Wines of Germany
Germany - only at the very first glance may seem like a country where only beer is drunk and produced. In fact, the entire south-west of the country is covered with vineyards, and the wine-making traditions of the Germans date back to the times of Ancient Rome. Today, Germany's wines are popular all over the world, and in terms of the number of wine products produced, the country confidently occupies its niche in the top ten in the world..
To each his own
White varieties account for two thirds of the total volume of wines produced by the Germans. For wine lovers, Germany is associated with both the homeland of cheap semi-sweet brands like "Milk of the Beloved Woman" and a country that produces exquisite and elite names.
In Germany, there is a law regulating the list of grape varieties allowed for cultivation. It includes more than 60 types of white grapes and 30 - red.
A balanced approach
German punctuality and accuracy could not but affect the classification of German wines. Each of them must be assigned to one of several groups. If the wine does not fall under any of them, it simply does not exist:
- Deutscher Tafelwein table wines are made from grapes from any plantation. During its production, a minimum of requirements are observed, and such wine is sent for export extremely rarely..
- Qualitätswein bestimmter Anbaugebiete is a quality wine from the specified area. It is produced in one of the thirteen German wine regions, and the grapes from which the wine is made must not be mixed with fruits of other varieties. For the production of wines of this level, the producer is obliged to conduct tasting tests and receive a certain number..
- A quality wine made from fruits of special ripeness, which is very valuable, is called Prädikatswein. This category has six grades of its own, including wines of the class "cabinet" - natural and unsweetened, "ice wines" from berries frozen on the vine and wines from raisin grapes with their inherent high concentration and sugar content.
The variety of technologies for collecting fruits and making wine allowed the Germans to take their rightful place on the European wine-making Olympus.
Wine tours
The popular tourist route in the south-west of the country has been dubbed the "German Wine Route", offering guests splendid views of the banks of the Rhine, where for many hundreds of years the vine and the sun have created amazing fruits, which are named after grapes..
