Photo by Klara Kulikova on Unsplash

Wine in Germany-Explained

Although Germany is not the biggest wine producer in the world and is better known for its beer culture, many regions in Germany are known for their vineyards. The wine from these regions is popular among locals and is much sought after in other countries too. You can taste this wine when you visit these places OR by visiting a local wine fest ( Read about the Wine Fest in my city, Darmstadt), where wine producers from the region set up stalls in cities. People can visit this fest and taste the wine from the region.

Please note that most of the wine made in Germany is white wine.

In Germany, you will also find Wine speciality shops where you can find wine for every occasion, to be paired with different types of foods and in different price ranges. These shops have wine from the region as well as those imported from other countries.

In addition, supermarkets also stock wines.

If you are new to drinking wine, you might be confused about what these different varieties mean. The choices range from red, rosé, and white to sweet, semi-sweet, dry, semi-dry and of course, there is a choice one has to make about local or imported varieties.

Through this article, I attempt to clarify some of the terminologies related to Wines. This will help you make a more informed choice about the wine you buy.

So, let us start with the most basic question.

What is wine?

Wine is an alcoholic drink made by extracting and fermenting the juice from grapes. At a commercial level, grapes are grown in vineyards and different varieties are cultivated for different purposes. For example, the variety used for winemaking differs from that used for eating as a fruit, which is different from those used for making raisins.

Winemaking Process

Simply explained, the wine-making process can be broken down into the following steps:

1. Grape harvesting
2. Stem and dirt removal
3. Crushing the grapes to extract their juice.
4. Cooling: At this stage, preservatives (like sulphur dioxide), enzymes like Glucanases and stabilizers may be added to prevent fast oxidation, aid slow fermentation, retain the colour, etc.
5. Fermentation: At this stage, yeast may be added to aid fermentation.
6. Filtering
7. Ageing
8. Bottling

How do you differentiate between different types of wines?

Differentiation based on colour:

Wines are most commonly differentiated based on their colour- White, Red and Rosé. So, let’s understand this difference:

Red Wine:

Photo by Jeff Siepman on Unsplash

Red wine, though not exactly red in colour, is named so because it comes in colours that are very close to the colour red. It can be maroon, brick red and even slightly brown if the wine is old. This wine is made using dark red grapes and it is the skin of these grapes that renders the reddish colour and typical flavour of the wine.

The tannins (a compound), which typically come from grape skin, cause a dry sensation in the mouth when you consume red wine. This effect ‘softens’ as the wine ages. Red wines may also have different flavours that come from the different varieties of grapes, which vary according to the region. Red wines also taste a bit acidic, which gives a feeling of tartness on the tongue.

Some of the popular grape varieties used for making red wines are Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon, and Merlot.

In German, red wine is called Rotwein.

Popular grape varieties grown in Germany are Pinot Noir ( called Spätburgunder), Dornfelder, Portugieser, Trollinger and Schwarzriesling.

White Wine:

Photo by Steven Weeks on Unsplash

White wine is not exactly white but yellow, golden yellow, or light yellow in colour. This wine also follows the standard wine-making process. The only difference is that when this wine is fermented, the skin is separated from the fruit. White wines are typically made using green and yellow grapes. However, they can also be made using red grapes.

White wines have a more ‘clean’ flavour and typical floral/citrusy scents.

Common grape varieties for making white wine are Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc and Muscat.

In German, white wine is called Weißwein.

Popular grape varieties grown in Germany are Riesling, Müller-Thurgau, Pinot Gris (Grauburgunder), Pinot Blanc (Weissburgunder), etc.

Rosé Wine

Photo by Jonas Allert on Unsplash

Rosé Wine, like red wine, gets its characteristic pink colours from the grape skins, but it is not enough to qualify it as a red wine. It is mostly made by retaining the grapes with their skins during fermentation for a short time ( shorter than for red wines). This imparts a much lighter colour to the wine than the dark shades of red wine.

This can be understood easily with the example of the tea bag dipped into hot water. The longer we leave the tea bag in the water, the darker the tea. If we want a lighter colour and a milder taste, we must leave the tea bag in the water for a shorter time. The same principle can be used to understand red and rose winemaking. The longer the grapes stay with their skin during the fermentation process, the darker colour they render to the resulting wine. And if the skins are removed after a shorter time, the colour of the wine is lighter.

Rosé wine has a fruity, melony and citrusy flavour.

It is called Rosewein in German.

Differentiation based on taste:

Wines can also be differentiated as dry, semi-dry, sweet and semi-sweet.

Please note that the term ‘dry’ has nothing to do with the dryness that wine leaves on the tongue. As explained in the description of red wine, dryness is due to the presence of tannins ( which come from grape skin).

To understand what dry, semi-dry, sweet and semi-sweet mean, let’s first understand a few terminologies.

What is meant by dry wine?

Dry wine is a wine with little or no residual sugar.

What is residual sugar?

After the wine’s fermentation is finished, the natural grape sugars left over are known as residual sugars. Residual sugar is measured in grams per litre (g/L).

The amount of residual sugar in a wine depends on any of the three factors:

1. Yeast Strain used
   
   Winemakers control the amount of sugar in wines by altering the yeast strains used during fermentation.
   
   To understand this, let us take an example. If you are aware of the breadmaking process, you will know that yeast and sugar are combined as an initial step. When the yeast ‘blooms’, this mixture is added to the flour and other ingredients to make bread dough. Sugar acts as a ‘food’ for the yeast. When sugar and yeast combine, they produce ethanol and carbon dioxide. While the ethanol evaporates, the carbon dioxide helps make the bread rise. In winemaking, a similar process takes place.
   
   During grape juice fermentation, yeast is added. It combines with the sugar in the juice to produce ethanol and CO2. When a certain yeast strain is used, which ‘consumes’ more sugar, the resulting wine is low in sugar. If the yeast ‘consumes’ less sugar, the wine is sweet.
   
2. Temperature at which fermentation takes place
   
   The temperature at which the juices are fermented can also control the amount of sugar in wine. When fermentation happens at a higher temperature, the resulting wine is dry ( low in sugar), and when fermentation takes place at lower temperatures, the resulting wine is sweet.
   
3. Whether the grapes used were ripe or unripe
   
   If the wine was made from ripe grapes, the likelihood of high amounts of residual sugars is higher.
   

With these concepts clear, let us now understand what dry, semi-dry, sweet and semi-sweet wines are:

Dry Wine ( called trocken in German)

If little or no sugar remains in the wine after fermentation, it is said to be dry. Dry wines typically have less than 4 gms of sugar per litre. They are not sweet and have an acidic taste.

Semi-dry Wine (called halbtrocken/feinherb in German)

This wine has 4-12 grams of sugar per litre of wine.

Semi-sweet Wine (called lieblich in German)

Sweet wines are those which have higher residual sugars. It ranges from 12-45 gms per litre.

Sweet Wines (called süß in German)

These are high in sugar content. Anything above 45gm/litre is considered sweet.

Apart from ‘regular’ wines, there are also fizzy drinks made with wine. Let us now understand them.

What is sparkling wine? ( called Sekt in German)

Photo by Oliver Sherwin on Unsplash

Sparkling Wine is a wine with a considerable amount of carbon dioxide in it. It is commonly known as Champagne. However, in the European Union, the word Sparkling wine is used instead of Champagne. The word Champagne is restricted to the wine made in the Champagne region in France.

This carbon dioxide comes through fermentation. It may happen in the bottle ( when yeast and sugar are added after bottling) or in the storage tank ( kept in a pressurized tank).

The most common sparkling wines are Champagne (made in the Champagne region of France), Prosecco ( made in the Veneto region of Italy) and Cava (made in the Penedès area in Catalonia, Spain). These wines differ not only because their countries of origin are different but also because the grape varieties are different and the method of making sparkling wine ( read, incorporation of carbon dioxide) is different.

Typically, sparkling wine is made from white and rose wine, but some rare varieties are also made with red wine.

In Germany, we also get Secco or Perlwein, which is a type of sparkling wine. It is made fizzy by injecting carbon dioxide into the wine, the same way fizzy drinks are made. The fizz doesn’t come through natural fermentation, and it is less bubbly than sparkling wine.

Here are two important bits of information that you must consider while buying wine:

1. The alcohol content in wines
   
   
   
   Wine’s alcohol content can range from 5.5% to 23%. Check the label of the wine bottle to determine the alcohol content and buy accordingly.
   
2. Sulphites in Wine
   
   
   
   
   Sulphites are chemical compounds (sulphur dioxide, or SO2) that occur naturally, to a varying degree, in all types of wine. They act as a preservative and taste enhancer. Winemakers also add sulphites during the winemaking process to quickly halt ongoing fermentation or to help protect the wine against potential oxidation or bacterial exposure.
   
   White and Rosé wines don’t contain natural anti-oxidants because they are not left in contact with their skins after crushing. For this reason, they are more prone to oxidation. Hence, winemakers add more sulphur dioxide to these wines.
   
   On the other hand, red wines naturally contain antioxidants ( which come from the skin and stem of the fruit). So, the sulphite content in red wine is lower in comparison.
   
   Now, the question is, should we worry about the sulphite content?
   
   The answer tilts more towards a NO. Winemaking is strictly regulated in Germany and the EU, and the amount of sulphites must not exceed the defined limit. However, some people who are allergic to it may see symptoms like headaches after drinking wine. Some argue that the headache comes from drinking excessive alcohol and not from consuming sulphates. However, those who are allergic to sulphites may get these headaches due to the presence of these compounds. Such cases are few but can exist. So, if you are allergic, read the label carefully and see if ‘contains sulphites’ is written.

Despite knowing all this information about wines, one might wonder which wine to buy. Well, the answer is that it depends on an individual’s tastes and preferences. However, there are some basic guidelines that one can follow:

1. Red Wine is great for reducing cholesterol. So, if you are looking for this health benefit, go for red Wine.
2. If you want to enjoy a good drink without gaining too many calories, i,e if you prefer low sugar intake, choose dry wine.
3. If you don’t like the drying effect in your mouth, choose white wine.
4. Red pairs well with non-vegetarian foods ( and also slightly heavier and spicier foods), whereas white pairs better with vegan and vegetarian foods ( and lighter and less spicy foods).
5. If you like berry flavours, choose red. If you like citrusy flavours, choose white.

Hope my readers have found this article interesting and useful.

Please note that through this post, I don’t intend to promote alcohol consumption. It is a personal choice, and one must only consume it after they reach the legal age to do so.

To learn about other products in Germany, please click here.

• Instagram
• Facebook
• Goodreads
• Google
• YouTube