It's no wonder that wine lovers who favor the wines of Germany often speak about them in a slightly defensive tone. Riesling based wines are hard to find at retailers; the last thirty years have lowered their reputation; Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc drinkers think they are too sweet to drink with food; and the difficulties of reading most German wine labels -- and appreciating the differences they delineate -- stand in the way.
But there are still delicious German wines worth seeking out. The clean complexity of a cool Rhein or Mosel has the whisper of romance that turns a pleasant sunny afternoon or candlelit dinner into a truly memorable occasion. Their flowery Riesling bouquet and low alcohol are immediately approachable, yet the better examples are always balanced by relatively high acidity for piercing freshness and a lingering finish. Approximately eighty percent of German wines are white, but their permutations of varietal, climate, and style make up a fascinating array. In addition, a new generation of wine enthusiasts have discovered that these refreshing wines make excellent partners to the spicy, slightly sweet and occasionally fiery influences of popular ethnic cuisines. With even limited access to their great variety and charm, no wine lover should miss out on the pleasures of delicious fine wines from Germany.
A note of caution: the German wine industry's two traditional challenges are its climate and its commitment to quality. Only a stubborn, almost quixotic dedication to the art of winemaking can persist against the difficult circumstances (steep vineyards, a cold and unstable climate, limited yields) that create the great German wines. Since the second World War, mass producers have devised ways to produce facsimiles of historic German wines that appeal to the least experienced wine drinker. Without snobbishness, it is only fair to consider these sweet, low acid "Blue Nun" style wines from lesser varietals a less serious category of beverage.
History
Wine has been loved and cultivated in Germany since Roman times, when writer Ausonious of Bordeaux first described beautiful hillside vineyards beside the Mosel River. Since the rise of the early Christian church, the vine has been intimately intertwined with religious and secular history, and cultivation in the Rhein, Neckar, Mosel, Saar and Ruwer Valleys is well documented. The great administrator Charlemagne supported winemaking directly by planting projects and also indirectly, by his support and encouragement of the monastic orders, who used wine for ceremonial and daily use. These orders emphasized personal devotion and service, and their labor has been critical to the planting and maintenance of the labor intensive, low yield German vineyards throughout the centuries. A number of monastic organizations are still present and active today, notably Schloss Johannisberg and the Cistercian abbey of Kloster Eberbach, known as the traditional center of the German wine industry.
The population of (present day) Germany expanded greatly between 1000 and 1500, and the area planted in vineyards extended even into inappropriate areas as forests on mountains and plains were cleared. The Catholic orders remained a major source of wine production throughout the Middle Ages. After about 1400, they were joined by the aristocracy, and then the emerging middle classes and regional and city councils. The practice of terracing became common, and the monastic orders even managed to plant hillsides in the remote valleys, until the total vineyard area covered four times its current size. The ports of Cologne and Frankfurt competed vigorously for the wine trade, as did Hamburg, and German wines were shipped to Scandinavia, England, Holland, Switzerland, southern Germany and central Europe.
By the late Middle Ages, a cooling in the climate, foreign wars and the constraints of a larger population caused a collapse in land and wine prices, and a consequent decline in vineyards. Marginal areas were abandoned for other uses. Trade with other European countries brought competition with stronger red and fortified wines, which became fashionable, and the lower lying lands returned to growing grain for bread and for brewing the newly popular beer, which was to displace wine as a daily beverage in the north. The decline in vineyards improved standards in some areas, where better varietals, including Riesling, Muscat, Traminer, Klevner (related to Pinot Blanc and Pinot Auxerrois), and Gutedel (Chasselas), as well as red varietals replaced the previously popular but bland Elbling, a possibly native vine which had been the choice of the Romans.
A less casual attitude toward winemaking meant increased regulation of production after the late 1600's. In the Mosel Valley, the Church extended its influence in the first laws prohibiting the sugaring of wines (1750) and requiring replacement of lower quality varietals by Riesling vines (late 1700's), as did church authorities in the Rheingau, who also commanded that the red vine Orl'ans, (probably Pinot Noir), be added to the vineyards. In the same period the custom of distinguishing particular vineyards for high quality wines first arose, as did early laws against wine adulteration. In the 17th and 18th centuries the custom of late harvest picking became common. In the aftermath of the French Revolution and the Napoleonic Wars, a number of medieval customs such as land tolls and tithes were abolished, which freed smaller land holders to make vineyard improvements. Almost 45% of Church-owned lands were assumed and re-assigned by 1803, creating a new class of peasant and bourgeois vineyard owners.
The map of Germany has been re-drawn many times over the centuries, and in the early 1800's the area was still a complicated series of duchies and principalities, each with its own system of customs laws. The creation of a General Customs Union (the Zollverein) among them changed the market to a free style that opened up an intense competition and further encouraged the production of better quality wines, a trend that was to increase with the creation of the German empire.
In the 19th century, both aristocratic and middle class vineyard owners created growers unions to deal with vinification, storage and distribution. State authorities established schools for teaching and research, with emphasis on wine improvement. At the same time, chemist Ludwig Gall suggested addition of sugar as a simple remedy for underripe grape juice. Another alternative, Sekt, the local sparkling wine, was also developed and became popular in the second half of the century. Fungal diseases became troublesome, and phylloxera arrived to plague German vineyards in 1881.
The twentieth century was as tumultuous for the German wine industry as the nineteenth. Of course both World Wars severely affected workers, production and distribution. World War I was followed by political occupation by France in the Rhein until 1929, and an unbalanced duty scheme favored French and even Luxembourgish wines to the local product. Meanwhile, the Wine Law of 1930 strengthened standards and regulations nationwide, creating the category of "natural" (as opposed to sweetened) wines, regulating blending and abolishing the planting of American-European hybrids.
Under the Nazi era, all private and collegial wine organizations were replaced by the Union of Viticulture, which squelched initiative and improvement efforts. After the end of the second World War, virtually unlimited competition by foreign wine imports brought heavy pressure on producers. In self-defense, the cooperative organizations returned. Some of these included the lowest quality vineyards, but the top quality growers also banded together, and eventually the recovery effort produced a second huge vineyard expansion and greatly augmented yields.
Improved pest control, clone selection and frost protection allowed a typical yield of 1.1 ton/acre in 1900 to expand to as much as 5.7 tons/acre in 1980, and exports boomed. In the 1950's, thousands of smaller historic designations were abolished under the vineyard reorganization and engineering plan known as the Flurbereinigung, and in 1971, German wine law was again reformed to bring it into compliance with European Union regulations (see Classification section for the current system). It was during this time that such blended bulk wine products as Liebfraumilch first became standardized and broadcast worldwide.
At the beginning of the twenty-first century, the industry maintains a difficult balance, with mass producers still shipping millions of gallons of low-priced wines abroad. At the same time, their high volume efforts are balanced by a zealous and dedicated core of fine vintners attempting to expand the reputation of German wines with painstakingly handcrafted products. Perhaps the best comment on the current situation is that most Germans emphatically reject the mass market wines and seek out the classic Rieslings as well as foreign-influenced dry (trocken) styles of wine for their own consumption.
Climate/Cultivation
Germany's finest vineyards are located on steep southern-oriented slopes overlooking the river valleys, particularly those of the Rhein, Neckar, Main, Nahe, Ahr and Mosel Rivers, where the presence of water and warm pockets created by meandering streams moderate the possibility of frost. Where practical, flatlands and gentle slopes are also planted in vineyard, though accommodation must be made regarding varietals and handling.
Germany's cool climate is its most difficult challenge. The basic problem (as well as the potential for greatness) of German winemaking is that climatic variations, which can be extreme from one slope to another, are registered with great sensitivity by the grapes, making both brilliance and disaster very real possibilities in every single vintage. There are usually not quite enough hours of sunshine to insure ripeness, making winemaking a perpetual gamble.
Soils vary tremendously from decomposed slate on the mountainsides to loam in the flatlands. Exposure, frost, cold winds and high altitude all affect the viability of various sites. The average vineyard holding in Germany is small (under two acres), and many of the most famous vineyards have dozens of owners with widely differing facilities, budgets and philosophies. With the steep hillsides and short growing season, grapes tend to ripen unevenly, and the crop may be thinned early in the season to help ensure good ripening of the remaining grapes. The finer vineyards must be manually harvested, often several times, but the skilled labor for such work is quite expensive, and mechanical methods are preferred in flat and foothill vineyards.
It is a blessing for consumers that German vintners usually indicate varietals on the label, because this is one of the best and easiest indications of what to expect from the wine in the bottle. If a varietal is shown, it must make up at least 85% of the contents.
WHITES
Of Germany's dozens of varietals, the great majority are white. The finest is Riesling, by far the most typical among distinguished wines. This variety is exquisitely sensitive to soil and climate characteristics, and many connoisseurs feel it makes the world's greatest white wines. All the Rhein growing areas are dominated by Riesling - elegant, long-lived, and fuller-bodied in Baden, and known for a smoky character in the Rheinhessen.
Unfortunately Riesling is not an easy varietal to grow. It has a relatively long growing season, and many German vineyards areas are subject to early and late frosts. To cope with this danger, a number of hybrids were developed, notably M'ller-Thurgau, which recent genetic research has determined to be a cross between Riesling and Gutedel, (rather than Riesling and Silvaner as was formerly believed). Developed in the nineteenth century, it produces less memorable wines with some Riesling flavor qualities, but is much more prolific and dependable. In the 1990's M'ller-Thurgau accounted for 45% of German vineyard plantings, mostly for the mass market export wines.
Among all German wine regions, 85% of vineyards are planted with Riesling and its hybrids. In addition to M'ller-Thurgau, these hybrids also include Rieslaner, a relatively demanding grape with potential for strong Riesling character, and Scheurebe, which can be used for both dry and sweet wines. Both of these are crosses between Riesling and Silvaner. With attentive vinification, Scheurebe can make high quality wines with pleasant grapefruit and red currant aromas, especially in the Rheinpfalz.
Acreage for the historic Silvaner varietal has been dwindling in recent years. This minimally aromatic white grape makes an outstanding dry wine in Franken - soft, earthy, and full-bodied, with fresh apple and citrus flavors and a fresh finish. It is not usually vinified sweeter than Auslese, and shows some similarity to a good Chablis when grown on limestone soils. Silvaner is also a specialty of Rheinhessen, where it makes a light, soft varietal and is also blended into bulk wines.
The rich, spicy Traminer (Gew'rztraminer) expresses its floweriness best in Baden and Pfalz, where a good degree of acid modifies its exuberance. German Grauburgunder (Rul'nder or Pinot Gris) makes both sweet and dry wines. The dry version has a honeyed, spicy fruit, earthy aroma, and is best in the southern Rhein around Baden and Pfalz, where it is sometimes oak-aged. Sweet versions are less aromatic but still have full, rich flavors. Weissburgunder (Pinot Blanc) makes dry, structured wines in Germany, with melon and pear aromas. It is also sometimes given oak aging in Baden and Pfalz, where the modern dry style is very successful. Other whites include Kerner, Huxelrebe, Chardonnay, Muskateller (Muscat), Elbling, Ehrenfelser, Faberrebe, Gutedel, Siegerrebe, Bacchus, and Ortega.
REDS
Germany has been a white wine country for hundreds of years, and does not grow many red grapes. Traditionally these few reds were treated almost like the white varietals, and the wines tended to be slightly sweet and very light in color, but recently the German public has begun to demand dry red dinner wines more in the French style. The most successful are made from Sp'tburgunder (Pinot Noir), particularly those from Rheingau, Pfalz, and Baden. Some versions are still sweet and jammy, but the better ones are made from Sp'tlese or Auslese in a Burgundian style with oak aging and higher extraction and tannin levels. These wines are very fashionable and can be high-priced; some are really fine, but many vintners are still working out the style. Other red grapes include Portugieser, Trollinger, Dornfelder, Schwarzriesling (M'llerrebe/Meunier), and Lemberger (Blaufr'nkischer).
Classifications
In the struggle to produce healthy grapes in a marginal growing environment, German wine regulations have become among the world's most rigorous, and German wine labels the most specific and informative. The Wine Law of 1971 brought German regulations into line with other European countries, and attempted to clarify a complicated history by abolishing many historic designations, with mixed results. Today German vineyards are classified into various categories, the largest of which are the wine growing regions (Anbaugebiete) (see Areas): Ahr, Mittelrhein, Mosel-Saar-Ruwer, Rheingau, Nahe, Rheinhessen, Franken, Hessische Bergstrasse, Rheinpfalz, Wurttemberg, Baden, Sachsberg, and Saale-Unstrut.
On the lower end of the quality scale, each wine region is divided into broad regional groupings called Bereich, and within the Bereich, into Grosslagen, smaller village/regional groups that theoretically possess common attributes. In the smallest, highest potential category are Einzellagen, or single vineyards, designated on the wine label by village and vineyard, for example, Erdener Pr'lat, which comes from the village of Erden and the Pr'lat vineyard.
Unfortunately it can be easy to confuse the label of an Einzellage with an inferior Grosslage because the Grosslage nomenclature often takes the name of a famous village in the same area. Regulators have realized this system is too variable, and the Ursprunglage designation (already seen on some labels) will eventually replace the old Grosslage category. Like Grosslagen, Ursprunglagen are wines made from collective regional vineyards, but they will be required to exhibit a unifying style and characteristics, and thus give consumers a more meaningful way to identify wines.
Unlike the great French estates, most German vineyards are not officially classified for their historical quality (though there is growing momentum to do so). Instead, on the principal that a naturally sweet grape indicates ripeness (and thus potential for high quality wines), the wines themselves are examined at each vintage by government-supervised laboratories and ranked according to their must weights. In theory, wines are required to be faithful to their heritage and traceable from vine to consumer, though in reality many wines are judged leniently. Beyond the government specifications, the concerned consumer needs to learn the better producers and vineyards. The wines are categorized into the following categories:
Landwein - basic wine product, subject to few regulations
Tafelwein - standard quality (the least ripe); may originate from any country, usually blended. (Deutscher Tafelwein must originate in Germany)
Qualit'tswein - equivalent to France's Appellation Contr'l'e for EU standards. These wines make up 95% percent of recent harvests, so the designation is not so exclusive as it appears. They are analyzed by government-sanctioned laboratories for technical flaws and regional accuracy, and given control (AP) numbers that appear on the label; these indicate the year the wine was examined and the number of wines accepted in that year by this producer. These are their sub-categories:
QBA (Qualit'tswein bestimmter Anbaugebiete) - "Quality wine from a specific region." Traditionally these have been less distinguished wines, but in the current trend toward dryer table wines, some winemakers may chose this category for the freedom of experimentation it allows them (with oak aging for example). Sugar (chaptalization) may be added to must in this category.
QMP (Qualit'tswein mit Pr'dikat) - These are slightly more distinguished "certified" wines. On this scale, the wine must is increasingly sweet, but the finished wines may be much less so. Particularly within the Sp'tlese (late harvest) and Auslese (specially chosen) categories, a high level of acid - typical in German wines - may balance a certain level of residual sugar, resulting in a balanced dry or semi-dry effect. No additional sugar may be added to this category. The QMP or "Predicate" (Pr'dikat) wines are sub-divided into the following categories:
Kabinett - ripe grapes Sp'tlese - late harvest grapes Auslese - "chosen" bunches of late harvest grapes
Kabinett, Sp'tlese and Auslese can be drunk as aperitif or afternoon wines but are usually best drunk with meals. The following sweeter predicate categories are drunk alone, or with (sometimes as) dessert:
Beerenauslese - "chosen berries" of late harvest grapes. Often includes grapes affected by botrytis, the "noble rot" which shrinks berries, concentrates flavors and gives the characteristic "golden" flavor.
Trockenbeerenauslese - always made from dry, botrytized grapes and intensely sweet, usually very long-lived.
Eiswein - made from unbotrytized grapes left on the vines so late in the season that they freeze. They are picked only at temperatures of 18 degrees F. (-8C.) or lower, when the water in the grapes is frozen solid. The ice is left behind when they are pressed, making for incredibly concentrated, long-lived sweet wines.
Within an individual estate, the Pr'dikat system is a good quality indicator, and higher must weights (measured in degrees Oechsle) usually indicate higher potential for the traditional style Riesling wines. Technically speaking, any vineyard is free to produce wines of any quality, but better producers have higher standards all around, and good German winemakers often present their wines in a lower category to make a better impression. The same wine may become a really fine Sp'tlese or just an adequate Auslese, for example. So it is in the consumer's interest to become acquainted with the names of good vintages and producers as well as their vineyards, none of which the system rates. Both fine and indifferent producers produce many different lots of wine.
Since 1994, yields from German vineyards have been limited except at the most basic Tafel and Landwein levels. For QBA wines and above, the maximum permitted yield is an average of harvests in the same vineyard area for the last ten years. The label designation Gutsabf'llung, "estate bottled," indicates wine cultivated, harvested, vinified and bottled by the producer whose name appears on the label. In addition, its winemaker must have specialized training in oenology, and the vineyard supplying the grapes must have been cultivated for at least three years by the producer. Erzeugerabf'llung is a somewhat less stringent designation meaning "producer bottled." The category may not be used by the mass market bottlers unless they own the vineyards which produced the wine, but it can include blended wines from members of local cooperatives. Since these may not all be of the same standard, Erzeugerabf'llung wines are more variable in quality than those labelled Gutsabf'llung.
SPECIAL CATEGORIES
Starting in September, 2000, two new designations for dry wines, Classic and Selection, have been introduced to dispel consumer confusion with dry wines produced from traditionally sweet categories (e.g., Sp'tlese and Auslese).
The "Classic" label certifies "harmoniously dry" table wines from a single region, made exclusively from the region's traditional varietal. Labels are required to indicate region, vintage, producer and varietal, but no additional style description (such as trocken, halbtrocken, etc) beyond "Classic" is allowed. In addition, Classic wines must have alcohol levels of at least 12 percent by volume.
A "Selection" wine is a single vineyard wine. Also made from a traditional varietal of the region, it must be dry unless made from Riesling, which is subjected to a specific formula allowing acidity up to a maximum of 12g/liter. Selection labels must indicate vineyard site and region, vintage, producer and varietal without supplementary description beyond "Selection." Grapes must be manually harvested. Selection wines are subject to additional independent evaluation and must have at least 12.2 percent alcohol.
In response to increased demand among the finest producers for a standard to distinguish their wines, German's Rheingau region inaugurated the "Erstes Gew'chs" quality designation in the summer of 2000, with the first wines (the 1999 vintage) released in September of that year. Similar to the Grand Cru designation among French wines, the Erstes Gew'chs classification is projected to eventually include only 2-3 percent of the Rheingau's total production.
The category indicates exceptional vineyards of Riesling or Sp'tburgunder (Pinot Noir), with yields limited to 50 hectoliters per hectare (534 gallons per acre). Grapes must be harvested by hand and are inspected according to rigorous standards. To date over 75 growers have registered for the designation, and about one-third of Rheingau vineyards have been approved for Erstes Gew'chs classification.
The resulting wines must then pass evaluation by an independent board. Those which succeed in winning Erstes Gew'chs certification are sold at a minimum price of DM 25 (approximately $12 US) and must be held until at least September 1 of the year following the harvest. They are recognized by the Erstes Gew'chs symbol and insignia of three double Romanesque arches. It is recommended but not required that they be marketed in the distinctive Rheingau blue flute bottles.
The best known private group of German producers is the VDP (Verband Deutscher Pr'dikats- und Qualit'tsweing'ter e. V.) which first formed in 1897 in Rheingau. It is made up of Germany's most prestigious wine estates and dedicated to wine quality. Members' wines are monitored and their operations strictly delimited with the ultimate goal of creating the best natural (unsugared) wines. The group requires standards above the German government requirements in viticulture and enology, with at least 70 percent of vineyard areas to be planted in traditional varieties (not hybrids). Members display the VDP "Eagle" logo on their bottles, pledge to regulate their yields very strictly and follow "green" environmental vineyard standards. These stringent standards tend to keep membership numbers low, but status of the organization (and meeting its challenge) high.
In 1984, over thirty Rheingau wine producers formed the prestigious CHARTA, dedicated to concentrated, off-dry (halbtrocken) Rieslings accredited through blind tastings. In 1999 CHARTA and the Rheingau chapter of VDP joined forces under the name VDP-Rheingau, and now represent 50 of the region's leading wine estates, about one-third of the total. The organization stresses top quality dry Rieslings, and was a powerful force behind the new Erstes Gew'chs regulations.
Regions
AHR
BADEN
FRANKEN
HESSISCHE BERGSTRASSE
MITTELRHEIN
MOSEL-SAAR-RUWER
NAHE
PFALZ
RHEINGAU
RHEINHESSEN
SAALE-UNSTRUT
SACHSEN
WüRTTEMBERG
AHR Most wine here is light, fruity red, usually (over 40%) from Sp'tburgunder. It is traditionally made in a late-picked, medium-sweet style, but increasingly a few producers are presenting oak-aged examples in the Burgundy style. Most wine is vinified at local cooperative cellars and sold directly, especially to visitors.
BADEN
This area is the longest geographically (it stretches 250 miles from the border with Franken in the north to Lake Constance (Bodensee) and Switzerland in the south). It is also the warmest and most southerly of German wine regions, and increased sunshine here lends wines a little more alcohol than in the rest of the country. Baden contains eight Bereich (wine districts). To the north of the area, Rieslings grown in granite soil are known for their charm, delicacy, and good acidity. M'ller-Thurgau, Grauburgunder (Pinot Gris, also called Rul'nder), and Weissburgunder make honeyed dry whites. Sp'tburgunder (Pinot Noir) also ripens well here, and can be made into either slightly sweet reds or well-colored, flavorful fine wines and aged in oak barrels. The village of Durbach specializes in rich Traminer from the steep vineyards overlooking the town. M'ller-Thurgau and Gutedel (Chasselas) also make surprisingly interesting wines in Baden.
FRANKEN This area, whose center is the city of W'rzburg, runs along the river Main before it joins the Rhein at Mainz. It has short summers and much frost, with a few isolated, protected pockets of good vineyard land. The most common grape varietal is M'ller-Thurgau, which is of reasonable quality, though there are many others. The distinctive traditional Franken wine bottles (Bocksbeutel) are used for dry wines (now also used by Mateus for their formula ros's). The best of these come from Silvaner. They are not very aromatic, but honeyed and earthy in flavor.
HESSISCHE BERGSTRASSE This is one of the smallest wine regions in Germany, with only 964 acres of vineyards. The main grape is Riesling, with over fifty percent of vineyard area; it resembles Rheingau in the better examples. Over half the wines are fermented dry, but the state of Hesse's 94 acre vineyard is well-respected for its Eiswein. About two-thirds of the 900 growers process their wines at a single cooperative cellar. Hessische Bergstrasse's elegant wine is rarely exported, and most is sold locally.
MITTELRHEIN
This is a small region with the quaint fairy tale castle atmosphere so typical of old Germany. Nearly all of the vineyards' steep slate-covered slopes (75%) are planted in Riesling, and most are within sight of the River Rhein. Mittelrhein vineyards are gradually shrinking under population pressure from both north and south, and the wine is not exported much; most is sold or drunk locally. The Mittelrhein makes concentrated Rieslings with fine acid structure, with at least one-quarter of the vintage fermented dry (trocken or halbtrocken). M'ller-Thurgau from low yield vineyards here often has more character and concentration than in other areas.
MOSEL-SAAR-RUWER
This is the best-known wine region in Germany. The ancient Mosel wine growing area supplied the powerful Roman city of Trier, and the area has never been without wine since. Vineyards are planted on both sides and all along the length of the River Mosel, though as always the warmer southern slopes are favored. The area includes five Bereich, with over half of all wine production sold under Grosslage names. There are approximately 60 Einzellagen of outstanding merit, of which over half are in Bereich Bernkastel.
The area's great wines come from excellent smaller estate bottlings. The middle Mosel grows the finest grapes, and all of its best wines are Riesling. The steep vineyards here are littered with decomposed slate, which helps conserve and reflect the sun's heat. Most Mosel Rieslings are made in traditional styles, medium-dry to medium-sweet, for charming, long-lived white wines. For bulk wines, there are great quantities of M'ller-Thurgau planted on the flatter, more fertile soils. The Mosel also has some remaining plantings of the ancient Roman Elbling vine; it makes light, refreshing simple wine with some local character.
Cooperative cellars are not very important here, as they vinify only about 20% of the vintage. The majority of the wine is bottled by individual estates (30%) and wine merchants (50%). Since the wine merchants deal with large German supermarket chains and also export a great quantity of wine, they have a strong influence on the wines ultimately offered on the market; simple QBA wines are often overcropped and the fine local character lost or diluted. In effect the venerable Mosel produces a huge amount of ordinary bulk wine and small amounts of great wines, but very little of medium grade.
The Saar River valley, whose harsh climate provides Riesling for Sekt and Eiswein almost every year, is also part of this region, as is the Ruwer valley. The Ruwer River joins the Mosel downstream from the city of Trier. It has a very small amount of land under vineyard (690 acres), and struggles to make fine Riesling wines in a challenging climate. In warmer years it produces distinguished dry and medium-dry dinner wines.
NAHE
The Nahe is a diverse region producing many kinds of wines. It has a dry climate (as low as 20 inches per year of rainfall), with late summer rains typical before the harvest. Three-quarters of vineyard lands are planted on hillsides. Its finer products share qualities of both Mosel and Rheinhessen, with nearly a quarter fermented dry or medium-dry; they are slightly undervalued for their quality.
A growing percentage of vineyard area is devoted to Riesling, which became the main varietal by the mid-1990's and constitutes around one-fourth of the total vineyard area. The best einzellagen wines, many from private and estate-owned properties, have an ingratiating, open Riesling perfume tempered by fine acidity and slate. Cask aging in large old oak barrels (giving only the remotest oak flavor) is typical in this area.
Traditionally, the most planted Nahe grape has been M'ller-Thurgau, though its percentage has decreased in the last couple of decades. The majority of M'ller-Thurgau is sold in Bereich and Grosslage wines, with quite a bit going into the German sea of Liebfraumilch (it makes up 3% of the total volume), but in the Nahe it can also make a good single varietal wine. Silvaner has been used here for blending into supermarket type wines, but its acreage is also diminishing.
Two main cooperatives handle about half of the region's wines, one mainly for bulk wines and the other processing half the area's Riesling, all sold in bottle rather than bulk.
PFALZ
This area, formerly called the Rheinpfalz, is known for the richness of its Riesling wines. Some are still made in the classic medium-sweet style, but those with sufficient body are being used for dry (trocken or halbtrocken) Rieslings, sometimes even with oak aging. A huge amount of bulk wine is also made here for Liebfraumilch. The Riesling hybrid Scheurebe develops very well in this area, and Pfalz versions of Traminer and the Burgundy varietals Weissburgunder, Grauburgunder and Sp'tburgunder are all worthy of attention, especially in the hands of a number of progressive younger winemakers.
RHEINGAU The wines of the Rheingau have been administered by the Church and nobility for centuries, and the area still contains a number of large estates, mostly composite holdings in a number of villages. The famous ecclesiastical estates of Kloster Eberbach and Schloss Johannisberg are here, as well as the world famous Geisenheim viticultural research institute.
Soils here are extremely varied, with those containing blue slate highly valued for Riesling, the most common varietal (82% in 1990). The classic Rheingau style is rich and honeyed but crisp, with a hint of earthiness and a long finish. The climate is slightly less severe than Rheinhessen to the south, and is a natural magnet for abundant botrytis, allowing vintners to create the great late harvest Rieslings, Beerenauslese, Trockenbeerenauslese, and Eiswein. These very long-lived wines may last twenty years or more. There are also increasing plantings of Sp'tburgunder (Pinot Noir), and the area's attempts at dry, deeper colored reds in the modern style are much in demand. The high quality collective Charta, whose members grow only Riesling, requires rigorous wine tests surpassing government standards, and promotes dry wines exclusively.
Part-time growers own 25% of Rheingau vineyards, and many produce and sell wines themselves; the Rheingau's nine cooperative cellars are responsible for only about 15% of the harvest.
RHEINHESSEN
This is Germany's largest single wine region, with 165 wine villages. The great majority of Rheinhessen wines are made into Liebfraumilch, one of the best-known mass market wines that seems to come from everywhere and yet nowhere in particular. Rheinhessen also produces lovely Rieslings from half a dozen well-known areas, especially Nackenheim and Nierstein, though the name of this latter area is often confused with the much larger and mediocre Nierstein Bereich, whose wines are made from lesser varietals. Rheinhessen also produces good Silvaner.
SAALE-UNSTRUT
Formerly under the control of the East German government, Saale-Unstrut's 1,190 acres of terraced chalk-soil vineyards are recovering from years of neglect. The cold northern climate has frequent frost but a low annual rainfall around 17.5 inches per year. This and the rather dilapidated condition of the vineyards make for small yields and light alcohol but fairly good concentration. All the wines are completely dry, and can be quite well balanced. The varietals are M'ller-Thurgau, Silvaner, Bacchus, Gutedel (Chasselas), and Weissburgunder (Pinot Blanc).
Despite its complexity, the German wine industry offers fascinating and varied wines -- many perfectly suited to contemporary cuisine, especially "difficult" foods that may defeat other varietals. With their delicate personalities, low alcohol and relatively high acidity, these charming, delicious wines add a unique pleasure to dining. Wine lovers owe it to themselves to get to know them.
SACHSEN
Sachsen (Saxony) is the smallest and most northerly wine region in Germany, with a continental climate of cold winters and late frosts, but warm summers. The main grape varietiels are M'ller-Thurgau, Riesling, Weissburgunder (Pinot Blanc), Traminer and Rul'nder (Pinot Gris). Virtually all Sachsen wines are fermented dry. About half of the wine (1,500 part-time growers on a total of 395 acres) is vinified at a single cooperative.
WüRTTEMBERG
Southern Germany's W'rttemberg region includes the cities of Stuttgart and Heidelberg and continues to the vineyards of Baden (to the north) with over 24,000 acres of patchy vineyard sites loosely aligned with the River Neckar. Much of the region has a continental climate with severe winters. Its steep terraced slopes are attractive to both wine lovers and tourists for their scenic beauty. In some vineyards the gradient is over 30%, and irrigation is needed to reduce extreme stress on the vines. This allows an increase in potential alcohol of more than one percent.
W'rttemberg has the highest per capita wine consumption in Germany, with an unusual enthusiasm for red varietals. More than half the wines are red, usually with very high yields: Trollinger, the largest red category, at up to 12.6 tons per acre and Sp'tburgunder (Pinot Noir) as high as 7.5 tons per acre. M'llerrebe (Meunier, also called Schwarzriesling) and Lemberger are also grown. With such enormous production, most red wines are very low in concentration and tannins, with a smoky strawberry character popular locally (perhaps exclusively). In white varietals, about one-quarter of the region is planted with Riesling, and Kerner and M'ller-Thurgau comprise around 9 percent each. W'rttemberg has 20,000 registered wine growers, most with holdings of two and half acres or less, so over eighty percent of the harvest is delivered to cooperative cellars for vinification. There are also a few venerable high quality estates making serious wines comparable to those from Baden; thirteen of these are members of the respected VDP organization.
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