German wines: legendary not only in sweet

German wines are primarily white, slim and elegant. Or white, sweet and elegant. At least that's how the rest of the world sees it. The Germans themselves like to add at this point that they can also make red and sparkling wines very well in their own country. Even if these have so far been of national importance. But the international wine industry is also now becoming aware that Germany is much more than Riesling in all its facets. So let's take a closer look at German wines. Let's start with geography.

Germany Wine: Geography

While the two wine-growing regions of Saale-Unstrut and Saxony in the east of Germany seem almost isolated, the other 11 wine regions in the southwest of the country are concentrated around the rivers Ahr, Mosel (and its tributaries Saar and Ruwer), Rhine, Main and Nahe. Without these rivers, wine-growing in Germany would still be difficult today. In the cool continental climate, they provide the little extra warmth that the vines need. The exception is Baden, where it is already a bit too warm, which is also reflected in the grape varieties there. The German flagship grape variety Riesling is no longer the big star here. This place has been taken by the Burgundy varieties. Before we look at the general quality and origin classification for German wines, here is an overview of the wine-growing regions.

Overview of wine-growing regions

• Ahr
• Baden
• Franconia
• Hessian Bergstrasse
• Middle Rhine
• Mosel
• Nahe
• Palatinate
• Rheingau
• Rheinhessen
• Saale-Unstrut
• Saxony
• Württemberg

Germany: Good to know

German wine law and the protected designation of origin

There are exactly 13 protected designations of origin in Germany. They coincide with the wine-growing regions. There is actually no further subdivision under the wine law as in France or Italy. However, the wine law does distinguish between three types of wine:

• Deutscher Landwein: This category includes all wines that have not been approved as quality wine for various reasons. In Germany, these are often natural wines or orange wines that fail the prescribed quality wine test. Many natural wine producers therefore do not submit their wines for quality wine testing at all, but use the term "country wine" directly. Since an amendment to the wine law, country wine has also been called just wine. It accounts for 3.5% of the annual volume of German wine.
• Qualitätswein: Quality wine makes up the majority, accounting for 75.2% of all German wines. The wines can be dry, semi-dry or sweet. They include all wine colors.
• Prädikatsweine: These German wines are defined by the must weight. The quality wine levels are Kabinett, Auslese, Spätlese, Beerenauslese, Trockenbeerenauslese and Eiswein. While Kabinett, Auslese and Spätlese can be dry, semi-dry and sweet, Beerenauslese, Trockenbeerenauslese and Eiswein are sweet per se due to their high residual sugar. The quality wines make up 21.3% of the production volume.

Determination of origin by the Association of German Prädikat Wine Estates

If you missed terms such as Erste Lage or Großes Gewächs in the list above, there is a good reason for that. These origin and quality regulations are not anchored in the German wine law, but were developed by the Association of German Prädikat Wine Estates (VDP) for its approximately 200 member wine estates. Their classification is broken down as follows:

• Gutsweine: They form the basis of the origin-based philosophy. All grapes for wine production come from the company's own vineyards.
• Ortsweine: They come from the best vineyards in a location, which is usually stated at the front of the label.
• Erste Lage: These wines are characterized by the special character of the location from which the grapes come. The location can be noted on the label.
• Große Lage: The wines from here, known as Große Gewächse, are at the top of the classification. They are intended to express the uniqueness and distinctiveness of the respective Große Lage. The origin is very strictly limited geographically. An indication of the respective location on the label is obligatory.

German wines: Top 3

Famous wines from Germany

Although around 50% of all German wines are white, red wine is also playing an increasingly important role. Riesling and Pinot Noir are the wine lover's dream couple. No less important, especially for the reputation of German wines, are the sweet wines of the Prädikat wine system. The trend in winemaking in Germany continues to be towards dry wines. Let's take a look at a few wine highlights.

German white wines

• Riesling Kabinett: Kabinett wines are usually delicate and are characterized by a lively and beautiful interplay of sweetness and acidity. Riesling Kabinett from the Mosel in particular is highly valued worldwide.
• Riesling trocken: Besides Kabinett, it is now the most popular Riesling style with the highest market sales. The grapes differ greatly from region to region. Riesling is and remains a terroir grape.
• Grauburgunder: One of the Germans' favorite grape varieties. Highly appreciated for its mild acidity and juicy, fruity notes.
• Gutedel: A speciality mainly from Baden. Here especially from the Markgräflerland.
• Sauvignon Blanc: The big trend grape in Germany with the largest area growth at the moment. Stylistically, German Sauvignon Blanc builds a bridge between New Zealand and France.
• Silvaner: The largest areas under cultivation are in Franconia and Rheinhessen. Leading grape variety in Franconia - here also often bottled in Bocksbeutel.
• Piwis: In Germany, there is currently an initiative by several wineries that are marketing the fungus-resistant grape varieties (Piwis) as wines of the future.

German red wines

• Spätburgunder: The leading red grape variety in Germany. Depending on the wine-growing region, the grape produces very different nuances. Baden is particularly known for high-quality Pinot Noir. But there are also very good plants from Franconia and the Palatinate. On the Mosel, where Riesling is traditionally the main grape variety, there is now also a Pinot Noir GG.
• Trollinger: Specialty from Württemberg. The wines are in no way inferior to their Vernatsch relatives from the Italian South Tyrol.
• Lemberger: It is mainly grown in Württemberg and Rheinhessen, with Württemberg being the epicenter. It has slightly different characteristics in Germany than Blaufränkisch in Austria, but is one and the same grape.
• Portugieser: A German mass-produced wine par excellence. In the past, it was often produced semi-dry or even sweet. Older customers appreciate it very much, but it is gradually losing relevance.

German sweet wines

• Eiswein: The rarest German wine, as production is only possible when the temperature in the vineyard is below zero. A real delicacy that can mature for decades. Reflects Riesling in its purest form. There are also ice wines made from other grape varieties, such as Pinot Noir or Silvaner. However, these are even rarer.
• Trockenbeerenauslese: In terms of quality and rarity, it is the equivalent of ice wine. Here, however, botrytis is the dominant factor. In other words: all grape varieties have the typical botrytis notes and no longer the notes that are actually typical for them. These sweet wines can also mature for a small eternity.

German wine as an economic factor

The fact is: Germans drink more wine than they produce themselves. 8.9 million hectoliters of German wine are produced, compared to 13.4 million hectoliters of imported wine from all over the world. This is why Germany is the second most important importing country in the world for wine. The market shares here clearly show preferences as to which colors Germans prefer to drink. At 46.9%, white wine is the most popular among consumers - closely followed by red wine with 40.5%. In addition to wines from their own country, Germans mainly enjoy wines from Italy, Spain and France. In general, however, wine consumption is very diverse, so that other countries also have good chances on the German market with their wines.

The distribution structure is striking. Germans are thrifty. 38% of all wines are sold in discount stores - another 28% in supermarkets. This makes the food retail trade the largest sales platform for wine. 5% of all Germans buy their wines in specialist wine shops and 5% in beverage stores. 9% buy their wine directly from the winemaker - only 4% shop online at wine merchants. The rest are distributed across other sources. This data makes Germany particularly attractive as an import country for cheap wine products. At the same time, however, export is also very worthwhile, as the quality wines and Grand Crus from Germany in particular are very well known and have a great reputation.