Vineyard, Western Germany. Features of winemaking in Germany

In the Middle Ages, monasteries grew vines and laid the high quality of German wines. After the Napoleonic campaigns in 1803, the estates of the monasteries and nobles were divided among the peasants. These allotments were crushed with each generation. Putting on a tenth of a hectare became common, they began to be compared with a postage stamp. Because of this, the number of brands of German wines approached 50 thousand. In 1971, by decree it was forbidden to have the name of guilt with a plot of less than 5 hectares. The number of items was reduced to three thousand.

Riesling is a great grape variety from Germany. It makes the best German wines. It is planted on the best lands, since it does not mature for the worst. To reduce the risk and increase production, Germany began to use the Muller-Thurgau, an earlier and fruitful variety, which was bred in 1882 from the middle of the XX century. Soft wines from this variety do not have the sour taste characteristic of Riesling. And at the end of the century Riesling returned the glory of the most common variety, at least one fifth of all vineyards are still occupied by the Muller-Thurgau variety. Cheap wines are made from it, without indicating on the label of the variety.

The Rheingau is the central of the seven regions of the Rhine, considered the best not only in Germany, but also in the world. The vineyards are located on the hills along the right bank of the river, which turns sharply from the north to the west. For 35 km, the vineyards are facing the southern sun, and from the north are protected by the Taunus mountains. The local climate is the mildest in Germany, the Rhine is very wide, its waters reflect the sun, and wet mists in the fall contribute to the formation of noble mold.

Most of Germany is located in the latitudes too cold for ripening grapes: in the west there is a humid maritime climate, in the east it is dry continental with hot summers and cold winters. Grapes grow on the border of ecological opportunities. Wines from Germany are clearly undervalued in the world winemaking. Here they get one of the world's best white wines, elegant and unique, where two indicators are surprisingly combined - acidity and sugar content. Without acid, sugar is tasteless, and without sugar, acid is harsh. But in successful years they complement each other so well that they literally reflect the very essence of the Earth. In addition, there is little alcohol in these wines, and the acidity helps to perfectly withstand the wine.

Germany is officially divided into 13 wine regions. Seven of them produce Rhine wine: Rheingau, Rhinehesse, Nahe, Palatinate, Ar, Mittelrein and Hessische Bergstrasse. The Moselle - Saar - Ruwer region is located in the valleys of the Moselle, Ruwer and Saar rivers and produces Moselle wine. Five other regions - Wurttemberg, Baden, Franconia, Saale-Unstrut and Saxony - produce a wide range of light wines.

Until the most recent years, the wine legislation of Germany in no way limited the grape yields, which are among the best in the world. We did not try to classify the vineyards here, as it was done in France. Any German vineyard can produce the highest quality wine. The law regulates only the degree of maturity and the level of sugar in the berries of the grapes at the time of harvest - the information that appears on the wine label depends on this.

The most famous Riesling vineyards give wine with a delicate bouquet, extract and harmony. It was in this zone that the most famous German wine, Liebfraumilch, was born - "the milk for the woman he loved." The vineyard with this name belonged to the monastery of Liebfrauenkirche. The English traveler in 1687 described this wine, which was sweeter than the milk of the Blessed Virgin. There are many versions of its name, some say that it is "milk for the Virgin Mary".

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