Germany

The Federal Republic of Germany in Central Europe with its capital Berlin (seat of parliament and government since 1991) was formed in its current form through the reunification in 1990 with the German Democratic Republic (GDR), which was founded in 1949. Germany covers 357,588 square kilometres and is politically divided into 16 federal states. It borders Denmark, Poland, the Czech Republic, Austria, Switzerland, France, Luxembourg, Belgium and the Netherlands to the north and the North Sea and Baltic Sea to the north.

Almost two thirds of the vineyards are located in the south-west of the state in the valleys of the Rhine and Moselle rivers and their tributaries. The federal state of Rhineland-Palatinate is home to 6 of the 13 growing regions. The rest are in the south.

History

Germany has a wine culture dating back over two thousand years. But imported wine was already being drunk before that, as evidenced by a Greek clay wine bottle from around 400 BC found in a Celtic grave. The oldest vineyards were located on the banks of the Rhine, Neckar and Moselle rivers. These rivers with their long valleys and their tributaries are still the classic growing areas today, often with steeply terraced slopes. Like all bodies of water, they have a positive influence on viticulture due to their climate-regulating effect.

Viticulture was established by the colonisation of Gaul by the Greeks and then perfected by Roman culture. The conquest of Gaul by Julius Caesar (100-44 BC) brought Roman viticulture from the Rhône valley to the Rhine. Emperor Probus (232-282) contributed to the further expansion of vineyards through measures. In the 5th century, viticulture was already so widespread in what is now Germany that Clovis (466-511) issued the "Lex Salica"(Salic Law), in which the theft of a vine was made a punishable offence.

Middle Ages

In the 6th and 7th centuries, viticulture spread to southern and northern Germany. The Frankish King Dagobert I (610-639) is documented as a donor of vineyards to churches and monasteries. Wine-growing in the Palatinate is documented in a document by King Siegbert III from the year 653 and in the 8th century, well over a hundred wine-growing communities are mentioned in the Palatinate. Emperor Charlemagne (742-814) provided important impetus, as he had dense forests cleared and planted with vines from Hungary, Italy, Spain, Lorraine and the French Champagne region. He passed the first laws and authorised the sale of home-grown wine in wine taverns.

The Cistercians had a decisive influence on cultivated viticulture, founding thousands of monasteries in Europe and becoming professionally involved in vineyard management, variety selection and winemaking. Twelve monks from Burgundy founded the famous Eberbach monastery in the Rheingau in 1136. Over the next 100 years, 200 settlements were established along the Rhine between Worms and Cologne. In the 12th and 13th centuries, the monastery and its offshoots were the largest wine-growing enterprise in the world. Initially, the monks planted vines brought from Burgundy, mainly red wine varieties. However, they soon realised that white wine varieties thrived best in the Rheingau.

Medieval warm period

In the High Middle Ages (1050-1250), due to the effects of the Medieval Warm Period, the cultivation boundaries reached around 200 metres higher than today, so that agriculture and viticulture expanded considerably. The largest area under vines was then reached in the 15th century with around 400,000 hectares (around four times as much as today). At that time, however, Alsace also included extensive vineyards. However, the vineyards were mainly located in low-lying flat areas due to the clearing of heavily forested areas in northern Franconia.

The Thirty Years' War (1618-1648) left behind destruction on an apocalyptic scale, as in the rest of Europe, from which German viticulture only recovered very slowly. Many formerly flourishing wine regions such as Bavaria, northern, eastern and central Germany were no longer planted with vines. However, the emergence of beer as a mass-produced beverage also took its toll on viticulture. Wine became increasingly scarce and expensive. In 1653, a bottle of Rhine wine (1,200 litres) could still be bought for 300 gold thalers, a few years later for 500 gold thalers.

Little ice age

The effects of the Little Ice Age (1450-1850), with particularly cold periods from 1570 to 1630 and 1675 to 1715, caused further setbacks with cold spells and many failed harvests. Despite this, viticulture began to pick up again from the beginning of the 18th century. Due to the secularisation of the monasteries at the beginning of the 19th century, it was mainly aristocrats who took the place of the monks, to whom the current standard is owed. Quality began to play a major role. In this context, the Prussian vineyard classification was introduced in 1868 and 1897. From the early 1860s, Germany was hit by the phylloxera and mildew disasters imported from North America, which in turn led to severe devastation in the vineyards.

French revolutionary wars

During the French Revolutionary Wars (1792-1815), wine-growing domains, most of which were owned by the state, were created from the property of the church, which had been secularised under the French Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte (1769-1821). The aim of these "model/training vineyards" was, and in some cases still is, to spread modern winegrowing production methods. This was done by trialling new methods in the vineyard, as well as producing and distributing grafted vines. In 1892, the first wine law was introduced, which still permitted controlled sugaring, among other things. In the first half of the 20th century, there was a major recession due to the two world wars and the vineyard area shrank to less than 50,000 hectares by 1945. Wine trade exports reached an all-time low. From the 1950s onwards, there was a positive change.

Wine-growing regions

The German wine-growing regions are among the most northerly in the world and are located on the border between the warm and humid Gulf Stream climate in the west and the dry continental climate in the east. The widely scattered vineyards have in part very different soils of basalt, red sandstone, rock, loess, shell limestone, porphyry, slate and volcanic rock. The best conditions for viticulture are provided by south or south-west facing slopes in sheltered valleys, such as along the Rhine and its tributaries or along the Elbe, Saale and Unstrut rivers.

Classification

The wine-growing regions are divided into13 wine-growing areas with 43 areas, 167 large vineyards and 2,658 individual vineyards. The designation quality wine may only be used with this origin. They are mainly concentrated in the south-west in the valleys of the Rhine and Moselle and their numerous tributaries. In the south, they are more loosely scattered in the landscape. Following reunification in 1990, the growing regions of Saxony and Saale-Unstrut were added in the east. Outside the growing regions, there are 56 hectares in Bavaria, Brandenburg, Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania and Schleswig-Holstein. These wines may only be marketed as Landwein.

Area

With the exception of Ahr, Nahe and Rheingau, the growing regions are divided into two or more areas. The areas are divided into Großlagen.

Großlage

This comprises several neighbouring, but not necessarily adjacent, individual vineyards. This Großlage usually bears the name of the formerly most famous single vineyard (before the reduction). However, it is not clear from the information on the label whether it is an single vineyard or an Großlage.

single vineyard

The individual vineyards are rarely less than five hectares in size. They range from less than one to 200 and some even up to 400 hectares. Over the centuries, around 30,000 vineyard names have developed, often with just a few rows of vines. These were greatly reduced by the 1970 wine law and the 1971 land consolidation.

Cadastral site

The smallest geographical origin-protected unit. Since 2014, any winery can apply to have vineyards entered in the cadastre defined as cadastral vineyards, which can be indicated on the label.

Country wine regions

This quality level was introduced in 1982. Most of the 26 Land wine regions are located within the wine-growing areas. These are Ahrtaler LW, Badischer LW, Bayrischer-Bodensee LW, Brandenburger LW, LW Main (formerly Fränkischer LW), LW der Mosel, LW Neckar, LW Oberrhein, LW Rhein, LW Rhein-Neckar, LW der Ruwer, LW der Saar, Mecklenburger LW, Mitteldeutscher LW, Nahegauer LW, Pfälzer LW, Regensburger LW, Rheinburgen LW, Rheingauer LW, Rheinischer LW, Saarländischer LW, Sächsischer LW, Schleswig-Holsteiner LW, Schwäbischer LW, Starkenburger LW, Taubertäler LW.

Complete list

With only one exception, Germany's wine-growing regions are located in European wine-growing zone A; only the Baden wine-growing region (like Austria) belongs to wine-growing zone B. In 1972 there were still over 100,000 wine-growing businesses, but since then there has been major structural change and an enormous reduction to 42,000. The 16,827 businesses in the table are only those with 0.5 hectares or more of vineyards. Around 4,300 businesses, or around a quarter, cultivate less than one hectare of vines.

Around 3,100 wineries cultivate more than 10 hectares of vineyards, of which 890 cultivate more than 20 hectares. These cover more than 60% of the total area in Germany. The average farm size grew from 4.8 to 5.9 hectares. Exports account for around 25%, with the traditional buyers being the UK, USA, Netherlands and Japan.

Grape varieties and vineyards

In 2022, the vineyards covered 117,804 hectares of vineyards and the wine production volume was 8.94 million hectolitres. Around 140 grape varieties are authorised, but only around a dozen of these have market significance. Many new grape varieties have been introduced in the last ten years, most of which are PIWI varieties. The trend towards red wine varieties in all growing regions has now peaked and is declining slightly.

White wine varieties account for 68.5% and red wine varieties for 31.5%. The most common grape variety with a continuing upward trend is still Riesling, which accounts for over a fifth of the total, followed by Müller-Thurgau and Pinot Noir. The climbers are Pinot varieties Chardonnay, Pinot Gris and Pinot Blanc as well as Sauvignon Blanc, the relegated Müller-Thurgau, Kerner and Blauer Portugieser. The grape variety index in 2018:

Wine categories / quality levels

In August 2009, the EU wine market regulation came into force with fundamental changes to wine types and quality levels (see Quality system). In Germany, the new designations were banned until the end of 2011. From 2012, the old traditional designations of Landwein, Qualitätswein and Prädikatswein (all Prädikat levels) may continue to be used. In addition, the new designations "protected geographical indication" and "protected origin" can be used on the label as an alternative, but not in the form of PGI and PDO:

• Wine without a narrower indication of origin (formerly the now forbidden term table wine)
• Wine with grape variety and/or vintage indication
• Wine with a protected geographical indication (PGI) = country wine
• Wine with protected designation of origin (PDO) = quality wine and Prädikat wine

Wine without indication of variety and/or vintage - German wine

This wine must be produced exclusively from grapes harvested in Germany and must come exclusively from authorised grape varieties. It must have a natural alcohol content of at least 5% vol (44 °Oe) in wine-growing zone A and 6% vol (50 °Oe) in zone B. After any enrichment (increase in alcohol), the alcohol content must be at least 8.5% vol. in zones A and B. The minimum content of total acidity (sum of all acids in the wine) expressed in tartaric acid is 3.5 g/litre.

Wine with indication of variety and/or vintage - German wine

Only authorised grape varieties may be used and indicated.

Landwein and/or wine with a protected geographical indication

Only the long text is permitted; the short form "Wein g.g.A." is not permitted. At least 85% of the wine must come from grapes harvested in the region, for example Brandenburger Landwein. Concentration through refrigeration is not permitted. Enrichment of the must before fermentation is permitted. The maximum yield per hectare is 15,000 litres of wine. The wine must be dry or semi-dry in flavour.

Quality wine and/or wine with a protected designation of origin designation of origin

Only the long text is permitted; the short form "Wein g.U." is not permitted. The traditional designation QbA (quality wine from specific growing regions) is still possible (but is hardly used any more). After a positive sensory and analytical test, the official test number is awarded.

The wine must have typical characteristics and be free of defects in appearance (colour), smell and taste. It can be used for growing areas, but also for narrower geographical designations (area, Großlage, place name, single vineyard). Vineyard and field names(parcels) that were no longer permitted under the 1971 wine law can be reused under certain circumstances. The wines require product specifications that describe the production (grape varieties, yields, etc.) and the origin-related flavour.

The grapes must come exclusively from authorised grape varieties of the species Vitis vinifera. They must have been harvested in a single "specified growing region" and also processed into quality wine in this region. The grape must obtained in the fermentable container must have at least the minimum natural alcoholic strength by volume laid down for each specified region and for each grape variety. The actual alcohol content must be at least 7% vol = 56 g/l and the wine must have a minimum total alcohol content of 9% vol = 71 g/l. The addition of concentrated grape must and cold concentration are prohibited.

Prädikat wines

According to EU law, also a quality wine, as there are officially only three quality levels. However, traditional designations may continue to be used, which is also utilised by other countries such as Italy (DOC and DOCG) and Spain (DO and DOCa). According to German wine law, a Prädikat wine is therefore a higher level of quality wine. There are six types of Prädikat wine, which must at least fulfil the quality wine criteria. In addition, higher must weights apply, which can vary depending on the growing region:

Kabinett
At least 67 °Oe to 82 °Oe must weight. At least 7% vol = 56 g/l available alcohol content. At least 9% = 71 g/l minimum total alcohol content.

Late Harvest
At least 76 °Oe to 90 °Oe must weight. A "late harvest" and fully ripe grapes are required.

Auslese
At least 83 °Oe to 100 °Oe must weight. All diseased and unripe berries must be removed.

Beerenauslese
At least 110 °Oe to 128 °Oe must weight. Only largely noble rotten or at least overripe grapes may be used. The natural alcohol content must be at least 5.5% vol.

Trockenbeerenauslese
At least 150 °Oe to 154 °Oe must weight. Must be made largely from grapes with noble rot.

Ice wine
At least 110 °Oe to 128 °Oe must weight (like Beerenauslese). The frozen grapes are pressed and crushed, the ice remains in the marc.

Special types of wine

There are a number of specific designations or wine types with wine law specifications. These are Badisch Rotgold, Classic, Federweißer, Liebfrauenmilch, Rotling, Schieler, Schillerwein, Selection and Weißherbst.

Sparkling wine
The higher quality "German sparkling wine" must consist of 100% grapes grown in Germany. The designation "Sekt bA" means that 100% of the grapes come from a specific growing region.

Organic wine
Production is subject at least to the guidelines of the EU Organic Regulation; if necessary, to the often even stricter rules of organic organisations. The German umbrella organisation is BÖLW (see also under organic viticulture).

Wine law regulations

The German standard reference work is "Weinrecht" (Walhalla-Verlag). It contains the wine law of the EU, Germany and the federal states. Another work is the "Weinrecht Kommentar" by Prof. Dr Hans-Jörg Koch.

Must weight
There is a minimum must weight or resulting potential alcohol content for each wine quality level (see above). Within the quality levels, a further differentiation is made according to grape variety. In order to do justice to the different climatic conditions, these quantities vary depending on the growing region.

Yield
The maximum permitted yields are given in hectolitres per hectare. They are defined responsibly by the competent authorities of the growing regions and vary depending on the growing region and, where applicable, the quality group. Regardless of the quality group, these are 80 hl/ha (Saxony), 90 (Baden, Franconia, Saale-Unstrut), 100 (Ahr, Hessische Bergstraße, Rheingau), 105 (Middle Rhine, Nahe, Pfalz, Rheinhessen) and 110 (Württemberg). In Rhineland-Palatinate (Mosel, Nahe, Pfalz, Rheinhessen) these are 105 for quality wine, 125 for Mosel, 125 for Land and varietal wine, 150 for German wine, and 200 for base wine for the production of sparkling wines or distillates.

Origin / Vintage / Grape variety
At least 85% of a wine must come from the specified origin, grape variety and vintage. If the foreign content (from a different origin, grape variety or vintage than stated in the designation) reaches the maximum limit of 15%, then a maximum of 10% foreign sweet reserve may be added. This is because the total foreign content, including the sweet reserve, may not exceed 25%.

"German wines" must be made from 100% domestically harvested grapes. 87 yielding grape varieties (66 of which are listed above), 15 rootstock grape varieties and 12 ornamental grape varieties are authorised. A description with the characteristics is contained in the "Descriptive Vine Variety List" of the Federal Plant Variety Office (see under variety protection). The indication of varietal purity is permitted if the wine originates 100% from the specified grape variety.

Sugar content
The residual sugar content is optional on the label. A wine with a maximum of 4 g/l or 9 g/l is considered dry if the total acidity is not more than 2 g/l lower than the residual sugar. At 8 g/l, for example, this requires 6 g/l total acidity. The other grades are semi-dry with 12 g/l or 18 g/l if the total acidity is not more than 10 g/l lower, medium sweet with a higher value than for semi-dry but max. 45 g/l, and sweet with 45 g/l. Other terms that are not relevant to wine legislation are feinherb, dry Franconian and tart.

Sweetening (increase in residual sugar)
The wine may not be sweetened by more than 4% alcohol by volume. Only grape must designated as sweet reserve may be used; concentrated grape must and RCGM are prohibited for Landwein, Qualitätswein and Prädikatswein (this is even a restriction of EU law; the reason is to preserve the originality of the wine). If grape must is added to Prädikat wine, it must correspond to the same Prädikat wine level.

Enrichment (increasing the natural alcohol content)
May be carried out on all types of wine (regardless of wine colour and quality level) by a maximum of 2% alcohol content by volume using the approved means. In the past, only sucrose (dried sugar) was authorised for country and quality wines in Germany. However, following a judgement by the European Court of Justice, the German Wine Act was amended in 1989. After a successful application, quality wine b. A. an alcohol content of 15% vol. may not be exceeded. In principle, fortification is not permitted for Prädikat wines.

Institutions and bodies

Important institutions, bodies, authorities and institutions that perform research, organising, controlling, publicising or training functions with regard to viticulture are the German Wine Academy, DLG (German Agricultural Society), DWF (German Wine Fund), DWI (German Wine Institute), DWV (German Winegrowers' Association), Freiburg, Geilweilerhof, Geisenheim, Society for the History of Wine, Julius Kühn Institute (Geilweilerhof), VDP (Verband Deutscher Prädikatsweingüter), Weinbauring Franken and Weinsberg (Wine Institute).

Influential German wine authors and wine critics include Paula Bosch, Armin Diel, Gerhard Eichelmann, Marcus Hofschuster, Rudolf Knoll, Norbert Pobbig, Jens Priewe, Mario Scheuermann and Eckhard Supp. They have contributed to many wine magazines and wine guides such as Der Berliner Weinführer, Busche Winzer & Weingüter, Eichelmann Deutschlands Weine, Gault Millau, Meiningers Weinwelt and wein.plus.

Map: by C. Busch, Hamburg - Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, Link
Flag: by User:SKopp - Own work, Public domain, Link
Coat of arms: by Karl-Tobias Schwab - Own work, Public domain, Link
Map of growing regions: DWI (German Wine Institute)