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German and Sparkling Wine Notes

German Wine Regions and Vineyards

  • Location: Southwest Germany.
  • Critical Vineyards: 11 vineyards, responsible for most export and quality.
  • Latitude: Vineyards are located up to the 50th parallel, which is the upper limit.
  • Slope: Southern facing slopes are preferred for maximum warmth and sun exposure, often steep hillsides.
  • Sun Angle: Southern slopes allow for a better angle to receive the sun's rays.
  • Soil: Mozzo is important because it absorbs and reflects warmth back to the vines.

German Wine Classification

  • Classification Triangle: A tiered system of quality classification.
  • Top Level: Pradikatzwein (formerly QMP - Qualitatswein mit Pradikat).
  • Second Level: Qualitatswein (formerly QBA - Qualitatswein bestimmter Anbaugebiete).

German Wine Terms

  • Trocken: Refers to a dry wine with up to 9 grams of residual sugar (RS).
    • Comparison: Brut Champagne has 0-12 grams of sugar, illustrating how dry Trocken is.
  • Halbtrocken: Refers to a half-dry, or off-dry wine, with up to 15 grams of residual sugar.
  • Weingut: Refers to wine estate.
  • Oechsle: It is a measurement of the must or sugar density of grapes at harvest.
  • Sussreserve: Unfermented grape juice (must) that can be added to Pradikatswein.
    • Pradikatswein allows adding Sussreserve but not sugar (chaptalization).
    • Qualitatswein allows chaptalization.
  • Weiss: Means White.
  • Must: Unfermented grape juice.
  • Wine: Fermented grape juice.

German Wine Law of 1971

  • Purpose: Established a classification system based on the sweetness of grapes at harvest.
  • Emphasis: Ripe grapes were seen as essential for quality wine.
  • Classification: A "graduating staircase" where each level indicates greater must sugar weight.
  • Relevance: System classifies the grapes, not the finished wine.
  • Measurement: Uses Oechsle, which measures must weight.

Pradikat System Classifications (in ascending order of must weight):

  1. Kabinett: The lowest level. Grapes at normal harvest.
  2. Spatlese: Late harvest.
  3. Auslese: Late harvest with a touch of botrytis (noble rot).
    • Kabinett and Spatlese can be vinified dry, off-dry, or sweet.
    • Auslese and above are generally sweet.
  4. Beerenauslese (BA): Full botrytis.
  5. Eiswein: Grapes are frozen.
  6. Trockenbeerenauslese (TBA): Shriveled, dried grapes affected by botrytis; highest level of grape sugar; very sweet.

VDP System

  • Introduction: Introduced in the vintage of 2012
  • Focus: Voluntary system emphasizing vineyard quality.
  • Grosses Gewachs (Gross Lage): Grand Cru vineyard site.
  • Burgundy Influence::
    • Mirrors Burgundy's classification (Grand Cru, Premier Cru, Village Wines, Regional Wines).
  • Quality: Focuses on the quality of specific vineyard sites.

Grape Varietals in Germany

  • Two Most Important White Grapes:
    • Riesling.
    • Müller-Thurgau (synonym: Rivaner).
  • Grauburgunder: Pinot Gris.
  • Weissburgunder: Pinot Blanc.
  • Most Important Red Grape: Spätburgunder (Pinot Noir).

German Wine Regions

Mosel (Mosel-Saar-Ruwer)

  • Significance: Arguably Germany's most famous and important region.
  • River Influence: Rivers reflect light and absorb warmth.
  • Topography: Steep riverbanks require hand harvesting.
  • Soil: Slate soil absorbs and transmits heat, which imparts a smoky, flinty character (often described as "petroleum" outside Germany).

Rheingau

  • Significance: Arguably the most or second most important wine region.
  • Grape: Riesling-driven.
  • VDP: A vast majority of wines are classified by the VDP.
  • Climate: Warmer than the Mosel.
  • Soil: Clay-based, leading to denser, more concentrated wines compared to the Mosel.

Baden

  • Location: An extension of the Alsace region of France.
  • Grape: Spätburgunder is most noted, but it also has a dominance of Burgundian varietals.
  • Burgundian Varietals: Pinot Blanc (Weissburgunder), Pinot Gris (Grauburgunder), and Müller-Thurgau (Rivaner).

Sparkling Wine

  • Definition: Table wine with added CO_2.
  • Famous Regions: France, Italy, Spain, and California.
  • Quality Factors:
    • Grapes: Use of vibrant grapes with good acidity.
    • Location: Cooler sites.
    • Soil: Chalk and limestone.
    • Winemaking Techniques: Method of incorporating bubbles.
  • Taste: Most quality sparkling wine is on the dry side.

Methods of Incorporating Bubbles

  1. Traditional Method (Méthode Champenoise - MC).
  2. Tank Method (Charmat or Autoclave).

Champagne

  • Location: Northernmost wine region of France.
  • Anchoring Cities: Reims and Epernay.
  • Climate: Continental climate where grapes struggle to ripen.
  • Vintages: Inconsistencies lead to mostly non-vintage (NV) Champagne.
  • Soil: Chalk and limestone provides alkalinity to preserve the high acidity in the grapes.
  • Associated Varietals: Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, and Pinot Meunier.
    *Grapes Selected For: