History
The vine is one of the oldest plants in the world. The Romans brought it to Germania more than 2,000 years ago.
Facts
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2.000
years of viticulture
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66
highlights of the wine culture
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100 Mio.
years since the first wild vine
Wines of Germany - 2000 Year Tradition
Today's grape varieties evolved during a centuries-long process of selection. The wild vines that tasted best and seemed best-suited for winemaking were cultivated and ulimately developed into the species known as vitis vinifera. There is evidence that viticulture existed thousands of years before Christ, especially in the highly developed Middle Eastern civilizations that today correspond to modern Egypt, Iran or Israel. Grapes were also cultivated in Greece and Italy during the pre-Christian era. In Asia Minor, Dionysus was worshipped as the god of wine; Bacchus was his Roman counterpart.
In the course of their conquests north of the Alps some 2,000 years ago, the Romans - who adopted viticulture from the Greeks and Etruscans - introduced viticulture to the Germanic territories. It would have been cumbersome to transport the wine across the Alps in heavy amphorae, so they brought the vines instead and planted them in suitable areas. Even then, these “Nordic” wines were seemingly fresher and more diverse in taste than their southern predecessors.
In the 8th century, Charlemagne regulated viticulture, winemaking as well as wine-related commerce. Above all, the monasteries were centers of wine culture and wine the predominant drink, serving as a replacement for the frequently polluted drinking water. Documents show that vineyards existed in nearly all of Germany during the Middle Ages. However, due to climatic changes, improved methods of brewing beer and increased imports of wine, the area under vine continually decreased after 1500.
The church’s dominance over wine-growing was abolished by the conquests of Napoleon in the areas left of the Rhine. Fortunately, the new vineyard owners also attached great importance to quality and wines from the Rhine and Mosel achieved international success in England, Bohemia and Russia.
Many vineyards were still planted with several grape varieties side by side as late as the 19th century. This all practically came to a standstill however, when at the end of the 1800s, the vine louse phylloxera wreaked havoc on Europe’s vineyards. As a result, many indigenous grape varieties disappeared. Viticulture revived at the turn of the century with the introduction of grafting vines on phylloxera-resistant American rootstocks - a practice that was later made mandatory. Vine breeding and selection led to the standard grape varieties that are predominant in modern German viticulture.
Thanks to the close cooperation between research, science and winemakers, a number of innovations in vineyard and cellar technology have been implemented. This know-how has become an export hit as much as the wines themselves, and influences wine countries as far as South Africa, Australia, California or Chile. Innovation is the one thing that German wines have in particular. That may sound a bit theoretic or even technical, but without this ability, there would be no wonderful delights like Dornfelder or Kerner. Both varieties were not grown until 1955 or 1929 respectively, and have long since fought for a place alongside grape varieties such as Riesling or Pinot Noir.
To explore Germany’s wine history further, there are several wine museums in the different growing regions, for example, Speyer, Bernkastel-Kues on the Mosel and Oppenheim.
Ampelography means grape varietal science. From which Greek words is this composed?
The first part of the word - ampelos - describes the vine, while the second part - gráphein - is derived from the Greek verb for "to write".
Varietals
More recipe ideas
with pumpkin and white wine sauce Pasta with pumpkin and white wine sauce
with pumpkin and white wine sauce
- 750 Gramm Butternut-Kürbis(se)
- 3 kleine Zwiebeln
- 2 Zehen Knoblauch
- 1 Becher Crème fraîche
- 250 ml trockener Weißwein
- 500 ml Gemüsebrühe
- 25 Gramm Parmesan oder ähnlicher Hartkäse
- 400 Gramm Spaghetti oder andere Nudeln
- nach Geschmack Salz, Pfeffer, Zucker
- 4 EL Kürbiskerne, evtl. gehackt
- nach Belieben Muskat, Thymian
Sauté the garlic and onions until translucent. Dice the butternut squash and add, season with pepper and sugar. When the cubes are still firm, pour in the white wine and vegetable stock. Continue cooking until the squash is firm to the bite.
In the meantime, cook and drain the pasta.
Add the thyme, nutmeg, salt and crème fraîche to the boiling pumpkin, bring to the boil and thicken. Stir in the parmesan and season to taste. You can also crush some diced pumpkin to make the sauce sweeter.
Arrange the pasta on plates and top with the pumpkin sauce.
Sprinkle with pumpkin seeds.
- Scheurebe (trocken)
in a bacon coating Lamb
in a bacon coating
- 4 Stück Lammlachse à 150 g
- 4 Scheiben Bacon
- 0,1 Liter Wein
- 0,3 Liter Gemüsebrühe
- 1 kleine Schalotte
- 20 Gramm Butter
- 4 EL Olivenöl
- je 2 Zweige Thymian, Rosmarin, Salbei
- nach Geschmack Salz & Pfeffer
Season the lamb salmon with pepper and massage 2 tbsp of olive oil into the meat. Finely chop the thyme, rosemary and sage and season the meat in the herbs. Marinate in the fridge for a few hours.
<p
<p>Wrap the meat with the bacon slices and sear on all sides in the remaining olive oil. Continue to cook for approx. 4 minutes on each side over a low heat (the cooking time depends on the thickness of the lamb loin - it is best to do a pressure test). Then wrap in aluminium foil and leave to rest in the oven at 80 °C – so they remain juicy and slightly pink on the inside.
This goes well with Bärlauch risotto.
- Dornfelder (trocken)
with pear wedges Chicken breast strips
with pear wedges
- 500 Gramm Hähnchenbrustfilet
- 2 reife Birnen
- 200 ml Birnensaft
- 100 ml Sahne
- 1 ganze Zwiebel
- 4 EL Olivenöl
- nach Belieben Salz & Pfeffer
Cut the chicken breast fillet into strips. Peel the onion and cut into cubes. Heat the olive oil in a pan and fry the meat in it. Add the diced onion and season with salt and freshly ground pepper.
Wash and peel the pears, remove the skin, cut into wedges and sauté in the pan. Deglaze with the pear juice and allow to reduce slightly.
<p
<p>Finally, add the cream and season to taste.
- Müller-Thurgau (halbtrocken & feinherb)
- Kerner (halbtrocken & feinherb)
with apples Pork medallions
with apples
- 8 Stück Schweinemedaillons
- 500 Gramm Bandnudeln
- 2 große Äpfel
- 200 ml Sahne
- 10 Blättchen frischer Salbei
- 4 Zweige frischer Thymian
- nach Geschmack Zucker
- 3 EL Calvados
- 1 EL Öl
- zum Abschmecken Salz & Pfeffer
Slightly pepper and salt the medallions on both sides. Pluck the thyme, cut the sage into fine strips and roll the medallions in the herbs. Fry the meat in a pan with a little oil on both sides, not too hot, until it starts to colour. Remove from the pan and place on a preheated tray in the oven at 100 °C until cooked through.
Cook the tagliatelle al dente and keep warm.
In the meantime, peel the apples and cut into slices approx. 1.5 cm wide. Reheat the meat pan and add the apple slices. After about half a minute, sprinkle 1 teaspoon of sugar over the apples and allow them to caramelise. After a minute, deglaze the apple slices with a generous dash of Calvados and flambé. Add the cream and flavour with salt and pepper.
Remove the fillet from the oven. Add the meat juices from the oven dish to the sauce and serve the fillets with the tagliatelle, apple slices and Calvados apple sauce.
<p- Riesling (trocken)
