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102-611: The Hessische Bergstraße ( German pronunciation: [ˈhɛsɪʃə ˈbɛʁk.ʃtʁaːsə] ; lit.   ' Hessian Mountain Road ' ) is a defined region ( Anbaugebiet ) for wine in Germany located in the state of Hesse among the northern and western slopes of the Odenwald mountain chain. With only 467 hectares (1,150 acres) of vineyards it is the smallest of the 13 German quality wine regions. At 21% red grape varieties and 79% white varieties, it

204-420: A "minx of a vine" and André Tchelistcheff declared that "God made cabernet sauvignon whereas the devil made Pinot noir". It is much less tolerant of harsh vineyard conditions than the likes of Cabernet Sauvignon, Syrah, Merlot or Grenache . However, Pinot noir wines are among the most popular in the world. Joel L. Fleishman of Vanity Fair describes them as "the most romantic of wines, with so voluptuous

306-473: A chimera of almost any other pinot. As such, suggestions that Pinot noir is the fundamental and original form of the Pinots are both misleading and highly tendentious. Indeed, if anything, Pinot blanc may be the original human-selected form of Pinot, although given the genetic variability of this longstanding genetic line, thinking of Pinot as a familial cluster of grapes sharing a fundamental and common genetic core

408-428: A chimerical mutation (in the epidermal cells) which makes the shoot tips and leaves prominently hairy-white and the vine a little smaller and early ripening. Thus, Pinot Meunier is a chimera with two tissue layers of different genetic makeup, both of which contain a mutation making them non-identical to, and mutations of, Pinot noir (as well as of any of the other color forms of pinot). As such, Pinot Meunier cannot be

510-513: A consortium of researchers, announced the sequencing of the genome of Pinot noir. It is the first fruit crop to be sequenced, and only the fourth flowering plant. In the Middle Ages , the nobility and church of northeast France grew some form of Pinot in favored plots, while peasants grew a large amount of the much more productive, but otherwise distinctly inferior, Gouais blanc . Cross-pollination may have resulted from such close proximity, with

612-461: A cultivated area of more than 7,000 hectares, Germany ranks in place six worldwide. The market share of organic wine is between four and five percent. Chaptalization is allowed only up to the QbA level, not for Prädikatswein and all wines must be fermented dry if chaptalised. To balance the wine, unfermented grape juice, called Süssreserve , may be added after fermentation. German wine classification

714-399: A doubling of the vineyards used for red wine. Nowadays, over 35% of the vineyards are cultivated with red grapes. Some of the red grapes are also used to produce rosé . Out of all the grape varieties listed below, only 20 have a significant market share. During the last century several changes have taken place with respect to the most planted varieties. Until the early 20th century, Elbling

816-525: A grape variety similar to Pinot noir in Burgundy during the 1st century CE; however, vines have grown wild as far north as Belgium in the days before phylloxera , and it is possible that pinot represents a direct domestication of (hermaphrodite-flowered) Vitis sylvestris . Ferdinand Regner argued that Pinot noir is a cross between Pinot Meunier (Schwarzriesling) and Traminer , but this claim has since been refuted. In fact, Pinot Meunier has been shown to be

918-421: A lesser extent currant and many other fine small red and black berry fruits. Traditional red Burgundy is famous for its savory fleshiness and "farmyard" aromas (this latter is sometimes associated with thiol and other reductive characters), but changing fashions, modern winemaking techniques, and new easier-to-grow clones have favored a lighter, more fruit-prominent, cleaner style. The wine's color, when young,

1020-540: A more powerful, fruit-forward, and darker wine that can tend toward Syrah (or even new world Malbec ) in depth, extract, and alcoholic content. Pinot noir is also used in the production of Champagne (usually along with Chardonnay and Pinot Meunier ) and is planted in most of the world's wine-growing regions for use in both still and sparkling wines. Pinot noir grown for dry table wines is generally low- yielding and of lesser vigor than many other varieties, whereas when grown for use in sparkling wines (e.g., Champagne), it

1122-500: A parent of Pinot noir, and, indeed, it seems likely that chimerical mutations which can generate Pinot gris from other pinot (principally blanc or noir) may in turn, be the genetic pathway for the emergence of Pinot Meunier. Pinot gris is a pinot color sport (and can arise by mutation of Pinot noir or Pinot blanc), presumably representing a somatic mutation in either the VvMYBA1 or VvMYBA2 genes that control grape berry color. Pinot blanc

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1224-487: A perfume, so sweet an edge, and so powerful a punch that, like falling in love, they make the blood run hot and the soul wax embarrassingly poetic". Master Sommelier Madeline Triffon calls them "sex in a glass". The tremendously broad range of bouquets , flavors, textures, and impressions that Pinot noir can produce sometimes confuses tasters. Broadly, the wines tend to be of light to medium body with an aroma reminiscent of black and/or red cherry , raspberry and to

1326-575: A third of the total surface. For the red wines, Spätburgunder , the domestic name for Pinot noir , is in the lead. Germany produces wines in many styles: dry, semi-sweet and sweet white wines, rosé wines, red wines and sparkling wines, called Sekt . (The only wine style not commonly produced is fortified wine.) Due to the northerly location of the German vineyards, the country has produced wines quite unlike any others in Europe, many of outstanding quality. Between

1428-479: A wine country, Germany has a mixed reputation internationally, with some consumers on the export markets associating Germany with the world's most elegant and aromatically pure white wines while other see the country mainly as the source of cheap, mass-market semi-sweet wines such as Liebfraumilch . Among enthusiasts, Germany's reputation is primarily based on wines made from the Riesling grape variety, which at its best

1530-583: Is a Californian misnomer for a UCD clone series of upright-growing ('Pinot Droit') Pinot noir. Planted mostly in California it also became established in New Zealand . In New Zealand, its disposition to poor fruit set in cool-flowering conditions can be problematic. It has been claimed that the 'Gamay Beaujolais' Pinot noir was brought to California by Paul Masson. But it was collected in France by Harold Olmo for UCD in

1632-562: Is a difficult variety to cultivate and transform into wine. The grape's tendency to produce tightly packed clusters makes it susceptible to several viticultural hazards involving rot that require diligent canopy management . The thin skins and low levels of phenolic compounds lend pinot to producing mostly lightly colored , medium-bodied and low- tannin wines that can often go through phases of uneven and unpredictable aging . When young, wines made from Pinot noir tend to have red fruit aromas of cherries, raspberries, and strawberries. As

1734-423: Is a further mutation and can either naturally arise from or give rise to Pinot gris or Pinot noir; the mutation-reversion path is multi-directional, therefore. The general DNA profiles of both Pinot gris and blanc are identical to Pinot noir; and other Pinots, Pinot mour, and Pinot teinturier are also genetically similarly close. Almost any given Pinot (of whatever berry color) can occur as a complete mutation or as

1836-540: Is almost certainly nearest the truth. It is this core around which the sub-varietally identifying color variations (blanc, rouge, noir, gris, rose, violet, tenteurier, moure, etc.) occur, along with the more striking chimeric morphological mutation that is Pinot Meunier, and the interesting further mutations of this variety as Pinot Meunier gris and as the non-hairy mutation which the Germans classify as 'Samtrot' (effectively 'Pinot red velvet'). A white berried sport of Pinot noir

1938-521: Is being made in the dry style again. Much of the wine sold in Germany is dry, especially in restaurants. However most exports are still of sweet wines, particularly to the traditional export markets such as the United States , the Netherlands and Great Britain , which are the leading export markets both in terms of volume and value. Red wine has always been hard to produce in the German climate, and in

2040-410: Is dominated by craft rather than industry wines. This makes the lists of wines produced long and complex, and many wines hard to obtain as production is so limited. The wine regions in Germany usually referred to are the 13 defined regions for quality wine. The German wine industry has organised itself around these regions and their division into districts. However, there are also a number of regions for

2142-413: Is extremely high. However, initial results were not promising for several reasons, including high levels of leaf roll virus in older plantings, and, during the 1960s and 1970s, the limited number and indifferent quality of Pinot noir clones available for planting. However, since this time importation of high-quality clones and much-improved viticulture and winemaking has seen Pinot noir, from Martinborough in

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2244-413: Is generally considered the founder of German viticulture, but for solid documentation of winemaking on German soil, we must go to around 370 AD, when Ausonius of Bordeaux wrote Mosella , where he in enthusiastic terms described the steep vineyards on the river Moselle. The wild vine , the forerunner of the cultivated Vitis vinifera is known to have grown on upper Rhine back to historic time, and it

2346-501: Is generally cropped at significantly higher yields. In addition to being used for the production of sparkling and still red wine, Pinot noir is also sometimes used for rosé still wines, Beaujolais Nouveau -styled wines, and even vin gris white wines. Its juice is uncolored. Pinot noir is almost certainly a very ancient variety that may be only one or two generations removed from wild Vitis sylvestris vines. Its origins are nevertheless unclear: In De re rustica , Columella describes

2448-563: Is generally used to make Pinot-noir d'Alsace  [ fr ] , similar in character to red Burgundy and Beaujolais wines but usually consumed chilled. Prominent examples are Rouge de Barr and Rouge d'Ottrott . Pinot noir is the only red wine produced in Alsace. Among countries planted with Pinot noir, Germany ranks third behind France and the United States. In Germany it is called Spätburgunder ( lit.   ' Late Burgundian ' ) and

2550-587: Is grown around the world, mostly in cooler climates, and the variety is chiefly associated with the Burgundy region of France . Pinot noir is now used to make red wines around the world, as well as champagne , sparkling white wines such as the Italian Franciacorta , and English sparkling wines . Regions that have gained a reputation for red Pinot noir wines include the Willamette Valley of Oregon ;

2652-890: Is grown in Rheinhessen and Ahr area and can produce good wines. In Italy, where Pinot noir is known as Pinot nero, it has traditionally been cultivated in South Tyrol, the Collio Goriziano, Franciacorta, Oltrepò Pavese, Veneto, Friuli and Trentino . It is also planted in Tuscany. In South Tyrol the variety is first noted 1838 as "Bourgoigne noir" in a grape wine buy list of the "k.u.k. Landwirtschafts-Gesellschaft von Tirol und Vorarlberg, Niederlassung Bozen" and later called "Blauburgunder" like in Austria. The first analytical descriptions are from Edmund Mach (founder of Ist. Agr. San Michele a.A. ) in

2754-590: Is grown in many of the wine regions from the north to the south, but the vast majority of Pinot noir is grown in Catalonia , where it is used in still wines and Cava , Spanish sparkling wine. It is an authorised variety in some of the Catalan DOPs. In 2015 there were 1,063 hectares (2,630 acres) of Pinot noir grown in Spain. Pinot noir is a popular grape variety all over Switzerland. In German-speaking regions of Switzerland it

2856-454: Is highly reflective of its terroir , with different regions producing very different wines. Its thin skin makes it susceptible to bunch rot and similar fungal diseases. The vines themselves are susceptible to powdery mildew , especially in Burgundy infection by leaf roll, and fanleaf viruses cause significant vine health problems. These complications have given the grape a reputation for being difficult to grow: Jancis Robinson calls pinot

2958-775: Is needed to produce the wine. Since it can be difficult to get ripe grapes in such a northernly location as Germany, the sugar maturity of grapes ( must weight ) as measured by the Oechsle scale have played a great role in Germany. German vintners on average crop their vineyards quite high, with yields averaging around 64–99 hl/ha, a high figure in international comparison. Some crossings used for low-quality white wine yield up to 150–200 hl/ha, while quality-conscious producers who strive to produce well-balanced wines of concentrated flavours rarely exceed 50 hl/ha. Many wines in Germany are produced using organic farming or biodynamic methods. With an average annual growth rate of 25 percent and

3060-466: Is now the most widely planted red grape. Historically much German wine produced from Pinot noir was pale, often rosé like the red wines of Alsace ; over-cropping and bunch-rot were major contributing factors to this. However, recently, despite the northerly climate, darker, richer reds have been produced, often barrel ( barrique ) aged, in regions such as Baden , Palatinate (Pfalz) and Ahr . These are rarely exported and are often expensive in Germany for

3162-498: Is often compared to that of garnet , frequently being much lighter than that of other red wines. This is entirely natural and not a winemaking fault, as Pinot noir has a lower skin anthocyanin (coloring matter) content than most other classical red/black varieties. Callistephin , the 3- O -glucoside of pelargonidin, an orange-colored anthocyanidin, is also found in the berry skins of Pinot noir. However, an emerging, increasingly evident style from California and New Zealand highlights

Hessische Bergstraße - Misplaced Pages Continue

3264-551: Is often distributed over, say, 10–25 different wines from different vineyards, of different Prädikat , sweetness and so on. The largest vineyard owner is the Hessian State Wineries ( Hessische Staatsweingüter ), owned by the state of Hesse , with 200 ha vineyards, the produce of which is vinified in three separate wineries. The largest privately held winery is Dr. Bürklin-Wolf in the Palatinate with 85,5 ha. By April 2014,

3366-429: Is planted with primarily Riesling (40% as of 2019), Pinot gris (12%) and Spätburgunder (Pinot Noir, 11%). Hessische Bergstraße is divided into two districts ( Bereiche ) – Umstadt and Starkenburg – three collective vineyard sites and 24 individual vineyard sites. The region produces mostly dry wines (14,000 hl in 2019), some off-dry (5,000 hl in 2019) but does have a sizable production of Eiswein . The wines from

3468-582: Is possible (but not documented) that Roman-era German viticulture was started using local varieties. Many viticultural practices were however taken from other parts of the Roman empire, as evidenced by Roman-style trellising systems surviving into the 18th century in some parts of Germany, such as the Kammertbau in the Palatinate . Almost nothing is known of the style or quality of "German" wines that were produced in

3570-405: Is small and conico-cylindrical, shaped like a pinecone . Some viticultural historians believe this shape similarity may have given rise to the name. In the vineyard, Pinot noir is sensitive to wind and frost, cropping levels (it must be low yielding for the production of quality wines), soil types, and pruning techniques. In the winery, it is sensitive to fermentation methods and yeast strains and

3672-457: Is sometimes the source of confusion. However, to those familiar with the terms used, a German wine label reveals much information about the wine's origin, the minimum ripeness of the grapes used for the wine, as well as the dryness/sweetness of the wine. In general, the ripeness classifications of German wines reflect minimum sugar content in the grape (also known as "potential alcohol" = the amount of alcohol resulting from fermenting all sugar in

3774-429: Is used for aromatic, fruity and elegant white wines that range from very crisp and dry to well-balanced, sweet and of enormous aromatic concentration. While primarily a white wine country, red wine production surged in the 1990s and early 2000s, primarily fuelled by domestic demand, and the proportion of the German vineyards devoted to the cultivation of dark-skinned grape varieties has now stabilized at slightly more than

3876-670: The Canberra District in the Australian Capital Territory. Best's Wines in Great Western has what is believed to have some of the world's oldest Pinot noir plantings—having survived phyloxera, these vines were planted in 1868. In Austria, Pinot noir is usually called Blauburgunder (literally Blue Burgundy) and produced in Burgenland and Lower Austria . Austrian Pinot noir wines are dry red wines similar in character to

3978-806: The Carneros , Central Coast , Sonoma Coast , and Russian River AVAs of California ; the Elgin and Walker Bay wine regions of South Africa ; the Mornington Peninsula , Adelaide Hills , Great Southern , Tasmania , and Yarra Valley in Australia ; and the Central Otago , Martinborough , and Marlborough wine regions of New Zealand . Pinot noir is the most planted varietal (38%) used in sparkling wine production in Champagne and other wine regions. Pinot noir

4080-531: The Geisenheim Grape Breeding Institute . Since several years ago there has been an increase in plantings of Riesling as local and international demand has been demanding high quality wines. The wines are all produced around rivers, mainly the Rhine and its tributaries, often sheltered by mountains. The rivers have significant microclimate effects to moderate the temperature. The soil is slate in

4182-743: The Okanagan ; here it is grown predominantly on the Naramata bench and in the northern Okanagan, Lower Mainland , and Vancouver Island wine regions of British Columbia . It is also grown in the Annapolis Valley region of Nova Scotia and the Lanaudière and Brome-Missisquoi regions of Quebec. Pinot noir is produced at the Leyda Valley, one of the minor wine districts of the Aconcagua wine region of Chile and in

Hessische Bergstraße - Misplaced Pages Continue

4284-673: The 14th or 15th century. Riesling has been documented from 1435 (close to Rheingau), and Pinot noir from 1318 on Lake Constance under the name Klebroth , from 1335 in Affenthal in Baden and from 1470 in Rheingau, where the monks kept a Clebroit-Wyngart in Hattenheim. The most grown variety in medieval Germany was however Elbling , with Silvaner also being common, and Muscat , Räuschling and Traminer also being recorded. For several centuries of

4386-485: The 1950s and the 1980s German wine was known abroad for cheap, sweet or semi-sweet, low-quality mass-produced wines such as Liebfraumilch . The wines have historically been predominantly white, and the finest made from Riesling . Many wines have been sweet and low in alcohol , light and unoaked . Historically many of the wines (other than late harvest wines) were probably dry ( trocken ), as techniques to stop fermentation did not exist. Recently much more German white wine

4488-525: The 1950s and was one of the first Pinot Noir vines this institution offered as a high-health clonal line from about 1962 onward. However, it was misleadingly identified at UCD as a 'Gamay Beaujolais' type (of Pinot noir). In general, these upright growing 'Pinot Droit' clones are highly productive (in suitable, hot-to-warm, flowering conditions) and in California and New Zealand, they give robust, burly wines favored by those who like muscle rather than charm and velvety finesse in their Pinot noir wines. In Burgundy,

4590-406: The 1960s and 1970s, there was a downward trend, which was reversed around 1980. From mid-1990s and during the next decade, there was an almost explosive growth of plantation of red varieties. Plantings was shared between traditional Spätburgunder and a number of new crossings , led by Dornfelder, while other traditional German red varieties such as Portugieser only held their ground. From around 2005,

4692-500: The 19th century, but much was lost to the ravages of phylloxera ; Soviet control of Moldova from 1940 to 1991 also reduced the productivity of vineyards. Pinot noir is New Zealand's largest red wine variety, and second largest variety overall behind Sauvignon blanc . In 2014, Pinot noir vines covered 5,569 hectares (13,760 acres) and produced 36,500 tonnes of grapes. Pinot noir is a grape variety whose "importance" in New Zealand

4794-472: The 50th parallel, which runs through the regions Rheingau and Mosel. Above this line the climate becomes less conducive to wine production, but there are still some vineyards above this line and the effects of climate change on wine production are growing. Because of the northerly climate, there has been a search for suitable grape varieties (particularly frost resistant and early harvesting ones), and many crosses have been developed, such as Müller-Thurgau in

4896-696: The Bergstraße. This northern Bergstraße was their property: When they died out in 1479 this part of the county came to the Landgraves of Hesse. The Hessische Bergstrasse has existed as an independent winegrowing region only since 1971. Before that, it formed the Bergstrasse winegrowing region together with the Badische Bergstrasse. At that time, a new wine law made restructuring measures in Baden necessary. Baden claimed

4998-655: The Bold 's role in promoting the spread of Pinot noir, holds that the reputation of Beaune wines as "the finest in the world" was a propaganda triumph of Burgundy's Valois dukes. In any event, the worldwide archetype for Pinot noir is that grown in Burgundy , where it has been cultivated since 100 AD. Burgundy is the most northerly good red wine growing district in the World. Burgundy's Pinot noir produces wines that can age well in good years, developing complex fruit and forest floor flavors as they age, often reaching peak 15 or 20 years after

5100-679: The Central Coast's Santa Lucia Highlands appellation, the Santa Maria Valley , and Sta. Rita Hills American Viticulture Area in Santa Barbara County. In New Zealand, it is principally grown in Martinborough , Marlborough , Waipara , and Central Otago . The leaves of Pinot noir are generally smaller than those of Cabernet Sauvignon or Syrah . The vine is typically less vigorous than either of these varieties. The grape cluster

5202-519: The Medieval era, the vineyards of Germany (including Alsace) expanded, and is believed to have reached their greatest extent sometime around 1500, when perhaps as much as four times the present vineyard surface was planted. Basically, the wine regions were located in the same places as today, but more lands around the rivers, and land further upstream Rhine's tributaries, was cultivated. The subsequent decline can be attributed to locally produced beer becoming

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5304-481: The Pinot family, ripening in typical climates can be dispersed by as much as four, and even six weeks between the very earliest (including Précoce) clones and the very latest ripening. Virus infection and excessive cropping significantly add to the delaying of Pinot noir ripening. Gouget noir is sometimes confused as being a clone of Pinot noir but, DNA analysis has confirmed that it is a distinct variety. In August 2007,

5406-578: The Republic of Macedonia, Moldova, New Zealand, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, South Africa, Switzerland, Ukraine, United States, and Uruguay. The United States has increasingly become a major Pinot noir producer, with some of the best regarded coming from Oregon's Willamette Valley , and California's Sonoma County with its Russian River Valley and Sonoma Coast appellations. Lesser-known appellations are found in Mendocino County's Anderson Valley ,

5508-655: The Rhine river were incorporated into the French state. This included the wine regions Ahr, Mosel, Nahe, Rheinhessen, and Pfalz, i.e., the vast majority of German wine production. Since then the Napoleonic inheritance laws in Germany broke up the parcels of vineyards further, leading to the establishment of many cooperatives. However, many notable and world-famous wineries in Germany have managed to acquire or hold enough land to produce wine not only for domestic consumption, but also export. After

5610-408: The Roman era, with the exception of the fact that the poet Venantius Fortunatus mentions red German wine around AD 570. Before the era of Charlemagne , Germanic viticulture was practiced primarily, although not exclusively, on the western side of Rhine. Charlemagne is supposed to have brought viticulture to Rheingau. The eastward spread of viticulture coincided with the spread of Christianity, which

5712-513: The Strata Montana (Bergstrasse) about 2,000 years ago. Documentarily, viticulture is mentioned for the first time in the 8th century in the Lorsch Codex (Codex Laureshamensis). The most cultivated grape varieties by area in 2018 are detailed in the following document: 49°43′01″N 8°37′01″E  /  49.717°N 8.617°E  / 49.717; 8.617 German wine As

5814-658: The UK, the name 'Wrotham Pinot' is a permitted synonym for Pinot Meunier and stems from a vine that one of the pioneers of UK viticulture , Edward Hyams, discovered in Wrotham (pronounced 'root-am' or 'root-em') in Kent in the late 1940s. It was, in all probability, the variety known as 'Miller's Burgundy,' which had been widely grown on walls and in gardens in Great Britain for many years. Archibald Barron writing in his book, Vines and Vine Culture ,

5916-860: The Uco Valley), Patagonia, Neuquén Province and Río Negro Province . Pinot noir is produced in several wine-growing areas of Australia, notably in the Southern Highlands in New South Wales, Yarra Valley , Geelong , the Bellarine Peninsula , Beechworth , South Gippsland , Sunbury , Macedon Ranges and Mornington Peninsula in Victoria, Adelaide Hills in South Australia, Great Southern Wine Region in Western Australia, all Tasmania, and

6018-453: The battle of Waterloo and Napoleon’s final defeat, the Rhineland (which encompasses the viticultural regions Mosel, Mittelrhein, Nahe and Ahr) fell to Prussia, while the Palatinate (Pfalz) fell to Bavaria. Hesse Darmstadt received what is today known as Rheinhessen. Many of the best vineyards were transferred to the new states, where they were wrapped up as state domains. Custom-free access to

6120-434: The best producers are in a style similar to that of Rheingau . The majority of the region's wine is produced by a winemaking cooperative based in the city of Heppenheim , to which about 620 of 850 growers of the region deliver their grapes. The state government of Hesse, through the Hessian State Wineries ( Hessische Staatsweingüter ) is the biggest single vineyard owner with 38 hectares (94 acres) since 2008 processed in

6222-479: The better examples. In the weekend edition of the "Financial Times" of 21/22 April 2018 Jancis Robinson wrote about ... alternatives to red burgundy As "Rhenish", German Pinot noir is mentioned several times in Shakespearean plays as a highly prized wine. There is also a smaller-berried, early ripening, lower yield variety called Frühburgunder ( Pinot Noir Précoce ; lit.   ' Early Burgundian ' ), which

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6324-500: The central cellar of the state wineries at the Steinberg, Kloster Eberbach , site. Because of the small production and a location rather close to densely populated areas, most of the wines is sold locally, and it is very uncommon to see Bergstraße wines outside of Germany. When the Counts of Katzenelnbogen first cultivated Riesling in 1435 the first time they already documented wine from

6426-595: The courier delivering the harvest permission was delayed for two weeks, with the result that most of the grapes in Johannisberg's Riesling-only vineyard had been affected by noble rot before the harvest began. Unexpectedly, these "rotten grapes" gave a very good sweet wine, which was termed Spätlese , meaning late harvest . From this time, late harvest wines from grapes affected by noble rot have been produced intentionally. The subsequent differentiation of wines based on harvested ripeness, starting with Auslese in 1787, laid

6528-690: The everyday beverage in northern Germany in the 16th century, leading to a partial loss of market for wine, to the Thirty Years' War ravaging Germany in the 17th century, to the dissolution of the monasteries, where much of the winemaking know-how was concentrated, in those areas that accepted the Protestant reformation, and to the climatic changes of the Little Ice Age that made viticulture difficult or impossible in marginal areas. An important event took place in 1775 at Schloss Johannisberg in Rheingau, when

6630-417: The following relationship to each other, and to the quality wine regions: Overall nearly 135 grape varieties may be cultivated in Germany – 100 are released for white wine production and 35 for red wine production. According to the international image, Germany is still considered a region for white wine production. Since the 1980s, demand for German red wine has constantly increased, and this has resulted in

6732-458: The genetic distance between the two parents imparting hybrid vigor leading to the viticultural selection of a diverse range of offspring from this cross (which may, nevertheless, have also resulted from deliberate human intervention). In any case, however, it occurred; offspring of the Pinot–Gouais cross include: Chardonnay , Aligoté , Auxerrois , Gamay , Melon and eleven others. Pinot noir

6834-449: The grapes (either on the market each harvest year, or on long-term contract with larger wineries looking to supplement their own production), deliver the grapes to a winemaking cooperative (called Winzergenossenschaft in Germany), or sell the wine in bulk to winemaking firms that use them in "bulk brands" or as a base wine for Sekt . Those who own vineyards in truly good locations also have

6936-439: The ground for the Prädikat system. These laws, introduced in 1971, define the designations still used today. At one point the Church controlled most of the major vineyards in Germany. Quality instead of quantity become important and spread quickly down the river Rhine. In the 1800s, Napoleon took control of all the vineyards from the Church, including the best, and divided and secularized them. In 1801, all German states west of

7038-464: The grower and producers of the wine: The German wine scene consists of many small craft oriented vineyard owners. The 1999 viticultural survey counted 68 598 vineyard owners, down from 76 683 in Western Germany in 1989/90, for an average size of 1.5 ha. Most of the 40 625 operators of less than 0.5 ha should likely be classified as hobby winemakers. The 2016 viticultural survey counted 15 931 vineyard owners. Two digit decreases of operating owners change

7140-441: The growth of the South African wine industry into newer areas, Pinot noir is now also to be found in cool climate Walker Bay and Elgin , the two oldest Pinot regions in the country. There are currently just over 1,200 ha of Pinot noir in South Africa, making up 1,5% of the total plantings in the country. The Top 5 Pinot noir Wine Awards annually recognizes the top South African Pinot noir red wines. In Spain, Pinot noir

7242-404: The high acidity ("crispness") of many German wines, the taste profile of many halbtrocken wines fall within the "internationally dry" spectrum rather than being appreciably sweet. Feinherb wines are slightly more sweet than halbtrocken wines. Lieblich wines are noticeably sweet; except for the high category Prädikatsweine of type Beerenauslese and above, lieblich wines from Germany are usually of

7344-981: The insignificant table wine ( Tafelwein ) and country wine ( Landwein ) categories. Those regions, with a few exceptions overlap, with the quality wine regions. To make a clear distinction between the quality levels, the regions and subregions for different quality levels have different names on purpose, even when they are allowed to be produced in the same geographical area. There are 13 defined regions ("Anbaugebiete") in Germany: These 13 regions ( Anbaugebiete ) are broken down into 39 districts ( Bereiche ) which are further broken down into collective vineyard sites ( Großlagen ) of which there are 167. The individual vineyard sites ( Einzellagen ) number 2,658. Data from 2016. There are seven regions for Tafelwein ( Weinbaugebiete für Tafelwein ), three of which are divided into two or three subregions ( Untergebiete ) each, and 21 regions for Landwein ( Landweingebiete ). These regions have

7446-468: The juice) at the point of harvest of the grape. They have nothing to do with the sweetness of the wine after fermentation, which is one of the most common mis-perceptions about German wines. On wine labels, German wine may be classified according to the residual sugar of the wine. Trocken refers to dry wine. These wines have less than 9 grams/liter of residual sugar. Halbtrocken wines are off-dry and have 9–18 grams/liter of residual sugar. Due to

7548-693: The late twentieth century, although it is unlikely that many vines from the cuttings supplied by Brock survive in any present UK vineyards. Indeed, despite the fact that today virtually all plantings of Meunier in the UK stem from French and German nurseries, the name Wrotham Pinot is still a legally acceptable synonym for this variety, although little, if ever, used by UK growers. Pinot noir can be particularly prone to mutation (suggesting it has active transposable elements ), and thanks to its long history in cultivation, there are hundreds of different clones in vineyards and vine collections worldwide. More than 50 are officially recognized in France compared to only 25 of

7650-450: The lesser ripeness in a northerly climate and by the selection of grapes such as Riesling , which retain acidity even at high ripeness levels. Viticulture in present-day Germany dates back to Ancient Roman times, to sometime from 70 to 270 CE/AD ( Agri Decumates ). In those days, the western parts of today's Germany made up the outpost of the Roman empire against the Germanic tribes on

7752-507: The low Tafelwein category. The number of German wines produced in a lieblich style has dropped markedly since the style went out of fashion in the 1980s. In recent years, the Verband Deutscher Prädikatsweingüter (VDP), which is a private marketing club founded in 1910, has lobbied for the recognition of a vineyard classification, but its effort have not yet changed national law. There are also several terms to identify

7854-514: The many other varieties he grew. Brock said that when compared to supplies of Meunier from France, Wrotham Pinot: had a higher natural sugar content and ripened two weeks earlier. Hyams, ever the journalist in search of a good story, claimed that this vine had been left behind by the Romans , although he provided absolutely no evidence for this. Brock sold cuttings of 'Wrotham Pinot,' and the variety became quite popular in early English "revival" vineyards in

7956-569: The much more widely planted Cabernet Sauvignon . The French Etablissement National Technique pour l'Amelioration de la Viticulture (ENTAV) has set up a program to select the best clones of Pinot. This program has succeeded in increasing the number of quality clones available to growers. In the new world, particularly in Oregon, wines of extraordinary quality continue to be made from the (ex-University of California at Davis) Pommard (principally UCD4) and Wadensvil (UCD 1A and/or 2A) clones. Gamay Beaujolais

8058-589: The north to Central Otago in the south, become a major factor in New Zealand's reputation as a wine producer. In Slovenia , the Pinot noir is produced especially in the Slovenian Littoral , particularly in the Goriška Brda sub-region. In smaller amounts, the Pinot noir is also produced in Slovenian Styria . The wine is usually called Modri Pinot (Blue Pinot) or also Modri Burgundec (Blue Burgundy). With

8160-417: The option of renting them out to larger producers to operate. A total of 5,864 vineyard owners owned more than 5 ha each in 2016, accounting for 81% of Germany's total vineyard surface, and it is in this category that the full-time vintners and commercial operations are primarily found. However, truly large wineries, in terms of their own vineyard holdings, are rare in Germany. Hardly any German wineries reach

8262-561: The other side of Rhine. What is generally considered Germany's oldest city, Trier , was founded as a Roman garrison and is situated directly on the river Moselle ( Mosel ) in the eponymous wine region . The oldest archeological finds that may indicate early German viticulture are curved pruning knives found in the vicinity of Roman garrisons, dating from the 1st century AD. However, it is not absolutely certain that these knives were used for viticultural purposes. Emperor Probus , whose reign can be dated two centuries later than these knives,

8364-479: The part of the Bergstrasse that lies within its state borders. This concerns the area south of Heppenheim. The northern part of the Bergstrasse, the Hessian Bergstrasse, was originally to be added to the Rheingau. However, since this did not seem to make sense either geographically or administratively, the smallest wine-growing region in Germany at that time was created. The Romans probably began winegrowing on

8466-409: The past was usually light-colored, closer to rosé or the red wines of Alsace . However recently there has been greatly increased demand and darker, richer red wines (often barrique -aged) are produced from grapes such as Dornfelder and Spätburgunder, the German name for Pinot noir . Perhaps the most distinctive characteristic of German wines is the high level of acidity in them, caused both by

8568-400: The proportion of red varieties has stabilized around 37%, about three times the 1980 level. White grape varieties account for 66% of the area planted in Germany. Principal varieties are listed below; there are larger numbers of less important varieties too. Red wine varieties account for 34% of the plantations in Germany but has increased in recent years. According to the German wine law ,

8670-695: The red wines of Burgundy, mostly aged in French barriques . Some of the best Austrian Pinots come from Neusiedlersee and Blaufraenkischland (Burgenland), and Thermenregion (Lower Austria). Pinot noir has been grown in Ontario for some time in the Niagara Peninsula and especially the Niagara-on-the-Lake and Short Hills Bench wine regions, as well as in Prince Edward County and on the north shore of Lake Ontario . It has also been grown recently in

8772-452: The size of New World winemaking companies, and only a few are of the same size as a typical Bordeaux Grand Cru Classé château. Of the ten wineries considered as Germany's best by Gault Millau Weinguide in 2007, nine had 10,2 — 19 ha of vineyards, and one ( Weingut Robert Weil , owned by Suntory ) had 70 ha. This means that most of the high-ranking German wineries each only produces around 100,000 bottles of wine per year. That production

8874-493: The southern district Biobio . Pinot noir is increasingly being planted in the U.K. and is now the second most widely planted variety (305-ha in 2012), almost all of it for sparkling wine. Pinot noir has made France's Burgundy appellation famous, and vice versa. Wine historians, including John Winthrop Haeger and Roger Dion, believe that the association between Pinot and Burgundy was the explicit strategy of Burgundy's Valois dukes. Roger Dion, in his thesis regarding Philip

8976-502: The standard Victorian work on grape growing in the UK, states that the 'Millers Burgundy' also was found by [the famous horticulturalist] Sir Joseph Banks in the remains of an ancient vineyard at Tortworth, Gloucestershire – a county well known for its medieval vineyards . Hyams took the vine to Raymond Barrington Brock, who ran what was to become the Oxted Viticultural Research Station, and he trialed it alongside

9078-409: The state governments are responsible for drawing up lists of grape varieties allowed in wine production. The varieties listed below are officially permitted for commercial cultivation. The lists include varieties permitted only for selected experimental cultivation. Many of the best vineyards in Germany are steep vineyards overlooking rivers, where mechanisation is impossible and a lot of manual labour

9180-421: The steep valleys, to absorb the sun's heat and retain it overnight. On the rolling hills the soil is lime and clay dominated. The great sites are often extremely steep so they catch the most sunlight, but they are difficult to harvest mechanically. The slopes are also positioned facing the south or south-west to angle towards the sun. The vineyards are extremely small compared to New World vineyards and wine making

9282-410: The structure. Many smaller vineyard owners do not pursue viticulture as a full-time occupation, but rather as a supplement to other agriculture or to hospitality. It is not uncommon for a visitor to a German wine region to find that a small family-owned Gasthaus has its own wine. Smaller grape-growers who do not wish to, or are unable to, commercialise their own wine have several options available: sell

9384-535: The ten largest German wine producers were: Pinot noir Pinot noir ( French: [pino nwaʁ] ), also known as Pinot nero , is a red- wine grape variety of the species Vitis vinifera . The name also refers to wines created predominantly from Pinot noir grapes. The name is derived from the French words for pine and black. The word pine alludes to the grape variety having tightly clustered, pinecone—shaped bunches of fruit. Pinot noir

9486-437: The use of (highly productive) Pinot Droit clones is reportedly still widespread in inferior, Village appellation, or even non-appellation vineyards, and Pinot Droit is consequently regarded, arguably with very good reason, as a (genetic) sub-form significantly inferior to classical, decumbent, 'Pinot fine' or 'Pinot tordu', clonal lines of Pinot. Frühburgunder (Pinot Noir Précoce) is an early-ripening form of Pinot noir. Across

9588-486: The vast Prussian markets in the east and the growing industrial clusters on the Ruhr and protection from non-Prussian competitors, including from southern German regions such Baden, Württemberg, Palatinate and Rheinhessen, fostered Mosel, Rhine, Nahe and Ahr winemakers, due to high tariff barriers for all other producers. The German wine regions are some of the most northerly in the world. The main wine-producing climate lies below

9690-449: The vintage. Many of the wines are produced in small quantities. Today, the Côte d'Or escarpment of Burgundy has about 4,500 hectares (11,000 acres) of Pinot noir. Most of the region's finest wines are produced from this area. The Côte Chalonnaise and Mâconnais regions in southern Burgundy have another 4,000 hectares (9,900 acres). In Jura département , across the river valley from Burgundy,

9792-469: The wine ages, Pinot has the potential to develop more vegetal and "barnyard" aromas that can contribute to the complexity of the wine. Pinot noir's home is France's Burgundy region, particularly Côte-d'Or . It is also planted in Argentina, Australia, Austria, Bulgaria, Canada, Chile, northern parts of Croatia, Czech Republic, England, the Republic of Georgia, Germany, Greece, Israel, Italy, Hungary, Kosovo,

9894-483: The wines made from Pinot noir are lighter. In Champagne it is used in blending with Chardonnay and Pinot Meunier . It can also appear unblended; in which case it may be labeled Blanc de Noirs . The Champagne appellation has more Pinot planted than any other area of France. In Sancerre it is used to make red and rosé wines, much lighter in style than those of Burgundy, refreshing served chilled, especially in warmer years when they are less thin. In Alsace it

9996-423: The year 1894: Friedrich Boscarolli - Rametz/Meran - Rametzer Burgunder 1890, Chorherrenstift Neustift - Blauburgunder 1890, R.v.Bressendorf - Vernaun/Meran - Burgunder 1890, C. Frank - Rebhof Gries Bozen - Burgunder 1889, Fr. Tschurtschenthaler - Bozen - Burgunder 1890 & 1891, Fr. Tschurtschenthaler - Bozen - Kreuzbichler 1889 & 1891 & 1887. Large amounts of Pinot were planted in central Moldova during

10098-485: Was Germany's most planted variety, after which it was eclipsed by Silvaner during the middle of the 20th century. After a few decades in the top spot, in the late 1960s Silvaner was overtaken by the high-yielding Müller-Thurgau, which in turn started to lose ground in the 1980s. From the mid-1990s, Riesling became the most planted variety, a position it probably had never enjoyed before on a national level. Red grapes in Germany have experienced several ups and downs. Throughout

10200-510: Was not necessarily the Pinot involved here; any member of the Pinot family appears genetically capable of being the Pinot parent to these ex-Gouais crosses. In 1925, Pinot noir was crossed in South Africa with the Cinsaut grape (known locally by the misnomer 'Hermitage') to create a unique variety called Pinotage . Pinot noir is produced in the wine-growing regions of Mendoza (particularly in

10302-471: Was propagated in 1936 by Henri Gouges of Burgundy, and there is now 2.5ha planted of this grape which Clive Coates calls Pinot Gouges, and others call Pinot Musigny. There is, however, no published evidence, nor any obvious reason, to believe that this is other than a (possibly quite fine) form of Pinot blanc, having simply arisen as a selected natural mutation of the original Pinot noir in the Gouges' vineyard. In

10404-701: Was supported by Charlemagne. Thus, in Medieval Germany, churches and monasteries played the most important role in viticulture, and especially in the production of quality wine. Two Rheingau examples illustrate this: archbishop Ruthard of Mainz (reigning 1089–1109) founded a Benedictine abbey on slopes above Geisenheim , the ground of which later became Schloss Johannisberg . His successor Adalbert of Mainz donated land above Hattenheim in 1135 to Cistercians , sent out from Clairvaux in Champagne , who founded Kloster Eberbach . Many grape varieties commonly associated with German wines have been documented back to

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