Does the jet stream make comparing latitudes apples and organges?
That’s why the steep slopes in so much of Germany – more rays fall on each cluster when they’re better oriented toward the sun. It’s an approximation to having the sun overhead, though with weaker rays and shorter days. In the most northerly serious wine area, the Ahr, it’s hard to see how they pick. It looks like you’d just slide down the mountainside.
In the warmer zones of the Pfalz, Rheinhessen and Baden, there are decent vineyards on much less steep slopes.
Climates vary considerably at a given latitude (depending most of all on how far east vs.west you are within a landmass, which is why Napa Valley has such a different climate than St. Louis, or why France has such a different climate than Kazakhstan and Mongolia), but latitude does play a big role, and it is pretty uniform in terms of how much sunlight you get.
Claude, I believe (pretty sure) I heard Terry Theise say a couple of years ago that the term was required for wines that qualify. Is this no longer the case, or did I not hear correctly? I have never seen a dry wine from Germany that didn’t have it, but I know you have more experience with the wines than I do.
I don’t know what Terry told you, Doug, but I have bottles that I’ve sampled recently that are dry and it doesn’t say so on the label. But the rules are constantly changing (with the VDP about to introduce a disastrous new rule for its members next year [some are threatening to quit over it], but that’s another story).
Well, that’s good to know. I’ve been telling people that the dry wines will always say “trocken”. I’ll have to stop. At least I know all of the ones we carry say it. I wonder why anyone wouldn’t put it on the label? It seems awfully confusing to me.
Yes and no. New York is roughly on the latitude of Madrid and Rome but the climates are quite different, particularly in winter. The Okanagan Valley wine area of British Columbia is on the same latitude as the Mosel, but it’s a much more extreme climate with very hot, dry summers.
But, as Chris alluded to, hours of daylight are crucial to ripening as well as warmth, and that’s a function of latitude. So, while global warming is making Southern England more hospital to winemaking, there are limits, and Kent, Sussex and Dorset are only a little further north than Germany’s Ahr Valley. That’s really the upper limit for quality wine.
And, for all the odd exceptions there are out there, I’m sure everyone has noticed that most of the world’s wine regions fall within a pretty narrow band of latitude. Something roughly like 35-50 degrees latitude in both the northern and southern hemispheres. The wine regions of Chile, Argentina, South Africa, Argentina and New Zealand are all at about the same latitude as Napa, Tuscany, Bordeaux, Rioja, Douro, etc.
And the best ones that are on large and wide landmasses are found on or near the west side of it (California, Oregon, Washington, British Columbia, France, Spain, Italy, Germany).
Being on the riverbanks also helps to protect the vines from frost/freeze because the water’s flow keeps the air warmer and moving, in sort of the same way the vines are protected on the banks of the Finger Lakes in NY and some of the other colder areas of the US.
Doug – I would expect that US importers are going to insist that their dry wines say “trocken” or “dry” somewhere. In Germany, it’s different – many people there don’t even know that sweet wines below Auslese exist, and so putting “trocken” on the label is for them redundant.
I like Kunstler’s Stielweg bottling. As good or better than many twice the price IMO. I haven’t tried the 2010 but it’s on deck.
2011 Wagner Stempel Vom Porphyr
2011 Schafer Frohlich Vulkangestein
both are as good as it gets at the price point to my taste…
Guys, please correct me if I am wrong but… I always understood that the unique German Riesling sweet wines are sweeter and lower in alcohol due to the use of Sussreserve, the techique of adding a certain amount of the original ripe unfermented pressed grape juice that has also been filtered and clarified and set aside to the finished fermented wine. I had this explained to me by several Niagara wineries who offer their own version of a Sussreserve wine.
Is this incorrect or is it merely that the technique is now simply outdated and savvier German winemakers simply stop the fermentation with chilling and filtering?
Doug: The term trocken isn’t required on the label. For example, some Mosel wine producers feel that it’s a straitjacket, as the wine then has to be under 9 g/l RS (though 10 g/l RS is now tolerated with the corresponding acidity). They want to be flexible, for in some vintages the wine might ferment through to 4 g/l RS and in other vintages only to 15 g/l RS or so. Moreover, they don’t have to constantly change the labels. Immich-Batterieberg does this, for instance.
Claude: What is the new VDP rule for next year?
Tran: Süssreserve is rarely used by the top German Riesling producers for making sweet wines. In fact, many of them dissaprove of this practice, which was popular in the 1970s and 1980s.
This is a practice used heavily in the past - and still is for the easier wines (for instance made by cooperatives), but the top producers have - fortunately - abandoned with it …
Drinking a wine with Süßreserve means you are drinking partially wine, partially grape juice - and there is rarely a real harmony
Gerhard P.: You’re right. There are a few exceptions, however. For example, Hanno Zilliken of Geltz-Zilliken does use in certain instances – and with great skill – a little sweet reserve for an Auslese.
That’s one of the main issues: wines made with sweet reserve have higher amounts of glucose and taste noticeably sweetened.
Ryan: Those are two selections with a great quality-price rapport that should be well distributed. In addition, Peter Lauer and Immich-Batterieberg produced more wine in the 2011 vintage.
Lars – This is what I’ve been told by various producers (more or less, there wasn’t 100% consistency):
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All dry (and I think feinherb) wines must be QbA; no more Kabinett trocken, Spätlese trocken.
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Only one dry wine can bear the designation of a particular vineyard; i.e., you can have only one dry wine from Kirchenstück, but you can have dry wines (one of each) from Kirchenstück, Jesuitengarten, Ungeheuer, etc.
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For fruity wines, Kabinett cannot bear the name of a vineyard, QbA can’t bear the name of a vineyard or a village; not sure whether Spätlese can bear the name of a “grand cru” vineyard or whether it will be reserved for so-called “premiers crus.”
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The rules may be somewhat different for the Mosel from that stated above – I’m not sure about that.
Exemptions have been granted to some producers, but those producers say that after two years those exemptions will disappear.
This is a very big problem for producers who have large holdings in vineyards from which they make a GG; they will not longer be able to make less expensive dry wines labelled as coming from the same vineyard.
I spent about about half an hour discussing this with Stefan Christmann, president of the VDP, and he is adamant about these rules. When I asked how other producers were harmed if a particular producer found it better for his marketing strategy to have a Kabinett trocken, he was unable to give me an answer other than uniformity and the possibility of exemptions. But (1) that uniformity is broken by the exemptions, and (2) I doubt that most customers focus on whether a producer is in the VDP or not, so when Weingut X offers a Kabinett trocken, customers are going to expect VDP producer Weingut Y to offer one, too.
The VDP is trying to mitigate the rule somewhat by allowing use of the pre-1971 names on the labels, so perhaps the GG bears the name of the pre-1971 vineyard and other bottlings bear the post-1971 name (or vice-versa).
More than one producer told me that this rule, if it goes into effect, may cause them to leave the VDP. It seems to me that it will also present a potential barrier to those considering joining the VDP.
Thanks for the rundown, Claude. I can understand the points and Stefan Christmann’s opinions (he and I discussed them too), but there are many issues that need to be ironed out still.
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There is no historical basis – as some in the VDP like to argue – for keeping the 1971 Prädikat designations, especially the term Kabinett, for only sweet German Rieslings. Nonetheless, it makes it easier for consumers who know less about German wines. I’m just wondering how a producer will then be able to designate a lighter style of dry or off-dry Riesling. Moreover, how can they indicate that their wine is unchaptalized and from a specific place? In addition, Spätlese and Auslese had different meanings in the late 19th century, when German Riesling was at its height.
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See point one. It should be possible for the producer to designate more than one dry or off-dry wine per site. This actually goes against the notion of terroir.
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I cannot understand why a fruity Riesling Kabinett/QbA shouldn’t bear the name of a vineyard. In fact, a fruity Riesling Kabinett/QbA can often show its place better than a higher Prädikat.
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I’m sure the rules will be slightly different for the Mosel.
It’s already a problem that producers who have large holdings in Erste Lage (or, better in Grosse Lage) vineyards (Achim-Magin, for example) are forced to make either GGs or create fantasy names, because only one dry wine can bear the site name. The non-VDP producers will still use the terms, such as “Kabinett trocken,” although many are switching to the VDP model.
I agree with all your points completely, Lars. And so do most of the producers with whom I’ve spoken about the matter; a few seem relatively indifferent (i.e., it doesn’t affect them much and/or they’re already more or less conforming to the new rules). Only Stefan Christmann and Armin Diel, of those with whom the new rules came up, seemed really gung-ho about the changes, but I guess those two and a few more are the ones who wield the real power.