anise, and nutmeg. I was all ready to write this post, but something was missing. Mulled wine goes by different names, depending on the country of origin. Feinherb wines are slightly more sweet than halbtrocken wines. From mid-1990s and during the next decade, there was an almost explosive growth of plantation of red varieties. Cornelius Donnhoff in the Nahe [Photo: Maggie Hoffman]. Top 3 Grapes: Riesling (61%), Müller-Thurgau (12.2%), Elbling (5.8%) The most famous of all German wine regions, this cool area has a continental climate and is near the border of France and Luxembourg. There are tons of great producers, including Willi Shaefer, Immich-Batterieberg, Martin Kerpen, J.J. Christoffel, A.J. [21] The lists include varieties permitted only for selected experimental cultivation. Two digit decreases of operating owners change the structure. The great sites are often extremely steep so they catch the most sunlight, but they are difficult to harvest mechanically. 13%? What is generally considered Germany's oldest city, Trier, was founded as a Roman garrison and is situated directly on the river Moselle (Mosel) in the eponymous wine region. There's a lot to love: Riesling can taste like peach or apricot, with a bolt of lime-like tartness. Germany is the producer of some of the most admired wines in the world. Since the grapes are picked and processed before they're thawed out, frozen water and highly concentrated sugar and acid is squeezed out. Those who own vineyards in truly good locations also have the option of renting them out to larger producers to operate. Nowadays, over 35% of the vineyards are cultivated with red grapes. The slopes are also positioned facing the south or south-west to angle towards the sun. Plantings was shared between traditional Spätburgunder and a number of new crossings, led by Dornfelder, while other traditional German red varieties such as Portugieser only held their ground. Müller-Thurgau—the second most planted grape in Germany—is one of these, a crossing of Riesling and Madeleine Royale. The varieties listed below are officially permitted for commercial cultivation. Slow-roasted prime rib with a rich red wine jus and a side of braised oxtail: the perfect holiday centerpiece. To delve deeper, look for wines from Schlossgut Diel and Schäfer-Fröhlich. However, to those familiar with the terms used, a German wine label reveals much information about the wine's origin, the minimum ripeness of the grapes used for the wine, as well as the dryness/sweetness of the wine. Charlemagne is supposed to have brought viticulture to Rheingau. A fifth of all of the wine grapes planted in Germany are riesling, so to talk about German wine, you have to start with this iconic grape. These wines age beautifully, though they're also excellent accompaniments to a cheese plate whenever you're ready to pop the corks. [Photo: Maggie Hoffman]. The vineyards are extremely small compared to New World vineyards and wine making is dominated by craft rather than industry wines. A beneficial mould that causes grapes to shrivel and sugars to concentrate, resulting in sweet, unctuous wines; common botrytis wines include Sauternes, Tokay, and German beerenauslese. I wish it could be as simple as always paying attention to the ripeness levels—the Prädikat categories above. 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 in the Geisenheim Grape Breeding Institute. For instance, it's called glögg in Sweden, glühwein in Germany, grzaniec galicyjski in Poland, vin brûlé in Italy, and vin chaud in France. Keep a pot warming on your stove for the perfect taste (and smell) of Christmas! Overall nearly 135 grape varieties may be cultivated in Germany – 100 are released for white wine production and 35 for red wine production. However, there are also a number of regions for the insignificant table wine (Tafelwein) and country wine (Landwein) categories. Prädikatswein is the highest level for wine classification and must be labeled by Prädikat—a note on the bottle that tells you about the ripeness level of the grapes before they were made into wine. Gewurztraminer is a fairly flashy white grape grown predominantly in France (especially Alsace), Germany, the U.S., Australia, and New Zealand, especially in pockets where the climate leans to the cooler side and the flavors have an opportunity to concentrate. The geographic classification is different for Landwein, Deutscher Wein, Qualitätswein and Prädikatswein. Producers to look for include Dr. Bürklin-Wolf, Rebholz, and Müller-Catoir. Though these wines typically have the most delicate and elegant of frames, they support incredible intensity, purity … Chaptalization is allowed only up to the QbA level, not for Prädikatswein and all wines must be fermented dry if chaptalised. Posted by request. Halbtrocken wines are off-dry and have 9–18 grams/liter of residual sugar. The subsequent decline can be attributed to locally produced beer becoming the everyday beverage in northern Germany in the 16th century, leading to a partial loss of market for wine, to the Thirty Years' War ravaging Germany in the 17th century, to the dissolution of the monasteries, where much of the winemaking know-how was concentrated, in those areas that accepted the Protestant reformation, and to the climatic changes of the Little Ice Age that made viticulture difficult or impossible in marginal areas.[5]. Its spicy and sweet smell is associated with Christmas. The eastward spread of viticulture coincided with the spread of Christianity, which was supported by Charlemagne. Over the years, scientists in Germany have created many crossings of different grapes in order to come up with grape varieties that could succeeded in the harsh German climate. , Germanic viticulture was practiced primarily, although there are 13 defined regions quality! 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