| The Wine Routes And Great Estates Of Germany | | | | By: Ron Kapon |  Page 1 of 3 next >> |
In three days in Germany I drove, tasted, visited, ate, drank, slept, and toured the Rhine, Mosel, Saar and Ruwer. If you did as I did you would fly nonstop on Delta at under $400 roundtrip (www.delta.com ) from JFK in New York to Frankfurt (www.frankfurt-tourismus.de ). Rent your Mercedes C Class from Dollar/Thrifty (www.dollar.com ) and drive a half hour into the center of Frankfurt staying at the charming and friendly Villa Orange Hotel (www.villa-orange.de ). After walking through the old city and an early to bed you would drive 50 miles to Heidelberg (www.cvb-heidelberg.com ), viewing the historic castle and mixing with the students at the University of Heidelberg. Another 20 miles and you arrive in Worms (www.worms.de ) with its Liebfraunkirche vineyard and church, the original site for the wine we know as Liebraumilch. The stately Hotel Prinz Carl (www.parkhotel-prinzcarl.de ) was the starting point for my German wine adventure. Wilhelm Steifensand, President of PJ Valckenberg, wine importer, negociant and estate owner was my tour guide, interpreter, travel agent and friend. We visited the Rheinhessen, Rheingau, Mosel, Saar & Ruwer, meeting, eating and tasting with the Super Stars of the German wine industry. BEFORE YOU GO- www.cometogermany.com – German National Tourist Office- 122 East 42nd Street- 20th Floor- (212) 661-7200.
But first a brief Baedeker: (www.germanwineusa.org ) German wine regions lie along the northern limits for grape growing (latitude 50 degrees). Above that limit summers are too short and the limited sunshine does not allow enough warmth for the grapes to ripen. I love the light, delicate, low alcohol white wines that are the hallmark of Germany. The vineyards are mainly steep, south-facing, near rivers that temper the climate and act as a heat reflector (the Rhine & Mosel and its tributaries, the Saar & Ruwer). The mist and fog in early autumn protect the grapes from frost.
Monastic orders with their research and care of the vines were responsible for the cultivation of many of the finest vineyards. In 1803 Napoleon conquered the Rhine region and secularized all the monasteries. He divided the churches’ vineyards into small parcels and sold to private owners. Some large estates were taken over by the state. Riesling is top dog in Germany (20% of all plantings) because it is frost-resistant, does well on stony soil and needs little moisture. It also ripens very late. Muller-Thurgau (15%) is the most widely planted grape. Silvaner (6%) and Gewurztraminer are other important varieties. If 85% of a wine is from one grape it can be noted on the label. 34% of all planted vineyards are planted with red wine vines (Almost 11% of all grapes grown in Germany are Spatburgunder/Pinot Noir). I am unimpressed with most of their red wines.
Germany is a nation of small wine-growers with most of the vineyard sites split among several owners. Ripeness at harvest is the key to understanding German wines. I will mention only that which you are apt to see in supermarkets and retail stores: Tafelwein- Everyday table wine, not readily available; Qualitatswine (QBA)- Most German wines from one of the 13 wine-growing regions (think Rheingau, Mosel etc); Qualitatswine mit Pradikat (QmP)- Six special attributes which will appear on the label as: Kabinett (fully ripened), Spatlese (second picking), Auslese (very ripe bunches of grapes), Beerenauslese (BA- overripe individually selected berries), Eiswein (made from frozen grapes), Trockenbeerauslese (TBA- selected harvest of very ripe berries shriveled almost to raisins). Most Rhine wines are bottled in slender, swan-necked brown bottles; most Mosel wines are bottled in green bottles.
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