Wine of Germany

Germany first began to grow wine when the Romans brought vines up in the 100 BC years. By the 1600s, Germany was famous for its white wines. Germany's Rhine Wines are mentioned in Hamlet and other Shakespeare plays.

Germany's most famous wines are made with the Riesling and Gewurztraminer grapes. In addition to these white wines, Germany is also famous for its Quälitatswein - late harvest sweet wine. One of the best known is Liebfrauenmilch, a sweet, gentle dessert wine. Other Quälitatsweins include Kabinett, Spätlese, Auslese, Beerenauslese, Eiswein, and Trockenbeerenauslese.

Classic German Wine Types
Gewurztraminer
Icewine
Liebfraumilch
Qualitätswein
Riesling
Sekt
Silvaner

German Wine Terms

• Rotwein - any red wine
• Weissherbst - a rosé wine made from only one grape variety and of at least QbA quality
• Rotling - a mixture of white and red grapes or their mash prior to fermentation, i.e. they are fermented together; the wine color is similar to a rosé
• Schillerwein - a Rotling from Württemberg of at least QbA quality
• Badisch Rotgold - a Rotling from Baden made from the grape varieties Grauburgunder (Pinot Gris) and Spätburgunder (Pinot Noir) and of at least QbA quality
• Perlwein - wines from red or white grapes with natural or impregnated carbon dioxide (1-2.5 atm) in either the table wine or quality wine categories

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