The northerly winemaking regions of Germany straddle the 50th parallel and are amongst the world’s coolest vineyards.
Nonetheless, vine cultivation dates to the ancient world—wild vines had been growing on the upper Rhine previously, but Vitis vinifera arrived in Germany with the Romans. Near the end of the 3rd century, Emperor Probus overturned Domitian’s 92 CE ban on new vineyard plantings, and viticulture followed the Romans into provinces north of the Alps. By the fourth century winemaking was definitively established along the steep slopes of the Mosel River. Charlemagne, the legendary beard-stained lover of wine—whose newly minted Carolingian calendar replaced the Roman October with Windume-Manoth, “the month of the vintage”—introduced vine cultivation east of the Rhine River in the late eighth century. During the Middle Ages, the Church was instrumental in shepherding the development of vineyards, and many of Germany’s modern einzellagen (vineyards) owe their nomenclature to monastic influence. As in France, the Church essentially operated its own feudal economy: it collected a tithe, or tax, from the parishioners who worked the vineyards, and wine made a suitable substitute for cash. The Cistercians of Burgundy founded the famous Kloster Eberbach monastery in the Rheingau in 1136, where they amassed the largest vineyard holdings in Europe by the end of the Middle Ages, with over 700 acres of vines. The walled Steinberg vineyard, an ortsteil within the commune of Hattenheim, was the monks’ centerpiece and remains wholly intact today—an alleinbesitz (monopole) of Kloster Eberbach for over eight centuries
The map of Austria seems to have Neusiedlersee DAC missing and in its a place a doubling up of the color for Mittelburgenland.
Slightly confused on the Holle vineyard site. The study guide lists it as a Einzellagen for Johannisberg which i do know Johanisshof bottles as Johannisberg Holle. But I do know that Kunstler in Hocheim bottles the wine under Hocheim Holle. What i dont undestand are the numerous bottlings under just Holle (no village listed on label). This would mean Holle is an Orsteil, right?...but its not
I have a question regarding history of residual sugar in German Riesling. One book said there was a history of residual sugar due to naturally cool cellars that halted fermentation before all sugar was fermented out. Another source said there was actually no history of sweet wines in Germany (unless they were botrytised) before World War II. This source that after WW II technological advances allowed for fermentations to be stopped at desired levels of residual sugar. Does anyone have a definitive answer to this? Thank you!
Since Grosse Lage can be made from Kabinett styles everywhere but Pfalz, and the VDP says GL have to be a minimum of 85°öe, are producers declassifying Spätlese wines to label them as Kabinett?
I am reading the "Wine Atlas of Germany" and the author states that the Obermosel is a part of the Paris basin and that it's soils resemble the soils of Champagne more so than the soils of the rest of the Mosel. Because of this, the author explains, the Elbing grape is the most common variety rather than Riesling. Have others come across this bit of info as well?