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German| Date: 2005-11-17 22:40:00 |
| From: Peter.Gebler@t-online.de |
Subject: Re: GERMAN CLASSIFICATION - PUZZLE!! |
| Raymond, you can see from the many replies that even the so-called experts find the German classifications puzzling. While I was trying to avoid too many details, here goes with some more information: - a term such as Spätlese on a dry white GG ,etc. is usually not mentioned. - there are three possible names for First Growths/Grand Crus: Mosel: Erste Lage Rheingau: Erstes Gewächs Others: Großes Gewächs. - there are three possible styles for these: White, dry (classically dry, i.e. can be slightly off-dry in the international sense) white, sweet - then with botrytis, with additional classifications Auslese, BA, TBA, Eiswein Red, dry. Generally speaking, the following rules apply: specified vineyards or parts of vineyards specified grape varieties Max. yield 50 hl/ha Must weight minimum Spätlese equivalent level No chaptalising Hand-picked Separate tasting before release Earliest release for sale: Whites - September of year after vintage Reds- September two years after vintage To me the most controversial point is the fact that the system is administered solely by the VDP - and it is known the VDP restricts entry of new members in several regions - but that is another topic. What it boils down to, in my mind, is that this whole totally overregulated German classification system is unable to impart to the consumer what wine he is buying. All the poor consumer can do is to try and taste as many wines as possible, to identify some producers he trusts and feels comfortable with, and then to work throug their ranges. And as long as a wine producer with 6 ha of vineyards feels he must produce at least 40 different wines each year, things are not going to get any easier. Among all this criticism, I do feel German wine is on an upward curve in terms of quality, with particularly the young generation of wine producers taking over in many wineries showing tremendous class. Classic, I think, will remain, though Selection seems doomed. Selection is nowhere as good as GG, and seems to me an apologetic term similar to Grosslage. In Germany, there is now a trend back to slightly more fruity wines, after a few years of insisting on bone-dry - I think people are beginning to realise Riesling benefits from a tough of residual sugar. Happy tasting, Peter More infos: www.wein-plus.com Unsubscribe: www.wein-plus.com/abmelden.htm |
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by Raymond