Si prefieres leer este artículo en español, haz clic aquí. Important changes to German wine law were officially announced 27 January 2021 If you would like to know how to pronounce the German wine terms in this article, please navigate to the end of this article. Estimated Reading Time: approximately 15 minutes Introduction The German government first began officially regulating the production of wine … Read More German Wine Law Changes Planned for 2026
Tiempo de lectura estimado: 8 minutos Aprendimos en la primera parte de esta serie, al principio del siglo XX se formó una asociación compuesta por cuatro subastadores de vinos como una reacción contra la falta de control de calidad por parte del gobierno del país y a favor de la producción del vino “naturrein” (naturalmente puro). Estas cuatro asociaciones regionales, Vereinigung Rheingauer Weingutsbesitzer (la … Read More
Estimated reading time: 8 minutes As we learned in the first part of this series, at the beginning of the twentieth century an association was formed by four wine auction houses as a reaction against the lack of quality control by the country’s government and in favor of the production of “naturrein” (naturally pure) wines. These four regional associations, Vereinigung Rheingauer Weingutsbesitzer (The Association … Read More
Kind thanks to the management of the VDP for allowing me to post this brief history of the association, which I’ve translated from German. You can view the original document in German here. Estimated reading time: 22 minutes The History of the VDP Federal Association 1910: Founding of the VDNV On 26 November 1910, four regional associations of well-known “natural wine auctioneers” merge to … Read More
In the fourth segment of this series about the wines of Germany we learned about the principal grape varieties and three rare and nearly extinct varieties. In this entry we cover six varieties, four white varieties and two red, chosen not necessarily for their importance in terms of hectares/acres planted, rather for their historic importance or their potential to produce high-quality wines. SAVAGNIN Like … Read More The Grape Varieties of Germany, Part 2
To protect the consumer and so that the consumer has some idea of what’s in the bottle, legislation and norms are established regulating viticulture, vinification, and the information indicated on the label. History abounds with examples of the adulteration and falsification of food and beverage products: in the Middle Ages, the baker’s helper who would hide under the table and steal bits of the … Read More Understanding German Wine Quality Levels
We’ve learned something about Germany’s history and wine producing regions in which I mentioned some of the country’s principal grape varieties. Now let’s explore the grape varieties in more detail. Today, Germany has more than 130 grape varieties. Many are indigenous, some have been imported, and some have been created by crossing grape varieties. Not all are commercially important, and currently only 31 are … Read More The Grape Varieties of Germany
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Germany’s Wine Producing Regions When you think about Germany, what do you think its climate is like? Cold? Winters with temperatures below zero? Blizzards? You might be surprised to know that Germany’s climate is not so severe. According to the Köppen climate classification, most of Germany enjoys an oceanic climate due to the great influence of the Atlantic Ocean. Many people believe Germany’s climate … Read More Germany’s Wine Producing Regions
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A brief history of German wines:Part 2 The recovery of German viticulture after the Thirty Years’ War would take several decades. Some regions would not recover until the second decade of the eighteenth century, more than sixty years. Many grape growers, economically desperate, would eventually emigrate to America. But there were some efforts to increase the quality of German wine. Among those, in 1786 … Read More A brief history of German wines Part 2
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Archaeological discoveries, like a pruning knife from the first century A.D., signal the presence of viticulture, but the first concrete evidence is the poem Mosella…
Gregory Smith 