Expert Guides

Canada

user22387 — Tue, 11 Feb 2025 11:34:15 GMT

Current Revision posted to Expert Guides by user22387 on 2/11/2025 11:34:15 AM

History
Canadian Wine in Context
Canadian Wine Law
The Grapes of Canada
British Columbia
Ontario
Quebec
Nova Scotia
Bibliography

Canada is a big country with a small wine industry, and, for many years, its wines were little known internationally. The exception was Icewine, the supersweet wine that, beginning in the 1990s, became a successful export, especially in China. These days, quality Canadian table wines are popular on the domestic market, and they are increasingly appearing on wine lists throughout the world.

History

Canada is one of the youngest winemaking countries in the Americas, but, paradoxically, it is possible that the very first wine in this part of the world was made there. Around 1000 CE, the Icelandic explorer Leif Eriksson reached the east coast of present-day Canada, and one of his crew, a German from a wine-producing region, recognized grapevines growing wild. Eriksson named the area Vinland, and he established a winter camp there. The location was probably in what is now Quebec, on the north shore of the Gaspé Peninsula, which is the south shore of the mouth of the St. Lawrence River. It seems likely that Eriksson’s crew, having exhausted the beer they brought with them, tried to make wine from the grapes.

Although elements of the story are debated by historians and archeologists, it is intriguing as the possible beginnings of wine production in Canada. There is no evidence that Canada’s Indigenous peoples made wine or other alcoholic beverages, and winemaking was not resumed until other Europeans arrived and settled in the eastern regions in the 1600s.

But just before that time, in 1535, in an echo of Leif Eriksson’s journey, the French explorer Jacques Cartier sailed up the St. Lawrence River and encountered an island where wild grapevines were growing up trees. He first named it the Île de Bacchus, after the Roman god of wine, but then more strategically renamed it the Île d’Orléans after his patron, the duke d’Orléans. Situated just downstream of Quebec City, the island is now home to several wineries.

Most of the French and English settlers who established communities in eastern Canada in the 1600s came from regions where wine was consumed only by better-off people. The first French settlers came primarily from Brittany and Normandy, where vineyards were sparse and cider rivaled wine, while the English settlers came from a country where most people drank ale or beer. The colonial administrators and army and navy officers, however, came from the wine-drinking classes, and they had to satisfy their needs by importing wine from Europe.

As in the American colonies at the same time, beer was soon being produced locally, but attempts to make wine from the indigenous Vitis labrusca varieties generally yielded unsatisfying results. Some settlers brought vines from Europe. It is often said, despite ambiguous evidence, that European vines were planted in Nova Scotia in the early 1600s. Louis Hébert, a French apothecary, may have planted vines at Bear River, near the Bay of Fundy, and vines may also have been planted in 1633 at Petite Rivière.

Some of the earliest wines made in Canada from local grapes were produced by French Catholic missionaries. They set off on often yearslong journeys to convert the Indigenous populations with only small supplies of imported wine for use in communion. When their wine supply was exhausted, some turned to the grapes of the Vitis labrusca and Vitis riparia species that grew in many parts of eastern Canada. In 1623, a missionary near Lake Huron, in present-day Ontario, noted that when the wine in the 23-liter barrel he had brought from Quebec City turned bad, “We made some of wild grapes which was very good.” This is the first record of wine being made in Canada.

If the cold winters of eastern Canada proved inhospitable to European Vitis vinifera vines, the climate was more welcoming farther west, at the southwestern end of Lake Ontario, now the important Niagara Peninsula wine region. This area was sparsely populated until the 1790s, when tens of thousands of Americans loyal to Britain (and known as Loyalists) fled the newly founded United States for the British colony in Upper Canada, now Ontario. Most settled in areas today known for viticulture, especially the Niagara Peninsula and Prince Edward County, and there are sporadic but imprecise references to vineyards during the early 1800s.

Commercial wine production began in the 1840s or 1850s in the Niagara region of Ontario—less than two centuries ago and around the time when wine was first produced in New Zealand. In 1860, a producer named John Kilborne wrote in an agricultural magazine that his wine was selling for $1.75 a gallon, but he complained that it should fetch a higher price, because “it is worth four times as much as the miserable stuff sold by merchants under the name of wine.” Kilborne won a prize (of $3) at the 1862 Provincial Exhibition in Toronto for “the best bottles of wine made from the grape,” which suggests that wines made from fruit other than grapes were also produced at this time.

From the 1860s, commercial production can be verified. One producer was William Kitchener, who planted vines and fruit trees in 1859. By 1876, it was reported that Kitchener had sold more than 50,000 gallons of “Native Wine” at $2.50 a gallon, and that he had 80,000 vines, presumably labrusca varieties.

Other producers established wineries in the Niagara region and in Prince Edward County, a peninsula on the north shore of Lake Ontario (not to be confused with Prince Edward Island, on the Atlantic coast), that now has its own appellation.

In the 1870s, a winery was established on Pelee Island, in Lake Erie, Canada’s southernmost inhabited land. Vin Villa was owned by three entrepreneurs from Kentucky, and they sold finished wine in Ontario as well as Catawba grapes to Ohio wineries along the south shore of Lake Erie. In 1888, the Pelee Island Wine and Vineyard Company was established on the island, and, by the 1890s, it was producing a well-regarded sparkling wine called L’Empéreur Champagne. It is considered Canada’s first commercial winery, and its ruins are now a tourist attraction.

Repeated references to adulterated wines suggest that Ontario wines came in a wide range of styles and quality levels, but there are seldom references to grape varieties or winemaking methods. Yet by the end of the 19^th century, a small wine industry had been established in Ontario: the 1891 census listed 28 wineries in the province, most (23) along the north shore of Lake Erie and the rest on the Niagara Peninsula. Although there were fewer wineries on the Niagara Peninsula, the region produced 60% of Ontario’s grapes, compared with 12% on the north shore of Lake Erie. Indigenous grapes made up most of the plantings on the north shore of Lake Erie, but the Niagara Peninsula was planted with higher-yielding American hybrid varieties, such as Isabella, Delaware, Catawba, and Concord.

Prince Edward County had seemed promising for viticulture, but it became mainly a vegetable-growing area until viticulture began to boom again at the beginning of the 21^st century. Before long, the north shore of Lake Erie became an important region for tobacco, a more profitable crop than grapes. The Niagara Peninsula remained Canada’s only significant wine region in the early 1900s. By that time, there was wine production elsewhere in Canada—in British Columbia, Quebec, and Nova Scotia—but not on a commercial basis.

What might have become a rapidly growing wine industry in Ontario was set back by the province’s version of Prohibition. In 1916, partly reflecting pressure from temperance organizations and partly as a means of increasing agricultural and industrial productivity during World War I, Ontario passed the Ontario Temperance Act, which forbade the production and sale of beer and distilled spirits. The grape and wine lobby was influential enough that wine was permitted to be produced and sold, but with two important restrictions: wine could be purchased only at wineries and in minimum five-gallon volumes. The purpose was clearly to limit access to alcohol among the masses but to allow access to wealthier citizens.

Various policies limiting or totally restricting the production and sale of alcohol were enacted in all Canada’s provinces from 1916 to 1920. These provincial laws are often referred to as Prohibition, but not all were particularly restrictive, although their effect was generally to close bars and other public drinking places. Still, many Canadians had legal access to alcoholic beverages.

Ironically, Ontario’s restrictive temperance law proved beneficial to its wine industry. When the Ontario Temperance Act was passed, in 1916, there were only 10 operating wineries, but when the act was repealed, in 1927, there were 57. Most were in the Niagara region, but others were on the north shore of Lake Erie, where they could easily be accessed from the cities of Windsor and Detroit, where US Prohibition was in force.

To provide wine to people throughout the province, wineries were also established in unlikely places, such as northern Ontario, where grapes had to be trucked, without refrigeration, over long distances. But the focus was on quantity and profits, not quality, and Ontario became a source of vast volumes of low-grade wine.

During the short life of the Ontario Temperance Act, the people of Ontario became wine drinkers simply because there weren’t other alcoholic beverages. In 1920, Canadians consumed 1.1 million liters of Canadian wine, but, a decade later, 10 million liters of wine were consumed in Ontario alone.

Restrictions on alcohol also boosted wine production in British Columbia. There was no wine industry when Prohibition was introduced in 1917, but, when it was repealed in 1921, a winery was established on Vancouver Island. It was followed by others in the Okanagan Valley. The basis of an industry was established by the 1930s.

One by one, starting in the 1920s and ending as late as 1948 (as on Prince Edward Island, for example), the provinces repealed their temperance or Prohibition laws, and all of them established government-owned networks of stores to sell alcohol on a retail basis. These stores replaced the private stores that previously sold wine, beer, and spirits, and their purpose was to control the sale and consumption of all alcoholic beverages. The new retail systems included the Liquor Control Board of Ontario (LCBO), the British Columbia Liquor Distribution Branch (BCLDB), the Nova Scotia Liquor Corporation (NSLC), and the Société des Alcools du Québec (SAQ).

With the repeal of laws restricting access to alcohol, the wine industries in Canada’s provinces changed in different ways. Many of the Ontario wineries established between 1916 and 1927 went out of business as their customers returned to beer and spirits. It was common for these wineries to sell their licenses—which also included the right to operate a retail store—to more sustainable wineries, leading to a concentration of ownership. One winery, Brights Wines, purchased 13 licenses and was thus able to operate 14 stores—which could sell only Brights wine—throughout Ontario. By the early 1930s, there were only 8 wineries in Ontario, down from 57, but they operated 57 wine stores. No new licenses were issued until the mid-1970s.

Icewine vineyard in Ontario (Credit: Wines of Ontario)

During this time, French hybrid varieties gradually replaced American hybrids. Concord and Catawba remained popular, but Baco Noir, Maréchal Foch, Seyval Blanc, and Vidal plantings increased. In the 1950s, several wineries began experimenting with planting vinifera varieties, and in 1956 Brights Wines produced a Chardonnay, Ontario’s first wine made entirely from a vinifera variety.

Similarly, in British Columbia, where labrusca and hybrid varieties had dominated from the 1930s to the 1950s, vinifera varieties, including Chasselas, Pinot Gris, and Riesling, were planted in the 1960s and 1970s. Steady planting of vinifera grapes continued in both Ontario and British Columbia during the 1970s and 1980s. New vineyards planted with hybrids were still being established, but vinifera plantings increased much more rapidly—by 500% between 1976 and 1986 in Ontario, compared with a mere 3% for plantings of hybrid varieties.

But even in 1986, vinifera vines composed only 10% of Ontario’s vines, whereas they accounted for a quarter of the vines in British Columbia. Some producers focused on vinifera, but most were not confident in its ability to withstand cold winter temperatures. It was conventional wisdom for many decades that vinifera grapes would not grow on the Niagara Peninsula. Producers would plant parcels of vinifera varieties but not extensive vineyards of them.

From the 1970s to the 1990s, there was a wave of new wineries across Canada. In 1975, the Ontario government issued the first winery license since the repeal of the temperance legislation, and, by the late 1980s, another 12 wineries had opened, including Cave Spring, Henry of Pelham, and Pelee Island. New wineries in British Columbia included CedarCreek, Sumac Ridge, and Wild Goose. It is estimated that, by the mid-1980s, there were about 90 small, family-owned, noncommercial vineyards in Quebec, all planted with hybrid varieties. In Nova Scotia, the first winery opened in 1980, then closed seven years later; it was revived in the 1990s.

One of the innovations at this time was Icewine, made from grapes frozen on the vine and pressed while frozen. With their water content frozen, grapes release a tiny amount of highly concentrated, sugar-filled juice that can be fermented into wine. Icewine has been made in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland since the 1800s. It was first made in Canada in 1978 by a German immigrant, Walter Hainle, who founded a winery in British Columbia. In the early 1980s, several Ontario wineries began to produce Icewine on the Niagara Peninsula, where temperatures consistently reach the temperature of minus 8 degrees Celsius (18 degrees Fahrenheit), which is needed before the grapes are harvested. Icewine quickly became an important style of wine for Ontario.

In 1988, just as the wine industries in Ontario and British Columbia seemed to be advancing, there was a major disruption: the Canadian and American governments signed a free-trade agreement (CUSFTA) that established a schedule for eliminating tariffs on trade between the two countries. It would eventually open the Canadian market to American wines (which at that time meant California wines) at much lower prices than Canadian wines were fetching. It was expected that wines from big California producers, such as E. & J. Gallo and Robert Mondavi, which achieved economies of scale not available to Canadian producers, would undercut Canadian wines on price and quality. Most Canadian wine was still made from hybrids, and most of these wines were mediocre. These threats accelerated the trends toward quality wine. The British Columbia government subsidized the ripping out of hundreds of acres of labrusca and hybrid vines, leaving the province with only about 400 hectares (1,000 acres) of vines, 90% of which were vinifera varieties. In Ontario, the government committed CA$50 million for compensating growers who ripped out inferior varieties, and for providing wineries with forgivable loans to upgrade their facilities and equipment. Between 1986 and 1991, Ontario’s vineyard area contracted by a fifth, but the representation of vinifera varieties rose from 10% to 25%.

Blends with Non-Canadian Wines

In 1972, a disastrous vintage led the Canadian government to agree to allow wineries to import foreign wine and add up to 25% of it to their Ontario wine, so they would have enough volume to remain profitable. This short-term measure became permanent. In the early 1980s, while most Ontario wineries were transitioning from labrusca and hybrid vines to vinifera varieties, they were expected to have a temporary shortfall in production, so the permitted amount of foreign wine was increased to 70%. In 1993, when Ontario’s wine harvest was extremely small, the amount was increased to 90%.

Since that time, Ontario wine has accounted for between 25% and 30% of these blends, which are now called International Domestic Blends. Predominantly made from inexpensive bulk wine purchased from other countries, these blends are generally priced lower than 100% Ontario wines, and they easily outsell VQA Ontario wines. In 2023, the LCBO sold 9.4 million liters of VQA Ontario wine and 32.7 million liters of non-VQA Ontario wine—almost all International Domestic Blends. Consumers often think these blends are Ontario wines, as they are made by larger Ontario wineries and feature these familiar names on the labels.

Another sign of a new concern for quality was the creation of the Vintners Quality Alliance (VQA) in Ontario, in 1988. This was a voluntary association of wineries designed to guarantee the geographical provenance of grapes, with regulations regarding grape variety, vintage, and quality. To qualify to carry the VQA logo on a label, which became an indication of quality, a wine had to be made from approved varieties only. They were mostly vinifera, but hybrids considered superior (such as Baco Noir and Vidal) were permitted. All labrusca and other indigenous varieties were excluded. In 1999, VQA rules became Ontario wine law, now enforced by the Ontario Wine Appellation Authority.

British Columbia adopted a version of Ontario’s VQA rules in 1990. They remained an informal, voluntary system until 2005, when they became provincial law. Today, the British Columbia Wine Authority regulates British Columbia’s wine law.

The introduction of wine laws, the gradual increase in wines made with vinifera varieties, and general improvements in wine quality gave consumers more confidence in British Columbia and Ontario wines. Instead of the wine industries in both provinces disappearing under a flood of California wine, the number of wineries in them increased: in British Columbia from 13 in 1988 to 63 in 1999, and in Ontario from 30 in 1990 to 60 in 2000.

Big players also began to enter the market. In Ontario, the Vincor corporation was founded in 1994, and it soon owned several wineries, including two of Ontario’s largest, Inniskillin and Jackson-Triggs. (These wineries are now owned by a different corporate entity, Arterra.) In British Columbia, Anthony von Mandl bought an abandoned winery in the Okanagan Valley near Kelowna and planted vinifera vines in the mid-1990s. Now the Mission Hill winery, it became a destination winery, and von Mandl, through the Mark Anthony Group, owns six wineries in the Okanagan Valley.

There was also movement in Prince Edward County. Vineyards of vinifera and hybrid varieties were planted beginning in the early 1990s, and three new wineries opened by 2002.

By the early 2000s, the shift to vinifera was well established. In 2002, 60% of the Niagara Peninsula’s vines were vinifera, 21% were French hybrids, and the rest were labrusca. The vinifera varieties were used for certified Ontario wine, the hybrids were used in International Domestic Blends, and the labrusca grapes were used largely for juice and jelly production. The most important vinifera varieties were Chardonnay, Riesling, Cabernet Franc, and Cabernet Sauvignon, followed by Merlot, Pinot Noir, and Gamay.

In the 1990s, research institutions designed to help wineries and, in some cases, to train winemakers and viticulturists were established. In Ontario, the key institutions are the Cool Climate Oenology and Viticulture Institute at Brock University and Niagara College, which offers degrees in winemaking and viticulture. In British Columbia, the University of British Columbia, in Vancouver, has the Wine Research Centre. More recently, in 2016, the federal and Nova Scotia governments funded a wine research center at Acadia University, in Nova Scotia.

With the maturing of the Canadian wine industry came foreign investment. In 1998, the French Groupe Taillan partnered with Constellation Brands Canada to establish a winery (Osoyoos Larose) to make a Bordeaux-style wine in the Osoyoos district of the Okanagan Valley. Meanwhile, Burgundy’s Boisset company collaborated with Vincor to make wine from Chardonnay and Pinot Noir at a new winery, Le Clos Jordanne, in the Jordan valley, on the Niagara Peninsula.

The period from 2000 to the present is the latest phase in the history of Canadian wine, and it has been characterized by a rapid increase in the number of wineries. There are now about 700 wineries in Canada, with over 300 in British Columbia, over 200 in Ontario, about 150 in Quebec, and 20 in Nova Scotia. New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island have fewer than 10 between them. New wineries in Ontario and British Columbia today plant vinifera varieties, while hybrid grapes continue to dominate in Quebec and Nova Scotia.

Canadian Wine in Context

In land area, Canada is second only to Russia, but its average annual wine production—which changes dramatically from year to year—ranks about 30^th globally, along with countries such as the Czech Republic and Macedonia. The bulk of Canada’s wine is produced in two regions: the Okanagan Valley, in British Columbia, and the Niagara Peninsula, in Ontario. There are smaller concentrations of vineyards in other parts of these two provinces, but the major wine region in each produces more than 85% of the wine. In eastern Canada, there are many small wineries in Quebec, some in Nova Scotia, and a few in New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island. In three provinces in central and western Canada—Manitoba, Saskatchewan, and Alberta—there are no wineries, nor are there any in Canada’s northern territories, Yukon, Northwest Territories, and Nunavut.

Most Canadian wineries are small operations, and many are owned by individuals or families. Larger wineries are typically owned by corporations, some of which operate multiple wineries. Arterra Wines has been owned by an Ontario pension fund since 2016, and it now owns eight wineries in Ontario and British Columbia, as well as Kim Crawford Wines, in New Zealand. In British Columbia, the Mark Anthony Group owns six wineries in the Okanagan Valley.

Canada’s best-known wine internationally is Icewine. Inniskillin Vidal Icewine 1989 was the first Canadian wine to win a major wine award, the Grand Prix d’Honneur at Vinexpo, in 1991, and Icewines were Canada’s first wine exports. Icewine still sells well on Asian markets and in Canada to tourists at airport duty-free stores, but production has declined significantly. In the 2010s, more than 100,000 cases of Icewine were produced in Ontario each year; in 2022 and 2023, the numbers were 12,400 and 36,900, respectively.

Table wines, still and sparkling, are now becoming important as exports, and solid markets are developing in the United States, Great Britain, and Europe. Even so, Canadian wines are relatively expensive, and sales are mainly to restaurants rather than to consumers.

Most Canadian wine is sold on the domestic market, where the principal retail channels in most provinces are the government-owned alcohol retail systems established in the 1920s after the repeal of Prohibition and temperance policies. These systems have stores in cities and many towns in their provinces, with smaller selections of wine, beer, and spirits in grocery stores in small or isolated communities, or in locations where a small population swells seasonally because of tourists.

Yet while the image of wine sales in Canada being monopolized by government stores might have been accurate once, it is far from the current reality. In Alberta and Saskatchewan, the government-owned retail stores were abolished in 1993 and 2023, respectively, and all stores selling alcoholic beverages are privately owned. Elsewhere, most province-owned retail systems, such as the LCBO stores in Ontario and BC Liquor stores in British Columbia, operate alongside private stores that sell a range of wines and beers. In some provinces, including Ontario and Quebec, wine can be purchased in supermarkets, though in Quebec most of the wine that is not sold in SAQ stores is wine imported in bulk by the SAQ and sold under its own labels.

Canadian Wine Law

There is as no national wine law in Canada. There were attempts to formulate one in the early 2000s, but they foundered on major issues, such as permitted grape varieties. While vinifera varieties are used to make most quality wine in Ontario and British Columbia, hybrid grapes are more important in Quebec, Nova Scotia, and other small eastern regions where cold-hardy hybrid varieties survive harsh winters more easily. Canada has a patchwork of provincial wine laws; British Columbia, Ontario, Quebec, and Nova Scotia each have their own.

Ontario Wine Law

The first wine law was a voluntary code, the VQA, which was created in Ontario by several wineries in 1988 and was adopted as provincial law in 1999. Only wines that satisfied the criteria for provenance, varietal and vintage content, and quality could carry the VQA name and logo. The code remains voluntary, but having VQA certification is generally considered a quality indicator that is particularly important on restaurant wine lists. About 80% of Ontario wineries participate in it.

The terms of the VQA have changed over time. Currently, to be identified with a geographical indicator (GI), a minimum of 85% of the grapes used in a wine must be grown in the GI and the rest in Ontario. (Note that the Ontario Wine Appellation Authority uses GI, viticultural area, and appellation interchangeably.) To be identified with a sub-geographical indicator (sub-GI), 100% of the grapes must be grown there. Ontario has 4 appellations (among them is the province overall, for which 100% of the grapes must be grown in Ontario) and 12 sub-appellations. Wines that qualify for VQA certification are identified as VQA Niagara Peninsula (a GI) or VQA Beamsville Bench (a sub-GI), with the VQA logo on the main label and, optionally, on a neck label.

For permitted varieties, the original list was composed largely of vinifera, but two hybrids were allowed: Baco Noir, because some wineries were making quality wine from it, and Vidal, because it was a popular variety for making Icewine. To label a wine as a varietal bottling, at least 85% of the wine must be made of the variety. More recently, other non-vinifera varieties have been permitted, including Maréchal Foch and Marquette. Others, such as De Chaunac and Millot, may be used for blending in non-vinifera wines.

VQA Ontario permits skin-contact and orange wines, and it changed its rules to allow for the use of screwcaps, rather than mandating corks. There is still a tasting panel that must approve wines to be certified VQA. It initially, and controversially, had varietal typicity as one of its criteria, but that has been abandoned, and the panel now focuses on identifying flaws.

British Columbia Wine Law

Vineyard at Tantalus in Okanagan Valley (Credit: If So Studio)

In 1999, British Columbia wineries adopted a modified version of the VQA Ontario rules, identified as British Columbia VQA or BC VQA on labels, as a voluntary code. It became wine law in 2005, and it is now regulated by the British Columbia Wine Authority. About 80% of the province’s wineries participate. The others are generally small producers that easily sell their wines from the cellar door without incurring the cost and time to have their wines certified.

The VQA rules in British Columbia are similar to Ontario’s with respect to varietal percentages: if a wine is labeled British Columbia VQA, 100% of the grapes must be grown in the province, but if it is labeled by a regional GI (such as Okanagan Valley or Vancouver Island) or a sub-GI (such as Naramata Bench or Okanagan Falls), 95% of the grapes must come from there. If a wine is designated by vineyard, however, 100% of the grapes must have been sourced from it. British Columbia VQA recognizes all vinifera varieties and a wide range of hybrids. To be labeled as a varietal wine, the variety must constitute at least 85% of the wine.

Quebec Wine Law

For many years, the Quebec wine industry was largely an unorganized population of very small producers, but one sign of its maturing was the adoption, in 2018, of Indication Géographique Protégée (IGP) certification for table wines and other agricultural products. Wine grapes must be grown within a defined area of Quebec: bounded by the Laurentian Mountains to the north, the Ontario border to the west, the US border to the south, and the Appalachian Mountains to the east. To qualify, a region must have at least 900 growing degree-days.

Quebec’s IGP rules permit any grape variety, including vinifera, hybrids, and crosses. Wines must be vinified at the vineyard and must be made by “best practices.” Any submitted for certification are subject to laboratory testing and a blind-tasting panel to ensure that they are free of faults. Wines must be certified or recertified each vintage. Wines that pass can be labeled IGP Vin du Québec. These wines must have less than 15% ABV; white wines must have at least 8% and red wines at least 9.5%.

Nova Scotia Wine Law

Nova Scotia introduced wine standards and certification in 2004. In 2022, the provincial government created the Nova Scotia Wine Authority to oversee winemaking regulations. Wines labeled Wine of Nova Scotia must be made from at least 85% grapes grown in the province, with the remaining 15% grown anywhere in Canada.

There is another important appellation, Tidal Bay, defined by style as well as provenance. These wines must be low in alcohol (maximum 11% ABV) and show “lively fresh green fruit flavors, dynamic acidity, and characteristic minerality.” Tidal Bay wines must be made entirely from grapes grown in Nova Scotia, and one or more of four hybrid or crossed varieties (L’Acadie Blanc, Seyval Blanc, Vidal, and Geisenheim 318) must account for at least 51% of the wine. Another 11 varieties—some vinifera, including Riesling and Chardonnay, others hybrids and crosses—may compose up to 49% of a blend, while other specified varieties may compose up to 15%. In all, about 20 varieties can be used in Tidal Bay wines. The wines must be approved by a tasting panel and pass evaluation at the sensory laboratory at Acadia University.

Icewine Wine Law

Icewine is a separate category in all of Canada’s provincial wine laws. Canada is party to several international agreements on the production of Icewine that seek to protect the Icewine brand—meaning wine made from grapes naturally frozen on the vine—from sweet wines made by artificially freezing grapes and from sweet wines fraudulently labeled as Icewine.

In 2000, a nonbinding agreement was signed by the main wine organizations of Canada, Germany, and Austria. Canada also signed agreements in 2007 with the World Wine Trade Group and in 2015 with the Trans-Pacific Partnership, both of which protected the definition of Icewine. These were key agreements, given the importance of Icewine to Canadian wine exports at that time and the extent of Icewine fraud. It has been estimated that, at times, as much as half the Icewine on some Asian markets was artificially sweetened wine or wine made from grapes not frozen on the vine.

Grapes destined to make Icewine must be “naturally frozen on the vine,” meaning they must remain on the vine until they are harvested, which can take place when the temperature has fallen to at least minus 8 degrees Celsius (18 degrees Fahrenheit). In Ontario and British Columbia, grapes must remain attached to the vine, but any that fall from the bunches may be caught in nets hanging below and used for Icewine.

A wine law for IGP Vin de Glace du Québec (Quebec Icewine) was adopted in 2014, four years before IGP Vin du Québec regulations were applied to table wines. The zone of production for IGP Quebec Icewine is smaller than for IGP Quebec table wines, and all the grapes used for it must have been grown in this area. In 2015, the Quebec IGP authorities redefined “on the vine” differently from how other Canadian provinces define it. There is much more snow in Quebec than in other Canadian Icewine-producing regions—so much snow in some years that it buries bunches of grapes hanging on the vine. For this reason, Vin de Glace producers in Quebec are permitted to cut bunches from the vine and leave them to freeze on nets at the top of the vines, above the snow.

This procedure has been challenged by signatories to the international Icewine convention. The question is whether the grapes are harvested when the bunches are removed from the vine and placed in the nets, or when the frozen grapes are collected from the nets. Defenders of the Quebec procedure argue that there is no difference between using grapes detached from the vine and frozen in the nets and using grapes that fall from the vine and are caught in nets, as permitted elsewhere in Canada.

The Grapes of Canada

The wide diversity of growing conditions in Canadian vineyards allows for the cultivation of a considerable range of grape varieties. There are very few labrusca varieties left, as almost all of them were pulled out by the 1990s. The varieties planted today are primarily vinifera and French or American hybrids, with vinifera dominating in British Columbia and Ontario, and hybrids in Quebec and Nova Scotia.

Because the Okanagan Valley and the Niagara Peninsula together produce the bulk of Canada’s wine, the main grape varieties of these regions are the main varieties of Canada. Yet there are other key varieties in different regions.

There are only a few vinifera varieties that are grown in all four main wine-producing provinces, and their importance varies. Chardonnay and Pinot Noir, for example, are among the most cultivated varieties in British Columbia and Ontario, but they represent only a small percentage of vineyard area in Quebec and Nova Scotia. Riesling and Sauvignon Blanc are also grown in all four provinces, with varying representation. Because each province produces a distinct varietal profile, each will be discussed individually.

Note that it is difficult to draw comparisons between regions, as the wine authorities in each province publish different statistics of plantings. British Columbia, for example, publishes the acreage of each variety, while Ontario publishes only the ranking of varieties by acreage.

The Grapes of British Columbia

British Columbia encompasses many different growing conditions, and general province-wide statistics conceal important regional variations. Some varieties, such as Pinot Noir and Chardonnay, are grown widely in varying conditions, while others are concentrated in specific regions. Although hybrid varieties represent very small percentages of British Columbia’s wines, they are the most important varieties in some of the smaller GIs. In Fraser Valley GI, for example, Pinot Noir is the most planted variety, but the next three are Bacchus, Siegerrebe, and Blattner Cabernet Foch; while in Shuswap GI, the most common varieties are Maréchal Foch, Ortega, Siegerrebe, and Pinot Noir.

Merlot: The most planted red variety in British Columbia, Merlot, is concentrated in the warmer areas of the province, such as the southern Okanagan Valley. These wines tend to have more structure, more intense flavors, and higher tannins than the softer styles of Merlot that are common elsewhere. Although Merlot is often used in red blends, varietal wines are also made. In the cooler areas of British Columbia, the wines tend to be lighter in weight, with fresher acidity and more elegance.

Pinot Noir: Pinot Noir plantings are increasing much more rapidly than those of Merlot, so it is possible that Pinot Noir could overtake Merlot as the most planted variety in the next few years. The wines range from deeply hued styles in warmer areas, with fuller body and intense cherry flavors, to lighter-colored styles in cooler areas, with sour or sweet cherry flavors, bright natural acidity, and light or medium tannins.

Harvest in Okanagan Falls (Credit: If So Studio)

Pinot Gris: Pinot Gris (almost always labeled this way, rather than as Pinot Grigio) is British Columbia’s most planted white variety. The common style lies between the drier, leaner style of quality Pinot Grigio from northfern Italy and the richer, more luscious style of Pinot Gris associated with Alsace. British Columbia’s Pinot Gris is generally made in dry or off-dry styles, with well-defined tropical and soft stone-fruit flavors and fresh acidity.

Chardonnay: Most British Columbia Chardonnay is fermented or matured, or both, in oak barrels, though winemakers today are minimizing the influence of oak. Naturally high acidity and focused flavors yield flavorful, often elegant Chardonnay. British Columbia’s Chardonnay has been very successful in international competitions.

Cabernet Sauvignon: Grown almost exclusively in the warm southern Okanagan Valley, Cabernet Sauvignon demonstrates red and dark fruit, good structure and tannins, and balanced acidity. Oak maturing common, with longer periods in wood for higher-tier wines, many of which can age for a decade or more. Cabernet Sauvignon is also an important component, and often the major component, in the red blends that are the icon wines of many producers.

Cabernet Franc: Grown most widely in the Okanagan and the Similkameen Valleys, Cabernet Franc generally delivers ripe red fruit flavors without any greenness, but with notes of tobacco and spice. These wines are plush and generous in texture, with soft tannins and well-balanced acidity.

Syrah: Syrah is regarded as one of British Columbia’s top-performing varieties. Planted mainly in warmer areas of the Okanagan and the Similkameen Valleys, Syrah produces wines of distinctive quality that are often characterized as lying between the plush, fruit-led Shiraz of Australia and the structured, defined Syrah of the northern Rhône. The wines are generally complex and layered, with flavor profiles led by red fruit, and with top notes of spices. They show balanced acidity, and many are very ageworthy.

The Grapes of Ontario

Quality wine in Ontario is almost always made from vinifera varieties, except for table wine made from Baco Noir and Icewine made from Vidal Blanc.

Vidal Blanc: The most widely planted grape in Ontario, Vidal Blanc, is planted almost exclusively on the Niagara Peninsula, but it is produced as a varietal wine by only a few wineries. It can yield a well-flavored, aromatic wine with good acidity, but these wines rarely achieve much structure or notable character. Generally, the table wines made with Vidal Blanc are blends, mostly in the International Domestic Blend category. Vidal Blanc is the variety most used for Ontario Icewine. Its acidity offsets the sweetness, and it provides pungent tropical and soft fruit flavors.

Chardonnay: Chardonnay is planted throughout Ontario’s wine regions, where it produces wines with classic Chardonnay flavor profiles, led by apple, pear, and citrus. Most Ontario Chardonnay is made using some oak during maturation and fermentation, but few examples could be described as oaky.

Riesling: First commercially cultivated by the Mosel’s Weis family, Riesling established the Niagara Peninsula as a vinifera-growing region and drew attention to Ontario table wines. Ontario Rieslings, which are mostly dry or off-dry in style, feature bracing acidity with often luscious flavors of tropical fruit and soft stone fruit. Riesling is also used for Icewine and late-harvest wines.

Cabernet Franc: Although it is Ontario’s most planted red variety, Cabernet Franc has only recently attracted attention. As elsewhere, it was usually blended with Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot, but now many producers are making varietal wines, sometimes in several tiers or from single vineyards. Ontario Cabernet Franc is medium bodied and features red fruit, some spiciness, and soft tannins. It consistently ripens well, resulting in wines without green pepper or leafy notes.

Merlot: Most Ontario Merlot is definitively cool climate in style. Instead of showing the textural plushness characteristic of warmer-climate Merlot, these wines tend to be taut in texture, with well-defined red fruit flavors and very fresh natural acidity. Many varietal Merlot wines are produced, and the grape is also used as an important component in blends. Plantings of Merlot have been increasing more quickly than those of other varieties in Ontario.

Pinot Noir: Pinot Noir is Ontario’s most prestigious red variety, and many producers use it for their top-tier wines and bottle by vineyard or, in a few cases, by vineyard parcel. Ontario Pinot Noir tends to be midrange in color and flavor intensity—not as dark and concentrated as warmer-climate Pinot Noir but with more weight and flavor concentration than examples from Quebec. Overall, these wines are characterized by layered cherry flavors, with some spiciness, and have low or moderate tannins in their youth.

Grapes growing for Icewine in Ontario (Credit: Wines of Ontario)

Baco Noir: Although Baco Noir ranks ninth among the top 10 varieties grown in Ontario, it is important as a hybrid variety with which several producers have had great success. It is also a popular grape: more varietal, VQA-certified Baco Noir was produced in 2023 than varietal Cabernet Franc or Merlot. Baco Noir shows red and dark fruit, and smoky and gamy notes, and has moderate tannins.

Sauvignon Blanc: Varietal Sauvignon Blanc is the fourth most produced VQA-certified wine in Ontario (after Chardonnay, Pinot Gris, and Riesling), and examples from the Niagara Peninsula are particularly notable. It tends to have good textural weight, understated but defined green and citrus flavors, and bright acidity. But Sauvignon Blanc is susceptible to cold, and, in the past decade, many vineyards have been replanted in higher locations (to avoid frost damage) or replaced after vines were damaged or killed by episodes of very cold weather.

Grapes used in Ontario Icewine: Most Ontario Icewine is made from Vidal Blanc or Riesling, both of which have the natural acidity needed to balance the intense sweetness of Icewine, although Riesling delivers markedly higher levels of acidity than Vidal Blanc. In 2023, Vidal Blanc accounted for 69% of all Ontario Icewine, Riesling for 22%, and Cabernet Franc for 7%. The remaining 2% was mainly Pinot Noir and Cabernet Sauvignon.

The Grapes of Quebec

Quebec’s vineyards are predominantly planted to hybrid varieties, but no single variety has overwhelming representation. The most planted varieties, Vidal Blanc and Frontenac Noir, each account for 10% of vineyard surface. The tendency among Quebec producers is to blend hybrid varieties, rather than to produce varietal wines. More vinifera varieties, especially Chardonnay and Pinot Noir, are being planted and bottled as varietal wines, but it will be a long time before they account for a meaningful percentage of Quebec’s vines, if they ever do.

Although wines made from hybrid varieties were long considered inferior to wines made from vinifera varieties, there is increasing consumer acceptance of wines made from hybrids in Canada as elsewhere. This alone might encourage Quebec producers to continue working with hybrid varieties, but planting hybrids is also reasonable in the context of climate change. Quebec, like other Canadian wine-producing provinces, has had short periods of intensely cold temperatures that kill vinifera vines, and hybrid vines are generally more tolerant of cold than vinifera.

Vidal: Vidal’s winterhardiness makes it well suited to Quebec’s climate, and it can result in good-quality wines, though they lack the structure to be excellent. It is an aromatic variety that has high natural acidity, and the wines show complex flavors of apple, pear, and honey, sometimes with a little sweetness.

Frontenac Noir: Frontenac Noir is a Minnesota hybrid that does well during Quebec’s cold winters. It is a high-sugar, high-acid variety that produces wine with intense flavors of dark fruit and berries. It is produced as a varietal wine, and it is used in red blends and for rosé wines as well.

The Grapes of Nova Scotia

Nova Scotia’s vineyards, like Quebec’s, are overwhelmingly planted to hybrid varieties. By far the most important is L’Acadie Blanc, a hybrid of Cascade and Seyve-Villard 14-287 that was created in 1953, at the Vineland Research Station, on the Niagara Peninsula. It was sent to Nova Scotia for testing and was named for Acadie, the name of the French colony established in the early 1600s.

L’Acadie Blanc: By far the most important variety in Nova Scotia, L’Acadie Blanc, is also the most important grape in Tidal Bay wines, and it is widely used in the province’s increasingly notable sparkling wines. Often referred to as Nova Scotia’s Chardonnay, it delivers more palate weight than other white hybrids, a concentrated flavor profile, and high acidity, which suits the mandated style of Tidal Bay wines and the province’s sparkling wines. It is cold-hardy to minus 25 degrees Celsius (minus 13 degrees Fahrenheit).

British Columbia

British Columbia includes a wide range of growing conditions for wine grapes, including maritime, continental, and desert environments. Most are influenced by water, whether the Pacific Ocean, rivers, or lakes.

(Credit: If So Studio)

British Columbia has 10 geographical indicators and 12 sub-geographical indicators, designated by the British Columbia Wine Authority. The GIs are Fraser Valley, Gulf Islands, Kootenays, Lillooet, Okanagan Valley, Shuswap, Similkameen Valley, Thompson Valley, and Vancouver Island. Of these GIs, only two have sub-GIs: the Okanagan Valley has 11 and Vancouver Island has 1. When wines are certified as satisfying the requirements of the British Columbia Vintners Quality Alliance (BC VQA), the GI is shown on the label as, for example, BC VQA Vancouver Island.

The most important region by far is Okanagan Valley GI, which has almost 11,000 acres of vines that represent about 86% of British Columbia’s vineyard area. The next most important appellation, the Similkameen Valley, has only 6%; Vancouver Island has 4%; and the remaining six GIs collectively account for 4%.

Okanagan Valley GI

Okanagan Valley GI is named for Okanagan Lake, one of the main influences on the area’s climate. About 135 kilometers (84 miles) long and 4 to 5 kilometers (2.5 to 3 miles) wide, the lake is a deep body of water created by repeated glaciations. Its maximum depth is about 230 meters (750 feet), but, even close to land, the water is often more than 100 meters (300 feet) deep. Okanagan Lake remains relatively warm even in winter, and it has a moderating influence on nearby vineyards.

Although Okanagan Lake is the principal geographic feature of Okanagan Valley GI, the boundaries of the GI extend well beyond the lake itself. The GI runs on a north-south axis for about 250 kilometers (150 miles), from the US border at Washington State to about 60 kilometers (40 miles) north of the northern end of Okanagan Lake, along the Okanagan River, which provides most of the inflow to the lake. Okanagan Lake itself drains, via a continuation of the Okanagan River, into three smaller lakes to the south: the Skaha, Vaseux, and Osoyoos Lakes.

Okanagan Valley GI encompasses a range of soil and climatic conditions, making it difficult to generalize about the region. Overall, however, it lies in the rain shadow of the Coast Mountains and the Cascade Mountains. Within this pattern of low precipitation, there are higher rates in the north, where relatively cooler temperatures provide conditions suitable for grape varieties such as Riesling and Chardonnay. In the south, there is less rainfall as well as Canada’s only desert, the Osoyoos Arid Biotic Zone. Annual rainfall here is less than 250 millimeters (10 inches), and the southern part of the GI is planted mainly with red varieties, such as Merlot, Syrah, and Cabernet Sauvignon.

In recent years, weather conditions attributed to climate change have severely affected grape harvests. In December 2022 and January 2024, extremely cold temperatures from the polar region struck Okanagan Valley GI and the nearby Similkameen Valley GI. In December 2022, 45% of vines suffered long-term damage, and 29% needed to be replaced. Wine production fell between 50% and 60% in 2023. The return of these frigid temperatures in January 2024 compounded the effects of the previous winter, and it is expected that in 2024 there will be virtually no wine production in Okanagan Valley GI. If these weather events continue, even irregularly, producers will need to consider measures that are more radical than simply replanting with the same varieties.

Forest wildfires have also become more common and more extensive in the past decade. Although only a small number of wineries have been directly affected, the risk of smoke in vineyards and smoke taint in finished wines is high each summer.

Okanagan Valley GI has 11 sub-GIs, designated by the British Columbia Wine Authority to acknowledge districts with distinctive climatic conditions, soil types, and resulting wine styles.

Golden Mile Bench Sub-GI

Harvest at Culmina in Golden Mile Bench (Credit: If So Studio)

The first of the Okanagan Valley’s sub-GIs, Golden Mile Bench, was established in 2015. It is located on the west side of the valley, south of the town of Oliver, in the warm, southerly part of the Okanagan Valley. The Golden Mile Bench receives sunshine in the morning rather than in the afternoon, making it cooler than the east side of the valley—a benefit in a region where summer temperatures can exceed 40 degrees Celsius (100 degrees Fahrenheit). Because it is well off the valley floor, it is nearly free of frost year-round.

The soils are mainly well-draining loam with stones, gravel, and sand, with four alluvial fans divided by creeks. The six wineries in the Golden Mile Bench farm a total of 325 hectares (800 acres) of vineyards. They are planted with many varieties, but Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Pinot Gris, and Chardonnay are especially important.

Golden Mile Slopes Sub-GI

Just below and continuing south of the Golden Mile Bench sub-GI, the Golden Mile Slopes sub-GI includes the vineyards around Deadman Lake. It is located on the west side of the valley, so it receives plentiful morning sun but is shaded in the late afternoon. The GI shares the warm climate of the southern Okanagan Valley, with cooling breezes at night running down the mountain to the west, but it can be vulnerable to extremes of heat in the summer and cold in the winter.

Sand and gravel soils are most common here, along with alluvial fan deposits. Vineyards are mainly situated on coarse, stony soils. About 165 hectares (400 acres) are planted, with roughly 60% devoted to red varieties. Merlot and Cabernet Franc account for nearly half the acreage. The other important grapes are Syrah and Pinot Gris.

Naramata Bench Sub-GI

Naramata Bench in Okanagan Valley (Credit: If So Studio)

The Naramata Bench sub-GI is located at the southern end of Okanagan Lake, on the east bank, running from the city of Penticton to the community of Naramata. It presents as a series of benches that protrude into the lake, ending with bluffs that descend to the water. These benches offer a gently rolling surface with varying orientations, and most are completely planted with vines to within a few meters of the bluff. From this shoreline, the land rises gently and then more steeply for about 2 kilometers (1.25 miles).

The Naramata Bench area receives hot sun in the afternoon, although the vineyards on the benches and lower slopes near the lake benefit from lake breezes. Frosts are rarely a problem in this region. The soils are mainly silty loam, with gravel prominent at higher elevations.

There are more than 40 wineries in the Naramata Bench sub-GI, and they cultivate about 250 hectares (620 acres) of vines. The main varieties are Merlot, Pinot Gris, Chardonnay, and Pinot Noir.

Okanagan Falls Sub-GI

Named for the town of Okanagan Falls, this sub-GI lies along the eastern side of the Okanagan River, between Skaha Lake and Vaseux Lake. It has a diversity of soils and mesoclimates, but generally the days are warm and the nights are cool during the growing season. There are about 10 wineries in this sub-GI, and they farm a total of 160 hectares (400 acres). The main varieties are Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, and Pinot Gris.

Skaha Bench Sub-GI

The Skaha Bench sub-GI extends about 10 kilometers (4 miles) south of the city of Penticton along the eastern side of Skaha Lake. With slopes facing west, vineyards benefit from the long afternoon sunlight during the growing season. Skaha Lake moderates temperatures, and the area is cut by valleys that drain the cold air, resulting in long frost-free periods.

The light surface soil sits on a glacial lake bed of silt and fine sand. There are about 10 wineries in this sub-GI, with a total of 75 hectares (185 acres) of vines. The most planted varieties are Chardonnay, Merlot, Pinot Gris, and Pinot Noir.

East Kelowna Slopes Sub-GI

The East Kelowna Slopes sub-GI is southeast of the city of Kelowna, toward the northern end of Okanagan Lake. It is an area of northwest-facing slopes and terraces, and, even though this is a northern wine region, the slopes provide good air drainage that contributes to a long growing season. Some vineyards close to Okanagan Lake benefit from its moderating effects.

The soils on the slopes and terraces where most vines are planted are primarily coarse gravel and sand. About 80 hectares (200 acres) are planted with vines, and the most important varieties are Pinot Noir, Gewürztraminer, Riesling, and Chardonnay.

Lake Country Sub-GI

Lake Country is the Okanagan Valley’s northernmost sub-GI. Running north-south on the east side of Okanagan Lake, it has cool-climate conditions, but the vineyards are exposed to the afternoon sun in the growing season. Along with the moderating effect of the lake, the west-facing slopes provide good air drainage.

The soils are predominantly lake-bottom, with gravel and sand at upper elevations. There are 100 hectares (250 acres) planted. Pinot Noir, Pinot Gris, Riesling, and Chardonnay are the key varieties.

South Kelowna Slopes Sub-GI

The South Kelowna Slopes area is southeast of the city of Kelowna, on the eastern side of Okanagan Lake. Vineyards generally face northwest. This is a cool-climate area, but vineyards close to the lake benefit from its moderating influence, which lengthens the growing season. The soils are generally glacial sediment with upper layers of gravel and sand.

About 120 hectares (300 acres) are planted with vines. The main grapes are Pinot Noir, Riesling, Chardonnay, and Pinot Gris.

Summerland Bench Sub-GI

Located on the western side of Okanagan Lake, the Summerland Bench sub-GI contains an extinct volcano, Giant’s Head Mountain. The soils are generally coarse, with a mixture of sand, silt, and gravel providing good drainage. Vineyards cover 60 hectares (150 acres). The main varieties are Gewürztraminer, Pinot Noir, Pinot Gris, and Chardonnay.

Summerland Lakefront Sub-GI

The Summerland Lakefront sub-GI lies along about 12 kilometers (5 miles) of the western shore at the southern end of Okanagan Lake, opposite the Naramata Bench. The vineyards face east and southeast and benefit from the cooler morning sun and the moderating effects of the lake.

A total of 65 hectares (160 acres) are planted, and Gewürztraminer, Pinot Noir, and Pinot Gris are the most important grapes.

Summerland Valleys Sub-GI

With the highest elevations in the Okanagan Valley, between 500 and 700 meters (1,650 and 2,300 feet) above sea level, the Summerland Valleys sub-GI is a distinctly cool area. The soils are a diverse mix, including gravels and fine sand. There are about 60 hectares (150 acres) planted, especially to Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, and Kerner.

Similkameen Valley GI

Little Farm Winery in Similkameen Valley (Credit: If So Studio)

The Similkameen Valley is over the Coast Mountains from the Okanagan Valley, just west of the town of Osoyoos, but instead of running north-south, it runs northwest to southeast. This provides opportunities for some south-facing vineyards, including a long stretch near Cawston that has south-facing to west-facing slopes. Other vineyards are located on lower slopes near the Similkameen River. The soils are varied and often formed by fluvial fans, and they include stony, gravelly, and silty loams. Many vineyards have stones on the surface.

Like the southern Okanagan Valley, this is a warm GI that is hot and dry during the growing season. The tall surrounding mountains and the reflectivity of the rock faces help maintain warmth even after the sun sets. Winds along the valley help moderate temperatures, but the valley is dry and warm enough that organic agriculture and viticulture are very successful. There are several distinct mesoclimates here.

There are 22 wineries in Similkameen Valley GI, farming a total of 310 hectares (770 acres). The main varieties planted are Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon, and Chardonnay.

Vancouver Island GI

Vancouver Island lies off the west coast of the British Columbia mainland, in the Pacific Ocean. At its closest point, it is 56 kilometers (35 miles) from the coast, but the ferry from Vancouver, on the mainland, to Victoria, the largest city on Vancouver Island and British Columbia’s capital city, travels 117 kilometers (73 miles) and takes about three hours. The island is largely uninhabited and covered with forest, and half its population lives in Victoria.

The Influence of Water on Canadian Wine

Growing conditions in most of Canada’s wine regions are influenced by water in one form or another. In general, these bodies of water moderate the temperatures in nearby vineyards, especially in the spring and autumn, lengthening the growing season and permitting the growing of later-ripening varieties. Lake Ontario influences the Niagara Peninsula region by sending breezes that raise land temperatures in winter, spring, and autumn, and lower them in the summer. This lake effect is less perceptible in vineyards farther from the lakeshore, but it is present to some degree in all vineyards between the Niagara Escarpment and the lake. Even though many parts of Okanagan Valley GI are generally warmer than the Niagara Peninsula, Okanagan Lake and the smaller lakes to its south are important influences on vineyards along their shores and several miles from them.

The effects of water are evident, too, in vineyards planted on small islands, including the Gulf Islands, between Vancouver Island and mainland British Columbia, and Pelee Island, in Lake Ontario. The oceans and their inlets on each side of Canada send breezes over many regions, such as the Fraser Valley, in British Columbia, and the valleys close to the Bay of Fundy, in Nova Scotia. Rivers are also important influences in many of Canada’s wine regions, in British Columbia, Ontario, Quebec, and Nova Scotia.

Despite common misconceptions, Canada is not covered with snow year-round, but winter temperatures are challenging almost everywhere, and, regardless of the influence of water, vines in some regions must be buried or covered during the cold months. In almost all Canadian wine regions, water has an influence that is critical for the cultivation of grapes.

There are about 30 wineries on Vancouver Island, about half of them in the Cowichan Valley sub-GI, which is an hour’s drive north of Victoria. There are other pockets of wineries farther north, near Nanaimo and Saanich, and a few near Victoria.

The climate of Vancouver Island is generally mild, but there are many mesoclimates. Levels of precipitation vary, with western areas having lower levels because a high mountain range on the west coast creates a rain shadow. Summers can be warm, with maximum daily temperatures around 30 degrees Celsius (85 degrees Fahrenheit), but evenings can be cool, resulting in variable diurnal swings.

Cowichan Valley sub-GI

The Cowichan Valley sub-GI was created in 2020, when it became the first sub-GI outside the Okanagan Valley. There are about a dozen wineries, with a total of 30 hectares (75 acres) planted with vines. The most common varieties are Ortega, Bacchus, and Gewürztraminer. This region is warmer than most of Vancouver Island; Cowichan means “the warm land” in the Hul'qumi'num language of the First Nations of the area.

Gulf Islands GI

Gulf Islands GI comprises several islands in the Strait of Georgia, between Vancouver Island and the mainland, and in some of the deep inlets of the coast. The first winery was established on Saturna Island, in 1995, and there are now 12 vineyards across six of the islands: Salt Spring, Pender, Saturna, Quadra, Gabriola, and Bowen. In total, about 45 hectares (110 acres) are planted with vines.

The climate in the Strait of Georgia is mild, but there can be water shortages during the summer. The main varieties here are Pinot Noir, Pinot Gris, Chardonnay, Gewürztraminer, and Ortega.

Fraser Valley GI

The Fraser River flows east to west as it reaches the coast and empties into the Pacific Ocean south of Vancouver. The main climatic influence in this area is the ocean itself, which moderates temperatures in the valley and has made it the most important agricultural region in British Columbia. Because of the proximity of the ocean, there is a relatively narrow diurnal temperature range during the growing season, and a lower risk of frosts during spring and autumn and of damage to vines during winter. The humidity of ocean breezes, however, increases the susceptibility of vines to diseases.

There are high ridges along the banks of the Fraser River, and the soils are dominated by sandy loam and clay that help drain the region’s relatively high precipitation. But the Fraser Valley has many mesoclimates, some with more limited rainfall. It is the same with growing degree-days: the overall average is 900, but some districts reach considerably higher numbers. Langley Central, for example, has 1,017 growing degree-days.

There are 42 wineries in Fraser Valley GI, more than 10% of British Columbia’s total. One draw is the proximity to Vancouver, about an hour’s drive away (the Okanagan Valley is a four-hour drive from Vancouver), which increases wine tourism. There are 80 hectares (200 acres) planted, and wineries farm very small areas, only 2 hectares (5 acres) on average. The main varieties planted are Siegerrebe, Pinot Gris, Pinot Noir, and Bacchus.

Thompson Valley GI

The inland Thompson Valley GI is centered on the city of Kamloops. The vineyards are all located along the Thompson and the North Thompson Rivers, east and north of Kamloops, respectively. There are several mesoclimates, but, in general, growing conditions are cool and the location is semiarid, because the Coast Mountains provide a rain shadow effect.

The GI was created in 2018 and has only four wineries. There are about 40 hectares (100 acres) of vines. Key grapes include Pinot Noir, Riesling, Chardonnay, Marquette, and Maréchal Foch.

Kootenays GI

Kootenays GI is located east of Okanagan Valley GI. Vineyards sit along the Kootenay River, the Arrow Lakes, and Kootenay Lake¬¬¬. The GI has five wineries, and they farm vineyards totaling roughly 50 hectares (125 acres). The main varieties planted are Pinot Noir, Pinot Gris, Riesling, and Gewürztraminer.

Lillooet GI

Centered on the town of Lillooet, this small GI follows river valleys, especially the Fraser River, which flows through the town. The climate is similar to that in parts of the Okanagan Valley, with long, hot, dry summers, but the nights here tend to be cooler.

There are only two wineries, with about 20 hectares (50 acres) of vines. The main varieties are Riesling, Pinot Noir, Cabernet Franc, Chardonnay, and Pinot Gris.

Shuswap GI

At 50.7 degrees north, Shuswap GI includes some of the northernmost vineyards in North America. It is located just north of Okanagan Valley GI and is based on the city of Salmon Arm. The main geographical feature is Shuswap Lake, where vineyards are planted on the shores. This is a region of high precipitation and generally cool growing conditions that favor hybrid varieties.

The GI has nine wineries, and they cultivate just over 40 hectares (about 100 acres) of vines. The main varieties planted include Maréchal Foch, Ortega, Siegerrebe, and Pinot Noir.

Ontario

As Canada’s most populous province, with 15 million of the 40 million national population, Ontario is by far the most important wine market in Canada. The drive from the center of Toronto to many vineyards in Canada’s principal wine region, Niagara Peninsula, takes only an hour.

Along with Ontario itself, which is a provincial viticultural area, there are three viticultural areas: Niagara Peninsula, Lake Erie North Shore, and Prince Edward County. All are near the US border and influenced by one of the Great Lakes: Niagara Peninsula and Prince Edward County by Lake Ontario, and Lake Erie North Shore by Lake Erie. The southern end of Niagara Peninsula GI is the Niagara River, which marks the border with the US, while Prince Edward County GI, on the north shore of Lake Ontario, faces New York State, and Lake Erie North Shore GI faces Ohio across Lake Erie.

Niagara Peninsula GI

Niagara Peninsula GI lies at the western end of Lake Ontario. Although it is referred to in the GI and elsewhere as a peninsula, the narrow piece of land that separates Lake Ontario from Lake Erie is, strictly speaking, an isthmus. What can suggest that it is a peninsula is the Niagara River, which is the outflow of the Niagara Falls to Lake Ontario. The river runs through a deep ravine and is quite broad, but it is not, in geographical terms, a big enough waterway to divide the isthmus sufficiently to create a peninsula. Niagara Peninsula GI runs west-east along the north shore of the Niagara isthmus, roughly between the town of Grimsby and the Niagara River.

Regional Appellations of Niagara Peninsula (Credit: Wines of Ontario)

The Niagara Peninsula has about 5,500 hectares (13,600 acres) of vines. Key to its viticultural success is the interaction of Lake Ontario with the Niagara Escarpment, a ridge that rises about 100 meters (300 feet) above the lakeshore plain and sits between 2 and 12 kilometers (1 and 7 miles) back from the lake. Lake Ontario is broad and deep, and it does not completely freeze over during the winter. In the summer, lake temperatures are cooler than land temperatures, while in winter, the lake is warmer than the land.

Westerly onshore breezes—cooler than temperatures over land in summer and warmer in winter—blow from the lake over the low-lying and gently sloping plain between the lakeshore and the Niagara Escarpment, and they moderate land temperatures in both seasons. This effect is amplified when the breezes hit the face of the escarpment, are forced upward, and then roll back down over the plain in a convection pattern. This not only moderates land temperatures in summer and winter but also extends the growing season by providing earlier warming in spring and slower cooling in autumn. At the same time, the breezes lower the risk of vine- and fruit-damaging frosts.

These impacts vary in intensity throughout Niagara Peninsula GI and were important in determining the boundaries of its 10 sub-GIs. Generally, the influence is greatest in areas closer to the lake. Overall, the GI is still a cool-climate grapegrowing region, as indicated by the varieties that do best there, including Riesling, Chardonnay, Cabernet Franc, Gamay, and Pinot Noir. Summer temperatures, however, can climb above 30 degrees Celsius (85 degrees Fahrenheit) in July and August.

The Niagara Peninsula sub-GIs have a range of growing degree-days, from 1,523 to 1,637, and the overall average is 1,590, which places the GI in the same broad category as Bordeaux and Alsace. But the Niagara Peninsula has colder winters than these regions. Despite the year-round moderating effect of lake breezes, vines are often damaged by frost, and many producers have installed wind machines to use when temperatures drop.

The polar vortices—sudden, short-lived, and dramatic drops in temperature, as very cold temperatures from the polar regions are forced southward—have also challenged the region. Recent examples were in January 2022 and February 2023. Both damaged and killed vines, with some producers losing three-quarters of their vines, especially Merlot, Sauvignon Blanc, and Syrah. These polar events have promptedp research into the temperatures at which buds of various varieties are damaged and decisions to replant with varieties that are more cold-hardy.

In 2005, Niagara Peninsula GI was divided into 10 independent sub-GIs. The decision was preceded by years of discussions. Proponents argued that sub-GIs would enable producers to highlight the local conditions that their wines embodied, while opponents argued that sub-appellations in Europe were established after centuries of experience with vineyard sites and varieties, not after a few decades. There were also practical considerations. Some wineries had adopted names referring to the topography of the peninsula, and it was thought that it was important to develop a formal system of GIs named for geographical features before winery use became widespread.

The key work in defining the appellations was undertaken by Anthony Shaw, a researcher at the Cool Climate Oenology and Viticulture Institute at Brock University. Shaw divided the GI into 10 sub-GIs and 2 regional GIs, which are groupings of 3 or 4 sub-GIs. All the independent sub-GIs were named for physical features, such as the generally flat land on the shore of Lake Ontario and the area’s benches, or elevated terraces that project from the face of the Niagara Escarpment. The sub-GIs are Beamsville Bench, Twenty Mile Bench, Short Hills Bench, Lincoln Lakeshore, Creek Shores, Vinemount Ridge, Niagara Lakeshore, Four Mile Creek, St. David’s Bench, and Niagara River. The two regional GIs are Niagara Escarpment, which comprises the first three of these sub-GIs, and Niagara-on-the-Lake, which comprises the last four and was named for the town of Niagara-on-the-Lake.

Niagara Escarpment Regional GI

Beamsville Bench Sub-GI

The Beamsville Bench is the smallest of the Niagara Peninsula’s sub-GIs in area, and it occupies one of the benches that extends from the north-oriented face of the Niagara Escarpment. The bench slopes down gently toward Lake Ontario before the land drops to the level of the lakeshore plain, creating a small bluff between 40 and 60 meters (130 and 200 feet) high. The bench is divided by several streams, used seasonally for irrigation, and ravines that result in steep north- and east-facing slopes. The deep soils are a mix of rocks, silt, gravel, and clay, with shale, limestone, and sandstone. The upper layers retain water effectively, which is useful in the dry summer months, and the subsoils drain well.

The Beamsville Bench benefits from a continuous flow of air thanks to the convection pattern of lake winds blowing against the face of the escarpment. The relatively high elevation of the bench above the plain, along with these breezes, moderates humidity as well as daytime and nighttime temperatures. Temperatures begin to rise in May, peak in July and August, and can begin to fall significantly in late October.

There are 16 wineries in this sub-GI, and the main grape varieties are Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, and Riesling.

Twenty Mile Bench Sub-GI

The name of the Twenty Mile Bench sub-GI refers to the distance between it and the Niagara River. In this case, the immediate point of reference is the Twenty Mile Creek, which empties into Lake Ontario 20 miles (32 kilometers) west of the estuary of the Niagara River. The topography of the Twenty Mile Bench differs from that of the other grapegrowing benches in that it is a double bench formation and a series of short slopes that extend high up the Niagara Escarpment.

Vineyard in Twenty Mile Bench, Niagara Escarpment (Credit: Wines of Ontario)

The glacial soils here are deep clay and till, with a significant proportion of limestone and shale. They are reasonably well draining, and their density and their ability to retain water are helpful during the drier phase of the growing season.

The vineyards in the sub-GI are generally planted on north-facing slopes and benefit from long periods of sun exposure during summer and autumn, as well as the influence of the circulating breezes from the lake that moderate temperatures year-round. These conditions ensure gradual warming in the spring and cooling in the autumn, and they limit the diurnal temperature range. The slopes on the western side are generally shorter and steeper, and they provide excellent air drainage, so the vineyards there are less susceptible to frosts. A long growing season with moderate and stable temperatures offers good conditions for many grapes to ripen fully. Common varieties grown by the nine wineries in the Twenty Mile Bench are Cabernet Franc, Pinot Noir, Riesling, and Chardonnay.

Short Hills Bench Sub-GI

The Short Hills Bench is farther from Lake Ontario than the Beamsville Bench and the Twenty Mile Bench, and it benefits less from the breezes blowing off the lake. It is characterized by the softly undulating, flat-topped hills for which the sub-GI is named. The valleys between the hills were formed by streams that still flow seasonally from the Niagara Escarpment. The hills themselves present long, gentle slopes with varying orientations, but the Short Hills Bench sub-GI is notable for having 90% of the Niagara Peninsula’s rare south- and southeast-facing vineyards, where vines are planted north-south for maximum sun exposure.

The soils of the Short Hills Bench are complex and vary widely among sites. The 45-centimeter (18-inch) top layer is mostly clay and lies on top of 9 to 12 meters (30 to 40 feet) of clay and silt. The clay provides good water retention, and the valley provides effective drainage during periods of high precipitation. In some districts, there is a subsoil of sand and gravel that drains well and protects the deep roots of older vines from excess water.

The Short Hills Bench sub-GI warms early in the spring and maintains fairly high daytime temperatures throughout the growing season. This is one of the warmest areas on the Niagara Peninsula. Temperatures cool at night, with a diurnal range of 13 degrees Celsius (23 degrees Fahrenheit) and more. Toward the end of the growing season, temperatures fall sooner here than in other sub-GIs, but there are more hours of sunshine. Icewine harvests often occur earlier here than elsewhere.

There are only two wineries in the Short Hills Bench sub-GI, and the main varieties planted are Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, and Gamay.

Niagara-on-the-Lake Regional GI

St. David's Bench Sub-GI

The St. David’s Bench sub-GI is the easternmost of the four bench-based sub-GIs of Niagara Peninsula GI. Located 10 kilometers (6 miles) from the shore of Lake Ontario, it is farther inland than the others. Most vineyards are planted on long, north-facing slopes in the upper portion of the bench and along its southern boundary against the Niagara Escarpment. The St. David’s Bench tends to warm earlier in the spring, thanks to being sheltered by the Niagara Escarpment and the effective drainage of cold air down the slopes of the bench.

Temperatures in the vineyards toward the end of the growing season tend to be cooler than elsewhere on the peninsula. Frequent high-pressure systems and generally clear and sunny weather, aided by steady air circulation, maintain moderate temperatures until September.

Several streams flowing from the base of the escarpment cut through the bench. They swell in early spring with snowmelt and spring rains but become dry beds during the summer. The upper layers of soils in this sub-GI are deep silty clay and clay loam, with a bedrock of red sandstone. The clay soils drain slowly and hold the spring moisture well.

The St. David’s Bench has seven wineries, and the most planted varieties are Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, Merlot, and Syrah.

Niagara Lakeshore Sub-GI

Niagara Lakeshore is a shallow sub-GI whose southern boundary is only three kilometers (two miles) from Lake Ontario, its northern boundary. Its western limit is the Welland Canal, and, in the east, it ends at the town of Niagara-on-the Lake, where the Niagara River flows into Lake Ontario. The sub-GI benefits from the interaction of the lake and the escarpment, with circulating breezes that reduce the daytime heat in summer and raise the cooler land temperatures at night. In winter, warmer breezes from the water reduce the risk of frosts.

Temperatures in Niagara Lakeshore remain cool as late as April, begin to rise slowly in May, and begin to fall in October. A band of clouds along the shoreline in early autumn acts as insulation, keeping the days slightly cooler and the nights somewhat warmer. The long growing season allows for late-ripening varieties, such as Cabernet Sauvignon, to succeed.

The topography of Niagara Lakeshore is relatively flat, with slopes running south to north to the lake, but with a virtually imperceptible gradient. This ensures uninterrupted exposure to sunlight throughout the growing season. The soils are mainly clay and silt over bedrock of red shale, but there are areas of sandy soils near the lake that allow deep root penetration and have low water-retention capacity. There are also patches of clay loam in the middle of the sub-GI that hold water well and retain heat into the early autumn.

There are 10 wineries in the Niagara Lakeshore sub-GI, and the main varieties are Riesling, Sauvignon Blanc, and Cabernet Sauvignon.

Four Mile Creek Sub-GI

The Four Mile Creek is the largest sub-GI of the Niagara Peninsula, and it is known for its red wines. It is a virtually flat plain between the Niagara Lakeshore sub-GI and the St. David’s Bench sub-GI, with its northern boundary nearly three kilometers (two miles) from the lakeshore and the bluff created by the St. David’s Bench to the south. Because of this north-south depth, Lake Ontario has a variable influence over the vineyards. Days are cool and nights are warm, and the flatness of the topography ensures full exposure to sunlight during the growing season.

The plain is composed of very gentle slopes—there are only 6 meters (20 feet) of difference between the lowest and highest elevations—oriented in many directions. The only notable physical features in this essentially flat landscape are the valley of the Four Mile Creek and a few seasonal streams that drain water from some of the vineyards. The soils are dominated by red shale with high silt and clay content that retains water for the vines during the dry months of July and August.

There are 15 wineries in the Four Mile Creek, where conditions allow the cultivation of many varieties, especially Chardonnay, Riesling, and Pinot Noir.

Niagara River Sub-GI

The Niagara River sub-GI is a narrow strip of land (about 1 kilometer, or 0.6 miles) running north-south, with the gorge of the Niagara River as its eastern boundary. It starts at the town of Niagara-on-the-Lake in the north and ends in the south at the town of Queenston, at the border of the St. David’s Bench sub-GI. It is characterized by long, gentle slopes that generally face east, toward the river, providing early morning sun exposure during the growing season. Most vineyards are planted on these slopes.

The main climatic influence is the broad, fast-flowing Niagara River, which runs through a steep-sided gorge from the Niagara Falls to Lake Ontario. The river creates convection currents that draw cooler air into the gorge from the vineyards, especially those closest to the bank of the gorge. This moderates vineyard temperatures, reduces the risk of late-spring and early-autumn frosts, and generally extends the growing season. The effects of Lake Ontario are stronger at the northern end of the sub-GI, where lake breezes moderate temperatures throughout the year.

The soils of the Niagara River sub-GI are generally dominated by red shale with varying sand, silt, and clay content, but their drainage qualities differ. In the north, soils tend to hold water well, which is an advantage in the dry summer months. In the south, where there are more fine sands, drainage is more effective, which encourages the vines to root deeply.

The Niagara River sub-GI has six wineries, and the main varieties are Riesling, Merlot, Cabernet Franc, and Cabernet Sauvignon.

Other Niagara Peninsula Sub-GIs

Lincoln Lakeshore Sub-GI

The northern boundary of Lincoln Lakeshore is the shore of Lake Ontario, while its southern limit is the foot of the bluffs formed by the Beamsville Bench and part of the Twenty Mile Bench. It is effectively a plain that slopes gently down toward the lake and is cut by seasonal streams, notably the Thirty Mile, Forty Mile, and Fifty Mile Creeks. They provide water to the vines, especially as snow melts in the spring, and drainage during the growing season.

The main climatic influence is the lake, which sends cooling breezes over the vineyards in the summer and warmer breezes to moderate temperatures in the colder months. The result is a long growing season, with moderate and stable temperatures that begin to rise in May and to fall in October. During the summer months, the lakeshore location is the meeting point of the cool breezes from the lake and the warmer air rising from the land, and localized air circulation patterns tend to produce small diurnal temperature variations.

During the summer months, the vineyards are fully exposed to the sun. In autumn, as in Niagara Lakeshore, it is common to see a line of clouds along the shoreline, which keeps days cooler and nights warmer. Winters in this sub-GI are also moderate, making the area suitable for some varieties that are less cold-hardy. For the same reason, tender fruits, especially peaches, plums, and cherries, thrive here.

The soils vary widely in content and depth and sit on a base of red shale. Half the sub-GI consists of light sandy soils that drain from well to moderately well and warm early in the spring. Other parts of the sub-GI have concentrations of red clay loam, which retains water effectively.

There are 13 wineries in the Lincoln Lakeshore sub-GI, and the main varieties are Cabernet Franc, Chardonnay, Pinot Gris, and Merlot.

Creek Shores Sub-GI

The Creek Shores sub-GI is surrounded by water on three sides: Lake Ontario to the north, the Twelve Mile Creek to the east, and the Twenty Mile Creek and Jordan Harbor to the west. No part of the sub-GI is more than five kilometers (three miles) from Lake Ontario, which moderates temperatures in the vineyards throughout the year. Lake breezes and cool north winds warm the land slowly in April and May, and warmer summer temperatures begin in June and peak by the end of July. The growing season extends well into the first half of October. The topography ensures sun exposure from early morning to evening.

Creek Shores extends toward the shore of Lake Ontario, dropping about 20 meters (65 feet) in five kilometers (three miles). It comprises a series of gentle slopes, some short and some long, that have many orientations and are divided by seasonal streams that provide drainage of the spring runoff into Lake Ontario. Most vineyards are planted on the rich fertile plain where the riverbeds of former creeks broaden, and where they receive maximum exposure to sunlight. The numerous streams produce a highly dissected landscape, with well-drained lighter soils distributed in several long, narrow bands that are oriented north-south. Interspersed are patches of loamy soils that are thick and porous and allow deep root penetration by vines.

The Creek Shores sub-GI has 10 wineries, and the most planted varieties are Gamay, Cabernet Franc, Chardonnay, and Riesling.

Vinemount Ridge Sub-GI

Unlike the other Niagara Peninsula sub-GIs, Vinemount Ridge sits on top of the Niagara Escarpment, rather than being located on one of its benches or on the plain between the escarpment and the shore of Lake Ontario. It lies mainly on the Vinemount Moraine, a long, narrow, east-west ridge composed of rocks and sediment deposited by glaciers 13,000 years ago. It is less than a kilometer (about a half mile) wide, sits at a height of more than 200 meters (650 feet) at the top of the escarpment, and gradually falls along slopes to the south. The slopes are bisected by seasonal streams that help drain surface water and groundwater.

Vineyards here generally face south, with some facing east, unlike most on the Niagara Peninsula, which are largely oriented toward the north. The southerly exposure provides early warming in the spring and high daytime temperatures throughout the growing season. There is little to no lake effect here, because breezes from Lake Ontario rise after hitting the face of the escarpment, rather than blowing over the ridge at its top. The result is a relatively short growing season. Vineyards are cooled at night by prevailing southwesterly winds, but there is still greater diurnal temperature variation in Vinemount Ridge than in the vineyards below the escarpment that benefit from the lake effect. There are various mesoclimates, however, thanks to different elevations and exposure to winds.

The soils are dominated by silty, clay-loam till. They have high water-retaining properties, which is beneficial during the summer, but the underlying moraine drains well.

There are seven wineries in Vinemount Ridge, and the main varieties are Riesling, Pinot Noir, and Chardonnay.

Prince Edward County GI

Vineyard in Prince Edward County (Credit: Wines of Ontario)

Prince Edward County, which lies south of the city of Belleville and about 200 kilometers (125 miles) east of Toronto, became a GI in 2007. Most of the area included in the GI is a peninsula on the north shore of Lake Ontario, but it also includes Amherst Island and a strip of land off the peninsula, on the mainland. There were several vineyards in Prince Edward County in the late 1800s, but, during most of the 20^th century, the land was planted with fruits and vegetables, and there were dozens of canneries.

Today, the economy of the County (as it is known locally) is based on wine and tourism. The second generation of wineries is quite recent. Vineyards began to be planted in the 1990s, and the first commercial wineries opened in 2001. Three years later, there were only 4 producing wineries, but by 2023 there were more than 50. The increase in the number of wineries in the early 2000s, along with the attention they were getting, persuaded Ontario’s wine authorities to waive the preconditions regarding minimum production volumes to qualify for GI status. Most producers are small, and only about 400 hectares (1,000 acres) are planted with vines.

Many tourists come to Prince Edward County to visit Sandbanks Provincial Park, which includes a long, sandy beach, the world’s largest baymouth barrier sand dune formation, areas for watching bird migration, and hiking trails. Wine tourism is important to producers, and, in the past decade, infrastructure in the form of accommodations and restaurants has developed. Many of the tourists travel from Toronto, a two-hour drive away.

Sitting at a latitude of 44 degrees north, Prince Edward County is Ontario’s northernmost GI, so it is generally cooler than the other two. Like the others, it is heavily influenced by water, in this case Lake Ontario, which surrounds the peninsula on three sides, and the meandering Bay of Quinte, which looks more like a river and separates the peninsula from the mainland. With inlets and coves, Prince Edward County has 800 kilometers (500 miles) of shoreline, and no vineyard is more than 10 kilometers (6 miles) from water. There are also a few small lakes on the peninsula.

Proximity to water is especially important in the frequently hot summers, when the southwesterly breezes from Lake Ontario prevent the temperature on land from rising much above 20 degrees Celsius (70 degrees Fahrenheit). Overall, this is a cool-climate region, with 1,366 growing degree-days, making it much cooler (by more than 200 growing degree-days) than the Niagara Peninsula region.

Winters in Prince Edward County are much colder than those in Ontario’s other GIs, and vines must be buried or protected by geotextiles. Even so, the climate has caused devastation in Prince Edward County vineyards. In February 2014, very cold temperatures damaged many vines, as they did in other Ontario regions, and in May 2015 a severe frost caused widespread losses. Some producers lost all their vines, while others lost 50%.

Because of the uncertainty of the climate, many Prince Edward County wineries regularly buy some of their grapes from sources in the Niagara Peninsula region, where winters are generally more clement, and truck them to their wineries. Ontario wine law enables producers to label wines by the GI or sub-GI where the grapes were grown, and it is not uncommon to see wines labeled with the name of a Prince Edward County producer and a Niagara GI or sub-GI.

Prince Edward County GI presents an irregular landscape cut by shallow valleys and ridges that provide various orientations for planting vineyards. The bedrock is a broken layer of limestone, and the overlying soils are sandy and clay loams embedded with rock and shale fragments. This composition provides good drainage to the limestone. Producers have noted that the very variable growing conditions point to distinct districts in Prince Edward County, and, though it is a very small GI, there could be pressure to create one or more sub-GIs within it.

The most planted varieties in Prince Edward County GI are Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, Cabernet Franc, and Pinot Gris.

Lake Erie North Shore GI

As its name suggests, Lake Erie North Shore GI sits on the north shore of Lake Erie, the shallowest of the Great Lakes. The north shore of the lake runs southwest to northeast, and the GI covers the shoreline between the towns of Amherstburg and St. Thomas, a distance of about 200 kilometers (125 miles). Lake Erie North Shore GI includes one sub-GI, South Islands, a group of nine islands in Lake Erie. The largest, Pelee Island, is densely planted with grapevines, while the others are small, uninhabited, and not planted with vines.

Vineyard in Lake Erie North Shore (Credit: Wines of Ontario)

Lake Erie North Shore was a wine-producing region in the late 1800s and early 1900s, but, for most of the 20^th century, the major crop cultivated was tobacco. Wine production resumed in the 1980s. Most of the vineyards are planted close to the arc-shaped shoreline at about 42 degrees north—the same latitude as the border between California and Oregon—making this the southernmost Canadian wine region.

At the western end of this GI, the land is influenced by three bodies of water: Lake Erie to the south, the Detroit River to the west, and Lake Saint Clair to the north. The GI is divided by seasonal streams that are little more than a trickle in summer. The terrain is composed of several gentle south- and southeast-facing slopes with varying elevations. There are no physical features to obstruct the southwest breezes from Lake Erie, and the whole GI benefits from their moderating influence.

This is Ontario’s warmest wine region, with a long growing season, but winter conditions can still be dangerous. A cold snap in January 2014 resulted in the loss of over 80% of the vintage. In February 2019, temperatures falling to minus 24 degrees Celsius (minus 11 degrees Fahrenheit) damaged many vines, especially Merlot, Sauvignon Blanc, and Syrah.

Lake Erie North Shore GI has 16 wineries, and the main varieties include Cabernet Franc, Riesling, Cabernet Sauvignon, and Merlot.

South Islands Sub-GI

South Islands comprises nine islands in Lake Erie, but only one, Pelee Island, is planted with vines. This island was the location of one of Canada’s first wineries, founded in 1866. It was originally three islands with marshes between them, before the marshes were drained in the 1880s to create a single landmass. But the center of the island is lower than the outside coastline, giving the topography the appearance of a reef, and three-quarters of the land is below the level of Lake Erie. A system of pumps that still operates was installed in the 1800s to prevent the depression from filling with rainwater.

Grapevines have been important here since the 1980s, and the island became a GI in 2005, when Ontario’s GIs were created. But in 2015, because all the vineyards were owned by one winery that bore the name of the island, it was decided that the island (and the nearby uninhabited and uncultivated islands) should instead be a sub-GI of Lake Erie North Shore, renamed South Islands. Pelee Island is about 30 kilometers (20 miles) from the north shore and is reachable by ferry, except between January and April. It is Canada’s southernmost inhabited territory.

Pelee Island has a distinct climate because of its location. Lake Erie is a shallow lake that warms quickly in the spring and stays warm until the autumn. This results in a growing season that is about 30 days longer than it is on the mainland, which benefits late-ripening varieties. Harvests here usually begin two or three weeks before they do in other Ontario wine regions, often in August. Vineyards receive uninterrupted sunshine. Pinot Noir, Cabernet Franc, and Cabernet Sauvignon are important grapes among Pelee Island’s 200 hectares (500 acres) of vines.

Emerging Regions in Ontario

There are dozens of wineries located outside Ontario’s GIs. The counties of Norfolk and Haldimand, on the shore of Lake Erie to the northwest of Lake Erie North Shore GI, have vineyards planted on sandy soils and gentle slopes that benefit from a relatively long growing season. North of Toronto, some wineries have opened near the south shore of Georgian Bay, the northeastern arm of Lake Huron. Here, several mesoclimates suitable for viticulture have been identified. A third region is known as Huron Shores, specifically referring to the eastern shores of the lake. Warm summers favor agriculture in general, and relatively heavy, regular snowfall protects vines from the winter temperatures. In eastern Ontario, there are a dozen wineries within about 100 kilometers (60 miles) of Ottawa, Canada’s capital. Most rely on hybrid varieties, but there has also been success with Chardonnay and Pinot Noir.

Some of these regions could eventually reach the scale of production needed to create a GI under Ontario wine law. In the meantime, wines made from grapes grown in these regions that satisfy all VQA requirements can be labeled VQA Ontario.

Quebec

Quebec is an extensive province that has one-fifth of Canada’s population and a per-capita rate of wine consumption that is higher than that of any other province: about 24 liters annually, compared with 18 liters in British Columbia and 14 liters in Ontario. But in terms of wine production, it ranks a distant third behind Ontario and British Columbia. The Quebec wine industry includes about 150 wineries, mostly small producers. In all, they cultivate about 800 hectares (2,000 acres) of vines.

Although some wine was made commercially in the 1800s, the modern Quebec wine industry dates to the 1980s, when there was renewed interest in viticulture. By 1990, there were about 75 wineries, many with vineyards planted on land originally intended for other purposes, and often without great viticultural or winemaking expertise. Since 2000, there have been substantial changes, including more deliberate matching of varieties and sites, a certification of quality in 2009, the adoption of an IGP wine law in 2018, and a new level of professionalism.

Vineyard in Quebec (Credit: Adobe Stock)

The main challenge that Quebec wineries face is the typically very cold winters, when temperatures occasionally fall below minus 30 degrees Celsius (minus 20 degrees Fahrenheit) at night during January and February. This is cold enough to kill vinifera vines and many hybrid varieties, so growers need to bury their vines with soil or cover them with geotextiles. It is expected that over the longer term, by the middle of the 21^st century, climate change will make some parts of Quebec more suitable for viticulture. A 2017 report suggested that within about 20 years, vineyards in the Montérégie region south of Montreal, in the west near Gatineau, and near the banks of the St. Lawrence River would be the main beneficiaries of climate change and would have longer growing seasons and more frost-free days. The report predicted that, because of these changes, vinifera varieties would become more common, especially early ripening varieties, such as Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, and Gamay.

Wineries are scattered throughout the province, but they are mainly in southwestern Quebec, between the St. Lawrence River and the border with the United States. There are vineyards as far west as the city of Gatineau, across the river from Ottawa, and as far east as Quebec City. Nine largely informal regions have been identified based on geographic and climatic features and existing concentrations of wineries. The Conseil des Vins du Québec (Quebec Wine Council) expects more regions to emerge.

Vallée des Outaouais: This region, located in the west, has soils of sand, gravel, and pebbles, the residue of postglacial seas. The climate is continental, with cold winters, hot summers, and abundant rainfall.

Deux-Montagnes: In this area, west of Montreal, the landscape is mainly flat with a few gentle hills, and mainly marine sediment soils. It is near four bodies of water (Deux-Montagnes Lake, Lake Saint-Louis, the Ottawa River, and the St. Lawrence River) that moderate temperatures. The snowfall is often heavier here than it is in regions to the south, providing extra protection to the vines in winter.

Vallée-du-Richelieu: This valley, which extends east of Montreal to the US border, is rich in clay with deposits of stones and gravel. The region has the most frost-free days of any wine region in Quebec—between 205 and 212 annually.

Piémont Appalachien Sud: In this area near Lake Champlain, on the US border, most of the soils are glacial sediments. Climatic conditions vary within the region. Vineyards near Lake Champlain benefit from its influence, while the conditions at higher-altitude vineyards are markedly cooler.

Piémont Appalachien Nord: The soils in this long strip of land running north-south around Drummondville are glacial deposits, often calcareous in the west and gravelly in the east. In the southern portion, the snow cover is deeper and the growing season shorter.

Versants Montérégiens: This patchwork of districts east and south of Montreal encompasses 10 hills surrounded by deposits of sand and gravel, where most vineyards are planted. Summers are hot and winters are cold.

Plateaux des Appalaches: This region is composed of a series of plateaus around Sherbrooke, ranging from 150 to 450 meters (500 to 1,500 feet) in height, with soils that tend to be rocky and stony. Overall temperatures are cooler here than in lower-lying regions, and the region has relatively high rainfall and snowfall.

Lac Saint-Pierre: This long region stretches along both banks of the St. Lawrence River between Montreal and Trois-Rivières, especially Lake Saint-Pierre, which is essentially a body of water created where the St. Lawrence River widens. Most vineyards in this area are planted near the lake, which moderates temperatures. The soils are mostly marine sediment with sand and clay.

Québec et les Berges du Saint-Laurent: This region extends along both sides of the St. Lawrence River upstream and downstream of Quebec City and includes the Île d’Orléans. There are limestone sand and shale deposits where vineyards are planted, while the Île d’Orléans is mostly loam with clay, sand, and gravel content. The river moderates temperatures throughout the year.

Nova Scotia

Nova Scotia is the most populous of Canada’s Atlantic provinces and by far the most important for wine. This region, with a cold to cool climate, is essentially a peninsula surrounded on three sides by water: the Atlantic Ocean, the Bay of Fundy, and the Northumberland Strait, which separates it from Prince Edward Island. These bodies of water have a moderating effect on nearby vineyards, and most vineyards have been planted near water. Even so, winters can be very cold, snowfall can be heavy, and coastal Nova Scotia occasionally has severe hurricanes that sweep in from the south. Summers can be warm, but the growing season is relatively short. Across the areas where grapes are grown, there is an average of 1,000 growing degree-days.

Vineyard in Nova Scotia (Credit: Adobe Stock)

In all, 63 grape varieties are cultivated in Nova Scotia, but 5 account for 56% of the total harvest tonnage: L’Acadie Blanc (30% of the total), New York Muscat (8%), Chardonnay (7%), Riesling (6%), and Vidal Blanc (5%). There are 58 grape growers and 20 wineries, down from a peak of 22 in 2015. There are also six fruit (nongrape) wineries. In all, 485 hectares (1,200 acres) are planted with vines, with about 170 hectares (420 acres) of them at wineries. The wineries are scattered among seven defined districts. The two most important are the Annapolis Valley and the Gaspereau Valley, which together comprise half of Nova Scotia’s wineries.

The Annapolis Valley runs east-west along the south shore of the Bay of Fundy and is open to the Minas Basin, an inlet of the Bay of Fundy, at its eastern end. Carved out by a glacier, the valley floor is 10 kilometers (6 miles) wide and lies between two ridges. Sheltered from offshore winds, and with winter temperatures moderated by breezes from the Minas Basin, the Annapolis Valley is the warmest wine area in Nova Scotia. The south side, farther inland, is especially warm, and that is where most of the wineries are located.

The neighboring Gaspereau Valley is exposed to the Minas Basin, benefiting from its moderating influence on valley temperatures. The fast-flowing tides of the Bay of Fundy, which has the highest tidal range in the world, mean that it never freezes, and it sends year-round breezes and humidity along the 12-kilometer (7-mile) length of the valley. During the growing season, the south-facing vineyards receive long hours of afternoon sunlight.

The five other districts are the Avon River Valley and the LaHave River Valley, on the Minas Basin; Bear River, near the Bay of Fundy; Marble Mountain, on Cape Breton Island; and the Malagash Peninsula, on the Northumberland Strait. Each of these regions has from one to three wineries.

Nova Scotia has gained attention for its white and sparkling wines. The best-known white is Tidal Bay, generally a blend of hybrid varieties (some vinifera varieties are also permitted) that has a style profile regulated by law. (See the section on wine law, above.) Fourteen of Nova Scotia’s wineries make a Tidal Bay wine. The sparkling wines are generally made in the traditional method, and, though some are blends of vinifera varieties (usually Pinot Noir and Chardonnay), others are wholly or partly made from hybrid varieties, especially L’Acadie Blanc.

Bibliography

Dube, Gaëlle, and Karine Pedneault. “Le Québec en mode viticole: Cépages hybrides et viticulture nordique à l’aube du XXIe siècle.” Fruits Oubliés 6 (2014): 9-18.

Phillips, Rod. The Wines of Canada. Oxford: Infinite Ideas Classic Wine Library, 2017.

Roy, Philippe, Patrick Grenier, Evelyne Barriault, Travis Logan, Anne Blondlot, Gaétan Bourgeois, and Diane Chaumont. “Probabilistic Climate Change Scenarios for Viticultural Potential in Quebec.” Climate Change 143 (2017): 43-58.

Compiled by Rod Phillips (June 2024)

Edited by user22151

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Italy Part IV: Southern Italy

user22387 — Tue, 28 Jan 2025 22:47:46 GMT

Current Revision posted to Expert Guides by user22387 on 1/28/2025 10:47:46 PM

The Grapes and Grape Families of Southern Italy
Abruzzo
Molise
Puglia
Campania
Basilicata
Calabria
Sicily
Sardinia
Bibliography

Southern Italy is more agrarian and less industrialized than the northern portion of the country, and it has been slower to develop infrastructure. Farther from the rest of Europe—geographically as well as culturally—it is also more isolated by mountains and seas. Although it is home to large cities, such as Naples and Palermo, and popular tourist destinations, such as the Amalfi Coast, the south has more poverty than, and over double the unemployment rate of, the rest of Italy. Some of its regions are not widely known outside the country, except perhaps to descendants of Italian immigrants who left those regions seeking opportunity.

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During the unification of Italy in the 19^th century, the Risorgimento government was largely composed of northerners. The south was hurt by heavy taxation, high protective tariffs on northern industrial goods, and a mandatory seven years of military service, which had a particularly significant impact on the farm labor force in rural areas. As late as 1900, the illiteracy rate in southern Italy was 70%, 10 times higher than that of England, France, or Germany. More than four million Italians—over 10% of the national population—immigrated to the United States between 1880 and 1924, most of them from the rural south and the island of Sicily.

Yet despite its hardships, southern Italy has a long and rich history with viticulture and was likely one of the world’s earliest centers of vine domestication, after the Caucuses, Levant, and eastern Mediterranean. A 2017 archeological discovery of wine residue in terra-cotta jars inside a cave at Monte Kronio, in southwestern Sicily, suggests that winemaking in this area goes back 6,000 years.

The arrival of the Phoenicians and then the Greeks led to the expansion of vine cultivation. The Greeks reached southern Italy in the eighth century BCE and called this part of the peninsula Oenotria—“the land of trained vines.” They brought viticultural knowledge with them and enhanced the local wine-drinking culture, introducing both the alberello (bush vine) training method and the Greek symposium. The region along the coasts of southern Italy and its islands became known by the Romans as Magna Graecia, meaning “great Greece,” for its Greek settlers.

The Greek influence in southern Italy as seen at the Valley of the Temples in Sicily (Credit: Michael Markarian)

There are also Spanish and Arabic influences throughout southern Italy. The south can be a paradox: a melting pot of cultures resulting from centuries of rule by outsiders alongside fiercely independent regions with local identities, dialects, and customs.

Southern Italy is colloquially referred to as Mezzogiorno, Italian for “noon,” referring to the intensity of sunshine there at midday. Like the rest of Italy, the south has diverse climates and topography, from the colder, mountainous terrain high in the Apennines to gentler coasts and flatter plains. The two largest islands in the Mediterranean Sea (Sicily and Sardinia) are also part of the south. Many of southern Italy’s wines and grape varieties are found only in their local areas, providing an exciting opportunity for exploration.

The Grapes and Grape Families of Southern Italy

Several key grape varieties of southern Italy—including Aglianico, Montepulciano, Zibibbo (Muscat of Alexandria), and Cannonau (Grenache)—are covered in the Introduction to Italy Expert Guide. Below are additional grapes and families that are important to southern Italy, while others are discussed in the regional sections that follow.

White Grapes

Greco: The Greco group, like the Malvasia varieties, is one of the most confusing sets of grapes in Italy. Many unrelated grape varieties in Italy were given Greek-sounding names—Greco, Grecanico, Grechetto—either because they were thought to be of Greek origin, or because they were used for wines made in the “Greek style” of air-drying grapes, concentrating musts by cooking, and adding resin or other flavorings.

The most important Greco grape of southern Italy, known simply as Greco, is found mainly in Campania and the volcanic soils of Greco di Tufo DOCG. It is late ripening and susceptible to vineyard diseases, with low vigor and productivity, and it is prone to oxidation and volatile acidity in the cellar. Its wines are ageworthy and complex, with full body, an oily texture, high acidity, and flavors of peach, pear, tropical fruit, and honey. It is not widely grown outside Campania and pockets in neighboring regions, such as Lazio and Puglia, but it is both heat and drought resistant and may be successful in warmer and water-challenged environments in the future.

The unrelated Greco Bianco, also called Greco di Gerace, is found mainly in Calabria and is genetically identical to Malvasia di Lipari and Malvasia di Sardegna. It is used for both dry wines and sweet passito wines. Greco Moro and Greco Giallo are white grapes grown mainly in Lazio, and Greco Nero is a red grape used in Calabrian blends.

Catarratto: Although grown almost exclusively in Sicily, Catarratto is one of Italy’s most planted white grape varieties. Named for the cataracts, or waterfalls, of wine it produces, Catarratto is a highly productive grape and has long been a dependable variety for making simple, quaffable Sicilian white wines and inexpensive, fortified Marsala.

Two main biotypes are often interplanted and are genetically identical but have separate entries in the Italian national registry: Catarratto Bianco Comune has higher sugar and lower acidity, and Catarratto Bianco Lucido has more-compact bunches and can be more refined. Producers often distinguish the latter by simply calling it Lucido. Both grapes are offspring of Garganega. Plantings have been in steady decline, but Catarratto still represents nearly one-third of the Sicilian vine area. Grown almost everywhere in the western and central parts of Sicily, Catarratto also plays a supporting role in Etna Bianco, adding fruitiness to Carricante’s minerality.

Carricante: Another variety named for its high production, Carricante derives its name from caricare, “to load”—as in loading up a cart or donkey with a large volume of grapes. Despite this reference to quantity, Carricante is considered one of the highest-quality, most ageworthy, and most complex Italian white grapes. It has low alcohol, high acidity, a lemon flavor, and pronounced minerality, with TDN-based flavors of petrol and kerosene, like those of some dry Rieslings.

Some producers harvest Carricante as late as possible to curb its high acidity, and malolactic fermentation is commonly used as a softening method. Carricante tolerates climatic extremes, such as rain and humidity, and thrives at the higher elevations of Mount Etna, especially on the eastern slope, which is the coolest and rainiest side of the volcano.

Falanghina: One of the oldest varieties of Campania, Falanghina, along with Aglianico, is thought to be among the grapes used in the revered Falernian (Falernum in Latin) wines in ancient Rome.

There are at least two distinct Falanghina varieties: Falanghina Beneventana, which has more structure, alcohol, and floral character; and Falanghina Flegrea, which has fruitier flavors of peach, yellow apple, cherry pit, and apricot. These grapes have naturally high acidity and are generally co-planted in vineyards, and the resulting wines reflect characteristics of both. In addition to its primary home of Campania, Falanghina can also be found in Lazio and Puglia.

Fiano: One of Italy’s oldest and most ageworthy white grapes, Fiano was nearly extinct in the 1940s when it was revived by the work of the Mastroberardino estate. Fiano is late ripening and low yielding, and its thick skins can withstand rot and moisture in the cooler and rainier parts of Campania. It is versatile and site specific, yielding steely, smoky, ageworthy wines from volcanic soils, and lighter, fruitier wines for early consumption from sandier soils.

The typical Fiano has flavors of hazelnut, green apple, and pear, developing notes of beeswax and acacia honey with age, and tasters often identify a smoky, flinty character. Some producers use skin maceration to increase the aromatics, weight, and richness of the wine. Fiano is found in Campania, Sicily, Puglia, Molise, and Basilicata. The aromatic Puglian variety called Fiano Minutolo, or Fiano Aromatico, is unrelated.

Grillo: A natural crossing of Catarratto Bianco Lucido and Zibibbo, Grillo first appeared relatively recently in western Sicily, in the late 19^th century. It is resistant to heat and drought but sensitive to sunburn, and it oxidizes easily. With high acidity and full body, Grillo is known for higher-quality Marsala production as well as crisp, herbal, dry white wines.

Winemakers generally favor reductive winemaking for Grillo and are careful to preserve the variety’s thiols and the resulting flavors of cassis, grapefruit, and passion fruit, which sometimes evoke comparisons to Sauvignon Blanc. There are two biotypes, Grillo Vecchio and Grillo Nuovo, the latter of which is more commonly planted, as it is less susceptible to millerandage. In addition to its presence in Sicily, Grillo can be found in Puglia, and some Rossese Bianco vines planted in Liguria have been shown to be genetically identical to Grillo.

Red Grapes

Frappato: An offspring of Sangiovese and half-sibling of Nerello Mascalese and Gaglioppo, Frappato is found primarily in southeastern Sicily, in the areas surrounding Vittoria, Ragusa, and Siracusa. It is very late ripening, withstands hot and dry conditions, and performs best in red, sandy calcareous soils, resulting in more fragrant wines. Frappato is less vigorous than other Sicilian varieties and is often pruned with the Guyot system to increase production.

Because Frappato is a reductive variety, winemakers generally use frequent pumpovers or rack-and-return to increase oxygen flow and avoid off-flavors. As a varietal wine, Frappato is pale colored, light bodied, and low in tannin, with flavors of strawberry, violets, and dried herbs. Refreshing and juicy, it can be served chilled. Frappato is a common blending partner with Nero d’Avola. In Cerasuolo di Vittoria DOCG, for example, it performs a softening role. Frappato is also grown in Puglia.

Nerello Mascalese: A natural crossing of Sangiovese and Mantonico Bianco, Nerello Mascalese is often compared to Sangiovese and Nebbiolo as one of Italy’s best and most refined red grapes. It is named for the Mascali plain, in northeastern Sicily, and it is the signature grape of Mount Etna, Faro, and other areas in northeastern Sicily. Thin skinned and large berried, Nerello Mascalese is late ripening and very vigorous; old, pre-phylloxera vines, which are prevalent in the area and produce less fruit, and the use of alberello training help limit yields.

Alberello bush vine in Frank Cornelissen’s Etna vineyard (Credit: Michael Markarian)

Nerello Mascalese is light colored and high in tannin, with flavors of sour cherry, tobacco, aromatic herbs, and minerals. The higher altitudes of Mount Etna are key to its full phenolic ripening and development of floral finesse. At lower elevations where it is harvested earlier, the variety makes wines can show riper fruit but more vegetal and bitter astringency. Nerello Mascalese is also grown in western Sicily at much higher yields and authorized for Marsala production, and it can be found across the Strait of Messina in Calabria.

Nero d’Avola: Officially listed as Calabrese in the national registry, this red grape is more commonly called Nero d’Avola, named for the town of Avola, on the coast of southeastern Sicily. It buds early and ripens late (although two weeks earlier than Frappato), and it is planted primarily in warm, dry areas, including most of Sicily. Nero d’Avola tolerates heat and highly saline soils and retains acidity even in warm temperatures. It is often trained low to the ground to absorb heat.

Rich in anthocyanins, Nero d’Avola has the deepest color of the main Sicilian red varieties. There are many clones and biotypes that have adapted over the centuries to Sicily’s terroirs. Nero d’Avola wines generally have rich texture, ripe fruit, and salinity, with flavors of dark cherries and spicy and aromatic herbs. A range of varietal wines are produced, including some with new oak and sweet passito versions. In Cerasuolo di Vittoria DOCG, Nero d’Avola is blended with Frappato, elevating the blend’s richness, structure, and color.

Primitivo: One of the top five most planted red grapes of Italy, Primitivo is found primarily in Puglia, with some plantings in Campania. It is genetically the same as Zinfandel in California and Crljenak Kaštelanski, or Tribidrag, in Croatia, where it originated. Primitivo ripens unevenly within individual bunches, and it is one of the first grapes to be harvested in Italy (its Italian name refers to its early maturation).

Primitivo accumulates sugar easily and results in high-alcohol wines. Historically, the grape was used as vino da taglio, the “cutting wine” included in blends to boost body and alcohol in poorer vintages or lighter wines from the north. It suffered because of the European Union’s vine pull incentives in the late 20^th century, when many of Puglia’s centenary Primitivo vines were removed. New plantings have been rebounding, however, based on the commercial success of Primitivo and Zinfandel, with an increase of nearly 40% in the first decade of the 21^st century. Red and rosato wines are made, as are sweet passito and fortified wines.

Source: Italian Wine Central, 2022 data

Abruzzo

Located about halfway down the eastern side of the Italian peninsula, between the Apennines and the Adriatic Sea, Abruzzo—like its northern neighbor Marche—is a transitional region from north-central to southern Italy. The climate becomes more Mediterranean, Sangiovese gives way to Montepulciano, and the territory of the Etruscans and Papal States transitions into Magna Graecia. The ancient Greeks went as far north on the Adriatic coast as the city of Ancona, in the Marche.

Abruzzo was originally called Aprutium, named after the Praetutii, an Italic tribe that lived in the early city of Interamnia (modern-day Teramo). The wines of Abruzzo were well known during the Roman era. During the Middle Ages, the Medici bankers of Florence ruled over parts of Abruzzo. Some suggest these close ties were a reason for Sangiovese’s migration from the south to Tuscany, and for the connection between Abruzzo’s Montepulciano grape and the Tuscan town and Sangiovese-based wine region of the same name.

Abruzzo is mostly mountainous and hilly. It is one of the greenest parts of Europe, with much of the region forested and conserved as national parkland. The snowcapped mountains of the Gran Sasso d’Italia massif include the highest peak of the Apennines, Corno Grande, at over 2,900 meters (9,500 feet) above sea level, the highest point in Italy outside the Alps and Mount Etna.

The mezzadria system, in which sharecropper tenants farmed the land and split the profits with landlords, was common here until it was dissolved in the mid-20^th century, and many farmers grew wheat, olives, cereals, and other crops in addition to wine grapes. Phylloxera significantly reduced vineyard land, and many people left rural areas to escape poverty and seek employment in new industries. Today, Abruzzo is a major contributor to Italy’s bulk wine production, and its wine industry is dominated by co-ops. Most of the region’s production is table wine, and less than one-third is at the DOP level.

Abruzzo has two DOCGs, seven DOCs (four of which cover nearly the entire region), and nine IGPs (with one that covers the entire region). Production has been increasing in recent years, with more than 3.1 million hectoliters (34.8 million cases) of wine made from 32,650 hectares (80,700 acres) of vineyards in 2022. The most planted grapes are Montepulciano (57%) and the Trebbiano varieties (29%), including both the common Trebbiano Toscano and the higher-quality Trebbiano Abruzzese.

Montepulciano

Montepulciano, Italy’s second most planted red grape, considered a workhorse variety, most likely originated in the mountainous Peligna valley of Abruzzo and plays a starring role in most of the region’s DOC/Gs. Because it accumulates sugar easily but its pip tannins ripen very slowly, colder, mountainous terroirs are preferred for achieving slow, even ripening and for avoiding unripe flavors. Montepulciano is planted nearly everywhere, however, including areas that are much warmer, and the wines range from simple and cheerful to concentrated and ageworthy.

The region-wide Montepulciano d’Abruzzo DOC requires a minimum of 85% Montepulciano, with some subzones requiring higher percentages or monovarietal wines. Two well-regarded subzones, Terre dei Vestini and Terre di Casauria, both in the province of Pescara, require at least 90% and 100% Montepulciano, respectively, along with higher minimum alcohol, lower maximum yields, and longer aging. Within Vestini is the important wine district Loreto Aprutino, home to one of Abruzzo’s iconic producers, Valentini.

Vines in Montepulciano (Credit: GuildSomm)

Montepulciano d’Abruzzo has a maximum elevation of 600 meters (1,970 feet) generally, or up to 700 meters (2,300 feet) for vineyards with direct southern exposure. Riserva wines require a minimum aging of two years, with at least nine months in barrel, while some subzones have stricter aging requirements.

The Montepulciano d’Abruzzo Colline Teramane subzone was elevated to its own separate DOCG in 2003 and was recently renamed Colline Teramane Montepulciano d’Abruzzo DOCG to emphasize the place rather than the grape variety. It covers a large area with clay-based soils in the northern province of Teramo. Wines must be made from a minimum of 90% Montepulciano, with the remainder exclusively from Sangiovese; in the broader DOC, several red grapes are allowed.

Colline Teramane requires lower maximum yields and higher minimum alcohol than the general DOC. The DOCG requires a minimum aging of one year, with at least two months in bottle; the Riserva level requires at least three years of aging, with one year in barrel and two months in bottle. Abruzzo’s most famous producers, Valentini and Emidio Pepe, eschew the DOCG and bottle their reds under Montepulciano d’Abruzzo DOC instead.

Montepulciano is high in anthocyanins, resulting not only in deeply colored red wines but also in a dark style of rosato that is more pale red than pink, obtaining its color with little or no maceration time on the skins. Cerasuolo d’Abruzzo DOC, named for this cherry color, is for rosato wines based on a minimum of 85% Montepulciano. A Superiore version requires at least 90% Montepulciano, with slightly higher minimum alcohol and aging.

Trebbiano

While Italy’s widely planted Trebbiano Toscano can be high yielding and indistinctive, lending itself to wines and products of process, such as vin santo, balsamic vinegar, and brandy, the unrelated Trebbiano Abruzzese is one of Italy’s highest-quality white grape varieties. The name of the grape, however, is not equivalent to the wine made in the region-wide appellation Trebbiano d’Abruzzo DOC, which can come from a minimum of 85% combined Trebbiano Toscano, Trebbiano Abruzzese, and/or Bombino Bianco, with up to 15% other authorized grapes.

Cerasuolo

Cerasuolo comes from the Italian word for “cherry,” and, until the 1970s, this was an unofficial term to describe the darker color of Italian rosato. In Abruzzo, Cerasuolo d’Abruzzo DOC is named for the cherry color of its rosato wines. In Sicily, however, Cerasuolo di Vittoria DOCG is not a rosato but a red wine, named for either the cherry flavor of the wine or the red color of the terra rossa soils.

Trebbiano Abruzzese has been mistakenly identified as Bombino Bianco, Passerina, and other varieties. Some producers estimate that only 20% of the so-called Trebbiano grapes grown in Abruzzo are truly Trebbiano Abruzzese, which is typically co-planted and blended with Trebbiano Toscano and Bombino Bianco. The variety has high acidity, but the acidity drops if the grapes are overripe. Pick timing is crucial and has been misjudged in the past when Trebbiano Abruzzese was mistaken for other white grapes or simply harvested along with them.

While Montepulciano performs best in cooler, mountainous terroirs, where longer hanging times can be achieved, Trebbiano Abruzzese is better suited to the gently rolling hills closer to the coast, where there is more sunlight and less humidity. Although the DOC does not require it, some producers and iconic bottlings, such as Valentini’s Trebbiano d’Abruzzo and Tiberio’s Fonte Canale, focus exclusively on Trebbiano Abruzzese. When made well, it has delicate aromas of orchard fruits and white flowers, a creamy texture, and a mineral edge.

Other Regions of Abruzzo

Abruzzo DOC, which has the same boundaries as Montepulciano d’Abruzzo, Cerasuolo d’Abruzzo, and Trebbiano d’Abruzzo, is an overarching DOC for a wide range of dry, sparkling, and sweet passito wines. Varietal wines from grapes such as Passerina, Pecorino, Cococciola, Malvasia, and Montonico are permitted to be labeled with the name of the grape variety before the DOC name (for example, Passerina d’Abruzzo DOC), giving the misleading impression that they have their own denominations. Sparkling wines made from native grape varieties using the tank method can be labeled Trabocco, an unofficial term trademarked by the consorzio and named for trabocchi, the fishing platforms at the end of piers that are common on the Adriatic coast.

In 2023, four DOCs—Abruzzo, Montepulciano d’Abruzzo, Cerasuolo d’Abruzzo, and Trebbiano d’Abruzzo—simultaneously launched new subzones, largely based on Abruzzo’s four provinces. They are Colline Pescaresi (Pescara province), Colline Teramane (Teramo province), Terre di Chieti (Chieti province), and Terre Aquilane or Terre de L’Aquila (L’Aquila province). There is an exception for Montepulciano d’Abruzzo, because the name Colline Teramane is already used for a separate DOCG there. In Montepulciano d’Abruzzo, the Colline Teramane subzone is instead called San Martino sulla Marrucina, named for the commune of the same name. Other changes were also introduced, including adding Superiore and Riserva levels where they did not already exist, and making those levels exclusive to, and required for, the subzones. Abruzzo DOC also introduced a new rosato category, based on a minimum of 85% Montepulciano, making it a parallel to Cerasuolo d’Abruzzo.

Abruzzo received its second DOCG in 2019 when Tullum DOCG, also called Terre Tollesi DOCG, was elevated from a DOC. Tullum DOCG is near the coast of the southern Chieti province and focuses on varietal white wines made of Pecorino or Passerina, reds made of a minimum of 95% Montepulciano, and sparkling wines made of a minimum of 60% Chardonnay. A Riserva level for reds requires at least two years of aging, including six months in barrel. The DOCG has only 19 planted hectares. Two small DOCs also in the Chieti province, Ortona DOC and Villamagna DOC, require a minimum of 95% Montepulciano for their red wines, with Ortona also allowing whites based on the Trebbiano varieties.

Molise

The region of Molise is the second smallest in Italy (after Valle d’Aosta) in both population and land area. It was administratively part of the Abruzzo region until the 1960s and has much in common culturally, historically, and geographically with its northern neighbor. Like Abruzzo, it is very mountainous, and, although it has a coastline, the heights rise swiftly inland. Molise’s most planted grape varieties, like Abruzzo’s, are Montepulciano (51%) and Trebbiano (12%).

Molise makes a significant amount of wine considering its small size, producing 513,000 hectoliters (5.7 million cases) of wine from 5,450 hectares (13,400 acres) of vineyards in 2022. An overwhelming majority is table wine, and Molise is tied with its southern neighbor Puglia for the lowest percentage of wine at the DOC/G level (7%). Co-op and bulk production are common. Molise has no DOCGs, four noncontiguous DOCs, and two IGPs.

While Molise is not widely known in the wine world, even within Italy, it is the home of the important local Tintilia grape. This red grape, named after the Italian word tinto (dyed) for its deep color, appears to be genetically related to grape varieties in Spain and Sardinia, and some believe it originally came from the Iberian Peninsula. It is very low yielding and was nearly abandoned in Molise in favor of more productive varieties, but several old vines survived. Tintilia has been propagated by dedicated producers who see its quality potential as a signature grape of Molise, and more than 100 hectares (250 acres) are planted.

Tintilia wines are typically high in acidity, full bodied, deeply colored, and lightly aromatic, with spicy, floral, and herbal flavors. The grape performs best above 400 meters (1,300 feet) in elevation. Tintilia del Molise DOC, established in 2011, allows red and rosato wines based on a minimum of 95% Tintilia and mandates a minimum elevation of 200 meters (650 feet). A Riserva version for reds requires a higher ABV, at 13%, and a minimum aging of two years.

Molise’s other denominations include Biferno DOC, in the eastern province of Campobasso, toward the Adriatic coast; Pentro di Isernia DOC, in the western Isernia province, farther inland; and the overarching Molise DOC. More than 70% of Molise’s production is red wine, and the DOCs authorize a wide range of wine styles and both varietal wines and blends from international and native grapes, such as Cabernet Sauvignon, Aglianico, Montepulciano, Chardonnay, Fiano, and Falanghina.

Puglia

Puglia (or Apulia) forms the southeastern spur and heel of Italy’s boot, with a long stretch of coastline along the Adriatic and Ionian Seas. It is less mountainous than most of Italy and, like the northern Po River valley, is one of the only areas of the country with flat and fertile plains. It has long been an agricultural region, focused on exports of olives, wheat, barley, oats, table grapes, almonds, figs, and cash crops. Puglia produces nearly half of Italy’s olive oil. Wine has historically been defined by co-op production of bulk wine, high volume, and vino da taglio.

While largely warm, flat, and fertile, Puglia has some cooler, higher-elevation areas, such as the Daunian mountains in the north. Valleys are formed by rivers that rise in the Apennines and empty into the Adriatic Sea. The Fortore River forms the border between Molise and Puglia in the north, and the Ofanto River borders the Murge plateau in central Puglia.

The ancient Apulian tribes most likely arrived from Illyria across the Adriatic Sea at the end of the Bronze Age and beginning of the Iron Age, around the first millennium BCE. When the Greeks arrived on the Salento peninsula, they established city-states that became some of the most important wealth centers and military ports of Magna Graecia. The Romans had strongholds and built roads, such as the ancient Appian Way, stretching from Rome to Brindisi, Puglia.

After the fall of Rome, Puglia was an area of dispute and conquest by the Normans, Lombards, Aragonese, Ottomans, Saracens from North Africa, and others. It was ruled by the Byzantine Empire in the Middle Ages, and, during this period, its monks were responsible for sustaining viticulture. Puglia’s famous trulli, cone-shaped dwellings made of limestone, were present by the 14^th or 15^th century CE. It is believed that residents would quickly dismantle these structures when representatives from the Kingdom of Naples came to collect taxes.

Today, Puglia has the third-largest area under vine of any Italian region, with 94,250 hectares (232,800 acres) of planted vineyards. Many growers took advantage of EU financial subsidies to pull up vineyards, and many old bush vines were lost in the process, in favor of high-yielding varieties. With these higher yields, the region is second only to Veneto in wine production, making more than 10.8 million hectoliters (120 million cases), much of it basic table wine. Like Molise, only 7% of Puglia’s production is at the DOC/G level. The region has 4 DOCGs, 28 DOCs, and 6 IGPs, and Puglia produces a higher volume of IGP wine and vino da tavola than any other region.

Castel del Monte

Puglia was particularly prosperous under the rule of the13^th-century Holy Roman Emperor Frederick II, who built the octagon-shaped Castel del Monte, a mystical-looking fortress that is now a UNESCO World Heritage site. The castle sits on a hill of the Alta Murgia, the highest part of the Murge plateau, in north-central Puglia, south of the Ofanto River. The surrounding area has higher elevations, a rugged landscape, and calcareous limestone rock formations. Castel del Monte lends its name to three of Puglia’s DOCGs and one overarching DOC.

Castel del Monte (Credit: Michael Markarian)

The most important grape of the Castel del Monte area is Uva di Troia, also called Nero di Troia. Plantings have increased in the 21^st century, both for monovarietal wines and for adding freshness and finesse to Puglian blends. Uva di Troia yields wines that are medium bodied and well structured, with flavors of red cherries, red currants, orange blossom, black pepper, tobacco, and underbrush.

Castel del Monte Rosso Riserva DOCG requires a minimum of 65% Uva di Troia, while Castel del Monte Nero di Troia Riserva DOCG is for varietal wines with at least 90% of the grape variety. Both DOCGs require a minimum aging of two years, including at least one year in wood, and a minimum 13% ABV.

Castel del Monte is also home to a unique rosato-only DOCG based on the red grape Bombino Nero, which is required at a minimum of 90% in Castel del Monte Bombino Nero DOCG. The fragrant Bombino Nero has thin skins and a crisp and racy acidity, making it more suitable for rosato than many of Puglia’s bolder red grapes. The rosato wines are fresh, fruity, and floral, with flavors of red berries and citrus, and the DOCG sets a maximum of 10 grams of residual sugar per liter.

The overarching Castel del Monte DOC is for white, rosato, red, and sparkling wines made from a wide range of international and native grape varieties, including Aglianico, Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, and the white Bombino Bianco (unrelated to Bombino Nero).

Tavoliere DOC, or Tavoliere delle Puglie DOC, is to the north of Castel del Monte and also focuses on Uva di Troia. Its red and rosato wines require a minimum of 65% of the grape, and, if labeled Nero di Troia, they must have a minimum of 90%. Red wines at the Riserva level require a minimum aging of two years, including at least eight months in wood.

Gioia del Colle and Manduria

Moving south from Castel del Monte, past the capital city of Bari and toward central Puglia, Primitivo gains prominence. While the grape previously existed here under different names, it was named Primitivo by Don Francesco Filippo Indellicati, a priest and amateur botanist, who encouraged its planting in the Gioia del Colle area in the late 18^th century. From there, it spread farther south to the area around the town of Manduria, in the Taranto province, the other main region known for Primitivo today.

The Gioia del Colle area, just south of Bari, sits on the Murge plateau, and vineyards are planted on hillsides at elevations between 250 and 500 meters (820 and 1,640 feet) above sea level. There is a wide diurnal temperature range, and the soils are calcareous limestone with some red clay. The wines can be lighter and more graceful, with higher acidity, than those coming from the flatter, warmer lands around Manduria, which are weightier and rounder, with more ripeness and higher alcohol.

Primitivo di Manduria DOC is for red wines with a minimum of 85% Primitivo. The Riserva level requires a minimum aging of two years, with at least nine months in barrel, along with a minimum 14% ABV, up from 13.5% ABV for Normale. The separate Primitivo di Manduria Dolce Naturale DOCG, elevated in 2011, is for sweet passito wines based on 100% Primitivo. The grapes must be air-dried to achieve a minimum potential alcohol of 16%, and the final wines require a minimum 13% ABV and at least 50 grams of residual sugar per liter.

Gioia del Colle DOC allows varietal wines made of 100% Primitivo, as well as red and rosato blends based on 50%–60% Primitivo, along with Malvasia Nera, Montepulciano, Negroamaro, and/or Sangiovese. Primitivo Riserva requires a minimum aging of two years and a minimum 14% ABV, up from 13% ABV for varietal Primitivo. White blends in the DOC are based on Trebbiano Toscano, and sweet dessert wines here are based on Aleatico rather than Primitivo. These wines may be passito or fortified (in a style similar to the region-wide Aleatico di Puglia DOC).

Salento Peninsula

In the southern third of Puglia on the Salento peninsula, the most important grape variety is Negroamaro. It is named for the dark color of its berries and was originally thought to be a Greek import, although there is little evidence that it is related to any Greek varieties. Negroamaro is an abundant and dependable grape that withstands heat extremely well and doesn’t lose acidity in warmer temperatures, making it suitable for this southern climate.

There are several different Negroamaro clones that yield many different styles of wine, from structured and full-bodied reds intended for longer aging, to finer and less structured styles ideal for rosato production. The red wines are typically full bodied and high in tannin, with flavors of black fruit, tobacco, and black licorice. The rosato wines can be as deeply colored as a pale red, and flavorful, sometimes with residual sugar.

The most well-known denomination for Negroamaro is Salice Salentino DOC, which for red and rosato wines requires a minimum of 75% of the grape variety, or a minimum of 90% if varietally labeled. It also allows varietal and sparkling wines based on Chardonnay, Fiano, and Pinot Bianco, and sweet passito and fortified wines based on Aleatico. The red Riserva wines based on Negroamaro require a minimum aging of two years, including at least six months in wood.

A number of other DOCs in the area feature Negroamaro, such as Brindisi DOC, which requires a minimum of 70% Negroamaro for red and rosato wines, or a minimum of 85% if varietally labeled. The DOC also allows white and sparkling wines made of Chardonnay, Malvasia Bianca, Fiano, Sauvignon Blanc, and other grapes.

White Grapes in Puglia

While Puglia is mostly known for red and rosato wines, it does have white grapes of distinction. Verdeca was historically known as a base wine for vermouth production but is increasingly used for standout monovarietal wines and white blends. Named for the green color of its berries, it is genetically identical to the Greek variety Lagorthi. Verdeca is also a parent, along with Zinfandel, of the Croatian red grape Plavina. Verdeca white wines are fresh and crisp, with delicate herbal and green apple flavors.

Bombino Bianco is unrelated to Bombino Nero, but both are so named because they have clusters that resemble the shape of a cuddling infant (bambino in Italian). Bombino Bianco has long been confused with other Italian white grape varieties, such as Trebbiano Abruzzese, but has potential for high-quality wines that are creamy and fresh, with high acidity and flavors of peach, almonds, and anise. Pampanuto is a lower-acid white variety found in northern and central Puglia. It is usually blended with higher-acid grapes such as Bombino Bianco in DOC and IGT wines. Other white grapes gaining attention in central Puglia include the aromatic Minutolo, also known as Fiano Minutolo or Fiano Aromatico, and Bianco d’Alessano, which is often blended with Verdeca. Much of the Trebbiano Toscano in Puglia is used for vermouth production.

Campania

Home to Naples, Italy’s third-largest city, Campania is the most populous and industrialized region of the south. It is known for the ancient ruins of Pompeii, in the shadow of Mount Vesuvius, and the tourist resorts along the striking cliffs of the Amalfi Coast and on the island of Capri, in the Tyrrhenian Sea. This was the first part of Magna Graecia on the mainland settled by the ancient Greeks, who founded the city of Neopolis, today’s Naples. Two of the last remaining active volcanoes on Italy’s mainland—Vesuvius and Campi Flegrei—are on the Gulf of Naples.

Vineyard on the slopes of Vesuvius (Credit: Adobe Stock)

The Romans referred to the area south of Rome as Campania Felix (“blessed country”) for its fertile soils and abundant agriculture. The legendary Falernian wine came from here, and distinctions were made between wines grown in vineyard sites of different quality levels, elevations, and classifications. Pompeii was an important wine production center and wine market outside Rome. Excavated artifacts of the city preserved under volcanic ash by the eruption of 79 CE indicate the vibrant wine culture that existed: thermopolia, taverns that served wine and hot food; dolia, large terra-cotta jars for fermentation; and frescoes depicting Bacchus, grapes, vineyards, and wine consumption.

Campania is still a major wine producer, with an output of 1.5 million hectoliters (16.4 million cases) of wine from its 25,600 hectares (63,250 acres) of planted vineyards. The wines of Campania are almost evenly split between red and white, and the region’s top grape variety is Aglianico, with 34% of all plantings. More than four-fifths of Campania’s production is IGP and table wine, with only 19% at the DOC/G level. The region has 4 DOCGs, 15 DOCs, and 10 IGPs.

Aglianico-Based Denominations

While Campania is known for its Mediterranean coastline, the inland provinces of Avellino and Benevento are cooler and more mountainous. Although its name likely derives from the Spanish llano (plain), Aglianico is generally grown on hillsides and steep mountainous slopes, near volcanoes and ski resorts that receive significant snowfall in the winter. Far from the image of the warm coast, this pre-alpine area has a continental climate, with risks of spring frost and fall rains.

The highly structured and ageworthy Aglianico is the focus of two of the region’s DOCGs, earning it the nickname Barolo of the South. Aglianico is an ancient grape variety that has adapted to its terroirs over time. There are three main biotypes associated with its three main growing areas in Campania and Basilicata. The most famous of these, Taurasi DOCG, covers 17 communes in the Avellino province, an area known as Irpinia. It became southern Italy’s first DOCG in 1993 and remained the only one for a decade.

Ancient Counterfeit Wine

The wines of Pompeii were so famous and sought after in ancient Rome that there is evidence of wine counterfeiting during this time. Archeologists have discovered fake Pompeii merchant stamps used on ceramic transport jars produced outside the region.

The volcanic soils of the Taurasi area resisted phylloxera until the 1930s. Phylloxera was followed by World War II and major earthquakes that compounded its devastation in the area. Producers were encouraged to replant with more prolific grape varieties, such as Trebbiano, Sangiovese, Montepulciano, and Barbera. Largely because of the efforts of Mastroberardino, Aglianico remained a focus of the Irpinia region. There are still ungrafted Aglianico vines in the area, including some that are 200 years old—perhaps the oldest vines in Italy. Cordon spur and Guyot training are common, although the old methods, such as alberata training of vines to live trees, are still used as well.

The Taurasi biotype is the most floral of the Aglianicos and, with an aroma of red rose, is the most frequently compared to Nebbiolo. Taurasi’s hilly terrain, also inviting comparisons to Piedmont, is bisected by the Calore River, with wide diurnal temperature variations, warm summers, and cold winters with heavy snowfall. Most vines are planted between 300 and 600 meters (980 and 1,970 feet) above sea level, although some are at nearly 800 meters (2,620 feet) in elevation. While there are no official subzones, the DOCG covers a large area, and the differences in elevation, soil type, and climate result in diverse styles of wine, giving producers options for showcasing the character of a particular commune or blending wines from various sites across the denomination.

The northwestern communes of Venticano, Pietradefusi, and Torre Le Nocelle are at the lowest elevation, on calcareous marl soils, and their temperatures are warmer. Grapes are generally harvested the earliest here, and the wines are rounder and fleshier. The western area, around the communes of Lapio, San Mango sul Calore, Montemiletto, and Montefalcione (overlapping with Fiano di Avellino DOCG), has steep slopes and clay and volcanic soils, with wines that are refined and flinty. The northernmost area, around the communes of Bonito, Fontanarosa, Luogosano, Mirabella Eclano, and Santangelo all’Esca, has more gravel mixed with clay and volcanic ash. The greatest concentration of volcanic material is around the hamlet of Taurasi, an area that is less rugged and has excellent drainage. It is about 350 to 400 meters (1,150 to 1,300 feet) above sea level, and the wines produced here have great depth and balance.

The southernmost area, around the communes of Castelvetere sul Calore, Paternopoli, Castelfranci, and Montemarano, has the highest elevation and coolest climate and is the last to harvest. The soils have more loam and clay, and the wines are among the most powerful and ageworthy produced in the region.

Taurasi DOCG is for red wines only, requiring a minimum of 85% Aglianico, although monovarietal bottlings are common. The Normale wines require a minimum aging of three years, with at least one year in wood, while the Riserva level requires four years of aging, with 18 months in wood.

To the northwest of Taurasi in the Benevento province is Aglianico del Taburno DOCG, elevated to DOCG status in 2011 and covering 13 communes, mainly on the eastern side of Mount Taburno. This limestone massif has calcareous clay soils, and, compared with Taurasi, the area is generally cooler, with considerably more rainfall (up to 1,600 millimeters, or 63 inches, annually) and even wider diurnal variations. Taburno is less famous than its neighbor and has historically been dominated by co-op production.

The Aglianico wines from Taburno typically have high acidity, with great freshness and notes of tobacco and herbs. The Aglianico biotype associated with this area is often called Aglianico Amaro, referring not to bitterness but to its particularly high acidity levels.

Aglianico del Taburno DOCG allows both red and rosato wines, made of a minimum of 85% Aglianico. The Normale reds must be aged for a minimum of two years, while Riserva versions require three years of aging, with at least one year in barrel and six months in bottle.

Other Wines of Irpinia and Sannio

The Avellino province roughly corresponds to an area known culturally and geographically as Irpinia, named for the ancient Hirpini tribe, and the Benevento province corresponds to an area called Sannio, named for the ancient Samnites. In these cool, inland, mountainous areas, in addition to Aglianico, there are several important white grape varieties and denominations, including Campania’s two white wine DOCGs.

Overlapping the western edge of Taurasi is Fiano di Avellino DOCG. By the mid-20^th century, Fiano had largely been forgotten and abandoned until Antonio Mastroberardino sought out old vines of Fiano remaining in some vineyards around Avellino. Mastroberardino produced its first vintage of Fiano in 1945, making only 30 bottles. The grape’s presence slowly grew from there, but it remained little known and extremely rare through the 1970s. Fiano di Avellino was first established as a DOC in 1978, then upgraded to DOCG in 2003. It is a large area, covering 26 communes around the Sabato and Calore River valleys and the foothills of Mount Partenio, in the Apennines. Some of the snowcapped mountain peaks reach as high as 2,000 meters (6,600 feet) above sea level, and the Fiano vines are generally planted on slopes between 300 and 650 meters (980 and 2,130 feet) in elevation.

The soils of Fiano di Avellino are mostly calcareous clay with some volcanic elements, although given the large size of the denomination, they vary in composition. The eastern part of the DOCG has clay-dominated soils and yields pristine, mineral, lacy Fiano wines. The southern sector is at the lowest elevation and has loosely packed sand. The wines made in this area are lighter bodied, fruity, and best for earlier consumption. The northern section is rich in volcanic tuff and clay, and the Sabato River has a more moderating influence here, resulting in bigger, more savory wines. The northwestern area is higher up in the foothills, with very poor, rocky soils and a thin layer of volcanic ash. The Fiano wines produced here are richer, more powerful, and the smokiest and most ageworthy examples of the grape.

Notable crus for Fiano include Lapio and Candida in the east, Montefredane in the north, and Summonte in the northwest. Winemaking and viticultural decisions, such as harvest timing, length of skin maceration, and time spent on lees, contribute to the diversity of styles.

Fiano di Avellino DOCG requires a minimum of 85% Fiano, and the remainder of the blend may include Coda di Volpe, Greco, and/or Trebbiano Toscano. Riserva wines require a minimum aging of one year and a minimum 12% ABV, increased from 11.5% for Normale wines. The DOCG allows still white wines only.

In the northern portion of the Avellino province is Campania’s other white wine DOCG, the smaller Greco di Tufo DOCG, also authorized in 2003. It spans eight communes on both sides of the Sabato River, up to the border with the Benevento province, and is known for volcanic soils with alluvial deposits from the river. The town of Tufo was named after the soft volcanic rock used for construction. The area around the commune of Tufo has extreme viticulture on very steep slopes, with vineyards planted between 500 and 600 meters (1,640 and 1,970 feet) above sea level. The volcanic soils are rich in clay, limestone, and gravel, with chalk and sulfur elements, and very poor in nutrients. The highly regarded communes of Santa Paolina and Montefusco are at slightly lower elevations, with less-steep slopes, and the soils have larger amounts of clay, organic matter, and iron.

Greco wines have a deeper yellow hue when compared with wines made with other Campanian grapes, such as Fiano, and they are more opulent, with higher alcohol, fuller body, and an oily, tannic texture—often described by locals as “a red dressed like a white.” Greco di Tufo DOCG allows still and sparkling wines made with a minimum of 85% Greco and the remainder Coda di Volpe. The white Riserva wines require at least one year of aging. Spumante wines must be made in the traditional method (metodo classico) and can range from sweetness levels of extra brut to extra dry. Normale sparkling wines must spend at least 18 months on the lees, and a minimum of 36 months is required for Riserva.

Although Falanghina is grown all over Campania and authorized in many DOC blends, it is most closely associated with the northern Benevento province. Here, the Mustilli winery, in Sant’Agata dei Goti, resurrected ancient varieties from old vineyards that were facing extinction, identified the local Falanghina Beneventana variety, and bottled the first monovarietal Falanghina in 1979. Falanghina has surged in popularity over the past few decades, with modern fermentation techniques designed to preserve its aromas and produce clean, fruity, easy-drinking wines. The number of planted hectares of the two Falanghina varieties nearly doubled between 2000 and 2010, and, in 2010, 4.8 million bottles of Falanghina were produced in the province of Benevento alone.

Falanghina del Sannio DOC, established in 2011, covers the entire Benevento province, allowing still white, sparkling, and sweet late-harvest and passito wines based on a minimum of 85% Falanghina. The spumante wines can be made using the tank method, in which case they must range from extra brut to extra dry, or they can be made in the traditional method, requiring a minimum of 12 months on the lees and a final sweetness level of extra brut or brut. All styles can be labeled with one of four subzones: Guardia Sanframondi (Guardiolo), Sant’Agata dei Goti, Solopaca, or Taburno.

The overarching Sannio DOC, with the same four subzones, is for a wide variety of white, rosato, red, sparkling, and sweet wines in the Benevento province. They may be blends or varietally labeled, or they may feature dual varieties on the label (for example, Aglianico-Piedirosso). The white blends must include a minimum of 50% Malvasia Bianca di Candia and/or Trebbiano Toscano, and the red and rosato wines a minimum of 50% Sangiovese.

The overarching Irpinia DOC, elevated from IGT to DOC in 2005, serves the same purpose for the Avellino province, with white wines that must include both Fiano and Greco; red and rosato wines based on a minimum of 70% Aglianico; and other sparkling, sweet, and varietal wines. Red wines from 24 communes can be labeled with the subzone of Campi Taurasini if they include at least 85% Aglianico. These wines might be considered more youthful versions of Taurasi.

The white grape Coda di Volpe Bianca, named for clusters shaped like a fox’s tail, may be bottled as a varietal wine in Sannio or Irpinia DOC, but it is more often used as a blending grape. It has lower acidity and a round, creamy texture that can soften the structure of Fiano or Greco.

Coastal and Island Areas

Closer to the coast in the province of Napoli, Vesuvio DOC is named for the famous volcano and allows a wide range of white, rosato, red, sparkling, and sweet passito and fortified wines. The white wines must include a minimum of 45% Coda di Volpe and/or Caprettone and may also include Falanghina, Greco, and other white grapes. The red and rosato wines must include a minimum 50% Piedirosso; these can also include Aglianico, Olivella, Sciascinoso, and others. The white, red, rosato, and spumante wines may be labeled Lacryma Christi del Vesuvio if they have a higher minimum 12% ABV.

Some experts believe that Coda di Volpe and Caprettone are the same grape variety, although they are very different in both the vineyard and the glass. The vines called Coda di Volpe in the Vesuvius area, for example, are more likely Caprettone, which is the more common variety. Caprettone, named for the shape of a goat’s beard, has much smaller berries and clusters. It also has higher acidity than Coda di Volpe, leading many producers to make Caprettone-based sparkling wines.

The red grape Piedirosso (“red feet”) is named for the red color of its stalks. It’s the second most planted red grape in Campania and the top red in the Napoli province, appearing in a number of DOCs and IGTs. It has a pale red color, flavors of red berries and tar, and floral and herbal notes. Because of its lower acidity and softer tannins, Piedirosso is often used as a blending grape with Aglianico.

On the island of Ischia, off the coast of Naples, Ischia DOC allows red blends based on Piedirosso and Guarnaccia, the local name for Grenache. The white and sparkling wines of Ischia rely on the local grapes Forastera and Biancolella, which are both herbal and saline. Forastera has a richer mouthfeel, and Biancolella is brighter and fresher. Varietal and passito Piedirosso wines are also made.

Costa d’Amalfi DOC, best known for the wines of Marisa Cuomo, allows a wide range of white, rosato, red, sparkling, and passito wines. Whites are based on Biancolella, Falanghina, and other grapes, while red and rosato wines are primarily based on Piedirosso, along with Aglianico, Sciascinoso, and others. The wines may be labeled by one of three subzones: Furore, Ravello, or Tramonti, which is especially renowned for its centenarian vineyards.

North of Naples toward Lazio is Falerno del Massica DOC, named for the famous Falernian wine. The DOC features Falanghina-based whites, Aglianico-based reds, and varietal Primitivo.

Source: Italian Wine Central, 2022 data

Basilicata

Southwest of Campania, Basilicata is a mountainous and nearly landlocked region, with small coastlines on the Tyrrhenian Sea and the Gulf of Taranto. This region represents the instep, or arch, of Italy’s boot. There is very little industry here, and agriculture on the rocky, rugged terrain is generally low yielding. In the 20^th century, Basilicata was marked by poverty and emigration from the Italian south. Today, it is perhaps best known for the ancient city of Matera, a UNESCO World Heritage site and the 2019 European Capital of Culture, where caves are carved into the calcareous stone of a steep ravine.

Basilicata produces about 85,000 hectoliters (958,000 cases) of wine from 2,050 hectares (5,000 acres) of vineyards, making up less than 0.2% of Italy’s total wine production. It has one DOCG, four DOCs, and one region-wide IGP. More than four-fifths of its wine is red (82%). As in neighboring Campania, the leading grape variety is Aglianico, with 56% of all plantings.

North of the capital city of Potenza, Basilicata’s most important wine region, Aglianico del Vulture, is adjacent to Campania’s Irpinia. Mount Vulture, named for its seven peaks that resemble the bird of prey with its wings outspread, is an extinct volcano and geologically older than Mount Taurasi and Mount Taburno. The side of the volcano is dotted with scescio, grottoes built into the tuff, first constructed by Albanian refugees fleeing the Ottoman Empire in the 15^th century and later used as wine cellars. Old vine training methods introduced by the Albanians can still be seen in the area, including a capanno (shed or hut), in which three posts are tied together like a tripod. The posts can be positioned to create a canopy and provide protection from sun and wind.

Aglianico del Vulture DOC, established in 1971, represents about a quarter of Basilicata’s total wine production. Unlike Campania’s Aglianico-based denominations, Aglianico del Vulture requires all wines to be made of 100% Aglianico. In addition to red wines, it allows Aglianico-based traditional method sparkling wines, which must spend at least nine months on the lees.

A Superiore version was elevated to a separate DOCG in 2010, as Aglianico del Vulture Superiore DOCG. The DOCG is for red wines made of 100% Aglianico, with a minimum 13.5% ABV, compared with 12.5% ABV in the DOC. The Superiore wines must be aged for at least three years, including one year in barrel and one year in bottle. A Superiore Riserva version must be aged for a minimum five years, with at least two years in barrel and one year in bottle.

Mount Vulture is the only Italian volcano east of the Apennines. The mountain blocks hot winds from northern Africa and is open to the cool breezes of the Adriatic Sea, resulting in a climate that is cooler than that of Taurasi. With less-fertile soils and a large diurnal shift— at higher elevations, it can be up to 20 degrees Celsius (36 degrees Fahrenheit)—the Aglianico grown here has high levels of tannin, acidity, sugar development, and anthocyanins. The Vulture biotype of Aglianico has the highest intensity of fruit expression and flavors.

While Vulture is a large area, covering 15 communes, the key towns for wine production include Barile, Venosa, and Maschito. The volcano’s highest point is just over 1,320 meters (4,330 feet), but all vineyards in the denominations must be planted between 200 and 700 meters (660 and 2,300 feet) above sea level.

There are several different altitudes, expositions, calderas, craters, and lakes on the volcano, providing a variety of terroirs and microclimates. The effusive volcanic activity created many different layers over time. The areas closest to the volcano’s summit have more tuff, while other areas formed from deposits of a large lake have more sedimentary and calcareous soils. Recognizing these different expressions of terroir, there are 70 official contrade (hamlets or districts) that may be listed on labels, although they are not widely known and some producers prefer to label with the name of a commune instead.

Basilicata is also home to varieties from the Malvasia group, including the spicy and aromatic Malvasia Bianca di Basilicata, which some experts believe is the same as Malvasia Bianca Lunga and Malvasia Bianca di Candia, as well as the lightly aromatic but very rare red Malvasia Nera di Basilicata, which is used mainly as a blending grape. Basilicata’s lesser-known DOCs allow wines based on these Malvasias, as well as Sangiovese, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Primitivo, and other grapes.

Calabria

Just south of Basilicata is the region of Calabria, the toe of the Italian boot. This rugged peninsula extends toward Sicily and separates the Tyrrhenian and Ionian Seas. Because of its large coastline, it was the location of several important settlements of Magna Graecia. Cremissa, the ancient name for the city of Cirò, was famous for its temple devoted to wine, and its wines were said to be the reward for winners of the ancient Olympic games. The Greeks moved farther inland in Calabria than they did in other regions, where their settlements were largely coastal.

Today, Calabria’s level of wine production is minimal. Most of the wine regions are on the two coasts. In recent decades, the industry has suffered because of the degradation of ports and infrastructure, an aging workforce, and the EU’s vine pull scheme, which resulted in a 30% decrease in plantings in the first decade of the 21^st century.

With production declining, Calabria now has 8,900 hectares (22,000 acres) of vineyards, producing just 270,000 hectoliters (3 million cases) of wine, the fourth smallest of any Italian region. It has no DOCGs, 9 DOCs, and 10 IGPs. More than three-quarters of its wine production is red, and its top grape is Gaglioppo, which makes up 48% of all plantings. Calabria is largely focused on bulk and table wine, with only 12% of production at the DOC level.

Of Calabria’s nine DOCs, Cirò DOC, named for the city on the Ionian coast, has the most market relevance. White wines must include a minimum of 80% Greco Bianco, while red and rosato wines require at least 80% Gaglioppo. Wines can be labeled with a Classico zone if they come from the communes of Cirò or Cirò Marina. Reds with a minimum 13.5% ABV can be labeled Superiore, and Riserva with at least two years of aging.

Gaglioppo is one of Italy’s most ancient native varieties. It is an offspring of Sangiovese and Mantonico Bianco, and therefore a sibling of both Frappato and Nerello Mascalese. Gaglioppo retains its high acidity in this warm southern region and is resistant to frost but less so to drought. It oxidizes easily and can have a pale red-orange color, with rough tannins and flavors of red berries, dried herbs, and underbrush. Poorly made wines can be astringent, with harsh tannins and acidity, but the best can be reminiscent of a lighter, more saline Nebbiolo or a fresher Châteauneuf-du-Pape.

In the late 1980s, Librandi, the dominant producer in Calabria, introduced its Gravello wine, a so-called Super Calabrian blend of Gaglioppo and Cabernet Sauvignon, aged in French barriques, and labeled as an IGT wine. Later, Cirò DOC was amended to allow Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, and Merlot in blends; these deepen the color and add international appeal. For monovarietal Gaglioppo wines, some winemakers use longer maceration times at cooler fermentation temperatures to help polymerize tannins and stabilize color.

Calabria’s Greco Bianco, unrelated to Campania’s Greco, has a lighter body, is not as tannic, and has a sweeter aromatic profile than Greco. Studies show that it is genetically identical to Malvasia di Lipari and Malvasia di Sardegna, but it is not yet recognized as such in the national registry. Greco Bianco is used only for dry white wines in Cirò DOC but reaches its best quality expression in the sweet passito wines of Greco di Bianco DOC. (Note that Greco Bianco is the grape variety and Greco di Bianco is the denomination.) Named for the commune of Bianco, at the southeastern tip of Calabria, Greco di Bianco DOC requires a minimum of 95% of the Greco Bianco variety and at least one year of aging for the air-dried wines.

Sicily

Separated from the Italian peninsula by just 3 kilometers (2 miles) at the narrowest point of the Strait of Messina, Sicily (Sicilia in Italian) is the largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, at more than 25,000 square kilometers (nearly 10,000 square miles) in size. Only a 20-minute ferry ride from the mainland, the autonomous region of Sicily often feels entirely separate from the rest of Italy. Perhaps more than any other Italian region, Sicily is a mix of cultural influences.

The earliest tribes were the Sicani on the western side of the island and the Siculi (the source of Sicily’s name) in the east. These tribes likely came from the Iberian Peninsula and Calabria, respectively. The Elymi, believed to be from ancient Troy, were in the far northwest. When, in the eighth century BCE, the Phoenicians settled on the western coast and the Greeks on the eastern coast, they brought viticultural knowledge and greatly expanded plantings, although evidence of winemaking in Sicily predates their arrival. The earliest winemaking in Sicily was likely from wild grapes, and the Greeks criticized these wines as weak and unrefined compared with Greece’s best examples.

With its fertile soils, sun-drenched climate, and strategic position in the Mediterranean Sea, Sicily was a frequent target for conquest and rule by outsiders. As a province of the Roman Empire, Sicily served as Rome’s granary for almost six centuries. After the fall of Rome, Sicily was controlled by Vandals, Goths, and Byzantines. The Muslim conquests began in the ninth century CE as armies from northern Africa and Spain invaded the island, and Islamic control of Sicily lasted for nearly two centuries.

Norman rulers from northwestern France arrived in the Middle Ages, succeeded by a line of German (Swabian) kings, most notably King Frederick II. The Spanish crown of Aragon claimed Sicily after overthrowing the French house of Anjou and eventually united it with the Kingdom of Naples, collectively calling the area the Kingdom of Two Sicilies. Periods of rule by the Piedmontese house of Savoy, the Austrian house of Habsburg, the Spanish house of Bourbon, and others culminated with Garibaldi’s forces conquering the island in 1860, when Sicily became part of a united Italy.

Palmenti

Prior to the 20^th century, stone fermentation buildings called palmenti were often housed in Sicily’s large farm complexes. Freshly harvested grapes were brought from the vineyard to the palmento, where they were crushed underfoot and the juice underwent alcoholic fermentation. The stone floors kept the temperature cool, and, in some areas, palmenti were built with levels to make use of gravity during the process. Today, many of Sicily’s historic palmenti are still on display at wineries. They are generally not used for vinification, however, as Italian food production laws prohibit the use of certain surfaces, including volcanic rock.

A common thread throughout Sicily’s history is that it has been valued—and often exploited—for its abundant agricultural resources, including wine. The British merchant John Woodhouse arrived in Marsala in 1770 and saw an opportunity to make cheaper fortified wines in the style of Port and Madeira, investing in the expansion of viticulture and winemaking infrastructure. The vineyard boom continued when phylloxera hit France in the 1860s, and French merchants increasingly turned to Sicily for inexpensive vino da taglio. In the 20^th century, Sicilian wine co-ops were among the first in Italy, and their focus was on large quantities of bulk wine.

A renewed focus on quality wine emerged in the 1970s and 1980s. An important figure in this era was Diego Planeta, who became president of Cantine Settesoli, a high-quality co-op based in Menfi, in 1973, and president of the state-owned Istituto Regionale della Vite e del Vino (IRVV) in 1985. Planeta believed that the Sicilian wine industry had to be exposed to what was happening outside Sicily, sending Sicilian enologists abroad to study modern viticulture and winemaking techniques. The IRVV also planted experimental vineyards to study both native and international grape varieties.

A new wave of Sicilian wineries, winemaking consultants, and quality-minded producers emerged during this period, with the founding of new wineries and younger generations of historic family wineries refocused on quality production, including Marco De Bartoli, COS, Donnafugata, Planeta, and Benanti. While international varieties helped to expand the appeal of Sicilian wine to global export markets, more recently the focus has returned to Sicily’s unique native grapes, including Nero d’Avola and Nerello Mascalese.

Sicily is at the southernmost end of Italian viticulture, stretching below the 37th parallel, farther south than the northern tip of Africa. It has a Mediterranean climate, with abundant sunshine and warmth, but its climate is also the most variable of any Italian region. The average elevation on the island is more than 500 meters (1,640 feet) above sea level, and much of the climatic inconsistency is because of altitude. On this mountainous, hilly island, some areas are blasted with the hot sirocco wind coming from Africa, while others are sheltered by mountain barriers. Most of the island is semiarid, with only the northeastern corner receiving considerable rainfall, and snow is common at higher elevations. The generally warm and dry environment makes organic viticulture possible, and 34% of Sicily’s vineyards are organic.

Today, Sicily has the most vineyard area of any Italian region, with 119,250 hectares (295,000 acres) of plantings. Yet, because of lower yields, lower planting density, and the prevalence of old bush vines, it is only fourth largest in wine production, making 5.9 million hectoliters (65 million cases) of wine in 2022. Only about 20% of Sicilian wine is bottled on the island; much of it is still shipped in bulk to the mainland to be bottled or blended into other wines.

Sicily has 1 DOCG, 23 DOCs, and 7 IGPs, and today 38% of its production is at the DOC/G level—a number that has surged since the island-wide Sicilia DOC was promoted from IGP in 2011. About two-thirds of Sicily’s production is white, and one-third is red and rosato. Sicily’s most planted variety is Catarratto, followed by Nero d’Avola. The largest concentration of plantings is in the western part of the island, particularly the provinces of Trapani, Agrigento, and Palermo, with fewer vines in the eastern provinces.

Mount Etna

On the eastern coast of Sicily, just north of the city of Catania, Mount Etna is the largest active volcano in Europe, at about 3,350 meters (11,000 feet) above sea level. It is also one of the world’s most active volcanoes and is almost constantly erupting, with its exact height varying based on periodic deposits from eruptions and collapsing of the crater rims.

Documentation of volcanic activity dates to 1,500 BCE, although evidence of eruptions goes back much further. Mount Etna was formed by the collision of the African and Eurasian tectonic plates and began as an underwater volcano about 500,000 years ago, gradually rising above sea level as layers were added by eruptions over time. While viticulture on an active volcano may sound like a dangerous proposition, Etna’s eruptions are generally considered effusive rather than explosive, meaning gases escape easily rather than building up pressure, and lava flows are relatively gentle and slow moving.

Mount Etna (Credit: Michael Markarian)

Viticulture has taken place on Etna since well before the Greeks arrived. In the 19^th century, Etna was a major source of vino da taglio and the most planted area of Sicily, with about 50,000 hectares (123,600 acres) of vineyards producing wine. Its output declined through the impacts of poverty, war, the loss of the rural labor force, and the shrinking of the bulk export market. Fortunately, interest in Etna wines reemerged before its old bush vines, stone terraces in the vineyards, and ancient lava stone palmenti were entirely lost.

Etna became Sicily’s first DOC in 1968. The DOC covers 20 communes and forms the shape of a backward C along the northern, eastern, and southern slopes of the volcano. Sicilian producers, including the Benanti family and the winemaker Salvo Foti, conducted important research and brought attention to Etna in the 1980s and 1990s. This was followed by foreign investment and the arrival of outsiders in the 2000s—Frank Cornelissen from Belgium, Marco de Grazia from Florence, and Andrea Franchetti from Rome—which sparked a planting boom and the emergence of Etna wines on the global stage.

Often called an island on an island, Etna’s climate differs from the rest of Sicily’s, more closely resembling that of northern Italy: higher altitude, more rainfall, cooler temperatures, a larger diurnal shift, and harvest as late as October. Vineyards begin at about 300 meters (980 feet) above sea level, and the DOC allows plantings up to 800 meters (2,600 feet) on the northern slope, which has the largest number of producers and is most renowned for red grapes. Vineyards can be planted above 900 meters (3,000 feet) on the eastern slope and above 1,000 meters (3,300 feet) on the southern slope. Partly because of these higher altitudes, more white grapes are grown in these areas.

At higher altitudes, the diurnal temperature variation can exceed 30 degrees Celsius (54 degrees Fahrenheit). Wind currents blow up and down the mountain slopes, and Etna’s average wind speed is 2 to 4 meters (6.5 to 13 feet) per second, twice that of Barolo. The eastern grecale and southeasterly sirocco winds bring precipitation to those sides of the mountain; Etna’s eastern slope, the closest to the Ionian Sea and the most exposed to wind and rain, receives an average 2,000 millimeters (79 inches) of rainfall annually, compared with 800 millimeters (31 inches) on the northern slope—another reason for more Nerello Mascalese in the north and more Carricante in the east.

Volcanic soils on Mount Etna (Credit: Michael Markarian)

Alberello vine training is common on Etna, and bush vines, because they are freestanding, can tolerate the high winds. At higher elevations, where it is cooler, the vines have 360-degree exposure to sunlight, which aids grape ripening. They are trained lower to the ground, absorbing heat that is stored in and radiated from the black volcanic ash. The volcanic soils are generally dark, coarse, rocky, and well draining, restraining vigor in the vines, although they differ throughout the area based on the layering of lava flows.

The great diversity in geology, elevation, and climate within Etna has resulted in a closer examination of its terroir and comparisons with the differences found in vineyard sites within Burgundy or Barolo. Etna’s contrade were officially authorized beginning with the 2011 vintage, but many producers had begun labeling their Etna wines by contrada in the years prior. Contrade are largely based on geological formations established by different lava flows. They are not single vineyards but districts, zones, or neighborhoods, similar to frazioni or menzioni geografiche aggiuntive (MGAs). Today, Etna DOC recognizes 142 official contrade, and awareness of them is growing.

Red wines make up 55% of the production in Etna DOC, which also authorizes white, rosato, and spumante wines. White wines require at least 60% Carricante, and the remainder can include the Catarrattos, Minella Bianca, Grecanico Dorato, and other white grapes. Etna Bianco Superiore must include a minimum of 80% Carricante and can come only from the commune of Milo, on the eastern slope. Red, rosato, and spumante wines require a minimum of 80% Nerello Mascalese, and the remainder may include Nerello Cappuccio and even white grapes. A Riserva category for red wines requires at least four years of aging, including one year in wood. Sparkling wines must be made in the traditional method, with at least 18 months on the lees, and may be brut or extra dry.

While Nerello Mascalese, representing 79% of Etna’s red plantings, is the star for red wines, the addition of Nerello Cappuccio (locally Nerello Mantellato) to the Etna Rosso blend can contribute fleshy fruit and darker color and soften acidity and tannins. Nerello Cappuccio is used in higher percentages in the southern sector, where many old vine plantings are found, and some producers are bottling monovarietal Nerello Cappuccio wines labeled as Sicilia DOC or Terre Siciliane IGT.

Etna Bianco wines show a wide range of stylistic diversity depending on growing area, vine age, the blend added to Carricante, and winemaking decisions, such as malolactic fermentation, lees contact, and type of aging vessel.

The Soils of Mount Etna

Centuries of eruptions have resulted in the layering of volcanic material with different ages and mineral compositions. Lava flows, locally called sciari, are essentially barren rock soon after they are formed, and, over hundreds of years, they will erode into soil and develop humus, microbial activity, and organic material suitable for vines. Etna’s vents shoot out ash, pumice, and glassy black fragments called ripiddu, which can be blown surprisingly far from their source. These pyroclastic accumulations often contain allophane, a clay mineral derived from volcanic cinders, which has cation-exchange properties that are essential for plant growth and help rocks break down more quickly into fertile soil. These clays also store water that vines can access during summer droughts.

Older soils and those with a greater concentration of allophane, which are more common on Etna’s northern slope, have more nutrients and greater water retention, allowing red grapes to fully ripen in a marginal climate. Younger lava flows, more common in Etna’s south, have coarser, sandier soils that are lower in nutrients, well aerated, and well draining. These soils allow for easier root penetration.

Other Regions of Northeastern Sicily

Northeast of Etna, at the tip of Cape Peloro, in the province of Messina, is Faro DOC, where Nerello Mascalese is the featured grape. The small DOC is for red wines only, requiring a blend of 45%–60% Nerello Mascalese, 15%–30% Nerello Cappuccio, 5%–10% Nocera, and the optional inclusion of up to 15% Nero d’Avola, Gaglioppo, and/or Sangiovese.

The coastal area has soils of sand and clay. Surrounded by both the Tyrrhenian and Ionian Seas, it is exposed to rain and humidity from the sirocco wind, with fewer and lower hillsides to provide protection as compared to areas farther west. Plantings are minuscule, and the appellation was in danger of extinction in the 1990s, but producers such as Palari and Bonavita have reinvigorated it.

Nocera was the most important variety here in the 19^th century, when the area’s strategic location near the ports made it a ready source of darkly colored vino da taglio for France. Nocera adds lush richness, full body, deep color, acidity, and smooth tannins to Faro blends, and some producers are making monovarietal bottlings.

Nocera was thought to be the main grape of the famous Mamertinum wine favored by Julius Caesar and Pliny the Elder in ancient Rome. The wine’s name lives on in Mamertino DOC, near the port town of Milazzo, with white wines based on Grillo and Inzolia (the Sicilian name for Ansonica) and reds based on Calabrese (Nero d’Avola) and Nocera. The soils have more iron and a brown tint, and the area is more protected from wind and rainfall than Faro thanks to the north-facing foothills of the Peloritani and Nebrodi mountains.

Off the northern coast of Sicily in the Tyrrhenian Sea, a short ferry ride from Milazzo, are the Aeolian Islands, also referred to as the Lipari Islands, named for the largest and most populated island. In addition to Lipari, the principal islands are Salina, Vulcano, Panarea, Stromboli, Alicudi, and Filicudi. The archipelago was formed by volcanic activity, and the islands of Stromboli and Vulcano still have ongoing eruptions. Salina has the most vineyard plantings.

Malvasia delle Lipari DOC covers all the islands and allows for sweet white, passito, and fortified wines based on 92%–95% Malvasia di Lipari. (Note that Malvasia di Lipari is the grape variety, and Malvasia delle Lipari is the DOC.) The wines must also include 5%–8% Corinto Nero, a local red grape that some believe is a mutation of Sangiovese and that gives the wines a coppery tint. Studies indicate that Malvasia di Lipari is genetically identical to Calabria’s Greco Bianco, Sardinia’s Malvasia di Sardegna, Madeira’s Malvasia Candida, Croatia’s Malvasia Dubrovačka, and Spain’s Malvasía de Sitges.

The passito wines are the most classic expression of Malvasia delle Lipari DOC and represent about 80% of production. After being harvested late in the season, the grapes are dried on cane mats outside in the sun for about 7 to 15 days. The bunches are turned over at least twice a day for even drying and covered at night to prevent mold, dew, and rot. The wines are delicate and fresh, with flavors of honey, peach, apricot, and orange peel. The passito and fortified versions require a minimum of 60 grams per liter of residual sugar. Dry Malvasia di Lipari wines are made under Salina IGT.

Other Regions of Southeastern Sicily

The southeastern corner of Sicily is generally flatter, with lower hills and sandier soils. It includes the ancient city of Siracusa, settled by the Greeks in the eighth century BCE, as well as the towns of Noto and Ragusa, celebrated for their baroque architecture. Historically, there was abundant and varied agriculture here, including tomatoes, citrus, olives, and wheat.

The plain between the Dirillo and Ippari Rivers was highly regarded for viticulture by the Romans. The city of Vittoria was founded in this area in the early 17^th century CE. Vittoria became one of the most important ports for the export of Sicilian wine, before the impact of phylloxera and the weakening of export markets in the 20^th century.

Today, the area surrounding the city of Vittoria is home to Sicily’s first and only DOCG, Cerasuolo di Vittoria, established in 2005. The red wines must be a blend of 50%–70% Nero d’Avola, with 30%–50% Frappato. Wines labeled with the Classico subzone, which surrounds the most historic growing area, require longer aging, until March 31 of the second year following harvest (about 18 months).

The heart of the Classico area, around the town of Vittoria, includes a plateau at about 175 to 300 meters (570 to 980 feet) above sea level, rising to higher elevations around the town of Chiaramonte Gulfi, in the foothills of the Hyblaean Mountains. While Nero d’Avola is grown here and throughout Sicily, this is the primary and best growing area for Frappato. The soils are terra rossa, red sand over limestone, resulting in Frappato with additional delicacy and aromatic lift. Winds are strong in this area, reducing disease pressure, but producers must consider planting orientation to prevent the winds from damaging grapes.

In Vittoria, cerasuolo is a red wine, with the name referring to the cherry flavors in the wine or the red color of the soils. Frappato contributes lightness and floral fragrance to the blend, while Nero d’Avola brings richness, structure, and color.

The Vittoria area is home to star producers such as COS and Arianna Occhipinti, and, outside the DOCG, monovarietal Frappato wines are drawing the attention of wine professionals for their light body, crunchy freshness, and versatility at the table. Vittoria DOC shares the boundaries of Cerasuolo di Vittoria DOCG and allows youthful novello wines as well as varietal wines made of Nero d’Avola (Calabrese), Frappato, and Inzolia.

Nero d’Avola is believed to have originated in the town of Avola, just a few kilometers east of Noto on Sicily’s coast, and it is still the most important variety in the surrounding area. Eloro DOC straddles the two provinces of Siracusa and Ragusa and authorizes red blends and varietal wines made of Nero d’Avola, Frappato, and Pignatello (Perricone). Its official subzone, Pachino, is considered a grand cru for Nero d’Avola, and red wines labeled Eloro Pachino require a minimum of 80% Nero d’Avola, although in practice most are monovarietal. South of Noto, Pachino is at the very southernmost tip of Sicily, at Cape Passero. It is one of the hottest parts of the island, with summer temperatures often above 30 degrees Celsius (86 degrees Fahrenheit), and harvest in Pachino occurs about two weeks earlier than in Noto. The land is flatter near the coast, rising to about 50 meters (165 feet) above sea level. Pachino is surrounded by the sea, and diurnal temperature variations are minimal. Rainfall is also minimal during the growing season, and alberello training is common. The expressions of Nero d’Avola from this area are powerful, concentrated, and full bodied, with intense aromas and flavors.

The soils of Pachino are generally brown in color, with calcareous clay and a high saline content. The darker soils radiate more heat to bush vines growing close to the ground. A key attribute of Pachino is that mineral content and soil types can vary greatly within short distances. Pachino has several contrade that—although not officially recognized on labels—are famous for their unique expressions of Nero d’Avola, including Baroni, Bufaleffi, Maccari, and San Lorenzo. Some producers, such as Gulfi, make bottlings from all four sites and embed the contrada name within the proprietary name of the wine. The Eloro contrade wines are among the most sought-after expressions of Nero d’Avola.

The rare sweet wines of this area, Moscato di Noto and Moscato di Siracusa, are made from Moscato Bianco and were absorbed into the broader Noto DOC and Siracusa DOC, respectively. The air-dried passito versions are best known. Unlike Zibibbo, Moscato Bianco has thin and delicate skins that burn in the sun. When the grapes are dried outside, the wine has a deeper color and riper flavors of dried fruit and caramel, and shows increased oxidation. When dried indoors in a cooler, temperature-controlled environment, the wines retain more fruit and floral freshness.

Another white grape of southeastern Sicily is Albanello, which makes wines that are bright and crisp, with floral, herbal, and white stone fruit flavors. Although there are only a handful of plantings, it is grown by key producers, such as Arianna Occhipinti and Gulfi. In Occhipinti’s flagship SP68 Bianco wine, it is blended with Moscato di Alessandria (Zibibbo).

Marsala

At the western end of Sicily in the province of Trapani, Marsala is a historic port dating to its founding by the Carthaginians in the fourth century BCE. Its present name comes from its time under Arabic rulers who called it Mars el-Allah (“Allah’s harbor”). Arabic and Spanish influences are strong in western Sicily, which is the most planted part of the island for viticulture, and the wines of Marsala historically were produced using fractional blending in perpetuum, the Italian name for the solera systems used in Jerez.

The British merchant John Woodhouse is generally credited with “inventing” the current style of Marsala, although winemaking was present here long before his arrival. Woodhouse introduced the process of fortification in 1773, aiming to create a less expensive fortified wine in the style of Port, Sherry, and Madeira. Another British entrepreneur, Benjamin Ingham, set up a rival company near Woodhouse in 1812 and furthered the industrialization of Marsala and the expansion of its export markets.

Marsala’s vineyards were historically dominated by Grillo, Inzolia, and Catarratto, but, after the attacks of powdery mildew in the mid-19^th century and phylloxera in the early 20^th century, the high-yielding Catarratto became the primary choice for replanting. Catarratto yields lower-alcohol wines that oxidize easily, and the industry developed a greater reliance on grape sugar, spirit, and other additives to mask the base wines. Marsala’s reputation suffered in the 20^th century, and it became primarily known as a cheap cooking wine.

The Marsala disciplinare was revised in 1984 in an attempt to restrict some industrial practices. The updated regulations limited the sourcing of grapes to the province of Trapani and restricted the use of mosto cotto (cooked must) and the addition of such flavorings as spices, fruit, and eggs. The regulations also added the use of Damaschino, another high-yielding and low-alcohol white grape variety, and reinstated a version made with red grapes.

Budbreak at a vineyard in Marsala (Credit: Michael Markarian)

Marsala DOC requires Oro (“golden”) and Ambra (“amber”) wines to be made from any combination of the white grapes Catarratto, Inzolia, Grillo, and/or Damaschino. The Rubino (“ruby”) wines must have a minimum of 70% of the red grapes Perricone (Pignatello), Nero d’Avola (Calabrese), and/or Nerello Mascalese. The Ambra wines require the addition of at least 1% mosto cotto through a process called concia. This is an inexpensive way to mimic the tawny color of barrel aging and is prohibited for Oro and Rubino wines.

All Marsala wines must be aged in barrels of oak or cherrywood, although the first four months may be in alternative types of vessels. To promote steady oxidation, the barrels are not entirely filled or topped off. The most basic level, Fine, requires at least one year of aging; Superiore requires a minimum two years; and Superiore Riserva requires a minimum four years. These styles can have additives of coloring or flavoring, such as sifone (a sweet and syrupy mistelle), mosto cotto, and rectified concentrated grape juice.

Additional labeling terms were developed to identify recipes that appealed to specific markets, such as Italy Particular (IP), Superior Old Marsala (SOM), London Particular (LP), and Garibaldi Dolce (GD). Nearly all Marsala falls into the Fine and Superiore categories; as of 2010, 80.7% of production was Fine and 18.6% Superiore.

At the higher quality levels, a Marsala aged in the perpetuum system and labeled Solera must be aged for a minimum of five years and does not carry a vintage date. A wine that has no additions other than grape spirit can be labeled Vergine; these must also be aged for a minimum of five years. If a Vergine or Solera wine is labeled Riserva or Stravecchio, at least 10 years of aging is required.

The grapes used for the sifone, mosto cotto, or fortification spirit must come from within Marsala DOC. The Fine wines require a minimum 17.5% ABV, and all other styles require 18% ABV or higher. Marsala is also designated by sweetness level, with secco having a maximum 40 grams per liter of residual sugar, semisecco between 40 and 100 grams per liter, and dolce having at least 100 grams per liter or higher. All Vergine wines must be secco.

Today, there is a reemergence of quality-minded producers, challenging Marsala’s reputation as an inexpensive cooking wine, with a focus on artisanal base wines, drier styles, and higher-quality grape varieties, such as Grillo. Marco De Bartoli is the standard-bearer in this area, having founded his winery in 1978. His most iconic wine, Vecchio Samperi, is named for the contrada where his family’s cellar is located, tying the wine to a sense of place—which was virtually unheard of in Marsala when the wine was first released, with the 1980 vintage. This vino da tavola does not qualify for Marsala DOC because it is unfortified and its ABV is lower than the minimum; it is made in the traditional solera style of Marsala that was used before Woodhouse’s arrival.

Source: Italian Wine Central, 2022 data

Pantelleria

About 100 kilometers (60 miles) southwest of Sicily, and 60 kilometers (35 miles) from Tunisia, is the volcanic island of Pantelleria. The island is nearly constantly whipped by winds of more than 20 kilometers (12 miles) per hour. The climate is hot, dry, and sunny; the soils are nutrient poor, sandy volcanic ash; and the topography is jagged and rocky, with varied slopes and elevations formed by different volcanic eruptions.

Zibibbo is at home here in the hot, dry, windy climate. Unlike Moscato Bianco, Zibibbo has large berries and thick skins and can withstand wind and sunburn. Historically, it was popular for both table grapes and raisins, and its Sicilian name is derived from zibibb, the Arabic word for “dried grape” or “raisin.”

The freestanding bush vines on the island are trained in the alberello system. For wind protection, the vines are buried low to the ground in circular, concave pits. The pits collect dew and moisture, preserving the limited water availability for the vines and preventing evaporation.

Vineyard parcels on Pantelleria are small and highly fragmented, divided over the centuries under Muslim inheritance laws. Labor is expensive and time-consuming in this rugged terrain, and many goods need to be imported to the island. Since the cost of making wine is higher on Pantelleria than elsewhere in Sicily, where many inexpensive wines are produced, Pantelleria’s producers have distinguished themselves with premium products that can attract a higher price point.

The Donnafugata estate on Pantelleria (Credit: Bryce Wiatrak)

While Pantelleria DOC allows many types of wine, from sparkling to fortified, its most renowned offerings are the sweet Moscato di Pantelleria and Passito di Pantelleria. These wines are made similarly, from late-harvest Zibibbo dried in the sun either on or off the vine. Moscato di Pantelleria is lighter, fresher, and less sweet, with flavors of dried herbs, fig, ginger, and dried apricot. Passito di Pantelleria is sweeter, lusher, darker, and more concentrated, with flavors of honey, orange marmalade, raisins, and dates.

The traditional method of making sweet wines on Pantelleria is to add dried grapes to a base wine of fresh grapes during fermentation (similar to the method of Tokaji Aszú but without botrytis). Grapes are dried either outdoors in the sun in a walled area called a stenditoio, or in drying tunnels called serre, which intensify the heat and accelerate the pace of drying. There are three stages in the process, including the harvesting of fresh grapes and two degrees of drying: passolata grapes are semidried, with about 25%–40% of their juice as sugar, and passa Malaga grapes are fully dried raisins, reduced to only one-quarter of their original weight, with 55% of their syrup becoming sugar. It is the use of the passa Malaga that gives Passito di Pantelleria its deeper color and more concentrated, raisinated flavors.

Wine styles can vary based on the ratio of dried grapes to fresh must, drying method, aging vessel, and vineyard area. Given the varied terrain and fragmented vineyards of Pantelleria, there are some well-known contrade used on labels. Marco De Bartoli released his first Passito di Pantelleria in 1984, named Bukkuram (“father of the vineyard”) for the contrada in which the grapes are grown. Donnafugata released the first vintage of its iconic Ben Ryé (“son of the wind”) in 1989, sourcing grapes from higher elevations on the island, giving this passito wine more acidity and freshness.

Other Regions of Western and Central Sicily

In recent years, there has been a resurgence of unfortified dry wines in western Sicily, from varieties such as Grillo, Zibibbo, and Pignatello, bottled under the island-wide Sicilia DOC or Terre Siciliane IGT. Inzolia is a rare example of a tannic white grape variety, with low natural acidity, and, in the past, it was well suited to the oxidative character of Marsala. Today, a better understanding of the grape has led to its use for bright, crisp, citrusy, and lighter-bodied Sicilian whites, and it is authorized in most Sicilian DOCs.

In the lagoon off Sicily’s western coast, across from the salt pans of Marsala, is the tiny island of Mozia, which was once a major port and trading post for the Phoenicians. Joseph Whitaker, the nephew of the Marsala producer Benjamin Ingham, first planted Grillo on the island in the 19^th century. It’s a low-lying area with a unique microclimate, and the topsoil in the vineyards is composed of seashells and shards of ancient Phoenician pottery. Tasca d’Almerita purchases the grapes from the island and makes a dry Grillo wine that is light, delicate, and salty.

In addition to the island-wide denominations, there are other large DOCs of note. Menfi DOC, on the southwestern coast, in the Trapani and Agrigento provinces, is noteworthy as the home of Planeta and the Settesoli co-op. The southwestern part of the island is hot and arid, affected by the strong sirocco winds. Harvest here is the earliest in Sicily, as early as mid-July. The hot, dry, and windy conditions make organic, biodynamic, and sustainable viticulture popular in this region. The DOC allows a wide range of white, red, rosato, sparkling, sweet, and varietal wines.

Central Sicily has higher elevations, generally about 400 to 900 meters (1,300 to 3,000 feet) above sea level, and has one of Sicily’s only truly continental climates. Vineyards are far apart, surrounded by wheat, mountains, and valleys, with cooler temperatures and extreme diurnal variations. The very large Contea di Sclafani DOC, in north-central Sicily, where the provinces of Palermo, Agrigento, and Caltanissetta meet, is home to some of the island’s major producers, including Tasca d’Almerita, Castellucci Miano, and Feudo Montoni. It was originally a catchall DOC, like Menfi, allowing many different styles and grape varieties, but it was modified in 2017 to focus on white wines based on Catarratto and reds based on Nero d’Avola and/or Perricone, including dry and late-harvest versions of both.

Sardinia

After Sicily, Sardinia (Sardegna in Italian) is the second largest island in the Mediterranean Sea. It is closer to the French island of Corsica, with which it has much in common culturally and geologically, than to the Italian peninsula. Like Sicily, it is an autonomous region with a mix of cultural influences.

A dominant feature of the island is the presence of thousands of nuraghi (plural of nuraghe), truncated conic towers built with basalt stones by early Sardinian peoples during the Bronze Age. The Greeks tried to penetrate the island but were largely unsuccessful because of the earlier Phoenician settlements. A strategically located island, Sardinia was a frequent target of conquest and came under periods of rule by various groups, including Romans, Vandals, and Byzantines. Sardinia also has the most enduring Spanish influence of any Italian region, a result of four centuries of rule by the house of Aragon and the Spanish crown. Both the local dialect, Sardo, and Catalan are officially recognized languages on the island. The link to Spain is reflected in the presence of grapes such as Cannonau (Garnacha) and Carignano (Cariñena). Sardinia’s tie to Italy began when it was given to the Piedmontese house of Savoy in the 18^th century.

Sardinia has rocky, rugged terrain, and its geology is one of the oldest and most diverse in Italy. Formations dating back 500 million years, and long periods of erosion and metamorphic activity, have resulted in a mix of volcanic lava, basalt, granite, schist, sandstone, limestone, marls, and other soils. The mountainous and hilly interior of the island is home to about four million sheep raised for milk and cheese—half of the total Italian sheep population—and is where 80% of all Italian cork is produced.

Sardinia’s wine production is a smaller part of its agricultural economy. While Sardinia is nearly the size of Sicily in total land area, it produces less than one-eighth of Sicily’s wine volume. Sardinia makes just about 684,000 hectoliters (7.6 million cases) of wine annually from its 26,700 hectares (66,000 acres) of vineyard plantings. About two-thirds of its wine production is red and the remainder white, with 57% at the DOC/G level. The island has 1 DOCG, 17 DOCs, and 15 IGPs. Its top grape varieties are Cannonau (35%) and Vermentino (28%). Both grow all over the island, but Vermentino is more prevalent in the north and Cannonau in the center and south.

Vermentino-Based Denominations

Sardinia is home to about three-quarters of Italy’s Vermentino, with 4,500 hectares (11,100 acres) of the total 6,000 hectares (14,800 acres) planted in Italy. Compared with Vermentino grown in other areas, such as Liguria and Tuscany, Sardinian Vermentino can be creamier, waxier, and fuller bodied. The igneous soils of the island are nutrient poor and restrain vigor, and the harsh winds thicken the grapes’ skins.

Sardinian Vermentino reaches its peak of complexity, austerity, and ageworthiness in the region’s first and only DOCG, Vermentino di Gallura, which covers the northeastern corner of the island. The soils here are pink granite, rare in Italy, with high acidity and mineral content along with some sand and clay. The area is sunny, surrounded by Mediterranean scrub, and exposed to constant, salty sea winds. The poor, rocky, granitic soils reflect heat, which promotes ripeness, and the wines have a pronounced minerality, aromatic richness, and saline character.

The DOCG requires a minimum of 95% Vermentino, and, for Normale wines, a minimum 12% ABV; wines with a minimum 13% ABV can be labeled Superiore. The Superiore versions are often aged on the lees and in barrel, and they are riper and more full bodied. Sparkling, late-harvest, and passito versions are also authorized.

The island-wide Vermentino di Sardegna DOC requires a minimum of 85% Vermentino, and the wines tend to be fruitier and best for earlier consumption, although the diversity of soils and elevations throughout the island allows for a range of styles. Sparkling wines are also authorized and can be made at a range of sweetness levels, from brut nature to demi-sec.

Cannonau-Based Denominations

Sardinia’s most planted grape variety, Cannonau, is identical to Spain’s Garnacha and France’s Grenache. It likely arrived on the island with the Aragonese conquest in the 14^th century. There are many Cannonau biotypes throughout Sardinia, resulting from its mutation and adaptation on the island over centuries, and many producers prefer to use massal selection from very old vines for genetic diversity. Cannonau is productive and resistant to drought and heat, and it thrives on sandy and granitic soils.

Cannonau is grown throughout the island in the region-wide Cannonau di Sardegna DOC, which requires a minimum 85% of the grape variety, and it is made in various styles, from light and simple to structured and complex. Sardinia’s version of Grenache can be earthy, rustic, and spicy, with ripe fruit, full body, and high alcohol, but it can be pale in color because of its easy oxidation. Red, rosato, fortified, and passito wines are authorized.

Cannonau di Sardegna DOC includes three high-quality subzones. From north to south, they are Oliena (Nepente di Oliena), Jerzu, and Capo Ferrato. For red wines, a Riserva level requires a minimum aging of two years, with at least six months in wood. A large Classico subzone covers the entire Nuoro province (which absorbed the former Ogliastra province in 2016) in the east-central portion of the island and requires a higher minimum of 90% Cannonau as well as a minimum aging of two years, with at least 12 months in barrel.

Other Varieties and Regions of Sardinia

Another principal red grape of the island is Carignano, also a Spanish transplant that is well suited to Sardinia’s climate, as it is resistant to both drought and wind. It is concentrated in the Sulcis area, at the southwestern tip of the island, and on the island of Sant’Antioco, which is connected to southwestern Sardinia by a bridge. Carignano performs well in the sandy soils of this area, and there are many old, ungrafted, pre-phylloxera vines.

Carignano del Sulcis DOC requires a minimum of 85% Carignano. Red, rosato, novello, and passito versions can be produced. Red wines of Riserva level require a minimum 12.5% ABV, and Superiore wines must have a minimum 13% ABV; both require a minimum aging of two years, with at least six months in bottle. These wines, typically from old vines on sandy soils, are powerful, ripe, fleshy, and concentrated.

Mirto

A popular local beverage in Sardinia is the liqueur Mirto. The myrtle (mirto) plant grows wild in the Mediterranean scrubland of Sardinia and Corsica, and its berries are macerated in an alcohol base with water and sugar to make Mirto. The sweet, herbal liqueur is often served chilled as a digestivo at the end of a meal. Mirto di Sardegna is a protected IGP, requiring 28%–36% ABV, no additives of coloring or flavoring, and less than 270 grams per liter of total sugar.

Carignano is genetically identical to Bovale Grande, which some believe is a separate Sardinian biotype or closely related variety. It is not the same, however, as Bovale Sardo, which some studies indicate is identical to the Spanish variety Graciano.

Another prominent red grape on the island is Monica, the name used for a group of unrelated varieties that make light-bodied, easy-drinking wines, with flavors of red berries and fresh herbs. Monica is typically a blending grape used to add freshness to Cannonau or the Bovale grapes, but it is increasingly prized for monovarietal examples in Monica di Sardegna DOC and other DOCs.

The white grape Nuragus shares its name with the prehistoric stone structures on the island. It was favored for its extreme drought resistance and, as recently as 1990, was the most abundant grape variety in Sardinia. When yields are too high, the wines are uninteresting, but quality is improving for these fresh, lightly aromatic, low-alcohol whites. Nuragus grows best in the marly calcareous clay soils near Sardinia’s capital city of Cagliari. Nuragus di Cagliari DOC requires a minimum of 85% Nuragus and allows still and frizzante wines, which can be dry or amabile.

The white grape Torbato is minimally planted but known through the bottlings of one producer, Sella e Mosca. It performs best in the chalky, marine soils called terre bianche around Alghero, in northwestern Sardinia, yielding fresh, light wines in both still and sparkling versions in Alghero DOC.

Nasco is one of Sardinia’s oldest grape varieties and is prized for its high quality. Its name comes from the Sardinian nuscu (musky), referring to the strong herbal aromatics of the wine. It is mostly found in the calcareous-marly hillsides near Cagliari. Dry, sweet, and fortified wines can be made in Nasco di Cagliari DOC, which requires a minimum of 95% Nasco. The sweet wines are the most interesting and complex.

Moscato Bianco, known as Moscadeddu locally, is used for sparkling, passito, fortified, and late-harvest wines in DOCs such as Moscato di Sorso-Sennori DOC and the island-wide Moscato di Sardegna DOC. Malvasia di Sardegna, which is identical to Sicily’s Malvasia di Lipari and Calabria’s Greco Bianco, is found in the sweet white, sparkling, and passito wines of Malvasia di Bosa DOC. The wines are more powerful and less aromatic than other Malvasias, and a Riserva level requires a minimum aging of two years, including one year in wood.

Vernaccia di Oristano is a white grape unique to Sardinia and unrelated to Italy’s other Vernaccias. It is grown near the central-western city of Oristano. It thrives in two soil types: gregori, which have low fertility and low limestone content and are found at higher altitudes, and bennaxi, the more fertile, alluvial soils at lower altitudes that are rich in loamy clay. Vernaccia di Oristano DOC wines are made in an oxidative style and can be dry or sweet and fortified or not. They are aged in a solera system of chestnut or oak barrels, which are not completely topped up, encouraging the best wines to develop and age under a layer of flor for a minimum of two years, or three years for Superiore and four years for Riserva. These rare wines can be beautifully complex, with flavors of almond paste, dried apricot, hazelnut, orange rind, fresh herbs, and white chocolate.

Bibliography

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Brostrom, Jack, and Geralyn Brostrom. Into Italian Wine. Napa, California: Italian Wine Central, 2015.

Camuto, Robert V. Palmento: A Sicilian Wine Odyssey. Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 2010.

Camuto, Robert V. South of Somewhere: Wine, Food, and the Soul of Italy. Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 2021.

Consorzio di Tutela Aglianico del Vulture (website). Accessed September 25, 2023. https://consorzioaglianico.it/.

Consorzio di Tutela dei Vini d’Abruzzo (website). Accessed September 25, 2023. https://www.vinidabruzzo.it/en/.

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Consorzio Tutela Vini Etna DOC (website). Accessed September 25, 2023. https://thewinesofetna.com/.

D’Agata, Ian. Italy’s Native Wine Grape Terroirs. Oakland: University of California Press, 2019.

D’Agata, Ian. Native Wine Grapes of Italy. Berkeley: University of California Press, 2014.

Day, Kevin. “Mozia Grillo from Tasca d’Almerita: A Vineyard Story.” Dalla Terra. February 24, 2021. https://www.dallaterra.com/news/mozia-grillo-from-tasca-d-almerita.

Duggan, Christopher. A Concise History of Italy. New York: Cambridge University Press, 2014.

Gabay, Elizabeth. Rosé: Understanding the Pink Wine Revolution. Oxford: Infinite Ideas, 2018.

Giavedoni, Fabio. “Dallo Scescio (le cantine albanesi di Barile) alle migliori etichette di oggi di Aglianico del Vulture.” Slowine. Accessed September 25, 2023. https://www.slowfood.it/slowine/dallo-scescio-le-cantine-albanesi-barile-alle-migliori-etichette-oggi-aglianico-del-vulture/.

Hengel, Livia. “Sicily Is Italy’s Leading Wine Region – Here’s Why.” Forbes. January 18, 2022. https://www.forbes.com/sites/liviahengel/2022/01/18/sicily-is-emerging-to-be-italys-leading-wine-regionheres-why/.

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Kim, Stevie. Italian Wine Unplugged: Grape by Grape. Italy: Positive Press, 2017.

Nesto, Bill, and Frances Di Savino. The World of Sicilian Wine. Berkeley: University of California Press, 2013.

Robinson, Jancis. The Oxford Companion to Wine. 4th ed. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2015. https://www.jancisrobinson.com/ocw.

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Scienza, Attilio, and Serena Imazio. Sangiovese, Lambrusco, and Other Vine Stories. Verona: Positive Press, 2019.

Stamp, Matt. “Italy’s Adriatic Coast (Part 2): Marche and Abruzzo.” GuildSomm. March 9, 2012. https://www.guildsomm.com/public_content/features/articles/b/stamp/posts/italy-39-s-adriatic-coast-part-2-marche-and-abruzzo.

Tondo, Lorenzo. “Traces of 6,000-year-old wine discovered in Sicilian cave.” The Guardian, August 30, 2017. https://www.theguardian.com/science/2017/aug/30/traces-of-6000-year-old-wine-discovered-in-sicilian-cave.

Vinitaly International Academy. “Italian Wine Ambassador Course.” Lectures by Sarah Heller, Henry Davar, and Attilio Scienza. Online and in Verona, Italy. 2020–2022. https://vinitalyinternational.com/vinitaly-international-academy/.

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Compiled by user22345 (November 2023)

Edited by user22151

Tags: Southern Italy-Expert, Preview

Germany

user22387 — Fri, 17 Jan 2025 14:17:32 GMT

Current Revision posted to Expert Guides by user22387 on 1/17/2025 2:17:32 PM

In the public eye, the story of German wine usually begins and ends with Riesling.

Setting the Stage
Origin of the 1971 Germany Wine Law
The 1971 German Wine Law Today
The VDP
The Grapes of Germany
Winegrowing Regions of Germany

Sommeliers and wine critics, well acquainted with its charms and severity, perpetually fight its underdog status, waging a long information campaign to educate casual wine drinkers that not all German Riesling is sweet. It’s a versatile grape in terms of sugar: Riesling offers a little or a lot of sweetness—or lacks it completely. We announce its purity, its effortless expression of terroir, its usefulness as a foil for many styles of cuisine, its ability to age magnificently in the cellar. Certainly no country in the world is more tied to the fortunes of Riesling than Germany, which grows almost half of the world’s total supply. But even as the variety finally ascended to become the Germans’ most planted grape in the last days of the 20th century, the country has a richer field of varieties than the stereotype suggests—and the Germans love drinking dry wines! (From 1985 to 2015, the percentage of total German wines vinified dry shot up from 16 to 46%.) Today, a sommelier well-versed in Germany’s offerings should understand its trocken styles, its noble sweet wines, everything in between, red wines, Silvaner, Pinot Blanc, and other grape varieties coming from a diverse set of growing regions and soils, wrapped up in tradition, reclaimed by modern voices, defined in wine law but often exemplified in extralegal categories, rendered obscure by the fearsome constructs of its own language, and… Ah, well. Achtung!

Setting the Stage

Vitis vinifera arrived in Germany with the Romans, whose legionnaires crossed the Alps over 2,000 years ago and extended their eastern frontier to the Rhine River, far from the traditional bases of viticulture in their Mediterranean homeland. Germanic tribes adopted the culture of the vine, Charlemagne’s Franks spread viticulture east of the Rhine in the late 8th century, and monastic orders of the church acted as its custodians through the medieval period and into the modern age. Just as in Burgundy, many of Germany’s greatest vineyards were first devised and planted by monks, and the Cistercians introduced the cultivation of Riesling and Pinot Noir, Germany’s most important modern grape varieties. The vine’s strongholds in Germany shrunk considerably by the 16th and 17th centuries, whittled down by war, a suddenly cooling climate, and the social and religious upheavals of the day. Germany’s wine culture reemerged in the 18th century, controlled by clerics and princes, and Riesling shot forward as a premier variety. Vineyard ownership migrated to the private sector completely in the aftermath of the French Revolution, which inspired liquidation of church holdings in Germany by the early 1800s, and a golden era for German wine dawned. Rare, noble sweet wines arrived as a currency for the fine wine traders of London, and the great sweet wines of the Middle Rhine region fetched greater prices than the best reds of Bordeaux by the end of the century. “Hock,” already in regular English usage by the 1800s to indicate wines from the Middle Rhine, expanded to become a generic term for German wines. A classic British list of the day may have offered Claret, Port, Sherry, Hock, and eventually Moselle—by the end of the 1800s, fruity and crisp white wines from the Mosel River region evolved as a category distinct from generic Hock.

But dark times were ahead. The arrival of American-born grapevine diseases and the annual struggle with a reliably cold climate spurred interest in viticultural science and the development of hardy new varieties. New research stations sprouted throughout Germany, and with them came new grape crossings—varieties obtained for reasons other than wine quality—which would multiply and spread throughout Germany by the mid-20th century. Phylloxera, present since 1872, spread in force after the First World War, clearing the way for the adoption of Müller-Thurgau and its contemporaries.

The two world wars scarred and transformed the German wine landscape. In the First World War, French regions saw more actual battle than German winegrowing areas, but German workers were at the front, not in the vineyard. After the abdication of Kaiser Wilhelm II in 1918 and the subsequent loss of political privilege for the German nobility, many of the old aristocratic wine estates entered a period of slow decline. Exports plummeted after the war as the French and British boycotted German products, Hock included. Meanwhile, the lucrative Russian and American markets closed due to revolution and prohibition, respectively. In the period between the wars, Germany’s wine industry turned inward. Weinpropaganda appeared in the 1920s, featuring German soldiers touting white German wines, and a 1930 wine law limited the importation of foreign wines. But all would pale to the impact of World War II. The Nazis drove out the Jews, who accounted for 60 to 70% of the wine merchant trade, and ended the wine auctions that had long been a primary sales mechanism for quality wines. The Nazis took the best (and sweetest) wines for themselves. As the tide turned against Germany, workers died and vineyards sustained bombing raids. At the end of World War II, international boycotts commenced, the country was cleaved in two, and the German vineyard had shrunk to fewer than 50,000 hectares of vines.

But times change. In the 1950s, the German agricultural sector rebounded. New grape crossings appeared. New winery technologies took hold and electricity appeared in cellars. German wine became synonymous with sweet and cheap. To English-speaking countries, Liebfraumilch became the most recognizable—and reliably sweet tasting—German wine category. (The Blue Nun brand, originating with a 1921 vintage of H. Sichel Söhne Liebfraumilch, was created by a Jewish merchant family who fled the Nazis in 1938 and returned at the war’s end.) In the post-war period, the Flurbereinigung campaign geared up to consolidate parcels of land divided by successive generations of inheritance and to physically restructure vineyards. By rearranging steep and otherwise inaccessible vineyards, workers could employ machines and increase production. Flurbereinigung eliminated many of the centuries-old terraces critical to winegrowing on some of Germany’s most vertical slopes. In the Rheingau, for instance, workers leveled uneven vineyards with construction waste from the Autobahn A3, which runs through Frankfurt. But, progress. Müller-Thurgau was ascendant; the vineyard was expanding again. And new wine legislation, marking the beginning of the modern age of German viticulture, was near.

Origin of the 1971 German Wine Law

The struggle is real! Nothing strikes fear in the hearts of non-German-speaking sommeliers quite like the uphill climb of German wine law. It is small comfort that the 1971 Deutsches Weingesetz, Germany’s fifth and most current wine law, is perhaps reviled equally by new students who seek to understand it and the producers who have to adhere to it. Rare is the German wine critic who has not pronounced it misguided, yet the system established in 1971 still holds, albeit with plenty of modifications. However flawed it may be, its architects sought to address rampant problems in a rapidly modernizing industry that was emerging from the wreckage of war, with the past, lustrous glory days of Hock and Moselle a dimming memory. Germany’s 1971 wine law attempted to impose new standards of quality and simplify label language, yet it was also enacted in response to external pressure. Europe’s recent bloody past convinced many of the necessity of alliance and economic integration, and in 1957, the European Economic Community (EEC), the predecessor to the EU, was born. West Germany, France, and Italy were its principal founders. Their shared goal of economic integration soon extended to the agricultural sector, and by 1970, to wine.

The Goldkapsule

In the Mosel and Rheingau, regions famous for noble sweet wines, producers lost an informal means of classifying Spätlesen and Auslesen of extreme richness and sweetness with the passage of the 1971 wine law. The law banned the use of familiar terms like feine, feinste, and hochfeine, historically added to indicate reserve wines within a larger category, so some producers turned to a bit of code. To indicate a higher level of sweetness and distinction beyond a wine’s labeled Prädikat, vintners added a golden capsule. In some cases, an even longer golden capsule (lange Goldkapsule) indicates an even rarer and special selection. The capsule is also linked to the level of botrytis; for instance, a wine that reached Beerenauslese in the eyes of the law may be "declassified" to Auslese with a Goldkapsule because it showed more pure varietal character than the higher Prädikat would typically demonstrate. Apart from the color of the capsule, the only means to discern that such a wine is a separate (and more expensive) bottling is to note its unique A.P. number.

In the Mosel, producers developed a second code to distinguish among different tiers of wine within a Prädikat and from the same vineyard: the star system. To indicate reserve bottlings, producers may apply one to three stars (*, **, ***), sometimes in conjunction with a Goldkapsule.

After World War II, rapidly compounding sets of style qualifiers, vineyard names, and village names began appearing on even the most ordinary wines, creating confusion. Where only the most famous vineyard sites once merited a mention on the label, now any piece of land, no matter how average, made an appearance. Style qualifiers, from Cabinet to hochfeine Auslese to Natur to Nikolauswein and so on, further muddied understanding because they did not have clearly regulated meanings but just conventional applications. At the dawn of the 20th century, most German wines were likely dry in style, and only a very few merited designations implying sweetness, like Spätlese or Auslese. By the 1950s, however, new technologies such as sterile filtration allowed the production of sweet wines with ease, and terms formerly reserved for specialized wines became commonplace. If sweetness was suddenly easy to achieve, the German answer in 1971 was to modify the requirements for Spätlese and its brethren, shifting the obligation from sugar remaining to sugar occurring naturally in the grape. Before the law was put into place, other terms in regular usage, such as Natur, could imply one thing—the wine should be completely natural, i.e., free of all additives, including Süssreserve and sulfur—but mean another: in this case, that the wine did not undergo chaptalization. The law’s authors wanted to restore simplicity and precision to German labels that had become full of cumbersome terminology that seemed, increasingly, to lack clear meaning. They redefined some classic label terms and eliminated others. In effect, anything not expressly authorized by the law was prohibited.

In retrospect, the most damaging aspect of the 1971 wine law was to annihilate or aggregate many of the country’s Einzellagen (individual vineyard sites). The law compacted the number of recognized single vineyards from 30,000 to around 2,700. As a reaction to the seemingly limitless procession of vineyards appearing on even ordinary wine labels by the 1960s, Germany desired simplification. The law set a minimum five-hectare size for single vineyards, enlarging some sites to include lesser surrounding plots while eliminating others. Additionally, the law created a new category, Grosslagen, to identify “collective” vineyard sites. As a catch-all category, the Grosslagen subsumed many preexisting, lesser sites, but the law provided no clarity for the consumer in labeling. Piesporter Goldtröpfchen (an acclaimed Einzellage in the village of Piesport) and Piesporter Michelsberg (a Grosslage site covering a huge band of vineyards around the town) appear to provide a choice between apples and apples to a consumer without intimate knowledge of the region. Instead of simplifying the label, the creation of Grosslagen and the aggregation of Einzellagen added confusion and eroded the distinctiveness of Germany’s grandest vineyards.

As (West) Germany strove to improve truth in labeling and clarity of labels, the country concurrently needed to integrate its own traditions and laws with the EEC’s Common Market Organization for Wine, which was finalized in 1970. The EEC policy, modeled on the similar systems of France and Italy (its two largest wine-producing countries), created two tiers of wines: Quality Wines Produced in a Specific Region (QWPSR) and Table Wines, prohibiting any mention of place. In Germany, there was a long history of the celebration of certain sites, but no legal mandate for appellations. That changed in 1971, with the formal delimitation of 11 Anbaugebiete, Germany’s winegrowing regions. Legally, the Anbaugebiete were equivalent to French AOCs or Italian DOCs, and wines labeled with an Anbaugebiet—meaning they were produced from grapes grown in a single winegrowing region—could comply with the new European standards for QWPSR.

So with the 1971 wine law, Germany adopted the EEC model, creating the two categories of Qualitätswein bestimmter Anbaugebiet (literally, “quality wine from a growing region”) and Tafelwein (“table wine”). However, given Germany’s special circumstances, the 1971 law added a third tier, Qualitätswein mit Prädikat (QmP), as a subset within Qualitätswein bestimmter Anbaugebiet (QbA). This category, indicating quality wines with a special attribute, allowed Germany to retain some of its traditional terms—Spätlese, Auslese, and so on—within the framework of the new European system. The special attributes, as defined in the 1971 law, were minimum levels of must weight. As ripeness at harvest became the apparent mark of quality for these categories of wine, chaptalization was banned for Qualitätswein mit Prädikat, but the law continued to permit its use in the broader category of Qualitätswein bestimmter Anbaugebiet. Unfortunately, the widespread adoption of early ripening grape crossings like Müller-Thurgau in the 1950s and 1960s allowed producers to reach Prädikat levels of ripeness with newfound ease; the law intended to protect terms like Kabinett by attaching a definition of minimum ripeness but instead stripped them of any rarity or reserve. And, as sweetness no longer mattered in the eyes of the law, the 1971 law permitted the addition of Süssreserve (“sweet reserve,” or sterilized fresh grape must) for wines of any category, at up to 15% of the total volume of the wine. While a small adjustment with Süssreserve after fermentation can allow a producer to fine-tune final sugar levels, this adjustment further purged the Prädikate of the original meaning—residual sugar.

Regulation of producers to ensure compliance has remained the same since the passage of the 1971 law. To qualify as Qualitätswein or Prädikatswein, wines must pass a chemical and sensory analysis. Upon successful result, the wine is awarded a unique Amtliche Prüfungsnummer (the “official exam number,” or A.P. number), a new certification that debuted with the 1971 wine law. Each A.P. number consists of five sets of digits. The digits, in order, indicate the following: (1) the location of the examination board, (2) the village in which the wine was produced, (3) the producer, (4) the unique number of the bottling, and (5) the year in which the wine was tested, typically one calendar year after the vintage. All Qualitätswein and Prädikatswein must carry an A.P. number, theoretically ensuring that quality remains strict. However, in the modern German wine industry, nearly 98% of the entire volume of production falls into these categories—so does an A.P. number really ensure quality wine?

The 1971 German Wine Law Today

Classic and Selection: By the Numbers

Classic wines are considered “harmoniously dry,” with a maximum residual sugar content of 15 g/l, and Selection wines are “superior dry” with a maximum residual sugar content of 9 g/l (12 g/l allowed for Riesling). Wines labeled “Classic” are single varietal wines and omit any mention of a vineyard on the label. They show a superior minimum alcohol content of 12% (11.5% in the Mosel). Selection wines are single vineyard wines from a single variety. Yields are restricted to 60 hl/ha. Must weight for Selection wines must be equivalent to Auslese, and vineyards are hand-harvested. The wines may not be released prior to September 1 of the year following harvest.

The 1971 wine law is still on the books, with several modifications. A 1982 update introduced the category of Landwein and designated Eiswein as an independent Prädikat level. Some famous vineyards, such as Forster Kirchenstück in the Pfalz, Bernkasteler Doctor in the Middle Mosel, and Kiedricher Turmberg in the Rheingau, escaped the minimum five-hectare mandate for single vineyards. Minimum Öchsle levels for Prädikat categories have been raised over time. New legally sanctioned terms debuted in 2000, including “Classic” and “Selection,” which were intended to replace halbtrocken and trocken, respectively. (Neither really caught on.) Erstes Gewächs got formal approval for use on the labels of dry wines from specific sites in the Rheingau. And while the law technically prohibits any label language not expressly defined, at least one informal term—feinherb, indicating a slightly off-dry style—persisted and replaced halbtrocken on most labels.

Under the EU-wide CMO reforms on wine passed in the late 2000s, Germany’s 13 Anbaugebiete (after the country's reunification, 2 were added to the original 11) formally became PDOs. In German, a protected designation of origin is known, cumbersomely, as a geschützte Ursprungsbezeichnung (gU). QbA and QmP became traditional terms under the eyes of the law, and Germany took the opportunity to (mercifully) shorten the category names to Qualitätswein and Prädikatswein. Tafelwein evolved into Wein.

Prädikatswein Minimum Must Weight Ranges

All weights in degrees Öchsle

Kabinett: 70-85°
Spätlese: 76-95°
Auslese: 83-105°
Beerenauslese: 110-128°
Eiswein: 110-128°
Trockenbeerenauslese: 150-154°

Note: The above values are not absolute ranges—minimum must requirements vary by region and variety. For instance, Riesling requires a minimum 80° in the Mosel for Spätlese, but it must achieve 90° for that category in the Pfalz. There is no maximum level for each Prädikat, meaning that declassification is possible, and common in hotter years.

Therefore, the four German categories of wine today are the following:

Wein: Formerly Tafelwein, this category carries no geographic designation, although wines may be labeled as Deutscher Wein if produced from German grapes. Variety and vintage are permitted on the label.
Landwein: An IGP category including trocken and halbtrocken wines produced from any of 26 winegrowing regions, known as Landweingebiete.
Qualitätswein: A PDO category, encompassing most of the country’s top dry wines. This category, inclusive of Prädikatswein, covers 96% of German wine production and almost all exports. In light of the low alcohol levels classically achieved by some of Germany’s finest sweet wines, this category requires wines to acquire a minimum 7% alcohol content, rather than the minimum 8.5% mandated by European law.
Prädikatswein: A PDO category and a subset of Qualitätswein, encompassing all of the country’s best sweet wines. The lower Prädikate require a minimum 7% acquired alcohol; from Beerenauslese on up, the minimum is reduced to 5.5%.

The law survives, but in order to fully understand the modern German label, one must look beyond it to the work of the VDP, an organization representing many of Germany’s best producers that has worked to return emphasis to the vineyard.

The VDP

The Verband Deutscher Prädikatsweingüter, or VDP, is an association of 202 (as of the close of 2022) German producers dedicated to high quality, the preservation of a sense of place, and those grape varieties traditionally cultivated within each winegrowing region. The VDP is a national entity comprising 11 regional associations; today, the organization counts members from all 13 German Anbaugebiete among its ranks. Membership requires a commitment to the VDP’s classification system as well the observance of higher minimum must weights and lower maximum yields than permitted by German law. All wines must be estate grown. Hand-harvesting is required for all single vineyard wines and for any Prädikat wines of Auslese level or above. In their vineyards, members must cultivate a minimum 80% of traditional grape varieties, from selections drawn by each regional association—lists that generally exclude crossings developed for hardiness in the vineyard and high, reliable yields. Additionally, in an effort to restore individualism and impact to the vineyard names of Germany, the VDP prohibits its members from using the loathed Grosslagen of 1971 on their labels. (Out with Grosslagen; long live Grosse Lage.) Member estates are identified by the mandatory presence off the VDP’s logo, the Traubenadler, on bottle capsules.

The VDP was founded in 1910 as the VDNV, or Verband Deutscher Naturweinversteigerer, an assembly of four regional winegrowers’ associations that promoted the sale of Natur (unchaptalized) wines at auction. The organization survived the turmoil of two world wars but faced ruin in 1971, when the newly enacted wine law banned the use of the term Natur. (Echoing concerns of the modern natural wine movement, the German Wine Institute would no longer allow the term’s traditional use, indicating wines without chaptalization, as the wines could contain other additives, like sulfur and Süssreserve.) Facing dissolution, the core members rebranded their association as the VDP and refocused on the promotion of more stringent requirements for wine quality than the new law demanded. In 1984, the VDP started work on its own vineyard classification, using old tax registries and Napoleonic maps to rediscover parcels gerrymandered out of existence with the new law and Flurbereinigung. A focus on terroir expression as an indivisible part of superior wine quality took hold in the 1990s. In 2002, the project culminated with the launch of a formal, yet extralegal, three-tier vineyard classification system. In 2012, the VDP refined the existing system, establishing the final framework that remains in place today.

From the 2011 vintage forward, VDP members may produce wines in four different categories of origin. Emulating Burgundy, the VDP system includes a regional tier (Gutswein), a village tier (Ortswein), premier cru vineyards (Erste Lage), and grand cru vineyards (Grosse Lage). Typically, the only statement of origin provided for Gutswein is the name of the Anbaugebiet, often accompanied by a fantasy name. Ortswein is the product of multiple vineyards in a single village and is typically labeled with the village name and/or a statement of soil, such as Kalkstein (limestone), Blauen Schiefer (blue slate), or Buntsandstein (red sandstone). Erste Lage and Grosse Lage wines are single-vineyard selections, and producers are strictly limited in their choice of varieties for both categories. The Erste Lage category is often labeled in traditional fashion, with the vineyard preceded by the village name—e.g., Iphöfer Kronsberg—while the Grosse Lage sites are labeled solely with the vineyard name, in true grand cru fashion: Goldtröpfchen, Rothenberg, Hermannshöhle. Many Grosse Lage and Erste Lage sites may share names with official Einzellagen, yet they are often defined more narrowly in size. Others resurrect the old names of pre-1971 sites engulfed by adjacent vineyards.

The name of the category for each individual wine may appear on the capsule alongside the VDP logo, but producers often omit this mention for the Gutswein and Ortswein tiers.

Producers may release wines of any sweetness level at any tier of the new hierarchy. However, in an effort to restore the historical meanings connoted by Prädikate, VDP producers must limit their use to sweet wines. Therefore, Spätlese trocken, Auslese trocken, and the like no longer appear on dry wine labels of VDP producers. Absent the mention of a Prädikat, the term trocken continues to signify dry wines at the Erste Lage level or below. For the Grosse Lage category, however, it is replaced by the grander term Grosses Gewächs, or “Great Growth.” A Grosses Gewächs wine is therefore a dry wine from a Grosse Lage vineyard, identified by the appearance of the trademarked acronym “GG” on the label. Grosses Gewächs white wines may not be released until September 1 of the year after harvest. For red wines, the category requires an additional year of aging and at least 12 months in wood. Prädikatswein Grosse Lage wines may be released as early as May 1 of the year after harvest. Remember that all VDP dry wines, including the very expensive Grosses Gewächs bottlings, are simply Qualitätswein in the eyes of the law. Chaptalization is therefore legally possible—and routinely practiced with Spätburgunder—despite the VDP’s original mission of promoting Natur wines.

The maximum yield for each category is as follows:

Gutswein: 75 hl/ha
Ortswein: 75 hl/ha
Erste Lage: 60 hl/ha
Grosse Lage: 50 hl/ha

While the VDP generally requires its membership to adhere to the current system, there are countless exceptions and exemptions to the rules. Remember that the national organization is composed of 10 regional bodies, each with their own traditions. Some estates, with long histories of marketing alternative terms, still use their own label language in place of Grosse Lage and Erste Lage; for example, Bürklin-Wolf continues to label its top single-vineyard wines as “GC” and “PC.” Schloss Johannisberg continues to label their “Silberlack” Grosses Lage Riesling as Trocken, even as Koehler-Ruprecht was forbidden from retaining its traditional Prädikat declarations on dry wines—a move that led the producer to leave the association in 2014. The rules are not for everyone—in the Mosel, for instance, producers make Grosse Lage Kabinett at yields of 60 to 70 hectoliters per hectare, a violation tolerated by the VDP because the higher yields are more suitable for that style of wine. Because the VDP’s classification system is not a legal construction, it does not always behave predictably. Trying to understand the system by flagging its inconsistencies is to slide headlong into confusion and despair.

The Grapes of Germany

Today, Germany maintains 102,000 hectares of vines. In 2017, it was the world’s 14th largest grower, behind Greece and South Africa.

Germany emphasizes varietal expressions over blended wines, and the variety is often a more prominent feature on the label than region. The country adheres to the EU minimum of 85% for varietal labeling.

All statistics courtesy of the German Wine Institute.

Riesling (24,410 ha, 2022): In the late 1990s, Riesling, Germany’s most distinguished grape variety, surpassed Müller-Thurgau to become the country’s most planted grape. Riesling is the most planted variety in 7 of Germany’s 13 Anbaugebiete, and the country maintains just under 40% of the world’s nearly 64,000 hectares of the vine. Whether the grape originated in Alsace or Germany is unknown; monks cultivated Riesslaner in the Rheingau vineyards of Kloster Eberbach by 1435, and in a 1552 Latin book of herbs, Hieronymus Bock logged Riesling in the modern-day regions of the Mosel, Rheingau, and Rheinhessen. Forces both noble and clerical mandated its cultivation throughout Germany’s emergent fine-wine regions from the late 17th century on. Riesling became synonymous with the Rheingau, a region that was dominated by red wine in the Middle Ages. Indeed, the Benedictine monks of Johannisberg insistent on its propagation were immortalized in the nickname Johannisberger, used throughout the 20th-century New World to refer to the grape.

Naturally floral and aromatic, high in acidity, and capable of making age-worthy dry and sweet wines, Riesling is a sommelier secret weapon and Germany’s best and most transparent indicator of terroir. Winemaking is not one-size-fits-all, beginning even before harvest. The decision to make a dry or sweet wine impacts yield: lower yields—and the increased concentration they afford—are necessary for great dry wines, but the sweeter styles often benefit from higher yields as they gain concentration from residual sugar. Some wines undergo cold, pre-fermentation skin contact to extract phenolic content and naturally raise pH; others are whole-bunch pressed for cleaner, purer must. German Riesling producers are divided on the subject of spontaneous (ambient) versus inoculated fermentations; a spontaneous ferment is more unpredictable and requires more oxygen, producing a wilder array of earthy, sulfide-driven flavors, while inoculated ferments are simpler to maintain and can deliver fruit forwardness and cleaner flavors. Fermentation and aging may occur in stainless steel or large oak containers. (Classic German vessels include the Stück, a 1,200-liter oval cask, and its variants, the Doppelstück and Halbstück, 2,400 liters and 600 liters respectively.) Malolactic fermentation is usually stopped, by naturally low pH or by design, although some producers resort to the process in spectacularly acidic, lean years. Perhaps counterintuitively, top dry wines can be leesy and rich, with weight that recalls Chardonnay, while great sweet wines can seem light and delicate, despite intense residual sugar. Germany excels at both ends of the sugar spectrum with Riesling, and despite lingering stereotypes, quantities of the trocken bottlings outpaced sweeter styles by the mid-2000s. Even so, legally dry Riesling in Germany often has a pinch of residual sugar to balance the naturally high acidity the grape achieves in these northerly growing regions.

Müller-Thurgau (10,970 ha, 2022): Müller-Thurgau, a Riesling and Madeleine Royale crossing first obtained by the Swiss Dr. Hermann Müller at the Geisenheim Grape Breeding Institute in 1882, became an incredibly important variety in Germany after World War II. Early ripening and high yielding, the variety became such an important component of mass-made Liebfraumilch wines and other low-end products that it quickly emerged as Germany’s leading grape variety in 1969, a position it maintained until Riesling usurped it 30 years later. German consumers during the period loved off-dry Müller-Thurgau for its muscat-like taste, but the variety is less acidic and less aromatic than Riesling and is not considered a quality grape in Germany today. It remains the second most planted variety in the country, but acreage continues to diminish; acreage in 2014 was about half of what it was in 1995.

Spätburgunder/Pinot Noir (11,512 ha, 2022): Germany is the world’s third-largest producer of Pinot Noir, trailing only France and the United States. Baden, where Pinot Noir first appeared in the late 800s, leads the way with nearly half of the country’s supply, followed by the Pfalz and the Rheinhessen. From 1964, when Pinot Noir claimed less than 2,000 hectares, the grape’s popularity has soared. It is a beneficiary of climate change and maturing German tastes for fine red wine, and the grape’s ascendance is in line with the overall advancement of red grapes in Germany.

Frühburgunder, a natural mutation genetically identical to Pinot Noir, is a rare specialty of Germany. As of 2017, there were 246 hectares in the country. Thicker skinned than Pinot Noir, the grape also ripens about two weeks earlier in the season. Resultant wines are darker in color and fruit expression, with lower acidity. In France, the grape is known as Pinot Noir Précoce or, historically, Pinot Madeleine.

Dornfelder (6,812 ha, 2022): Germany’s second most planted red grape variety, Dornfelder, is a cross of Helfensteiner and Heroldrebe developed by August Herold in 1956 and named after a founder of the Weinsberg viticulture school, August Dornfeld. The thick-skinned grape produces a darker, fuller style of wine than Spätburgunder but is highly vigorous in the vineyard. Its current popularity in Germany's domestic market stems from the common belief among consumers that color equals quality in reds.

Grauburgunder/Pinot Gris (8,094 ha, 2022): Grauburgunder has been cultivated in Germany since the Middle Ages and shows the most potential in the southern region of Baden, across the Rhine River from Alsace. Germany is actually the world’s second-largest grower of Pinot Gris, trailing Italy in total acreage. Here the wines are typically dry, with more power and richness than Italian Pinot Grigio but less outright funk than in Alsace. Occasionally, sweet botrytized wines are produced, labeled as Ruländer.

Weissburgunder/Pinot Blanc (6,181 ha, 2022): Germany is the world’s leading grower of Pinot Blanc, and the grape appears throughout Germany’s Anbaugebiete. Strongholds are Baden and the Pfalz. Weissburgunder in Germany can be simple, innocuous, and aromatically neutral, but at the top end, it has emerged as Germany’s leading textural white grape. Acidity typically rates higher than in Grauburgunder but lower than in Riesling. Great Weissburgunder is subject to many of the same treatments in the winery as good white Burgundy.

Silvaner (4,419 ha, 2022): Once the most planted variety in Germany, Silvaner lost its top billing to Müller-Thurgau in 1969 and has been sliding ever since. Today, it makes up just under 5% of the total German vineyard, yet in 2015, Silvaner finally gained a little ground, halting 50 years of decline in the vineyard. A Traminer and Österreichisch-Weiss (“Austrian white”) crossing, Silvaner is Austrian in origin and first arrived in Franken, its natural home in Germany, during the mid-17th century. In comparison to Riesling, it is lower in acid, less aromatic, less fruit driven, and prone to higher levels of alcohol. (If anything, Grüner Veltliner may be a better comparison for style.) Silvaner ripens earlier than Riesling, which led many 18th- and 19th-century growers to interplant it as a form of insurance, a tradition mirrored by grape breeders, who used Silvaner as a parent stock for crossings like Bacchus, Morio-Muskat, and Rieslaner. There are four broad types of the variety: Grüner, Blauer, Roter, and Gelber—green, blue, red, and yellow. By the 20th century, grape breeders isolated the most popular clones of the grape from the Grüner Silvaner sub-variety, which developed a thicker skin, generating greater resistance to rot and mildew but also a higher degree of bitterness and green character in the wines. Today, the newest clones developed at the Würzburg grape-breeding institute in Franken are typically of the Grüner or Gelber Silvaner sub-varieties, exhibiting looser clusters, smaller berries, less susceptibility to botrytis, and heightened aromatics and acid structure.

Lemberger/Blaufränkisch (1,929 ha, 2022): German renditions of the Austrian Blaufränkisch variety are beginning to show modest success, and many consider Lemberger to be the second highest quality red grape in Germany. It is cultivated primarily in Württemberg.

Scheurebe (1,483 ha, 2022): Named for the grape breeder Georg Scheu, who obtained this cross of Riesling and Bukettrebe at Alzey in 1916, Scheurebe is held as one of the few German crossings that can achieve high quality in the glass. Like Riesling, it can over-deliver in both dry and sweet versions, and it offers some of the pungently aromatic, thiol-based aromas of Sauvignon Blanc: grapefruit, cassis, cat pee. It is most successful in the Rheinhessen and the Pfalz.

Like Müller-Thurgau, Scheurebe was originally recorded as a cross of Riesling and Silvaner, an error corrected one century after its birth.

Other Varieties: It is international white varieties that are advancing most suddenly in the German vineyard. Chardonnay, ubiquitous elsewhere, was unknown in Germany prior to the 1990s, yet there are nearly 2,000 hectares today, much of it vinified as Sekt. Since 1995, Sauvignon Blanc made its debut and amassed over 1,100 hectares. White German grape crossings are all on the decline in the vineyard. Kerner maintains almost 2,600 hectares under vine, although over 4,500 hectares have been ripped out since 1995. Bacchus, Ortega, and others are similarly on the decline. Important German red grapes beyond those detailed above include Schwarzriesling (Pinot Meunier) and Trollinger (Schiava). Both are around 2,000 hectares in acreage and grow almost exclusively in Württemberg. Regent, an early-ripening red hybrid first authorized for planting in 1996, has actually spread to cover about 1,800 hectares, but this is not a grape for quality German red wines of the future.

German Sekt

Germans are the biggest sparkling wine consumers per capita, and Germany is the third-largest producer of sparkling wines in the world.

The country's history of sparkling wine production is long. The first German to make sparkling wine was Florenz-Ludwig Heidsieck, in 1785 in Champagne. The first sparkling wine made in Germany was in Württemberg, in 1826. Sparkling wine quickly became so popular that Kaiser Wilhelm set a Sekt tax in 1902 in order to finance his navy. It remains today: 1.02 Euro per bottle.

Around 85% of the output comes from the seven largest companies, including Henkell, Rotkäppchen, and Söhnlein-Brillant. These are companies that buy base wines from all over Europe and make fizz with the tank method. Ever wonder where all the Airen goes? Well, here is the answer! But that's another story.

Since growers now know how to make great Riesling and Pinot Noir, they are keen to improve sparkling wine quality. The leader of this movement is Volker Raumland from Rheinhessen, who founded Germany's first winery focusing only on sparkling wines. He started with a service business, to make Sekt for other wineries, since many lack the special bottling machines and other equipment required. However, he makes outstanding sparkling wines himself and makes base wine solely for this purpose—not too ripe, hand-harvested, using the free-run juice.

Ten years ago, when growers had mediocre wine in the cellar, they said, “Oh, let’s make Sekt out of it, put a lot of dosage on top, and sell it.” Those days are almost over! Raumland and many other growers are making very good base wines. Some of these are fermented and aged in oak. A few growers are even making single-vineyard Sekt.

Half of the premium Sekt is made from Riesling. For basic Riesling Sekt, long lees ageing is not required, since the lees aromas would overwhelm the aromatic Riesling character. Raumland and other producers like Matthieu Kaufmann (former cellar master at Bollinger) of Reichsrat von Buhl make profound Riesling Sekt. They do some malolactic fermentation and leave the Sekt longer on the lees, resulting in more autolytic character but with the Riesling fruit still shining through. Theirs is a unique and special sparkling wine style.

One-third of premium Sekt is made of Pinot varieties, with Pinot Blanc playing an important role. The remaining one-fifth of premium Sekt is made with aromatic varieties. Scheurebe and Gewürztraminer are specialties.

Most Sekt is Brut, with a handful of producers making very balanced Brut Nature styles.

– Romana Echensperger, MW

Rheingau

The Rheingau is the classic site of Rhenish Riesling cultivation
-H.W. Dahlen, General Secretary of the German Wine-Growers Association, 1894

The Rhine River, one of Western Europe’s key routes for transport and trade, flows northward from its headwaters in Switzerland to the North Sea without deviation, save for one short turn to the west. Between the cities of Mainz and Wiesbaden, the Rhine’s wide path collides with the rise of the western Taunus range, and it swerves westward past the town of Rüdesheim am Rhein before turning north again. On this 30-kilometer stretch of river, the central Rheingau rises from the river’s north bank—a massive south-facing slope that climbs, unhurriedly, from 75 meters at the water’s edge to over 300 meters in elevation. Here, where some believe the Riesling vine first sprung from a seed, Germany’s international reputation for world-class wines was forged.

The central Rheingau includes most of the region’s vineyards and its most renowned winegrowing villages. Between the outskirts of Wiesbaden on its eastern edge and the village of Rüdesheim in the west are Walluf, Martinsthal, Rauenthal, Eltville, Kiedrich, Erbach, Hallgarten, Hattenheim, Oestrich, Winkel, and Johannisberg. Geisenheim, home to Germany’s top enological school and grape-breeding institute, sits at the river’s edge, downslope and just west of Johannisberg. (Johannisberg itself is technically part of the larger Geisenheim municipality.) From Walluf to the town of Geisenheim, the Rhine River is broad, the hillside sprawling and less abrupt. Soils feature a mixture of slate, quartzite, and sandstone, with layers of loess and clay on the lower slopes and stonier, more eroded soils on the upper slopes, with a higher proportion of slate. West of Geisenheim, the river narrows before bending northward, and the Rheingau hillside becomes more dramatic. Many of the central Rheingau’s vineyards exhibit a leisurely incline, but at its edge, Rüdesheim claims the region’s steepest slopes, which reach a 70% grade in the Grosse Lage site Berg Schlossberg.

The classic English nickname for Rhine wines, Hock, is derived from the name of Hochheim.

There are two other, smaller areas within the Rheingau Anbaugebiet. The second sector is the Western Rheingau, which extends from the red-wine commune of Assmannshausen northward to Lorchhausen on the right bank of the river, at the entrance to the Rhine Gorge and the Mittelrhein Anbaugebiet. Conditions are more in line with the Mittelrhein than the central Rheingau; colder sites and purer slate soils are common. The third area, the Maingau, is not actually on the Rhine at all. Instead, this small enclave of vines is clustered around the village of Hochheim am Main, east of Wiesbaden in the valley of the Main River, a Rhine tributary. It is uncharacteristically warm, and soils here demonstrate a geological transition from the Rhenish Massif into the Mainz Basin, with loess-covered loams and marls replacing sandstone and slate. Slopes are gentler than on the Rhine itself and overall lower in elevation, rarely exceeding 120 meters above sea level. Despite what could have been a sensible division into two or three Bereiche, the 1971 wine law identifies only one: Johannisberg, named for the small village at the heart of the central Rheingau.

On the Rheingau hill, proud castles (Schloss) and former abbeys (Kloster) populate the landscape, signaling the historical importance of the church and aristocracy, the chief architects of viticulture in the Rheingau. As in the Mosel, advancing Roman legions introduced the vine here, but it was in the monastic era that winegrowing came to dominate this small region to a degree unmatched anywhere else in Germany. Benedictine monks founded a Kloster at Johannisberg in the early 12th century, and the Cistercians arrived from Burgundy to establish Kloster Eberbach in 1136. Like their contemporaries in the Côte d’Or, the Cistercians of Kloster Eberbach developed a massive network of vineyards, and by 1435, the monks’ records indicate the cultivation of Riesling. Kloster Eberbach began marking high-quality wines as Cabinet in 1712, and in 1775, Schloss Johannisberg announced the first planned Spätlese harvest of botrytis-affected fruit. Meanwhile, aristocrats secured massive Rheingau vineyard holdings as well. Schloss Schönborn, founded in 1349, Schloss Vollrads, Baron Langwerth von Simmern, Schloss Reinhartshausen, and other winegrowing estates that count centuries of noble lineage still populate the region. Schloss Schönborn and Schloss Johannisberg were among the first producers in Germany to introduce glass bottles, in the early 1700s.

The influence of both church and aristocracy would erode in the modern era. The Catholic Church lost many of its lands in Germany at the beginning of the 19th century, in a wave of secularization instigated by Napoleon. Schloss Johannisberg is now under corporate ownership, while the Eberbach Abbey and its famous walled Steinberg domaine are now the property of the Hessen State Winery, the largest single wine producer in Germany. And the stodgy approach of some of the elder aristocratic houses, steadfast in the belief that noble blood produces noble wines, started to prove otherwise. The height of German wine fame in the 19th century rested on the shoulders of Rheingau Riesling, but by the late 20th century, many of the region’s wines seemed less inspired. Today, the Rheingau is finally experiencing renewed vigor, amidst changes in philosophy and management at the old guard, propelled by the energy and imagination of newer producers who number their experience in years, not centuries. The best of the Rheingau today includes Peter Jakob Kühn, Josef Leitz, Eva Fricke, Georg Breuer, and Künstler—all newcomers or names unknown in the mid-20th century.

No region in Germany is as committed to Riesling as the Rheingau. It accounts for almost 2,500 of the region’s 3,160 total hectares under vine—8 out of every 10 vines in the Rheingau are Riesling. Almost exclusively, Riesling is grown in the best vineyard sites; many of Germany’s most legendary examples of the wine were produced here. As the first Spätlese and, subsequently, Auslese wines were fashioned from Rheingau grapes by the end of the 1700s, the region has a long history of success with noble sweet wines. Botrytis is a common occurrence near the broad Rhine, especially in vineyards nearest the river. (It's also common in the vineyards closest to the riverside villages, where buildings constrict the flow of wind and encourage rot.) Even as the 50th parallel runs directly through the Rheingau, the moderating impact of the Rhine on local temperatures allows Riesling to hang on the vine into the early autumn for the late harvests necessary for Prädikatswein. In most vintages, the Rheingau adds 40% or more of its production to the Prädikatswein category, even as some of it finishes dry. The modern focus is dry Riesling: around 80% of Rheingau Riesling has nine grams per liter or less of residual sugar.

A turn toward dry Riesling in the Rheingau, which would replace off-dry wines as the primary product of the region by the end of the 20th century, began with the founding of the Charta Association in 1984. The association strove to promote more stringent quality guidelines than the 1971 wine law provides, to better define the Rheingau’s great vineyard sites, and to elevate dry Riesling to its historical role as a top product of the region prior to the Second World War. (Its aims echo—and inform—those of the VDP.) Charta Riesling became a brand for its members. Wines in the dry style carried the association’s logo, an emblem of three Roman arches styled from the balcony of the historic Graue Haus hotel in Winkel. Bernhard Breuer of Rüdesheim’s Georg Breuer estate led the charge, and the conversation started by Charta would eventually extend beyond the Rheingau and ignite debate throughout Germany. Locally, producers in the Rheingau pushed for a legal classification of vineyard sites and a new legal designation for top dry wines of the Rheingau: Erstes Gewächs. This “first growth” category, permitted under German wine law for the 1999 vintage forward, applies to dry Riesling and Spätburgunder bottlings from selected Rheingau vineyards. The vineyard classification, based on an 1867 Rheingau map, represented the first site-based quality hierarchy accepted into law in the wake of the 1971 legislation. Unlike the Charta designation, or the coming Grosses Gewächs of the VDP, the Erstes Gewächs category is available to all producers who adhere to its requirements and have a share in the selected land—which amounts to almost one-third of the entire planted area of the Rheingau—resulting in a watered-down sense of “first growth” by anyone’s standards. Erstes Gewächs, now accompanied by the logo of three arches, is legally sanctioned and therefore spelled out in full on Rheingau labels.

Rheingau vineyards, whether classified by German law or considered Grosse Lage by the VDP, number as some of the most famous Riesling sites in Germany. Two monopoles of ecclesiastical origin exist: Schloss Johannisberg, planted to Riesling since 1720, and the Hattenheimer Steinberg vineyard of Kloster Eberbach, enclosed by a wall in 1760. There is also Hattenheimer Pfaffenberg, a monopole of Schloss Schönborn since the 1600s. Other great sites are of fragmented ownership, such as Kiedricher Gräfenberg, exemplified by Robert Weil; Hochheimer Hölle and Johannisberger Hölle, a shared name that indicates a rocky hill (not “hell,” the direct translation of hölle); and the trio of great vineyards at Rüdesheim, named Berg Rottland, Berg Roseneck, and Berg Schlossberg. At the small outpost for Spätburgunder at Assmannshausen, there is one great site, Höllenberg. August Kesseler is the preeminent producer.

Mosel

Traditionally, Riesling from the Rheingau was bottled in brown glass, while Riesling from the Mosel was bottled in green glass.

The valleys of the Mosel River and its tributaries, the Saar and Ruwer, together comprise one of Germany’s most picturesque, historic, and iconic wine regions. Cherished for the attributes of lightness and finesse it can imbue in its wines, the Mosel was for many years Europe’s largest cultivator of Riesling, until finally overtaken by the Pfalz in the mid-2000s. Talk of the Mosel conjures imagery of a winding river snaking its way across a landscape of small villages and precipitous slopes, covered in tiles of broken slate and draped with vines. Coursing between the Hunsrück hills and the Eifel Mountains, the Mosel River creates an idyllic backdrop for winegrowing, even as its best vineyards inhabit some of the most challenging terrain in the world for winegrowers.

The earliest evidence of winegrowing in Germany is in the Mosel. Imported by the Romans, who founded the city of Trier in 16 BCE as a provincial capital, viticulture here first prospered at the end of the third century CE, after Probus lifted the imperial prohibition on winegrowing in Rome’s provinces. Early medieval documents detailing vineyard ownership exist from the seventh century, and the church guided its development. The St. Maximin monastery and the Bishop of Trier both owned scores of vines by the late medieval period, and it was a powerful Archbishop of Trier, Clemens Wenceslaus, who in 1786 decreed a mandatory shift to Riesling throughout the vineyard.

In early modern times, the Mosel and the Rheingau became models for Riesling—they were the only two areas in Germany producing noble sweet wines with any regularity. Unlike the Rheingau, however, the Mosel began a tradition of producing lightly sweet, low-alcohol Riesling wines in the 19th century. Before the advent of sterile filtration, this could only be accomplished with a heavy dose of sulfur, and with it, the Mosel style of Kabinett Riesling was born, offering a clear alternative to the heavier dry styles of the Rheingau and elsewhere. The Mosel today produces thrilling, electric dry Riesling alongside wines with every degree of residual sugar, yet it is the light and delicate Kabinett Riesling that is its signature gift. Further, with ripeness more easily obtained in the modern era of climate change, this style is increasingly difficult to craft with a classic sense of balance.

The Mosel Single-Post System

The Mosel’s treacherously steep slopes often register grades of 50 to 80% and may even reach 100% or higher, spelling worry for life and limb despite advantages for the vine. Mosel growers traditionally employed their own system of vine training, the single-post system, to improve workers’ ability to traverse the dangerous hillsides. In the single-post system, growers train vines upright, without wires, employing either a vertical cordon or two canes, wrapped in a characteristic heart-shaped bow. Absent wires, vineyard workers have much more freedom of movement to navigate the difficult terrain. (Pulleys and cables are still required in some places to move machinery.) However, the system faces criticism. In order to improve airflow and reduce botrytis, leaf removal is necessary, but this increases sun exposure, which can lead to TDN-based flavors (petrol) in Riesling. Wire trellises appeared in the 20th century at larger properties, and in the post-Flurbereinigung world, the single-post system, once commonplace, has lost a lot of ground in the Mosel.

The Mosel River, at 545 kilometers in length, is the longest tributary of the Rhine River. It begins in the Vosges Mountains in France, home of the Moselle AOP, and forms Luxembourg’s border with Germany. It then carves a winding path for more than 200 kilometers through Germany to the city of Koblenz, where it converges with the Rhine. Vineyards follow its every twist and turn. The modern Anbaugebiet, known simply as the Mosel, includes six Bereiche, three of which lie on the river itself: Bernkastel (the Middle Mosel), followed by Burg Cochem (the Lower Mosel, or Terrassenmosel) and Obermosel (the Upper Mosel). Two Bereiche, the Ruwertal and Saar, mark the vineyards of its two main tributaries, and a sixth, Moseltor, covers a scant handful of vines in the Saarland, near Obermosel. The 50-kilometer-long Bernkastel Bereich, named for the township of Bernkastel-Kues at its heart, holds two-thirds of the Mosel’s vineyard area; its wine-producing villages are responsible for a significant share of the Mosel’s historical fame and current reputation.

Collectively, the Mosel’s six districts constitute one of Germany’s coolest climates for winegrowing, as the region crosses the 50th parallel. The moderating effect of the river and the orientation and aspect of its vineyard sites, altitude, and exposure to wind all impact growing season temperatures and the ability to produce quality wine. At this latitude, global warming notwithstanding, average annual temperatures hover right around 10° C (50° F), and the typical growing season is compressed to about 100 days. However, the tweaks and amplifications of climate that the Mosel offers can extend that period by 40 to 50 days in the best sites. The warmest vineyards in the entire valley are south- and southwest-facing slopes along the Mosel River itself, where sunlight and temperature are magnified, and such slopes produce the best wines. Rarely are north-facing slopes planted, even though viticulture expanded in the latter half of the 20th century to include flatter plains and side valleys, none of which offer enough warmth to produce high-quality Riesling. Vineyards in narrower sectors of the Mosel Valley and those at lower elevation are afforded more protection from wind, while forests cap the hillsides, acting as bulwarks against the cold air drafts that blow in from the Hunsrück and Eifel ranges. Proximity to the river helps to mitigate the danger of spring frosts, even as it creates frequent banks of autumn fog, signaling the arrival of botrytis.

Soil color and composition also play a role in ripening the vine. The thin, sandy topsoil of the Mosel is typically covered with tiles of broken slate, carried up the slopes and strewn about the vineyards year after year, to collect heat and prevent erosion of the soil beneath. The soil’s trademark element, Devonian slate, helps to defuse nighttime lows and limit diurnal variation by releasing heat stored throughout the day into the canopy. Devonian slate is found in both dark blue and red variations; the effect is intensified with dark-colored slate, the more common variation. The broken, weathered soil also affords excellent drainage. In the Mosel, rainfall varies from 650 to 900 millimeters annually (26.5 to 35.5 inches), and it is evenly distributed throughout the year. Without such dry, well-drained, heat-retaining soils, ripening would be delayed. Additionally, the slate soils of the Mosel have served to limit the incursion of phylloxera. The bug is present, but it cannot thrive, leaving a few pockets of centurion vines in the valley. (Nonetheless, most vines are grafted—it is usually illegal to plant otherwise.) Extremely weathered and nutrient poor, these old, acidic slate soils can lead to nitrogen deficiency in grape must and low wine pH. The combination of resulting sulfur-derived aromas and high acidity easily leads tasters into “mineral” territory.

Districts of the Mosel

Bernkastel

The Middle Mosel follows the winding path of the river from Trier north to Zell. One after another, the famous winegrowing villages of the region appear: Leiwen, Trittenheim, Piesport, Brauneberg, Bernkastel-Kues, Graach, Wehlen, Zeltingen, Ürzig, and Erden. This sector, spanning some 50 kilometers of river, claims three-quarters of the acreage of the entire Anbaugebiet and includes many of Germany’s most renowned Riesling sites: Bernkasteler Doctor, Piesporter Goldtröpfchen, Erdener Prälat, Graacher Himmelreich, Ürziger Würzgarten, and the famous sundial (Sonnenuhr) vineyards of Wehlen and Zeltingen. The classic identity of the Mosel was etched here, but quality can vary immensely. Common Grosslagen bottlings like Piesporter Michelsberg or lesser single vineyard wines have diminished the region’s reputation and the price of its best wines. One can even see this in the local architecture. Houses from a century ago, with their slate-tiled roofs, reflect past wealth, while modern construction evokes more modest means. Nonetheless, some of the Mosel’s greatest and most timeless wines emerge from this region, from benchmark producers like Joh. Jos. Prüm, Reinhold Haart, Reichsgraf von Kesselstatt, and Dr. Loosen; meanwhile, upstarts with more recent reputations, like Ansgar Clüsserath, Daniel Vollenweider, and Clemens-Busch, are revitalizing the Mosel’s image.

Burg Cochem

The Lower Mosel stretches from Zell northward through Cochem to Koblenz, at the border of the Mittelrhein Anbaugebiet where the Mosel River joins the Rhine. The slopes here are even more dizzyingly steep, with grades easily reaching 70% or more. The region, also known as the Terrassenmosel, still hides some old, narrow hillside terraces, originally built by Romans and painstakingly maintained through the centuries, but most of these relics were obliterated with the Flurbereinigung campaign, which leveled and widened hillsides to permit machines. Winningen is a key winegrowing village, home to star producer Heymann-Löwenstein and the premier vineyard site Uhlen. Reinhard Heymann-Löwenstein applied for Germany’s first three single-vineyard PDOs, for three separate parcels within Uhlen: Blaufüsser Lay, Roth Lay, and Laubach. These were approved by the EU in 2018. The outspoken intellectual also has a theory as to the Middle Mosel’s superiority over his more remote stretch of river: “The smart kids from Winningen went to the city (Koblenz). We were left with the stupid kids that made bad wine.”

Obermosel

The Upper Mosel bereiche occupies the right bank of the Mosel River from just south of Trier to the French border. (The left bank is in Luxembourg.) This sector of the Mosel sits, with Chablis and Champagne, within the Paris Basin, atop a calcareous soil makeup that replaces the Devonian slate of the Middle and Lower Mosel. Riesling takes a backseat in Obermosel to Elbling, an ancient white grape variety that produces simple, fruity whites and refreshing sparkling wines.

Ruwertal

The Ruwer is a small tributary of the Mosel River, a stream connecting to the Middle Mosel between Trier and Trittenheim. A slightly cooler region than the Middle Mosel, the Ruwertal has a similar slate soil composition and contains about 200 hectares of vines, mostly Riesling. The church’s historical connection to viticulture is clear here: the Benedictine St. Maximin monastery, so important to medieval viticulture in the Mosel, based its winemaking operations here, at (Maximin) Grünhaus, as early as the 900s. The estate, still in operation and now owned by the von Schubert family, is an Ortsteil and one of the Ruwer’s best wine producers. The other great estate of the Ruwertal, Karthäuserhof in Eitelsbach, also claims an ecclesiastical origin under the domaine of Carthusian monks.

Saar

A small region south of Trier, the Saar Bereich inhabits the banks of the Saar River, a Mosel tributary. The slate hills are steep and windswept here, but most vineyards do not line the river, which flows almost directly north. Despite its more southerly location, the Saar is therefore one of the coolest areas of the Mosel. Achieving ripeness can be a challenge in cool vintages and the wines—again, mostly Riesling—are often even more austere and acid-driven than those from the Middle Mosel. The best vineyards are the south-facing Saarburger Rausch, the neighboring Hörecker and Altenberg on the Saar River in Kanzem, and the legendary Scharzhofberg in Wiltingen. Scharzhofberg is likely the most famous site in the Mosel—or in all of Germany. Egon Müller is its most lauded producer.

Moseltor

Geologically connected to the Upper Mosel, with limestone rather than slate soils, Moseltor falls on the other side of a state boundary and is therefore considered a separate Bereich. There are only three winegrowing villages and a handful of vineyards.

Rheinhessen

Home to one-quarter of Germany’s land under vine, the Rheinhessen is the country’s biggest winegrowing region. The Anbaugebiet spans a large area south of the Rheingau and north of the Pfalz, with the Nahe on its western border and Hessische-Bergstrasse a few kilometers to the east. The distance from the city of Worms at its southern end to its northernmost point at Mainz, the Rheinland-Pfalz state capital, is nearly 50 kilometers. The Rhine River creates a natural border with the Rheingau as well as its eastern boundary, but for much of the region’s 30-kilometer-wide area, the river’s influence is not markedly felt. In such a large area, there is a great diversity of mesoclimates and soils, and no single climatic feature—a river’s moderating influence, or the aspect of a slope—can adequately explain prevailing conditions throughout the entire Anbaugebiet. As such, there is a diversity of grape varieties and no single Rheinhessen style, save for a self-inflicted image: Rheinhessen is known as the land of Liebfraumilch, a region committed to quantity over quality wine.

Liebfrau(en)milch

"Our Lady’s Milk" likely got its start as a real product of the Liebfrau monastery in Worms in the 18th century. From the 1950s to 1980s, however, it was Germany’s most famous wine brand in the English-speaking world. The 1971 wine law allowed Nahe, Pfalz, Rheingau, and Rheinhessen to produce it, requiring it to contain at least 70% of the following varieties: Riesling, Müller-Thurgau, Silvaner, and Kerner. The wines must contain at least 18 grams per liter of residual sugar, and varietal labeling is not allowed.

There is one area historically associated with quality winegrowing in the Rheinhessen: the Roter Hang, a “red hill” of clay and weathered red sandstone (Rotliegendes) on the left bank of the Rhine between the villages of Nierstein and Nackenheim. It lies within a larger span of eastern exposures, the Rheinterrasse, which extends south of Nierstein through the village of Oppenheim. Protected from the frost and winds that sweep through much of the Rheinhessen and home to the famed vineyards Pettenthal and Rothenberg, the Roter Hang is a slim, east-facing slope reaching 70 to 80% grade, but it is hardly representative of the entire Anbaugebiet. Riesling from the Roter Hang fetched prices in line with those of the Rheingau in the 19th century—in fact, the most expensive wine aboard the doomed Titanic was a Niersteiner Riesling—but the remainder of the Rheinhessen became better known in the 20th century as a reservoir of uninteresting crossings and unremarkable wines. By the 1970s, most Rheinhessen grapes were directed to off-dry-to-semi-sweet generic Liebfraumilch blends. Liebfraumilch, which originated as a specialty of Worms, became a sugary, bastardized product that debased Germany’s reputation as a wine producer. Additionally, the 1971 wine law appropriated the name of the small village of Nierstein for one of three Rheinhessen Bereiche, diminishing its value. (Niersteiner Gutes Domtal, a collective site introduced in 1971, came to markets in force.) The Rheinhessen name, including that of its most spectacular stretch of vineyards, was tarnished.

In the last two decades of the 20th century, however, a new spirit arose. In areas never seriously considered promising, new voices arrived on the scene. Klaus-Peter Keller and Philipp Wittmann, whose estates share access to several vineyards in the southern Wonnegau Bereich, led the charge. Their best vineyards, including several Grosse Lage sites, appear as gently undulating fields rather than dramatic slopes. (In the village of Westhofen they have neighboring parcels in Kirchspiel, Morstein, and Brunnenhäuschen; in Flörsheim-Dalsheim, Keller also maintains plots in Bürgel and Hubacker.) Bereft of the Rhine’s influence, the limestone plateaus and low valleys of the Rheinhessen interior have the potential to create world-class wines, amidst a nearly treeless patchwork of agricultural pursuits. The vineyards appear unspectacular, but some of the best dry Riesling wines in the world today come from the limestone and loess soils in the Bereich of Wonnegau. (Keller sources the most expensive dry Riesling produced in Germany, “G-Max,” from an undisclosed parcel in the region.) Rheinhessen’s third Bereich, Bingen, is named for the town at its northwestern corner and covers much of the western reaches of the Anbaugebiet. The region lacks the star power Wonnegau currently enjoys, but there are clusters of good sites in the villages of Bingen and Siefersheim, the latter anchored by the recent successes of Wagner-Stempel.

Keller, Wittmann, Wagner-Stempel, the biodynamic Kühling-Gillot in the Roter Hang, and a select few others represent an explosive new force in German Riesling. Typically, they focus on dry styles and promote spontaneous fermentation as a stylistic choice. They belong to Message in a Bottle, an organization of over two dozen young producers in the region committed to raising the region’s potential and image, internally and internationally. There are classicists with longer track records of quality wines, such as the Gunderloch estate, which owns three-quarters of Nackenheimer Rothenberg, but much of the energy and excitement today in Rheinhessen is with the experimenters and iconoclasts.

As Rheinhessen throws off its old image as a bulk producer, Riesling is not the only beneficiary. It asserted itself as the Rheinhessen’s most planted grape as recently as 2013—Rheinhessen held onto Müller-Thurgau as its chief variety longer than any other major Anbaugebiet—but it only accounts for 16% of the total vineyard. Dry Silvaner is a regional specialty, and the Rheinhessen has more Silvaner planted than any other region in the world, including Franken. Scheurebe, originally bred at Alzey in the Rheinhessen, maintains a presence and is currently undergoing a small revival of interest domestically. And despite the dangers of frost and wind, the Rheinhessen is a warmer region and it is experiencing a surge in interest for Spätburgunder and the white and grey Burgundy varieties. Blue Nun and Liebfraumilch cast a long shadow over the Rheinhessen, but today one is just as likely to find quality wines—from Germany's most diverse selection of varieties—here as anywhere else in the country.

Pfalz

With nearly one-quarter of Germany’s 102,000 hectares of vines, the Pfalz holds Germany’s second-largest cache of vineyards, second only to the Rheinhessen, and commands the country’s largest acreage of Riesling. There is more Riesling in the Pfalz than in Alsace, or in the whole country of Austria, or Australia, or the United States. In comparison to northerly regions like the Mosel, the Pfalz is warm and sunny, with a modern style of Riesling that is resoundingly dry, offering more body, weight, and alcohol than any other classic Riesling region in Germany. Unlike the Rheingau or Mosel, however, the Pfalz is multidimensional: Dornfelder, Müller-Thurgau, and Portugieser follow Riesling in sheer quantities, while the Pfalz’s great vineyards also find room for Spätburgunder, Grauburgunder, Weissburgunder, Scheurebe, and more. (Of these, three—Riesling, Spätburgunder, and Weissburgunder—are currently authorized for VDP Grosse Lage bottlings.) Like the Rheinhessen, this broad region once harbored only a sliver of renowned vineyards, but today good and great wines are made throughout it.

Geographically, the Pfalz lies between Rheinhessen and Alsace. (The region’s shifting political allegiance between France and Germany over the past 200 years actually leaves its southernmost vineyards just across the French border in the Alsatian town of Wissembourg.) The Pfalz Anbaugebiet is on the western side of the Upper Rhine Plain, with its best vineyard sites creeping up the Haardt hills—a northern, forest-capped extension of the Vosges Mountains. It is divided into two Bereiche: the Mittelhaardt-Deutsche Weinstrasse and the Südliche Weinstrasse, both of which take their name from the “wine route,” a road opened in 1935 to link the region’s picturesque villages and boost tourism. The northern sector, the Mittelhaardt, begins about 20 kilometers south of Worms and encompasses many of the Pfalz’s most historic and famous winegrowing villages, including Kallstadt, Ungestein, Forst, Deidesheim, Ruppertsberg, and Gimmeldingen. The Südliche (southern) Weinstrasse picks up just south of the city of Neustadt and extends through Schweigen at the Alsatian border.

In the Mittelhaardt, the landscape is reminiscent of the Côte d’Or. Small medieval villages, crowned by church steeples, dot the plain below the east-facing Haardt hills, where the best vineyards sit mid-slope and bask in morning sun, before they are enveloped in the long evening shadow of the Palatinate Forest treeline. Many of the Mittelhaardt’s modern Grosse Lage sites were mapped in the 1828 Bavarian Land Registry and have ecclesiastical origins in the 12th and 13th centuries. As in Burgundy, they are often clustered together; the greatest concentration of Grosse and Erste Lage sites occupies a small band of slope between Forst and Deidesheim. And just as the Côte d’Or’s ownership has fractured since the era of Napoleon, so to has the Pfalz witnessed a subdividing of vineyard parcels with every new generation—a trend the German government has attempted to curb by restructuring parcel ownership through its Flurbereinigung campaign, with more successes in the flatter, machine-worked vineyards of the Upper Rhine Plain than the premier sites of the Haardt hillsides. In fact, some of the best Einzellagen in the entire Pfalz region have maintained tight boundaries and tiny parcel ownership despite the 1971 wine law and reallocation under Flurbereinigung. The Grosse Lage vineyards Hohenmorgen in Deidesheim and Freundstück in Forst are both under five hectares in size. At 3.7 hectares, Forster Kirchenstück—the “Church parcel”—is the finest, warmest, and most uniform site in the Mittelhaardt, if not the entire Anbaugebiet. Shared by eight owners, enclosed by a small sandstone wall, and planted entirely to Riesling, the small vineyard was classified in 1828 as the Bavarian kingdom’s best and sits snugly above the village, nestled between the Grosse Lagen Freundstück, Jesuitengarten, and Ungeheur.

Other important sites of the Mittelhaardt include Königsbacher Idig and Gimmeldinger Mandelgarten, both south of Deidesheim, and Kallstadter Saumagen, an amphitheater-like suntrap and the finest site north of Forst. The great hillside vineyards of the Mittelhaardt, sun-drenched and protected from wind and rain by the Drachenfels and other low peaks of the Haardt hills, are rich in history and serve as modern redoubts for exemplary dry Riesling; meanwhile, in the flatter Upper Rhine Plain of the Mittelhaardt, the lion’s share of ordinary Pfalz wines are farmed.

As the Mittelhaardt has historically been the most important sector of the Pfalz, Mittelhaardt-based producers have long been regarded as standard-bearers for quality in the region. The “three Bs”—Reichsrat von Buhl, Bürklin-Wolf, and Bassermann-Jordan—have important legacies and continue to produce significant quantities of fine wine. (One can compare them side by side only in one vineyard: Kirchenstück.) Koehler-Ruprecht has single-handedly manufactured the reputation of Saumagen, and Müller-Catoir in the village of Haardt continues to prove that classically sweet wines have their place in the Pfalz, producing Riesling, Scheurebe, and Rieslaner in a lusher style. Weingut von Winning is a modern superstar, even as the estate draws criticism for adding new barriques and tonneaux to a Riesling cellar. Yet several of the Pfalz’s most important producers today hail from an unlikely location: the south.

Until recently, the Südliche Weinstrasse was a region in decline. The warm, sunny southern sector of the Pfalz was a cheap source of bulk wines prior to the passage of the 1971 wine law, and much of its output wound up in Mosel négociant blends. The idea of Qualitätswein from a single region sunk its fortunes, and vineyards fell into disrepair or were abandoned outright. A small series of serious producers, including Ökonomierat Rebholz, Dr. Wehrheim, and Friedrich Becker, resurrected the region’s fortunes by the mid-2000s. The rediscovery of sites of great potential, like the Birkweiler Kastanienbusch, an 86-hectare, south-facing slope hidden among the Haardt hills, gave new hope to the region. Less tied to tradition than the Mittelhaardt, the southern Pfalz has provided a more diverse vineyard, with some of Germany’s best examples of Weissburgunder and Spätburgunder appearing in vineyards like Siebeldinger im Sonnenschein and Schweiger Kammerberg. In the Südliche Weinstrasse, exposures are more varied, and the best vineyards are frequently steeper than those of the Mittelhaardt. Here, the winegrowing villages are tucked into the hills, rather than aligned neatly along their flank.

Pfalz Soil and Geology

As in Alsace, one of the most intriguing aspects of the Pfalz for winegrowers is in its complex geology and soil patterns. Neighboring parcels may have entirely different soil compositions; large vineyards may show multiple, distinct geological underpinnings. It’s complicated, and the result of many long years of geological activity and upheaval. Some 250 million years ago, primordial rivers swept alluvial sediment—sand, clay, and silt—into the vast plain that would one day become the Pfalz. Compacted over eons and colored by iron oxide, red sandstone today provides the foundation for the Palatinate forest and the Haardt hills. Additionally, volcanic activity pushed magma to the surface of the earth’s crust, resulting in layers of basalt, and some 50 million years ago, tectonic activity and the rise of the Alps caused the Rhine basin to collapse. The Haardt hills on the west and the mountains of the Odenwald on the east rose sharply as the land between them sunk and filled with seawater. Over time, the area dried up again, but traces of the sea remained: calcareous deposits from this period of submersion formed limestone (Kalkstein) and shell-limestone (Muschelkalk). As millions of years passed slowly by, water, erosion, and wind filled the Rhine basin with sand, gravel, and loess—the latter is the Pfalz’s youngest soil, arriving after the last ice age. During that glacial age, rivers of ice advanced into Europe, grinding primary rock beneath them into pulverized, fine grains. As the glaciers retreated with warming temperatures, this dusty combination of pulverized rock and other small sediments—loess—was unleashed upon the winds, and much of the soil settled beneath the Palatinate Forest in Pfalz. Once covered by vegetation, the loess held firmly in place; today, it is one of the few truly arable soil types still cherished for wine production.

Franken

The modern Anbaugebiet of Franken lies within the federal state of Bavaria, a region better known for beer than wine. (This is, after all, the part of Germany that produced the Reinheitsgebot in the 16th century.) Today, it ranks sixth among Germany’s Anbaugebiete in terms of total vineyard acreage. Franken lies on the Main River, a small Rhine tributary, some 130 kilometers east of the Rheingau. With its inland location, absent the moderating force of a major river, Franken’s climate is the most sharply continental of all of Germany’s southwestern regions, with very clearly defined seasons, short and hot summers, and bitterly cold winters. As in Washington State, winter’s severity threatens to kill vines, and spring frosts are an annual plague on productivity. Franken’s climate has never been particularly kind to Riesling, which occupies only 4% of its 6,100 planted hectares and needs the warmest south-facing slopes to thrive. Winter-hardy crossings are popular in the region. The most traditional variety associated with the region, is the mid-ripening Silvaner, which migrated from Austria to Franken during a period of deep, unsettling cold in Europe. Today, it is Franken’s most planted grape, however, at 25% of the region's plantings.

Franken Silvaner is bottled in the traditional, squat Bocksbeutel.

The Franken white wine style has traditionally been oriented toward the production of bone dry, austere wines. Silvaner is the most important quality grape, followed by a trickle of Riesling, Weissburgunder, and the occasional compelling red Spätburgunder or Frühburgunder. However, most basic “Frankenwein” is still nameless, blended from Müller-Thurgau, Bacchus, Kerner, and the like. Franken Silvaner, not unlike Austrian Grüner Veltliner, can produce lighter, slightly herbal, spicy wines in Franken’s more common sites and heavy, full-bodied wines in the premiere Grosse Lage vineyards—just as in Austria, however, the current trend is to limit alcohol to levels below the 14 to 15% mark in order to retain freshness in the top wines. While Silvaner is a grape that can easily lose varietal character with high yields, its classic hallmarks of phenolics, herbal notes, and subtle aromatics shine through with care and reduced crops. As with Riesling, new oak rarely factors into Franken Silvaner wines, but large barrels, concrete eggs, long lees aging, malolactic fermentation, and skin contact are all in play. Only the fashionable technique of spontaneous fermentation shows mixed results with Silvaner—Riesling has the acidity to taste dry if a wild ferment gets stuck at 6 or 7 grams per liter of residual sugar; Silvaner does not. Bottled in the traditional, squat Bocksbeutel—allegedly shaped like a Roman canteen or, yes, a sheep’s scrotum—Franken Silvaner is a difficult wine to perfect but a truly distinctive local specialty. First planted by Cistercian monks in Franken in 1659, the grape became the most important variety in Germany, eventually encompassing one-third of the entire national vineyard. It lost its top spot to Müller-Thurgau in 1969, yet Franken producers stubbornly hang on to this diminishing local treasure.

In Franken, there are three Bereiche: Mainviereck, Maindreieck, and Steigerwald. The westernmost reaches of the Anbaugebiet are in Mainviereck, or the “four-sided Main,” where the river’s flow approximates a rectangular shape. Soils here are typically composed of weathered red sandstone, and the climate is gentler than in areas further east. It has therefore emerged as the only natural home for Pinot Noir in Franken. The villages of Klingenberg and Bürgstadt have earned reputations for quality red wine, while marking the earliest known episodes of winegrowing in Franken, which date back to the 8th century. Bürgstadt’s Rudolf Fürst is the top name for Spätburgunder in Franken. In the center of Franken, the Main River’s course appears to form a triangle—this is the Maindreieck, or “three-sided Main.” With the city of Würzburg on its western edge, Maindreieck produces almost three-quarters of Franken’s wine, from shell-limestone soils.

Würzburg itself has always been the commercial center of the region, and its famous Stein vineyard, even at 85 hectares in size, has captivated wine drinkers for centuries. A warm, south-facing limestone and loess slope overlooking the Main, Würzburger Stein is planted primarily to Riesling and Silvaner; it produces some of Franken’s top examples of both grapes with a touch of trademark smokiness but, like other massive grand cru-styled vineyards, its parcels vary dramatically in intrinsic worth. (It also showcases the German willingness to manipulate terrain: the soils here have been replenished and replaced over the course of hundreds of years.) The most important landholders of Stein are Juliusspital, Franken’s largest producer, and Bürgerspital—both charitable hospital (Spital) foundations financed by large winemaking operations.

The last Bereich, Steigerwald, is located on the eastern end of Franken. Its vineyards are often removed from the immediate environs of the Main River and less subject to humidity and botrytis. With vineyards on the edge of the Steigerwald mountain forest, reaching almost 400 meters in elevation, this is the highest and coolest district in Franken. However, the region’s black, gypsum-laced Keuper soils mitigate low temperatures by warming the vines at night—so much so that vines can often produce quality wines even on north-facing slopes. Castell, where Silvaner first appeared in Germany, and Iphofen are the most important villages of the Steigerwald.

The Main River has a tributary, the Tauber River, which converges with it just west of Homburg. The 1971 wine law divided vineyards in the Taubertal, despite sharing similar climate and soil profiles, among three Anbaugebiete: Franken, Baden, and Württemberg. Thus, Baden has a Tauberfranken Bereich, Württemberg has a small slice of the Taubertal near the village of Bad Mergentheim, and a portion of the region remains in the Maindreieck. Baden and Franken producers from the region have the right to bottle in a Bocksbeutel; Württemberg producers do not. A historic region, around 1,000 hectares of vineyards exist, but the climate here is quite marginal for quality grapes, while sunlight hours are fewer here than in any of the three neighboring regions. Silvaner and Riesling are popular varieties, produced in the image of Franken.

Nahe

The Nahe region, a rolling landscape of vineyards, orchards, meadows, and farms, lies west of Rheinhessen and south of the Rheingau, with the narrow Hünsruck Hochwald highland forest forming its natural western border and separating it from the Mosel Valley. The Nahe is at a geological crossroads, positioned at the intersection of the Mainz and Saar-Nahe Basins and the Rhenish Massif, which comprises the slate Hunsrück hills of the Mosel Valley and the low Taunus and Eifel Mountains of the Rheingau and Ahr. With great variation in topography, soils, and geology, it is not a region from which to expect homogeneity in landscape or wine. The region also falls in a transitional zone between maritime and continental climatic influences. Protected from wind and weather on the north and west by wooded mountains, the region’s climate remains mild and dry—average annual rainfall is around 500 millimeters (about 20 inches), making the Nahe Germany’s driest winegrowing climate. Most precipitation occurs in the summer months rather than over harvest, and frosts are rare. The region itself is named for the Nahe River, a tributary of the Rhine, and most Nahe vineyards are cultivated in the handful of river valleys that intersect the region. The best vineyards are generally located along the course of the Nahe River, but there are hidden pockets of good and even great vineyards in the smaller transverse valleys of its northern tributaries, like the Gräfenbach and Trollbach streams. In the southern Nahe, viticulture occurs sporadically in the Glan and Alsenz river valleys, but memories of these once-important winegrowing regions have dimmed.

The Nahe took its modern shape with the 1971 wine law and now harbors a scattered collection of vines—about 4,200 hectares in total, making the Nahe Germany’s seventh-largest winegrowing region in terms of acreage. As in much of Germany, white grapes are dominant, comprising about 85% of the total area under vine, and Riesling is the star. In the 1960s, the inclination to plant any number of crossings, from Bacchus to Scheurebe to Müller-Thurgau, diversified the Nahe vineyard, even as it lowered its potential. Today, however, Riesling is the only variety permitted by the VDP for Grosse Lage wines. Once-popular Müller-Thurgau and Silvaner have been steadily diminishing in recent years, at the expense of Riesling and red grapes like Dornfelder and Spätburgunder. With refocused attention on Riesling, the best Nahe producers prefer to explore the region’s great geological diversity through the lens of a single variety.

There is only one Bereich in Nahe—Nahetal—but the region consists of at least three distinct, classic subregions renowned for quality Riesling along the Nahe River itself: the Upper, Middle, and Lower Nahe. (The vineyards surrounding Bad Kreuznach, which divides the Middle and Lower Nahe, are sometimes considered a separate subregion.) In the Upper and Middle Nahe sectors, the river meanders eastward for 25 kilometers, with vineyards generally planted on dramatic, south-facing slopes along its northern bank. In proximity to the Hunsrück hills, climate tends to be slightly cooler than in the Lower Nahe. The Upper Nahe sector extends from the villages of Monzingen and Martinstein at the far western end of the Anbaugebiet to the small town of Schlossböckelheim. At Monzingen, the Nahe River Valley is wider and slightly warmer, and there are good sites for Riesling. (Unfortunately, its best and most historic site, Frühlingsplätzchen, was expanded from less than 8 hectares to 64 with the 1971 wine law, and it can no longer be considered exemplary in its entirety.) Emrich-Schönleber, based in Monzingen, is the preeminent producer of the Upper Nahe, and in the 21st century, the Shäfer-Fröhlich estate of Bockenau, a village in the Upper Nahe’s hinterlands nearest the Hünsruck hills, rapidly ascended into the ranks of Nahe nobility.

The Middle Nahe follows the course of the river eastward for 15 kilometers from Schlossböckelheim to Bad Kreuznach, the Nahe’s largest town and the commercial center of the region’s wine trade. The river narrows and the valley cools just west of Schlossböckelheim, flowing by Oberhausen, Niederhausen (where the Nahe widens briefly again at a hydroelectric dam), Norheim, and the massive, sheer Rotenfels porphyry cliffs of Traisen before turning sharply northward at Bad Münster am Stein, a spa town (bad means bath) and southern suburb of Bad Kreuznach. The towns of the Middle Nahe are the most famous winegrowing villages of the Nahe, with numerous Grosse Lage sites, including Niederhauser Hermannshöhle, Schlossböckelheimer Kupfergrube, Schlossböckelheimer Felsenberg, Norheimer Dellchen, Traiser Bastei, and Oberhauser Brücke, the last of these a monopole of Nahe’s foremost producer, Weingut Dönnhoff. Situated on weathered volcanic soils, slate, limestone, and schist, these great vineyards were recognized and classified according to property tax valuations as early as 1901, in a map depicting the vineyard areas in the district of Koblenz. The state winery of Niederhausen-Schlossböckelheim, now known as Gut Hermannsberg, shepherded the reputation of many of these sites through a difficult 20th century, yet it is Dönnhoff who provides the clearest emblem of uncompromising wine quality today. From these vineyards, sweeter Riesling wines can be pure and slim, recalling the Mosel, and top dry examples show concentration without corpulence.

Just north of Bad Kreuznach, the soil composition becomes heavier with clay and loess, and the Lower Nahe stretches from the town’s northern limits to the river’s confluence with the Rhine at Bingen, marking the tripoint of the Rheinhessen, the Rheingau, and the Nahe Anbaugebiete. The Lower Nahe is a warmer region than either the Upper or Middle Nahe, with more climatic similarity to the neighboring Rheinhessen than the cooler Hunsrück hills to the west. Riesling styles from the Lower Nahe share the fuller body and more opulent style of the Rheinhessen, and Spätburgunder performs best in the Lower Nahe, even as it is still excluded from Grosse Lage vineyards. From the village of Laubenheim northward, the soil mixture shifts from deeper clay and loess to the slate and quartzite more common across the Rhine. The Lower Nahe’s most renowned winegrowing villages lie in this northern sector: Münster-Sarmsheim, Dorsheim, and Laubenheim itself. Schlossgut Diel, encamped in the nearby town of Burg Layen at a partially ruined castle (the sort that affords rich aristocrats seemingly greater prestige when unrepaired) is the reigning producer of the Lower Nahe. At a recent visit to the estate, Armin Diel summed up the Nahe’s progress nicely, explaining, “Twenty-five years ago, there was no real idea of what the Nahe style was. Today, that has changed.”

Baden

The winegrowing region of Baden, Germany’s third-largest Anbaugebiet, lines the eastern half of the Upper Rhine Valley and runs parallel to Alsace and the Pfalz, between the Rhine River and the Black Forest. Baden extends for nearly 400 kilometers and is divided into nine diverse Bereiche, scattered from the shores of Lake Constance, which separates Germany and Switzerland, to the edge of the Odenwald hills in Hessische-Bergstrasse and the Tauber River Valley, near Würzburg in Franken. So while it is difficult to generalize about the region’s wines, its greatest successes have been with varieties rooted in Burgundy: Weissburgunder, Grauburgunder, and above all, Spätburgunder. The trio accounts for three of Baden’s four most planted grapes, and Spätburgunder alone makes up over one-third of Baden’s almost 16,000 hectares under vine. White grapes still account for a slim majority overall, however. In the northerly Bereiche of Tauberfranken, Badische Bergstrasse, and Kraichgau, and in the Bodensee (the German name for Lake Constance) Bereich in the south, Müller-Thurgau still reigns as the top variety, making it the second most planted variety overall in Baden. (On the Swiss side of Lake Constance is the small winegrowing canton of Thurgau, where the grape’s breeder Hermann Müller was born.) Reinforcing its proximity to Switzerland, more than 1,000 hectares of Gutedel (Chasselas) remain in Baden. In Germany, the Swiss grape is cultivated almost exclusively in the Markgräferland Bereiche at Baden’s southernmost point, where the Anbaugebiet meets the Swiss city of Basel and the French border.

Pinot Noir allegedly arrived in Baden in the escort of Carolingian Emperor Charles the Fat, who planted it on the north shores of Lake Constance in 884. In over a thousand years, the center of German Pinot Noir production didn’t move far, landing in four Baden Bereiche between the city of Freiburg and the Black Forest bath town of Baden-Baden. From north to south, they are Ortenau, Breisgau, Kaiserstuhl, and Tuniberg. As in Alsace, these areas have dynamic soil profiles, with various granitic, volcanic, calcareous, and loess formations. On weathered limestone, with their backs against the Black Forest, 20 kilometers or more from the Rhine, the vineyards of Breisgau can produce an almost Côte de Nuits-like style of Pinot Noir. (See the wines of the late Bernhard Huber in Malterdingen.) In the Kaiserstuhl, however, the weather warms, the wines become more muscular, and the vines lie nearly within reach of the river’s banks. The compact district, which occupies a chain of hills rising steeply above the river west of Freiburg, supplies some of the Upper Rhine Valley’s most splendid, dramatic scenery—and the Kaiserstuhl is likewise Baden’s most celebrated zone for Spätburgunder. The Kaiserstuhl hills crown an extinct volcano, draped in varying layers of loess. The district experiences Germany’s warmest and sunniest winegrowing climate—in warm vintages, Spätburgunder passing the 15% mark is not unheard of—and it is protected from wet weather by the rain shadow of the Vosges Mountains. Kaiserstuhl’s best Spätburgunder sites are often its steepest, with purer volcanic soils rather than windblown loess, such as Achkarrer Schlossberg and Ihringer Winklerberg, Germany’s hottest vineyard. If anything, Kaiserstuhl’s greatest viticultural liability is one sommeliers don’t usually associate with Germany: too much sun, too much heat, too much potential alcohol. Kaiserstuhl has a subregion of sorts, the Tuniberg Bereich, which formally separated from Kaiserstuhl in 1991. Situated on calcareous rather than volcanic subsoil, Tuniberg has a more thorough distribution of loess and loess-loam topsoils, but its wines have not achieved the same fame as those of Kaiserstuhl.

Overall, the Baden style of Spätburgunder, exemplified by the Kaiserstuhl wines, is ripe and robust. These wines are richer in body and lower in acidity than Ahr examples. Chaptalization is still practiced, even as Baden is the only German Anbaugebiet that enters the EU’s Climate Zone B, with lower limits on the amount of sugar that may be added to bolster alcohol. In the warmer climate, partial whole-cluster fermentations are not uncommon. Luxurious treatment in new oak is a frequent feature for the best wines—often it is French in origin, but Baden oak from the Black Forest is a common sight in cellars as well (which, after all, is essentially Vosges oak, save for a national boundary). In the Baden vineyard, an important reconsideration involves the adoption of Dijon clones, once thought essential to success in the Burgundy model. As in Russian River, Baden is just too warm for these grapes, and producers are starting to take a fresh look at Swiss Mariafeld clones and some new German clones, newly selected for quality rather than yield.

Alongside Spätburgunder, the VDP permits the production of Weissburgunder, Grauburgunder, Riesling, and Chardonnay as Grosse Lage wines throughout Baden. Weissburgunder is produced in nearly as a wide a range of styles as Chardonnay. Basic examples are usually fresh and fairly neutral while top Grosse Lage wines gain weight, incurring malolactic fermentation and new oak aging. Some are oxidative in style and some are more reductive, in the manner of top white Burgundy. The barrique-fermented, richer style of Weissburgunder is especially prevalent among producers in Kaiserstuhl, where the grape comprises about 10% of the total production. Grauburgunder, which has achieved more success in Baden than elsewhere in Germany, is typically dry and golden in color. Skin contact, drawing out Pinot Gris’ coppery tones, is routine. Grosse Lage Grauburgunder is rarely produced outside of Baden, and here it is almost always dry. (Sweeter styles, when made, are usually labeled under the synonym Ruländer.) Finally, great full-bodied Riesling can be produced in Baden, particularly in Ortenau and Kraichgau, recalling the short distance to Alsace. But there is little viticultural exchange; as one Baden winemaker confides, vintners on either side of the border rarely cross the river.

Württemberg

Württemberg, one of Germany’s largest growing regions, is also largely undiscovered by international audiences. As Baden’s neighbor, the southerly Anbaugebiet of Württemberg specializes in red wines to a degree exceeded by none other than the tiny Ahr. It represents Germany’s fourth-largest collection of vineyards, with over 11,000 hectares of vines, and 70% of its total acreage is devoted to red grapes. But thus far, the only real international success for German red wine to date has been Pinot Noir, which Baden and the Ahr have rallied behind. Not so with Württemberg: the second most planted grape in this diverse region is Trollinger, better known as Schiava in Italy. Popular domestically, Trollinger is unlikely to win international audiences over. The region contains a significant amount of Lemberger (Blaufränkisch), which critics admit is far likelier than Dornfelder to achieve greatness, but it is subject to marketing woes—its German name is unknown, leaving producers to vacillate over promoting its local moniker or supporting the more well-known Austrian name. Schwarzriesling (Meunier) is a local specialty; German cultivation of the Champagne grape is almost exclusive to Württemberg, where it typically produces light, fruity, quaffable wines. Riesling is the most planted white grape in the region and most planted grape overall.

Schillerwein, a specialized style of rosé wine, is unique to the Württemberg region. Alongside pink Champagne, it is one of the few styles of European rosés for which blending is permitted. For Schillerwein, it is the rule. Historically, the pale pink wine was composed of a field blend of red and white grapes, crushed and fermented together. Today, the red and white lots are blended prior to fermentation to achieve the wine’s bright rosy color—its name derives from the German verb schillern, which means to shimmer or scintillate. They are typically light, trocken or halbtrocken in style, and contain 11 to 12.5% finished alcohol. In Württemberg, where per capita drinking is highest in all of Germany, the wine is gulped rather than sipped, traditionally from stemless glass mugs common in the region’s wine taverns.

Like Baden, Württemberg is divided into far-flung sectors. It contains a cluster of northern Bereiche situated around the cities of Stuttgart and Heilbronn, and a small set of vineyards along the north shores of Lake Constance. In the north, vines are cultivated along the Neckar River and its tributaries, such as the Kocher, Jagst, Tauber, and Rems. (The Neckar itself is a major tributary of the Rhine; the rivers meet just south of Worms.) Württemberg’s largest concentration of vineyards is in the Württembergisch Unterland Bereich between the capital city of Stuttgart and Heilbronn, and, due to its proximity to the population, there is an up-and-coming set of independent, quality-minded projects in the Remstal-Stuttgart Bereich, just east of the capital. Nearly three-quarters of the production, however, is still concentrated in the hands of regional cooperatives. One of Württemberg’s most famous estate producers is Weingut Graf Neipperg of Schwaigern. Owner Karl Neipperg is the latest in a long line of lords whose presence in Württemberg can be traced to the 12th century; however, his brother, Stephan von Neipperg of Saint-Émilion, is easily the more widely recognized figure in the wine world today.

Ahr

One of Germany’s smallest and most northerly winegrowing regions, the Ahr Valley has nonetheless earned a reputation as one of the country’s best spots for Spätburgunder. The grape, along with its early-ripening mutation Frühburgunder, accounts for almost 70% of the Ahr’s planted acreage. (In contrast, Riesling accounts for only 8% of the total Ahr vineyard.) The region may be tiny, but the Pinot Noir grape maintains a tighter grip on vineyards here than anywhere else in Germany. And it has come a long way. In his 1988 book Life After Liebfraumilch: Understanding German Fine Wine, Stuart Pigott denuded Ahr reds, labeling the category as “presumptuous rosés” in a “puddle of mediocrity.” Robert Parker was even less charitable, writing off German Spätburgunder entirely as “abortive.” (Nice, Bob.) Today, top Ahr Spätburgunder from the estates of Jean Stodden, Meyer-Näkel, J.J. Adeneuer, and others experiences great domestic and international demand, commanding high prices and acclaim. The terroir is distinctive: Ahr Spätburgunder is a rare example of slate-grown Pinot Noir, and its admirers attribute a smoky undertone to this unique union of grape and soil.

The Ahr River is really more of a creek, meandering 25 kilometers eastward from Altenahr at the region’s western edge through Ahrweiler, Walporzeim, and Bad Neuenahr, finally meeting the Rhine near Heimersheim. Its vineyards span about 125 meters in elevation. The slopes here can be just as steep—reaching 60 to 70% grade or more—and slate-covered as those in the Mosel, but the river is too small and removed from the vineyards to have any great impact on vineyard temperature and vine. For ease of comparison, growers divide the valley into the Upper Ahr west of Walporzheim and the Lower Ahr, spanning the remaining distance to the river’s confluence with the Rhine. The Lower Ahr Valley is more densely planted, with more basalt-derived clay and sand atop dark slate. It is also warmer, with harvests occurring on average 10 days earlier than in the Upper Ahr Valley. Because of this, Lower Ahr wines exhibit a more opulent character. Some of the most ancient vineyards, however, are further west. In the nearly pure slate soils of the Upper Ahr Valley, phylloxera is nonexistent, and there are a few century-old vineyards, still trained in the single-post system.

The region’s full turn toward red wine production began in earnest in the 1980s, with Meyer-Näkel in the village of Dernau leading the charge. In that era, many Ahr wines, as Pigott rightly criticized, were essentially rosés—and not infrequently off-dry, either. Blauer Portugieser was a popular grape alongside Pinot Noir. Following a generational change, Meyer-Näkel pivoted its gaze toward Burgundy and began emphasizing dryness, abandoning thermovinification, employing longer macerations, and aging in French oak barrels. Others took notice, and a revolution in style began. Guyot training replaced the traditional single-post system in serious vineyards, providing more sun exposure in the Ahr’s northerly climate. Dijon clones of Pinot Noir and new clones from Geisenheim, selected for quality, began to appear alongside the Swiss Mariafeld clones and German clones more often selected for high yields and cold hardiness. Today, Ahr Spätburgunder is among Germany’s finest, even as its output is still miniscule in comparison to more massive regions like Baden and Pfalz.

How has a region north of the 50th parallel managed such success when areas to its south, like the Mosel, have trouble reliably ripening red grapes? Aided by its east-west orientation, the Ahr Valley benefits from the moderating influence of the Gulf Stream, and the growing season here is longer than in nearby regions like Mittelrhein or the Mosel. The whole region is a canyon, protected from wind and rain amidst the low Eifel Mountains. In this rain shadow, sunlight hours are correspondingly higher, and the region experiences fewer bouts of botrytis than the Mosel. But it is still a cool climate winegrowing region, with an average annual temperature of only 9.8° C (49.5° F). The dark slate soils of Ahr vineyards store heat for chilly evenings, and south-facing aspects are essential. All of the Ahr’s best vineyards and Grosse Lage sites are on steep slopes above the river’s northern banks. Despite the threat of erosion, almost all Ahr vineyard rows run down the slopes (north-south) in order to maximize sun exposure. Whole-cluster fermentations are essentially unknown since stems remain green, and chaptalization is common. “We can’t be Öchsle fetishists,” retorts Jean Stodden. “We need ripeness, not sugar. We are so far north; you can always add sugar.”

Frühburgunder, known in France as Pinot Noir Precocé, has replaced Portugieser as the second most planted red variety in the Ahr. (It is genetically the same variety, but producers in the Ahr traditionally treat it as distinct.) Frühburgunder is a troublesome grape to get right. It is ready for harvest about two weeks before Spätburgunder—a period in which it is the only ripe fruit or berry in the region, making it a prime target for wasps and birds (and tourists...) and necessitating netting. It’s also a ready victim of millerandage. Frühburgunder develops thicker skins than Spätburgunder, with more color and less acidity in the glass. Fruit flavors become concentrated and liqueur-like, and the wine often has more richness and immediate approachability than Ahr Spätburgunder.

Mittelrhein

With less than 500 hectares of vines, Mittelrhein is one of Germany’s smallest Anbaugebiete. Adjacent to the Rheingau, the Mittelrhein winegrowing region follows the course of the Rhine River 120 kilometers northward from Bacharach to Bonn. The city of Koblenz, where the Mosel and Rhine rivers meet, is located in Mittelrhein, as is the confluence of the Ahr and Rhine. As the Rhine River resumes its northward course after a shift west in the Rheingau, it enters a narrow, spectacular gorge. Majestic medieval castles stud its banks and slopes. This is the “Middle Rhine,” a UNESCO World Heritage Site and an important historical crossroads of culture and trade. The Mittelrhein marked a past divide between areas of French influence and Prussian control, as the narrow, restrictive gorge created an ideal boundary. Its many ruined castles suggest the ease with which local rulers could extract tolls from commercial vessels on this stretch of the river.

Two Bereiche, Loreley and Siebengebirge, neatly divide the slim Mittelrhein region into southern and northern sectors. The vast majority of the Mittelrhein’s vineyards and all of its Grosse Lage sites are located within the southern Bereich of Loreley, which stretches from Bacharach past Koblenz to the village of Unkel. In an old dialect, Loreley roughly translates to “murmuring rock,” referring to a massive slate promontory jutting sharply upward from the Rhine’s right bank, spawning old legends of siren songs plaguing boatmen below. Siebengebirge, the northernmost winegrowing area in western Germany, is a cluster of uplifted hills of volcanic origin southeast of Bonn. (There are 40, not sieben.) It is a much less significant winegrowing district, and fewer than two dozen hectares of vines remain under cultivation.

In Loreley and throughout Mittelrhein, Riesling is the most planted variety—the grape accounts for almost 70% of the total acreage. With the steep slopes of the Rhine gorge and its Devonian slate soils, conditions are similar to those in the Mosel, but the south-facing orientations essential to producing great Riesling are much rarer in the Mittelrhein. A couple of superior, south-facing sites (Bopparder Hamm, Oberweseler Ölsberg) are perched along sharp bends in the Rhine, but most of the Mittelrhein’s best vineyards are secluded in side valleys in Bacharach and Oberwesel. Stylistically, Riesling producers in Mittelrhein have more interest in trocken and halbtrocken styles of wine than those in the Mosel—for the 2014 vintage, 65% of Mittelrhein’s production was recorded as dry or off-dry, while the majority of Mosel wines were still clocking in at lieblich (medium sweet) or süss.

Hessische-Bergstrasse

Hessische-Bergstrasse is the smallest Anbaugebiet in Germany, both in physical sizes and hectares planted to the vine. It’s 50 kilometers due south of the city of Frankfurt and aligned in latitude with the southern Rheinhessen, 30 kilometers to its west. Historically, the Bergstrasse’s vineyards constituted a sort of satellite region for the Rheingau, as they were once among the thousands of hectares tended by the Cistercian monks of Kloster Eberbach. Today, less than 500 hectares remain along the “Hessen Mountain Road,” gently sloping downward from the Odenwald hills into the valley of the Rhine River. Most are clustered around the village of Heppenheim in the Starkenburg Bereich, but there is a small “island” of vineyards further north, nearer to the Main River and separated from the remainder, which comprises the Umstadt Bereich. Prior to 1971, the Bergstrasse region included an additional swath of land past its current southern border, but the new wine law cleaved it in two. The new Anbaugebiet remained within the borders of the federal state of Hessen, while vineyards to the south were annexed by Baden to become Bereich Badische-Bergstrasse.

The region is colloquially known as the “spring garden,” signaling a transition in phase from the cooler areas to its immediate north to the warmer growing region of Baden directly south of it. Riesling is still the region’s most planted grape variety, accounting for 45% of the total acreage, but the wines rarely achieve the same tense acidity as those produced in the Rheingau. Not that many have the opportunity to find out—Hessische-Bergstrasse wines are usually consumed locally and infrequently exported. Over half of the region’s acreage is under the control of the Bergstrasse Winzer eG cooperative, located in the village of Heppenheim. One reminder of the region’s past link to the Rheingau remains: the largest vineyard holding (35 planted hectares) belongs to Kloster Eberbach and the state winery, Hessische Staatsweingüter.

Sachsen and Saale-Unstrut

Following Germany’s 1990 reunification, the country’s total number of Anbaugebiete increased from 11 to 13 with the addition of two areas previously under East German rule, Saale-Unstrut and Sachsen (Saxony). At 51° N latitude, these are Germany’s northernmost winegrowing regions, far to the east of the country’s more renowned vineyards. Sachsen, which follows the course of the Elbe River through Dresden to Meissen, is near the Czech border; the namesake river valleys of Saale and Unstrut are about 150 kilometers west of Sachsen, near Leipzig. Both areas have supported viticulture for many centuries—Sachsen’s first documented vineyard appeared at a local bishop’s behest in 1161, and Benedictine monks were tending vines in Saale-Unstrut by the late 900s—but phylloxera and two world wars took a toll, reducing the thousands of hectares and proud histories in each region to a smattering of vines by the 1950s. The few remaining estates in Sachsen and Saale-Unstrut functioned as state-run cooperative wineries during the communist era; quality winemaking was not in the program. Today, however, each region is experiencing a minor renaissance. With almost 800 hectares in the ground in 2016, Saale-Unstrut is Germany’s fastest-growing region, and Sachsen, led by Schloss Proschwitz—the region’s largest estate and the first VDP member in Saxony—is making good wines, even if most of them never make it further afield than a Dresden tavern.

White grapes radically outnumber reds in both Sachsen and Saale-Unstrut. As a reminder of their cool continental climates, as well as both regions’ recent entries into the quality wine business, Müller-Thurgau remains the most planted variety in each region. (Riesling will likely soon overtake it in Sachsen.) Average must weights are lower here than in southwestern Germany. One local specialty claimed by Sachsen is Goldriesling, a grape crossing developed in 1893 at the Oberlin Institute in Alsace. The grape is not commercially farmed in Alsace and claims only about a dozen hectares in Sachsen. Several estates make dry to off-dry, lively, aromatic wines with the rare variety.

GuildSomm would like to thank Romana Echensperger, MW, for her help in reviewing this guide.

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Champagne Part II: Viticulture and Winemaking

user22151 — Wed, 08 Jan 2025 21:44:01 GMT

Current Revision posted to Expert Guides by user22151 on 1/8/2025 9:44:01 PM

Viticulture
Winemaking
First Fermentation
Assemblage
Second Fermentation
Aging on Lees
Riddling
Disgorgement
Dosage and Final Additions
Recorking
Postdisgorgement Aging

The wines of Champagne are defined not just by the region’s history, geography, and laws but also by its unique viticultural and winemaking practices. This guide follows Champagne production from the vineyard to the glass, diving into the specific farming practices, decisions made in the cellar, and biological processes that together result in one of the world’s great sparkling wines.

Viticulture

Achieving a vineyard that is balanced year after year to produce sparkling rather than still wine requires adhering to certain criteria. It is not practical to be dogmatic about how each grape variety should be grown in every location within such a large and varied region as Champagne.

Vineyards in the Marne (Credit: Unsplash)

But it is true that a variety destined for Champagne production, when compared with the same variety grown in the same place for a still wine, generally requires the following in a classic vineyard:

An increase in:
- Shoot density
- Leaf layers
- Nodes per shoot
- Leaf area to fruit weight
- Pruning weight per meter of canopy
- Fruit produced per kilogram of prunings removed
A decrease in:
- Canopy gaps
- Cluster exposure

Vine Density

In Champagne, the space between vines within the same row can range between 0.9 meters and 1.5 meters (roughly 3 feet and 4.9 feet), while the distance between rows must not exceed 1.5 meters. The relatively wide-spaced minimum of 0.9 meters is determined by the space necessary to accommodate all obligatory methods of training and the number of fruiting buds required. There is also a maximum sum of spread—the summation of the distance between each vine and each row—of 2.5 meters (8.2 feet). This is equivalent to, for example, 1 meter (3.3 feet) between vines and 1.5 meters between rows.

The average density in Champagne is 8,000 vines per hectare. There is no maximum vine density, although 10,000 vines per hectare is not uncommon and 18,000 is considered a practical maximum even for nonmechanized vineyards. This practical maximum is lower, however, than pre-phylloxera vineyards planted en foule. French for “in a crowd,” this term refers to a method of planting vines that relies on a layering system; these vineyards would have had a vine density of over 25,000 per hectare. Rare examples survive today, such as Clos Saint-Jacques, a walled vineyard in Aÿ that belongs to Bollinger and is half planted en foule.

Very low vine densities have been allowed by special dispensation for experimental plots, such as Moët’s trialing of the Lyre system, which has a sum of spread of 4.4 meters (14.4 feet) and just 2,750 vines per hectare (although this has been increased to 3,000 to 4,000 vines per hectare in some plots). These trials, which began in the Aube in 1988, are ongoing. Benefits include less ambient humidity, thus less gray rot, and more acidity, resulting in crisper wines. But this comes at a price, because, despite fewer vines per hectare, the Lyre system is significantly more difficult and 30% more expensive to establish. Full cropping levels take six years rather than the usual three, and production levels of the traditional training systems can’t be matched.

Vine Training Systems

Four systems of vine training are allowed in Champagne: Chablis, Cordon, Guyot, and Vallée de la Marne. Guyot is a head-trained system, and the other three are cordon-trained systems. The Chablis and Cordon training systems are the only methods permitted for grand and premier cru vineyards. Generally, the Chablis system is for Chardonnay vines planted in the Côte des Blancs, the Cordon system for Pinot Noir vines in the Montagne de Reims, and the Vallée de la Marne method for Meunier vines grown in the Marne Valley. But since all varieties can be found in each district, the method of training, most clearly identified in the winter, is useful for determining where one variety stops and another begins.

Credit: Laura Perrone

The Chablis system was developed in the Chablis district in the 19^th century, and at least 90% of all Chardonnay vines in Champagne are trained by this method. A maximum of five buds are allowed for Chardonnay, Meunier, and Petit Meslier, and up to four are allowed for other grapes. For Chardonnay, four shoots require five buds, as the first bud on this vine is always infertile. Either three, four, or five permanent branches may be cultivated, each grown at yearly intervals. Because vines are not allowed to overlap, when a vine reaches the neighboring plant, it will be removed.

Credit: Laura Perrone

Originally known as Cordon de Royat and now called Cordon, the spur-trained, cane-pruned system was developed in the mid-19^th century at the Royat agricultural school, in southwestern France. It is considered the best vine training system for Pinot Noir. Only one main branch is permitted, along which shoots above branch level are spaced at a minimum of 15-centimeter (6-inch) intervals. Each shoot may have two buds (three for Chardonnay, the first being infertile), but the end shoot is also allowed to be an extension of the main branch itself and may have four buds (five for Chardonnay).

Credit: Laura Perrone

Guyot is a cane-pruned system, with a main spur (or spurs if double Guyot is used) that is not permanent but renewed annually. In the version known as single (or simple) Guyot, a single, annually renewable branch is allowed, with 10 productive buds, whereas for double Guyot, two annually renewable branches are permitted, with 8 buds each.

Credit: Laura Perrone

The Vallée de la Marne system is restricted to Meunier vines and vineyards that are not classified as either grand or premier cru. There are four variants of this system, all of which have different shoot requirements. In the basic version, there are six buds on the main permanent spur and nine on the secondary. When the main branch reaches the next plant, it is replaced by the secondary branch.

Yields

Champagne’s yields are relatively high compared with those of other regions known for high-quality wines, but yields arguably have less of an impact on Champagne than on other wines. Lower yields are often associated with a grape’s potential to show greater structure as well as weight, color, potential alcohol, pigmentation, and phenolic characters. But for 85% of all Champagne production (primarily nonvintage blends), the structure of a Champagne is defined by the second fermentation and sometimes also chaptalization, making the wine richer and fuller. Champagne is a 12.5% ABV wine with the structure of a 9.7% ABV wine.

If large crops are within reasonable limits, they have certain advantages in Champagne. They can delay flowering beyond the worst ravages of frost and extend ripening into September, when cooler nights will preserve acidity. Most of the best Champagne vintages have been September harvests, whereas most of the worst vintages have been October harvests. (Find a list of harvest dates since 1960 in the Compendium.) If the Champenois must harvest in October, it is usually because of delays caused by a less-than-perfect growing season, after which rot infection becomes highly probable.

Yields are determined by kilograms of grapes harvested per hectare and hectoliters of juice pressed per kilogram of grapes. From this it is possible to convert kilograms per hectare into the more familiar hectoliters per hectare. Until 1990, the maximum pressing limit was 26.6 hectoliters per 4,000 kilograms. In 1991, this was reduced to 25.5 hectoliters per 4,000 kilograms (102 liters per 160 kilograms) at the press and 25 hectoliters after fermentation.

The maximum permitted yield was initially set by a 1935 decree-law. The maximum annual yield should never exceed the maximum permitted yield. Since 2007, the maximum permitted yield has been 15,500 kilograms (96.9 hectoliters per hectare). Hidden in the small print of the maximum permitted yield regulations is a clause under the heading “Double-safeguard to prevent excessive yields,” which states that growers must ensure that no block of vines exceeds 18 bunches per square meter, and, whatever the average yield for their entire viticultural holdings might be, no individual parcel of vines may exceed an average yield of 21,700 kilograms per hectare (138 hectoliters per hectare).

The maximum annual yield is decided each year under the auspices of the Comité interprofessionnel du vin de Champagne (CIVC). In years of plenty, the maximum annual yield may comprise the maximum usable annual yield and maximum reserve (or blocage, stored without the benefit of AOC), but when combined they must not exceed the maximum permitted yield. In small harvests, the maximum usable annual yield will be augmented by the release of the maximum personal reserve (déblocage).

The maximum usable annual yield is classified Champagne AOC and is the proportion of the crop that is immediately usable in a large harvest.

The maximum personal reserve to be stored is a proportion of a large harvest that is not immediately usable. It is not classified Champagne AOC and must be held en blocage by producers as réserve personnelle (or réserve qualitative individuelle). These reserves are not reserve wines kept for blending nonvintage cuvées, which are classified Champagne AOC. The maximum reserve for any vintage will be stored in the form of unclassified vins clairs (clear wines), with reserves of previous harvests. This is Champagne’s strategic emergency stock and, as of 2017, was the equivalent of 270 million bottles. As reserves from better, more recent years become available, it is permissible to replace aging or lesser-quality reserves with excess production, should there be any.

The maximum personal reserve to be released is a proportion of stored reserves that have finally been classified Champagne AOC and authorized for use to combat a shortfall of a small harvest. This is known as déblocage.

The official average yield is the average of all the declared yields made at the pressing centers. It is the average of what can be legally harvested, not the average of what was grown in the vineyards. The latter number, the total volume grown, is known as the actual yield. These numbers can be strikingly different. For example, in 2004 the official average yield was 13,990 kilograms (89 hectoliters per hectare), whereas the actual yield according to the CIVC’s database was 23,000 kilograms (143.8 hectoliters per hectare). The actual yield used to be published by the CIVC but has become increasingly scarce over the past decade or so.

Although it may seem surprising, a high actual yield—even as high as that of 2004—is not intrinsically harmful to the quality of Champagne. It is the interaction of yield with factors such as timing, temperature, and precipitation that can impact quality.

Harvest

Champagne grapes cannot be picked until the annual ouverture de la vendange is published. This dictates when the harvest is allowed to begin on a village-by-village, variety-by-variety basis. The dates are determined by a committee but are essentially based on a system of fieldwork that was introduced in 1956, whereby samples are taken twice a week, starting at veraison, from 450 control plots spread throughout Champagne. The selected clusters are checked for rate of change in weight, sugar, and total acidity, and for any incidence of botrytis. These findings indicate the degree of grape ripeness by village and variety, and eventually lead to the CIVC establishing when the harvest should begin. The findings also determine the quantity of grapes per hectare that will be approved for AOC production and the minimum potential alcohol level.

Ripe Pinot Noir grapes on the vine (Credit: Adobe Stock)

Hand-harvesting is required by law in Champagne. Bunches are deposited into small crates that, when stacked, prevent the grapes from being crushed. The crates are delivered to the press house quickly to avoid oxidation.

Most producers still believe that, despite the technological advances of the latest machine harvesters, the harvest in Champagne will always be by hand, but not everyone is convinced. A small but growing number of more technically minded producers have gradually conceded that mechanical harvesters will be permitted in Champagne in the future. The obstacle is that such harvesters will have to pick whole clusters, which they have not yet achieved on a commercial scale.

It is a myth that grapes in Champagne are harvested early or underripe. On average, the harvest in Champagne starts two weeks after the harvest in Bordeaux. Because of the long, drawn-out veraison and final ripening period, the grapes attain acid ripeness when their average potential alcohol is just 9.5% ABV, sometimes even less.

In Champagne, acid ripeness begins at 50-50 tartaric-malic. After this point, the degree of ripeness at which grapes are picked is determined by the style of wine required. The data for the past 30 years demonstrates that Champagne grapes have averaged 9.7% ABV with 53.2% tartaric acid. For vintage, prestige, and other special cuvées, the vins clairs chosen undergo an increasingly stricter selection; consequently, the final cuvées tend to average 10.5% to 11% ABV, with most components not requiring chaptalization. Such Champagnes are generally richer, with a fuller structure, qualities that can interfere with maintaining a classic lean structure. This is the primary reason why the construction of the supposedly best-quality, most expensive Champagnes is not as simple as selecting the best-quality components, as these may end up bigger, not better.

Ripeness levels have increased significantly since 1970, but total acidity and pH remain optimal. Although the increase in ripeness is primarily the result of warmer growing seasons, particularly since 2003, other factors are involved, such as the cultivation of earlier-ripening clones.

Winemaking

Pressing and Settling

Champagne grapes are never destemmed, because the fibrous material of the stems and stalks creates a network of canals through which the juice rapidly drains. This is particularly advantageous for black grape varieties, as it helps avoid coloration. Champagne’s traditional Coquard press is essentially 17^th-century technology (which itself was merely a flattened adaptation of the basket press of the Middle Ages) powered by electricity, yet it is still one of the very best presses for sparkling wine in the world. Modern pneumatic presses are also excellent, particularly those that press in a sealed, inert-gas environment, as they reduce oxidation, a process that is unavoidable as soon as a grape is crushed. All pneumatic presses have a large central or lateral rubber balloon that inflates, gently yet rapidly crushing the grapes against the inner surface of the press, and the juice swiftly drains away along channels and through ducts. When Coquard brought out its radically new model, the PAI (an acronym for pressoir automatique à plateau incliné), it stood the original 17^th-century design not on its head but on its side. The reason for this, and the clever part of the press’s design, is the inclusion of an inclined plate, which allows the pomace to fall by gravity. The improved press is less likely to bruise skins, doesn’t crush seeds, saves time, and reduces oxidation.

Most presses are programmed with a CIVC chip to replicate the Coquard’s complex series of pressing and breaking-up operations, the ultimate objective of which is to separate the cuvée (used in this sense to mean the first pressing, rather than in the sense of a blend) from the taille (the second and any subsequent pressings). The best producers seek the cleanest and richest juice—containing the most sugar, acids, minerals, and vitamins, but the least tannin—which is found only in the first pressing. The longer the grapes are pressed, the more colored the juice becomes (even from white grapes), the higher its pH (thus the lower its acidity), and the more tannin it will contain (from the skins as well as the stalks and the rachis, or skeletal remains of the cluster).

Traditionally, the comparative volumes of cuvée and taille were based on the capacity of a classic Coquard press, which could hold 4,000 kilograms of grapes. Each fill of the press historically yielded 2,666 liters of juice. This capacity was used to define a unit of volume called a marc, which measures the weight of the grapes (not juice). This was the basis on which the AOC for Champagne was initially established, with the first 2,050 liters extracted classified as the cuvée, the next 500 liters called the taille, and the last 116 liters the rebêche.

Most producers make their wines exclusively from the cuvée—or at least they say they do, although even some top-quality producers claim that a little taille from Chardonnay can be interesting and useful in a blend. If the grapes are wet with rain or contain rot, or if no rain has fallen since they were last sprayed, quality-conscious producers will run off the first 50 to 65 liters of every marc into the taille and run on the cuvée for an additional equivalent amount, effectively upgrading the first 50 to 65 liters of taille. In these cases, the taille will consist of the first 50 to 65 liters and the final 435 to 450 liters. Some producers have created special cuvées from the coeur de cuvée (heart of the cuvée), while, at the other extreme, the producers of own-label products and premier prix Champagnes will use high percentages (sometimes 100%) of the taille.

Following pressing, the juice is piped to cleansing vats for débourbage, or settling. It typically remains in the vats for 12 to 24 hours while any solids (particles of skin, stalk, pips, and more) settle on the bottom as bourbes. The settled juice is then piped to the fermenting vessel. Some producers like to perform a double débourbage (devised by James Coffinet when he was cellar master at Billecart-Salmon in the 1970s), which can reduce the amount of sulfur required.

First Fermentation

Champagne goes through two separate fermentations, neither of which should yield a complete or balanced wine. Indeed, the objective of both fermentations is the opposite: to produce a wine that is intentionally incomplete and precisely unbalanced. The winemaker must keep in mind how the balance will be affected by additional alcohol from a second fermentation, the altered chemical composition that results, the tactile effect of the mousse on the balance of the final wine, the “fattening” effect of several years of lees contact, the oxidative punch of disgorgement, and the dosage (if there is to be one). The wine cannot be either complete or balanced before manipulation by all these additional factors.

Most wines are fermented separately by village and grape variety, and, whether vin de cuvée or vin de taille, the degree of separation depends on the ratio of vats (and their respective sizes) to the total volume of production. Some producers vinify their wines by lieux-dits or lots within each village.

Although fermentation temperatures in Champagne are generally lower now than they were prior to the 1960s, when temperature control was introduced, the ability to control the temperature rather than the temperature itself is most important. The first fermentation should be relatively fast and furious, as its job is to produce a comparatively basic wine. The second fermentation should be significantly longer and cooler, because it unlocks more biochemical reactions that result in a finished product of greater complexity.

Chaptalization is necessary for most Champagne to achieve the classic, recognized structure of the category. As the average potential ABV from grapes grown in Champagne is 9.7% and the maximum amount of liqueur de tirage would contribute an additional 1.5%, the total average ABV for Champagne is no more than 11.2% without chaptalization. With chaptalization, an average of between 0.8% and 1.3% is added, with a finished strength of 12% to 12.5% ABV (this covers almost all Champagne sold).

The initial fermentation usually takes place in temperature-controlled stainless steel vats. Some producers vinify their Champagnes in new or used oak, using large foudres, small casks (known locally as pièces and 205 liters in capacity), or 228-liter Burgundian barriques. Concrete tanks lined with either glass tiles or epoxy resin are still used, even though they date from the 1940s and 1950s. These often remain in place because they cannot be removed without demolishing the cellars. Egg-shaped concrete vessels are occasionally used, as are similarly shaped vessels constructed from oak.

Historically, every Champagne was fermented in old oak—not just pièces but also much larger vessels, such as foudres, muids, and demi-muids—because it was the only suitable material available. When producers began replacing oak with large concrete tanks lined with glass or epoxy, in the mid-1940s, and started introducing stainless steel beginning in 1959, the most noticeable effect was one of mouthfeel: the loss of a midpalate ampleness and a textural creaminess on the finish, which had been created by micro-oxygenation. By the 1960s, some chefs de caves were becoming concerned about how the change in fermentation vessels had affected the style of Champagne.

The work of the French researcher and enologist Émile Peynaud, who had made malolactic fermentation a practical and repeatable option on a commercial scale in the late 1950s, filtered through to chefs de caves in Champagne when he was consulting for Mercier in the 1950s. This was at the same time that the Champenois adopted temperature-control technology (using it for new stainless steel vats and old concrete ones, too). The CIVC soon developed a bespoke malolactic fermentation cocktail that delivered exceptionally low volumes of diacetyl, which has a distinctly buttery aroma not considered appropriate for the classic style of Champagne. Malolactic fermentation became, for the first time, not just a style choice but a controllable style choice. This enabled Champagne’s chefs de caves to mitigate the loss of the textural effect from micro-oxygenation in oak vessels on a variable, year-by-year basis as they were decommissioned.

Exceptionally restrained malolactic fermentation contributes to textural creaminess. This is almost always carried out using neutral, low-diacetyl, low-VA strains of Oenococcus oeni. The higher the inoculation rate, the shorter the duration of malolactic fermentation, and the less diacetyl produced. Less diacetyl is also produced the longer a base wine is left on its lees prior to the second fermentation, because the yeast and bacteria break down diacetyl. For partial malolactic fermentation, the process must be stopped either through chilling or by adding SO₂.

By the 1980s, almost all Champagnes were being produced with full malolactic fermentation. But, by the 1990s, partial malolactic fermentation had become fashionable, and, by the 2000s, the ability to use at least some nonmalolactic fermentation wines at assemblage was considered a necessary tool under Champagne’s changing climatic conditions. With the advent of warmer seasons and riper grapes, exacerbated by the move to earlier-ripening clones, an industry-wide move away from malolactic fermentation ensued.

While tartrate stability is purely an aesthetic consideration for still wines, it is essential for fully sparkling wines. This is because the crystals serve as nucleation points for CO₂, which causes gushing on opening (as opposed to random gushing, which occurs only when a bottle has imperfections on its inner surface). Champagne must therefore be tartrate stable at the time of bottling.

Rarely admitted, let alone discussed, in Champagne is the use of carbon to remove unwanted color from base wines, particularly from blanc de noirs or when blending with any of the taille of Pinot varieties. Many producers never use carbon, especially if they are making a premium blanc de noirs, when the skill is to produce naturally as pale a cuvée as possible. But there are many active carbon products that can legally be used to remove color from tinted juice and wine.

Vins Clairs

Initially, the product of the first fermentation is known as a vin clair (clear wine), although, because of the method of production and even the type of fermentation vessel, it can be anything but clear, depending on how early it is looked at. Generally, wines fermented in pièces or any other small casks are not temperature controlled and will be the first to clear. The last wines to clear are usually those fermented in stainless steel, as they are temperature controlled.

Before becoming clear, most Chardonnay vins clairs are cloudy and light in color, while Pinot Noir and Meunier vins clairs show a pink tinge. As they clear, much of the color drops out, but any black-grape vins clairs that are almost indistinguishable from the same producer’s Chardonnay vins clairs indicate the use of carbon. Vins clairs are very simple, somewhat crude, and definitively incomplete and unbalanced. One of the main reasons why chefs de caves are coy about making pronouncements about the quality of a vintage is that stark changes can occur in specific vins clairs.

After racking, the vins clairs are ready for assemblage. It can be helpful to make a distinction between base wines and reserve wines: vins clairs are base wines, and reserve wines are not. But it is equally correct to describe the entire blend after assemblage (containing both vins clairs and reserve wines) as the base wine.

Assemblage

Assemblage usually occurs in the first few months of the year following the harvest. At its most basic, and without taking into consideration house style, assemblage is the blending of different wines produced in different places, usually from different grape varieties and, in the case of a nonvintage or so-called multivintage wine, from different years.

There are many approaches to assemblage, but producers generally agree that it is best to have the widest possible palette of different wines with which to blend, even when making single-vineyard cuvées. The greatest Champagne producers vinify wines separately according to their origin and grape variety but also inject other variables, such as vinifying in oak as well as stainless steel, or putting some wines through malolactic fermentation.

While a few chefs de caves might determine the final blend on their own, most involve a panel that consists of other enologists or otherwise extremely experienced tasters within the company. If the company is family owned, the final blend will be approved with at least one senior member of the family participating in the exercise. This is, however, a laboratory exercise, whereas bringing together the component parts for each blend can be a logistical challenge, particularly for larger houses, which often have their wines stored at 20 or more locations spread across a wide area. Some of these wines can be housed at various co-operatives. The larger houses effectively rent space wherever they can, although most of them are working toward reducing the number of off-site locations.

For nonvintage Champagne, assemblage involves the use of reserve wines. These are wines that are kept in reserve from previous years and can be used only in the blending of Champagnes that are nonvintage.

Reserve Wines

Reserve wines are often perceived as a means of evening out quality and creating a particular house style. While reserve wines do serve these purposes, their original role was much simpler. By adding a touch of mellowness and complexity that could otherwise be achieved only over time, reserve wines made an entry-level cuvée more agreeable at a relatively young age.

Reserve wines are kept in various vessels, from stainless steel to oak of all sizes, and even in magnums (famously by Bollinger, but other producers, such as AR Lenoble, have followed suit). The types of storage vessels might not necessarily fit the image of the house’s style. There is, for example, a growing trend among producers of stainless steel–fermented Champagnes to keep at least a part of their reserve wine stock in oak, whereas the reserve wines for a barrique-fermented Champagne, such as Krug Grande Cuvée, can be stored in temperature-controlled stainless steel vats (the reserves for Krug Private Cuvée used to be kept in fiberglass tanks).

Whatever the storage vessel, unless reserve wines are kept on their fine lees and occasionally stirred, the lees can reduce the autolytic process; the older they are, the more protein that drops out, and it is the protein that helps kick-start the process of autolysis. The older the reserves are, the more they should be regarded as seasoning rather than a primary ingredient.

At the more modest end, many producers add just 10% to 15% reserve wine from the previous two or three years, and some add none at all. Although dwindling, there is an old grower custom of selling Champagne as nonvintage when the stocks are young, then labeling exactly the same cuvée as a vintage when it reaches the legal minimum age of three years. At the other end, some open-minded and quality-driven growers have started to build up stocks of reserve wines and make use of a considerable proportion in truly bespoke nonvintage cuvées (for example, Paul Bara with 50% reserve wine and Larmandier-Bernier with 40%).

Even producers who add relatively large volumes of reserve wine do so in different ways. Some use reserves from one or more recent harvests, while others will add less in volume, but what they use is of greater age. These percentages vary not only from producer to producer, but also from year to year for the same producer.

There have always been two situations when producers will use a significantly higher proportion of reserve wine than usual. One is in a particularly poor year, to bolster an otherwise weak base wine. The other is the extreme opposite, when a great vintage produces wines that are too distinctive and so imbued with the character of the year that a normal amount of reserve wine would have little effect.

Recently, however, a third situation has developed: when hot years and early harvests produce base wines that require an exceptionally large proportion of reserve wine from a lighter, very recent year. This has turned the concept of reserve wine on its head, encouraging producers to store extremely young reserves for their lightness, freshness, and crispness. For a growing number of producers, it has also altered the distinction between base wines and reserve wines, as they move the concept of base wine from that of the current year’s wine to that of the current year and the preceding year. For some, this will be a 50-50 blend, while for others the blend could be two-thirds to one-third. Others have stretched the base wine over three years, using either equal volumes from each or progressively smaller amounts.

Some preblended reserve wines known as réserves perpetuelles or soleras are produced (primarily) by growers and a few houses. The terms are used synonymously, but some producers make a distinction and, in certain cases, keep and use both perpetuelles and soleras separately. An authentic solera is a true fractional-blending system, where exactly the same volume is removed and replaced with new wine each year. For a réserve perpetuelle, however, the proportion will vary each year according to the size of the crop, although the amount added must be the same as the amount withdrawn.

Second Fermentation

Traditionally, Champagne is bottled between February and May following the harvest, with the nonvintage blends bottled first. Before bottling, the liqueur de tirage, which incorporates precisely calculated amounts of sugar, yeast, and nutrients, is added to the fully fermented dry base wine to create a second alcoholic fermentation.

The second fermentation (prise de mousse) is the essence of Champagne. Its duration varies according to temperature, the yeast deployed, and bottle size, taking between three weeks and three months. The legal minimum for élevage (the maturation period) is 15 months for nonvintage Champagne and three years for vintage Champagne, although most nonvintage Champagnes are aged for two to three years (some notably longer), and many vintage Champagnes are aged for eight years or more.

During any alcoholic fermentation, not just the second fermentation, there are two overlapping phases: aerobic and anaerobic. In the aerobic phase, oxygen stimulates yeast growth. In the anaerobic phase, yeast cells enzymatically break down sugar molecules to alcohol and CO₂ (and various by-products). As the second fermentation takes place inside a sealed container (the bottle), the CO₂ created remains dissolved in the wine, causing pressure, which is released in the form of bubbles only when the closure is removed.

Liqueur de Tirage

A common misconception about the liqueur de tirage is that the ingredients are mixed together and added to the base wine at once. Rather than being a single addition, the liqueur de tirage is an umbrella name for a series of operations, in which several individual ingredients are prepared separately and progressively, and each is added to the base wine at the appropriate moment. Simply adding the yeast and sugar together with sufficient wine to form a liqueur would create such a sugar-dense, high-alcohol environment that the yeast would be overwhelmed almost instantaneously, causing the second fermentation to fail before it could even begin.

To ensure success, the yeast must go through three phases: activation (kick-starting from dehydrated form), assimilation (acclimatizing to high concentrations of sugar and alcohol), and proliferation (fully fermenting in bottle). First, for activation, the yeast is rehydrated with base wine diluted to around 7% ABV and a small amount of sugar. When half the sugar has been converted to alcohol by the yeast, it is added to undiluted base wine with a little more sugar; when half of that sugar has been consumed, the process is repeated, and this goes on until 5% of the volume of the base wine to be bottled has been achieved (assimilation). During this process, nitrogen and other nutrients might be added.

This daylong tank method of preparing and bottling the base wine and liqueur de tirage is the most classic and widely practiced bottling procedure, but it has the disadvantage of creating an uneven amount of oxygen pickup. The further along in the process, the longer the wine has been subjected to agitation, and the more oxygen it will contain. These are minute but significant differences.

To solve this oxygen variation, some producers have been administering the liqueur de tirage directly to bottle for decades. This solution is technologically demanding and, consequently, very complex and expensive, but it is well worth the investment for those who can afford it (there are fewer than 20 bottling lines equipped with this technology in Champagne today). Up to five components (liqueur, assimilated yeasts, riddling agent, base wine, and, if required, nutrients) are developed to their optimum condition, then fed continuously in precise volumes to a fixed tubular chamber, where they are mixed.

Sugar and yeast are the most important components of the liqueur de tirage, as without them no second alcoholic fermentation would be possible. One yeast cell converts one molecule of sugar into two molecules of ethanol (alcohol), two molecules of CO₂, and a dash of residual energy.

Sugar

The most typical amount of sugar is 24 grams per liter of blended wine (compared with 18 to 22 grams in New World sparkling wines), which provides a pressure of six atmospheres, or 6.08 bars, creating a grand mousseux (fully sparkling) Champagne. If there is any residual fermentable sugar in the base wine, it is deducted from the required level of sugar for the liqueur de tirage. Some producers, such as Louis Roederer, have lowered the liqueur de tirage to 21 grams in recent years. As a prudent safety measure, even lower levels are used for some large formats to reduce the pressure. For example, a Jeroboam of Perrier-Jouët Belle Époque receives 18 grams, while a 750-milliliter bottle of the cuvée receives 24 grams.

Many would agree today that a nonvintage cuvée with six atmospheres of pressure can have a rather aggressive tactile quality, especially when the wines are young and have received minimal aging between disgorgement and shipping. As these cuvées account for 80% of all Champagnes sold, producers who are reducing pressure levels could lead a trend. It should not be forgotten that the crémant style originated in Champagne, in the 18^th century, and designated a softly sparkling style, whose lower pressure resulted from the use of less sugar.

In theory, it takes 3.84 grams per liter of sucrose (disaccharide), or 4.04 grams per liter of glucose (monosaccharide), to create one atmosphere of CO₂. In practical terms, the production of CO₂ is less, because the basic formula does not take into account the creation of small amounts of aldehydes, volatile acids, fixed acids, esters, glycerol, and other by-products. In practical terms, it takes 4 to 4.3 grams of sucrose to produce one atmosphere of CO₂ pressure, and most Champagne producers base their calculations on 4.2 grams (any residual fermentable sugar must be taken into consideration). Producers have a range of choices for the sugar source for the liqueur de tirage, as for chaptalization of the base wine and dosage of the finished wine. Most Champagne producers opt for sucrose (from beet rather than cane sugar), along with a little citric acid to help invert the sugar. Rectified concentrated grape must (RCGM) is, like ordinary concentrated grape must, a combination of natural grape sugars, glucose, and fructose, but, unlike ordinary concentrated grape must, it is clear, odorless, tasteless, and neutral in acidity. It is possible to use virtually zero SO₂ in the liqueur de tirage when relying on RCGM, as the rectification process yields a stable solution of just glucose and fructose, and this lack of SO₂is beneficial for the yeast.

Yeast

Yeast was once considered little more than a fermentation agent, but science has shown that each yeast strain can produce a range of aromas and flavors, and the choice of which strain to use will depend on the environment in which it is to be deployed and the end results that are desired. For sparkling wine, two distinctly different yeasts are required for distinctly different requirements: first fermentation and second fermentation. The first fermentation is short and classically conducted at a relatively higher temperature. The second fermentation is typically conducted over a longer period at a lower temperature and under extreme duress, to produce a more complex end product that will shed debris suitable for clean autolysis.

Prior to autolysis, the existing amino acid content is determined by the composition of the wine itself, while during autolysis the creation and consumption of amino acids differ according to the properties of the second-fermentation yeast and the timing of disgorgement. Since amino acids are the precursors to volatile aromatic compounds, the choice of second-fermentation yeast is important. Using the same yeast for both first and second fermentations is usually the worst choice of all, with excess levels of volatile acidity the most common result.

Although some producers reject the uncertainty of wild yeast, some smaller growers consider it part of the expression of their terroir. In such cases, it is reasonable to encourage wild yeast for the first fermentation but never for the second. During any fermentation, most wild yeasts never survive beyond 2.5% ABV, the point at which they are overwhelmed by the yeast that dominates the production facility.

Most of the top Champagne houses culture their own second-fermentation yeast, which will often be a blend of yeasts reared in-house and proprietary yeasts. The propagation and maintenance of yeast require strict monitoring if the yeast’s viability is to be maintained and contamination avoided.

To prepare yeast, it is progressively revived in a mixture of still wine, water, sugar, and a source of nitrogen, such as diammonium phosphate. The wine feeds the yeast, while the water, present in very small quantities, ensures that the alcohol level will not exceed 11% to 12% ABV. The diammonium phosphate provides the nitrates necessary for cell growth.

Yeast Nutrients

The second fermentation is conducted in a hostile, reductive environment. Some stress factors are similar to those found in the first fermentation, such as low pH and high acid content, but others are unique to bottle fermentations, such as very little oxygen availability, low nitrogen content, high CO₂ pressure, and high alcohol. Under such stressful conditions, yeast cells require a guaranteed supply of nutrients to work well, yet the yeast assimilable nitrogen (YAN) and other yeast nutrients will be at an all-time low, having already been depleted by the first fermentation. It is therefore important to check whether yeast nutrients will be required when rehydrating yeast for assimilation and combining it with the liqueur de tirage.

The amount of nitrogen required for the second fermentation is significantly lower than that needed for the first fermentation, as the second fermentation produces just 1.5% ABV, which involves much less cell growth, with the yeast having to replicate only two to three times during the whole process. Inorganic nitrogen, however, encourages a much shorter and faster second fermentation, whereas organic nitrogen (that is, inactive yeast-based nitrogen) drives a longer, slower, and more complete fermentation. Furthermore, active yeast cells require amino acids for the formation of esters, which provide clean, fruity, and floral aromas, which contribute to freshness, elegance, and finesse. Many chefs de caves opt for a mix of base wine and liqueur de tirage that has sufficient (not overloaded) YAN of at least two parts organic nitrogen to one part inorganic nitrogen. The usual sources for organic nitrogen are inactive yeast-based products, such as yeast cell wall, yeast extract, yeast hulls, or yeast autolysate, all of which include a complex range of essential amino acids, minerals, lipids, and sterols.

Controlling the SO₂ level of the base wine prior to bottling is also vital. If SO₂ is more than 50 parts per million (ppm), any thiamine, whether preexisting or added through the liqueur de tirage, will be deactivated, and that will result in high levels of acetaldehyde (via decarboxylation of pyruvate acid).

Despite all this, some producers, including some of the very finest in Champagne, do not add nutrients, either because they believe that their base wines have sufficient nutrients to complete a second fermentation or because they want the yeast to struggle and stretch the second fermentation as long as possible—or a bit of both.

Fining Agents and Riddling Aids

Remise en Cercles

In the rare cases when the secondary fermentation is ineffective, or when a batch of wine is technically correct but a decision has been made not to commercialize, the wine must be returned to the vat and reblended. French winemakers call this procedure remise en cercles (return to hoops), a reference to the hoops around a wooden barrel.

It is standard to add a fining agent, a riddling aid, or both, a practice that began in 1947.

A naturally occurring clay known as bentonite (aka montmorillonite) is the most traditional fining agent for the liqueur de tirage in Champagne. There are four primary types of bentonite: aluminum, calcium, potassium, and sodium. Only sodium and calcium are relevant, and, over the past 10 years or so, a number of producers have shifted from sodium bentonite to calcium bentonite, which results in better lees compaction and finer bubbles. In more recent years, some have moved to a mix of calcium and sodium bentonites to avoid calcium tartrate instability.

The use of an adjuvant, and even a coadjuvant, is also very popular. An adjuvant is far more than its literal meaning, “additive.” It is a highly elaborate combination of mineral (bentonite) and organic (alginate) colloids designed to create a filmed deposit that forms thin layers of latex-like consistency and never adheres to the glass, facilitating a much easier remuage (riddling). Adjuvants are all created for fast riddling via gyropalette, but many high-quality, high-volume producers manage easily enough without them.

Bottles and Temporary Closures

Glass Bottle Color

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Exposure to light waves, primarily but not exclusively in the ultraviolet (UV) range, will quickly have a devastating and irreversible effect on the quality of any wine, creating volatile light-struck (goût de lumière) aromas. The primary culprit of the light-struck aroma is a volatile sulfur compound called dimethyl disulfide (DMDS). At its very lowest detectable threshold, this compound inflicts a hint of something not quite fresh to a wine aroma. Even if not initially noticeable, it will eventually evolve into extremely unpleasant aromas. This is particularly relevant to sparkling wines, because the foul-smelling compounds created are elevated in the presence of CO₂. The choice of bottle color is of paramount importance to all quality-conscious Champagne producers.

The protection afforded by different colors of glass varies considerably, but the precise degree of protection depends on not just the color of the glass but also its specific hue, how deep or dark the color is, and, crucially, the thickness of the glass. Heavier bottles of the same hue and depth of color are significantly more protective than lighter bottles. As producers move toward the use of lighter bottles to reduce their carbon footprint, however, heavier ones have become a far less attractive option. This leaves color, hue, and depth of color as the only variables producers can realistically adjust.

If quality is foremost in the mind of Champagne producers, the fastest-growing category of Champagne bottle should be deeper and darker amber. The dark-amber bottles used by a few forward-thinking producers today do not offer complete protection, but, with above 90% protection, they are highly effective. Yet the vast majority of Champagne is sold in traditional, green-colored bottles, even though they offer just 50% protection. The only challenge to the dominance of green bottles is in the wrong direction; the use of clear-glass bottles has increased significantly over the past 20 years, especially for blanc de blancs and rosé styles.

Bottle Weight

As the first step in Champagne’s strategy to reduce its carbon footprint by 75% before 2050, the average weight of a Champagne bottle has been reduced from 900 grams to 835 grams, a reduction of 7%, which equates to an emissions reduction of 8,000 metric tons of CO₂ per year—the equivalent of removing 4,000 vehicles from the road.

Bottle Format

The range of Champagne bottle sizes, particularly those in the larger formats, began to increase in the late 19^th century, when Champagne had achieved global recognition and the sight of such enormous bottles helped market its glamour. Most of the large-format names and all the names of the historically traditional large formats are etymologically of Biblical origin, though the reason why is uncertain. The law requires Champagne be sold in the bottle in which it underwent its second fermentation, but there are exceptions for bottles that are 375 milliliters or less (primarily for the lucrative airline market), and bottles that are larger in size than the Jeroboam (primarily for publicity events). Such bottles are typically filled by transversage (or by transfer method), from a tank or through the process of decanting multiple smaller bottles.

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It has long been understood that the greater ratio of wine to oxygen in a magnum (1,500 milliliters) is the reason for its superior aging capacity compared with that of a standard bottle (750 milliliters). Both have a neck of the same diameter and are sealed with a cork of the same size, thus the ratio of wine to oxygen is almost exactly double in a magnum. For a wine in magnum, the potential for and rate of oxidation are almost half those of a wine in standard bottle. The ratio of wine to oxygen is why wines in magnum age far more slowly.

Varying sizes of Veuve Clicquot and Drappier bottles (Credit: Florence Piot, Adobe Stock)

What has become more broadly understood in recent years, however, is that the magnum effect begins with the second fermentation, which starts on average two days later than it would for the same wine in a 750-milliliter bottle, and takes almost one week (about 33%) longer. The yeast cells must convert twice as much sugar to alcohol in a magnum compared with a standard bottle, but with the equivalent oxygen availability. Thus, they stall the fermentation occasionally while the last dregs of oxygen are sought. It can be argued not only that magnums are superior to 750-milliliter bottles for bottle-fermented wines, but that the wines produced in magnums are intrinsically different because of the different biochemical reactions and by-products involved in the longer, stop-start fermentation process.

Temporary Closures

Some producers still use corks rather than a crown cap for the second fermentation and subsequent yeast aging. The cork (bouchon de tirage) is secured by a clip called an agrafe. There is evidence that natural cork is superior for aging beyond 10 years, but it comes with the risk of the chemical 2,4,6-trichloroanisole (TCA), which causes musty aromas. Most producers who believe it is worth the risk cite the permeability of cork as their reason. The risk-free Mytik Diam cork closures (used by Bollinger) offer this same benefit while also ensuring a consistent rate of development prior to disgorgement because of their uniformity of oxygen ingress.

Although the crown cap (capsule couronne) was patented in the US by the Irish-born William Painter as early as 1892, it was not used in Champagne until the 1960s and did not become widely adopted until the 1970s.

Today, crown caps are constructed from standard steel (usually tin plated) for use in short-term storage, while those made from 5052 aluminum (alloyed with magnesium and chromium for strength) are for short-to-midterm storage. Both are suitable only for cellars with less than 70% humidity. Crown caps made from AISI 430 are for long-term storage and can withstand cellars of more than 70% humidity.

The crown cap is not the seal, temporary or otherwise—the liner is the seal. The crown cap is a mechanical device to keep the liner in place. The liner sits between the crown cap and the glass, providing cushioning and a medium through which gases may be exchanged or restricted. It is the ability to tweak this exchange of gases (particularly the oxygen transfer rate, or OTR) that has made crown cap liners one of the most creative tools for chefs de caves in recent years. The crown cap also keeps the bidule, a small silicone pot that collects the sediment during riddling, in place.

Aging on Lees

After the second fermentation, a deposit of spent yeast cells, known as lees, is left behind. Clinically dead yeast cells are not lifeless. Rather, they undergo an activity known as autolysis, which involves an enzymatic breakdown that imparts much of the classic character considered integral to Champagne. This biochemical process begins two to four months after the second fermentation has finished, and its most active period usually ends after four or five years. There is very little autolytic contribution after 10 years, although enzymatic activity has been detected in yeast cells after as long as 80 years (this activity was so limited, however, that it would have had little effect on the character of the Champagne).

During autolysis, yeasts decompose proteins into simpler amino acids, which are also in the wine prior to autolysis. Amino acids are essential precursors to many of the aromas that typify fine-quality Champagne. In autolysis, because amino acids are both created and consumed, with levels of each rising or falling continuously, the potential aromas are equally in a state of flux. This is why the date of disgorgement can have a profound effect on how a Champagne’s aromatic profile will develop.

Optimum Time on Yeast?

There is no such thing as an optimum duration for yeast aging, although there are optimum moments for disgorgements. Champagne can benefit from being disgorged at various intervals over its lifetime, but the first window of opportunity is the most critical one.

The first window of opportunity is relatively easy to spot for a chef de cave, who will taste the cuvée regularly and recognize when it shifts from an exclusively crisp mode to one that shows the first hint of creamy mellowness on the palate. The creamy-mellow note can be very subtle, and, after the Champagne has received dosage, the palate will revert to a crisp mode, requiring a couple of years of postdisgorgement aging before it will once again start to reveal a creamy mellowness on the palate. The two most common reasons why the first window might be missed are corporate decisions around a release date and chefs de caves focused on minimum yeast aging.

If the decision to disgorge is made purely for the benefit of the mousse, then 18 months on yeast is optimum, as this is the scientifically established peak for mousse retention, and it is when the bubbles are smallest. Many Champagnes need more time to show their full aromatic potential or develop a taste profile, while some may continue to improve for several decades. But most Champagnes (that is, entry-level nonvintage cuvées) have little to gain from longer than 18 months on yeast—other than the additional cost. And not all consumers want to drink the most complex Champagne, particularly at entry level. The taste preference of any Champagne’s most loyal and regular consumers may be the most important factor for a chef de cave to consider when deciding on disgorgement.

Although the influence of autolysis is relatively subtle, it is far more complex than the production and consumption of amino acids. Indeed, some researchers suggest that the role of amino acids has been overstated. When the cell breaks down, it releases many other compounds from inside the cells and cell walls. The same compound may also be present in the wine prior to autolysis, whether detectable or not, and can evoke different aromas, depending on the level found and the presence of other compounds. This can influence how each compound is perceived by enhancing or lowering—or even negating—its aroma, an effect known as positive synergism or antagonism.

Many windows of opportunity for disgorgement will result in very similar aromatic profiles, but some will be significantly better or worse than others.

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When autolysis stops, further aging on lees will have very little effect on the complexity of a Champagne, which essentially will remain fresher than had it been disgorged at an earlier date and aged after disgorgement. But this freshness comes at a price. The longer a Champagne is kept on its lees, the more dependent it is on its almost completely anaerobic environment, and the more sensitive it will be to the oxidative shock of disgorgement. It is initially fresher but declines at a faster rate.

The environment is not completely anaerobic, however, because a tiny trickle of oxygen still flows through the temporary closure against the pressure (because it is CO₂ pressure, not O₂ pressure), enabling a glacially slow micro-oxygenation. When small lots of Champagne are cellared long term, they are usually stored sur pointe, stacked in an inverted vertical position, with the sediment in the bidule or at the base of the cork. When corks and agrafes are used for temporary closures, there is no means of securing a bidule, so the sediment builds up on the base of the cork, coating it with a sludge of dead yeast cells that act as an antioxidant barrier. This sweeps up O₂ molecules at the only possible point of ingress, further reducing the already minuscule flow of oxygen, ensuring graceful maturation. The slower the oxidation, the more finesse and complexity achieved. The antioxidant effects of the sediment constrained in a bidule include consuming some of the incoming O₂ molecules, but dead yeast cells do not completely cover the only point of ingress, thus cannot work as efficiently as the sediment that builds up on cork. This could be one reason for cork’s supposed superiority as a temporary closure.

Traditionally, déplacements—the stacking, unstacking, and restacking of bottles resting horizontally, or sur latte—take place throughout yeast aging, when bottles are transported from one stack to another, and deliberately shaken before building a new stack. This shaking redistributes the sediment to encourage autolysis and prevent the deposit from forming sticky layers, although this has been much less of a problem since the introduction of agglomerating yeasts and adjuvants. Most producers now stack bottles in pallets, which are quickly moved from place to place by forklifts.

Riddling

At some point, it’s necessary to shift the bottles from storage sur latte to storage sur pointe, an essential prerequisite to disgorgement. To achieve this, the bottles undergo the process of remuage (literally, “stir”), also known as riddling.

Remuage was traditionally an eight-week manual operation that took place on pupitres (racks). But because of the relative ease with which the sediment slides down the bottle, thanks to the specialized second-fermentation yeasts and riddling agents available, the few producers who manually riddle bottles today can complete the process in just four to five weeks. Most Champagne producers have moved to gyropalettes, which work constantly and perform the same function, initially in just eight days and now in four to five. With the very recent developments involving the use of ultrasonic vibrations, however, the duration of riddling, once the most labor-intensive and drawn-out cellar operation in the entire méthode champenoise, can be reduced to one hour.

Pupitre

A literal translation of pupitre is “desk,” as in a school desk with a hinged lid, and it is specifically the hinged lid that Champagne’s pupitre alludes to. Traditionally, pupitres were made of wood, with concrete casted boards also quite common. The pupitre as it is known today was patented by Michelot in 1864 and consists of two hinged, heavy rectangular boards, each containing 60 holes that have been bored at an angle of 45 degrees. The angled cut of each hole allows a bottle to be held by the neck, starting almost horizontally and gradually going through any number of intermediate angles to a practically vertical, inverted position.

Moving from bottle to bottle, the remueur or manipulateur swiftly performs two operations on each bottle: oscillating it clockwise and counterclockwise, leaving each bottle a final turn to the left or right of maybe an eighth of a revolution (to ensure that the sediment settles on a different section of the bottle’s inner surface), and then nudging the bottle slightly upward. The oscillation slides the inner bottle surface under the sediment, momentarily detaching it, thus enabling the sediment to slide down the length of the bottle toward the closure when the remueur nudges the bottle upward.

Some remueurs perform the oscillation and tilting in two separate operations, while others combine the two in what is known as a coup de poignet, but they all glide over the contents of a pupitre with astounding accuracy in just a few seconds. After numerous nudges upward, the bottle will eventually reach an almost upright, inverted position, with the sediment neatly deposited in the bidule or at the base of the cork. This leaves the wine ready for disgorgement, although some Champagne is left sur pointe for many years.

Girasol and Ticono

With the advent of palletizing in the 1950s (reaching Champagne by the 1960s) and the use of forklifts to move the pallets around, the concept of riddling by the pallet load was not far behind. All that was required was a means to shake a pallet and gradually invert the bottles, guiding the deposit to the base of the cork or crown cap. The first manual device was presumed to be the Catalan girasol (sunflower), invented by Codorníu, in Sant Sadurní d’Anoia. Codorníu also invented the ticono, the supposed precursor to the actual girasol, which was itself believed to be the precursor to the gyropalette. Yet the gyropalette was first patented in 1968, and the true girasol was registered with the Registro de la Propiedad Industrial in 1974, while the ticono was registered in 1972. There is no proof that the Catalans actually did make a precursor to the gyropalette, although research in Codorníu’s archives remains active.

Mechanized Riddling

Gyropalette (Credit: Adobe Stock)

The mechanization of riddling was not a straightforward jump from the Catalan girasol to the gyropalette in the early 1970s. The first mechanical remuage device was patented by a German (Hassemer) in 1903 and 1905. Various French inventors came up with their own apparatuses, mostly crank or lever operated, while the first automated remuage device was invented by François Chiaverini (patented in 1931). None of these devices had much impact on the Champagne industry, as most producers continued to riddle the old-fashioned way with Michelot’s pupitres.

Indeed, until the arrival of computer-controlled gyropalettes, which eventually revolutionized riddling throughout the Champagne industry, the only device that made an impression was the Pupi-Matic. Of all the weird and wonderful riddling contraptions invented, this is the most interesting and longest lasting. The Pupi-Matic is an automated system introduced in 1966 and still used by some smaller producers. It can hold 240 bottles in vibrating cups, at angles of incline between 25 and 75 degrees. The odd machine has even been spotted in the cellars of some large houses, although they have long since moved on to gyropalettes. This is because the Pupi-Matic can do something the gyropalette can’t: riddle just a few bottles, making it ideal for riddling trial bottlings.

In the 1960s, the Champagne grower Claude Cazals (Le Mesnil-sur-Oger) and his friend Jacques Ducoin wanted to invent a riddling system that would turn as many bottles as they could possibly manage. In 1968, they patented a “gyro-palette”: a 504-bottle-capacity stackable cage that could be manipulated. In 1970, they patented and registered the gyropalette: an all-steel frame that could be loaded with a cage, manually manipulated, unloaded, and reloaded. The first prototype was produced in 1973, in partnership with Pierre Martin, a grower in Bouzy, and the enologist Georges Hardy.

Wines stored sur pointe in the Bollinger caves (Credit: Unsplash)

The ultraconservative Champenois were slow to adopt the gyropalette. They had to be convinced to invest in expensive machinery to replicate an operation that was already being performed adequately by hand, and cellars had to be reconfigured to accommodate the equipment. Those who held out against this form of mechanization would often claim that the clarity achieved by gyropalettes was inferior to that managed by manual remuage. It is a misconception that still exists; there is plenty of hard science showing the contrary. Another hurdle to the acceptance of gyropalettes was the concern that it would result in redundancy for one of Champagne’s most skilled workers and raise the specter of trade union disputes.

Although the first order for the gyropalette came from Italy, the next came in 1978 from Piper-Heidsieck, followed by Taittinger and eventually Louis Roederer, giving others the confidence to follow as well. The widespread installation of the gyropalette was a well-kept secret into the late 1990s, as tours of Champagne houses using this technology would make elaborate detours to avoid the slightest glimpse of it.

Sur Pointe

After remuage, the bottles are ready for disgorging, although many might undergo further yeast aging sur pointe. The benefit of aging sur pointe is twofold: first, the wine’s flavor and bouquet can benefit from extended contact with the yeast; second, its overall longevity is improved. When a bottle is stored sur pointe, there is less capacity for the yeast cells to undergo autolysis compared with storage sur latte, but the process still acts as an antioxidant against the glacially slow ingress of oxygen, through either a cork or a bidule.

While some technologies have tried to compete with gyropalettes over the years, none have succeeded. Today, however, the low-cost ultrasonic technology is gaining a notable following. It was invented and patented not in France but in Italy, by a team of scientists at the University of Milan, and can riddle bottles in one to four hours. Ultrasonic riddling is still in the prototype stage. It will likely be much easier to introduce ultrasonic riddling to a gyropalette-dominated industry than it was to replace pupitres with mechanization. Many cellars are already configured to house and service this type of machinery, though this also indicates just how heavily producers have invested in gyropalettes, with some possessing several hundred. The inventors of ultrasonic riddling realized this dilemma and concurrently developed conversion kits that could be attached to existing gyropalettes, which, eventually, will be replaced by dedicated ultrasonic units.

Ultrasonic riddling relies on the piezoelectric effect, in which mechanical energy is converted into electrical energy. Piezoelectric transducers are coupled to the bottles and generate ultrasonic vibrations to speed up the rate at which the sediment slides down the glass. The frequency of the vibration can be adjusted by dial to move the oscillation through a range of 20 to 50 kilohertz, with 25 to 30 kilohertz and 35 to 45 kilohertz currently thought to be optimal. Different wines produced in different areas could be more responsive to different frequencies, so the producer must be able to fine-tune the oscillation for the wine.

Disgorgement

With the bottle inverted and the sediment resting on the closure at the tip of the neck, the next step is disgorgement, which ensures a clear and bright wine. The most common method of disgorgement is known as dégorgement à la glace, a process that was invented in the late 19^th century (by Armand Walfard, in 1884, and patented in 1892). It involves immersion of about four centimeters (1.5 inches) of the bottle’s neck in a shallow, freezing bath (between minus 25 degrees Celsius and minus 30 degrees Celsius, or minus 13 degrees Fahrenheit and minus 22 degrees Fahrenheit), which causes the deposit to become a semifrozen slush that adheres stubbornly to the base of a cork or bidule and the inner surface of the neck. The bottle can then be turned upright and placed on the disgorging line without disturbing the sediment. When the closure is removed, the semifrozen sediment is ejected by the pressure built up in the headspace. Very little wine is lost, as the wine’s pressure is reduced by its lowered temperature. The freezing bath formerly consisted of brine (salt water), but that caused corrosion of the bottling line equipment and, by transfer, corrosion of the wire cage and muselet. Producers now use propylene glycol, which is not corrosive and, as a legally permitted food additive, presents no health risk in the unlikely event of any cross contamination.

Champagne sealed with a cork and agrafe will be disgorged by hand in an operation known as à la volée, so-called because the noise it makes sounds like the discharge, or volley, of a rifle. If the dégorgeur is skillful, the technique can even be performed on bottles that have not been frozen, with very little loss of wine. Champagnes sealed with a crown cap are also occasionally disgorged à la volée, particularly for tasting purposes.

Dosage and Final Additions

The addition of at least a modest dosage (six grams) is essential for the graceful maturation of most ageworthy Champagnes. The question of dosage has very little to do with sweetness itself and everything to do with balance. Brut nature should never be used as an excuse for an austere mouthfeel, nor should a gradual increase in perceptible sweetness in ascending order of residual sugar (RS) be anticipated.

Note that when sugar is indicated for Champagne, some of the grams of sugar indicated as the dosage can include RS, and some indicated as the RS can be from the dosage. To further confuse the issue, the regulations in Champagne permit a variation of three grams between the stated and actual RS to cover the margin of error in the different types of analysis performed, and producers indicating the dosage rather than the RS do not take account of the one to two grams of RS commonly left after the second fermentation. Consequently, a Champagne claiming 6 grams could contain more sugar than another claiming 10 grams, or anything in between.

The dosage is added via the liqueur d’expédition. The most important ingredients of the liqueur d’expédition are sugar (unless it is for a brut nature), base wine, and SO₂. This liqueur might be developed months in advance because of its dense concentration of sugar (600 grams per liter), and it will eventually be microfiltered. In most cases, the composition of the base wine used for this liqueur will be neutral, deliberately designed to blend in with as little effect on the aroma or flavor of a cuvée as possible.

The liqueur d’expédition is the final opportunity to make any corrections to the wine—for example, if the wine has developed unexpectedly, or if the wine is being released earlier or later than originally intended. The liqueur d’expédition can also be used to reinforce the house style and to ensure longevity (through the use of SO₂). The list of permitted ingredients is far more limited in Champagne than elsewhere.

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Acetaldehyde

Although acetaldehyde is the principal aldehyde in any wine, only a tiny amount is present in all but a few, mostly fortified, wines. While a soupçon of acetaldehyde can contribute background complexity to many wines, detectable amounts are a fault (except in wines that utilize flor, where the layer of yeast oxidizes ethanol).

In nonfortified wines of any longevity, acetaldehyde is the key aromatic compound of premature oxidation (premox). It strips away the expected fruit and freshness to reveal the harsh, bare bones of a wine. The definition of longevity is not how old a wine tastes but how young. The greatness of that longevity is determined by how much fruit and freshness has been retained.

Some people can detect acetaldehyde at concentrations of 70 milligrams per liter, but the general threshold of perception is 100 to 125 milligrams per liter. This is the level at which acetaldehyde usually starts to develop its characteristic nutty, bruised-apple aromas. On average, Champagne is said to have 50 to 100 milligrams per liter of acetaldehyde, whereas flor styles of Sherry can have 500 to 1,000 milligrams per liter. These are all free acetaldehyde levels. Acetaldehyde bound to SO₂ is not aromatically detectable, and total (free and bound) acetaldehyde is never measured.

Sulfur

Every responsible winemaker tries to minimize the amount of sulfur added, and even the Champagnes with the highest amounts of sulfur are among the wines with the lowest. Champagne is one of the few wines for which it is normal practice to open a bottle immediately before shipping and expose it to air. Despite the many precautions taken to limit the ingress of air into the bottle during disgorgement and corking, it is impossible to prevent some additional oxygen (such as that dissolved in the dosage wine itself) from entering at this extremely critical stage of the wine’s life. That is why it is essential for the liqueur d’expédition to include SO₂, especially for producers operating low-sulfur regimes. There are ways of lowering SO₂ levels, but they require adjustments at every phase of the winemaking operation, from grape to bottle, with the focus on reducing SO₂ at the earliest juncture, not the final stage. If Champagne is to retain its freshness as long as possible, there is no alternative to SO₂.

There is a general misconception that SO₂ protects against oxidation, but only a fraction of the SO₂ added will interact directly with O₂ molecules. The problem is that the speed at which sulfur reacts is glacially slow compared with that of oxygen. Its main role is to bind with the aftermath of oxygen’s presence: acetaldehyde. Consequently, SO₂ does not stop oxidation; rather, it neutralizes its key aromatic compound by binding with it. Thus, the SO₂ found in wine consists of free and (mostly) bound SO₂. When SO₂ is added, it is initially free SO₂, but much of it quickly binds with sugars, pigments, and other compounds to become bound SO₂. It is often said that, once bound, SO₂ is no longer available to protect a wine against oxidation, but this is not entirely accurate. The only compound to which SO₂ is tightly bound is aldehyde (primarily acetaldehyde itself), whereas among the unstable compounds loosely bound to SO₂, the most important is sugar. When only loosely bound, SO₂ can be freed to bind acetaldehyde, so only Champagnes with a dosage possess an additional line of defense against oxidation.

Champagne producers who do not use jetting (described below) must allow for an ingress of 2.7 milligrams per liter of oxygen during disgorgement and corking. The theoretical minimum of SO₂ required to neutralize that amount of O₂ would be 10.8 milligrams per liter, but that would be nowhere near sufficient. The winemaker must overcompensate, because SO₂ is slow and inefficient (even more so in a brut nature sparkling wine) and will be diverted elsewhere to bind with other compounds. The dose should be calculated to leave at least five milligrams per liter of free SO₂ after 12 months. Much depends on the chemistry of the Champagne in question, but, as a very rough rule of thumb, a minimum dose of SO₂ for producers who use jetting is around 15 milligrams per liter; for those who do not, it is 25 milligrams per liter. Again, this is the dose added at disgorgement—not free or total.

Recorking

When bottles are corked, despite whatever precautions have been taken to reduce potential oxidation (such as jetting and using Mytik Diam corks), the Champagne has already been exposed to the air—it has received dissolved oxygen from both the dosage base wine and the top-up wine. The Champagne will receive more oxygen during oxygen initial release, when air is forced out of the cork as it is squeezed into the bottle. Consequently, producers generally add SO₂ at this stage.

Credit: Laura Perrone

The Champenois had long recognized the potential effects of oxidation resulting from exposing Champagne to air during the disgorgement process, but they did not know the precise volume of oxygen ingress until a groundbreaking paper was published by the CIVC in 2003. The research showed that the problem was not only oxidation from the volume of oxygen that enters a Champagne at each step (disgorgement, dosage, topping up, and corking) but also the extreme difference in oxygen entering each bottle (between 1.8 and 2.7 milligrams per liter), which is responsible for unacceptable bottle variation in the finished product.

As soon as the CIVC study revealed how large and varied the oxygen uptake was, it became imperative to devise an appropriate defense. The obvious answer was jetting, which had been used in the brewing industry since the 1960s.

In the process of jetting, a precise amount of sulfited water is injected into the wine, exciting the CO₂on the wine’s surface. The bubbles rise, pushing oxygen out of the bottle, and then the cork is inserted, compressing the CO₂.

In theory, jetting should be able to eliminate all externally sourced oxygen, but in practice it is reduced to less than 0.5 milligrams per liter. Further, the equipment is usually calibrated to 80% to 90% efficiency to prevent overfoaming (which causes fallback, sucking air into the bottle, exacerbating rather than eliminating the problem). Most chefs de caves are enthusiastic about jetting, but a small number say that it leaves the Champagne too closed for their style. All jetting equipment, however, can be calibrated on site. Thus, instead of setting it to 0.5 milligrams per liter of oxygen, it could be fine-tuned to provide a consistent degree of openness.

Closures

For any type of wine, a cork must be compressed from all sides to fit inside the neck of a bottle, and it is the natural elasticity of cork trying to resume its normal size that forces it to press evenly against the inner surface of the neck, creating its hermetic seal. In a still wine, this pressure against the inside of the neck will be sufficient to keep the wine from being exposed to the air outside. For Champagne, however, there is also pressure from underneath the cork, trying to push it out. At six atmospheres, the equivalent pressure of a double-decker bus tire, this is a significant amount of pressure, which is why one-third of the cork is left exposed, outside the bottle. When the metal capsule, called a plaque, is pushed onto the top of the protruding portion, it molds the cork into its iconic mushroom shape. The plaque is necessary to protect the cork from the wire cage (muselet or, in full, muselet de fil de fer) that is used to secure the cork against the internal pressure of the bottle.

A classic Champagne cork (Credit: Adobe Stock)

What is perceived today as the classic Champagne cork consists of an agglomerate body faced with one, two, or (occasionally) three pure cork disks (also known as mirrors or rondelles). Champagne corks used to be solid cork, but as the general demand for cork rose during the 19^th century, the interval between cork harvests dropped to increase supply, which led to a reduction in the thickness and quality of the cork bark stripped. Since the bark required for a Champagne cork (31 millimeters, or 1.2 inches) must be 30% thicker than that used for a still wine cork (24 millimeters, or 0.95 inches), the thicker, higher-quality cork bark required by Champagne became too rare and costly to sustain the entire industry.

The initial alternative was made by gluing halves together vertically, then cutting the corks shorter and adding disks made from remnants that would not normally be of any use. It was at this time that such disks first appeared, on the end of solid corks, not agglomerates. Interestingly, and rarely discussed, this was the only time when the disks were cut correctly (parallel to the bark, not at a right angle). Eventually, thick cork bark became so scarce that the main body was replaced by agglomerate cork, a product that had been available for other uses since the end of the 19^th century. For economy, the disks were stamped perpendicular to the bark—rendering this closure fatally flawed. The shaft of a regular cork is cut parallel to the bark to ensure the lenticels (raised pores in woody plants that allow for gas exchange) are kept horizontal to the width of the cork, not its length. The purpose of lenticular channels is to permit both an ingress of O₂ through the cork bark to the tree’s interior and an egress of CO₂. With lenticels horizontal to the width, a regular still-wine cork is almost completely impermeable. Yet in sparkling-wine disks, the lenticular airways form a network running from one end of a cork to the other, almost guaranteeing its permeability.

The more obvious and prolific the lenticels, the shorter the life of the disk. The wetter and more pinched the disk, or disks, of a classic agglomerate cork becomes, the less effective the cork is as a closure. Over time, the wine may come into direct contact with the agglomerate, and the danger of loss in pressure, oxygen ingress, and TCA increases.

Strictly speaking, any cork that is not a single piece of natural cork might be classified as a technical cork. But since oxygen ingress for an agglomerate cork can vary by as much as 300-fold (3,000%), the agglomerate cork’s efficiency does not differ significantly from that of the cork closures used by the ancient Romans and Egyptians. A more appropriate definition of a technical cork is that, at the very minimum, it ensures a consistent and effective level of oxygen ingress.

Among the dozens of technical corks, Mytik Diam is the gold standard in Champagne. It is made from microagglomerated cork that has been subjected to a supercritical CO₂ extraction process to guarantee that it is TCA free, with uniform CO₂ retention and oxygen ingress. There are two basic, commercial Mytik Diam formats, each visibly recognizable by its size of granule: Mytik Diam 5 (formerly Classic), which has the tiniest granules and offers the lowest oxygen ingress; and Mytik Diam 3 (formerly Access), with slightly coarser granules (although much finer than those found in classic agglomerate closures) for a more open permeability. The numbers in the closures’ names refer to Diam’s aging guarantee. The size of the granules alone is not the determining factor for oxygen ingress, as microspheres possess great elasticity and are impervious to oxygen. The ratio of microspheres to cork affects oxygen ingress, as does the proportion of food-grade glue. By tweaking all these elements, DIAM can create bespoke Mytik closures to suit the specific requirements of any producer. Note that MDC and MDA are sometimes printed on these closures to denote Mytik Diam Classic and Mytik Diam Access, respectively.

There is also a newer closure in the Mytik range, Mytik Diam 10, released in 2022. Diam claims this cork has improved oxygen management and mechanical performance, and aging is guaranteed for 10 years.

Postdisgorgement Aging

Postdisgorgement aging covers the period between the insertion of the final cork and the moment when the wine is consumed. How Champagne evolves after disgorgement is very different from the process before disgorgement. Prior to disgorgement, the aging process is primarily about retaining freshness, with any mellowing effect playing a relatively minor role. After disgorgement, it is the opposite, with mellowing being of primary importance and any retention of freshness playing the minor role. Micro-oxygenation mellows reductive aromas in postdisgorgement aging long before it begins what is, ideally, a long and smooth oxidation of the wine.

Virtually all postdisgorgement aromas are sulfidic, but some sulfidic aromas are more obvious and typically less enjoyable than others. If the sulfur regime is a healthy one, and every aspect of the winemaking has been finely tuned, it is possible to achieve a Champagne with sulfidic aromas that are subthreshold and take many years to evolve. Not all sulfidic aromas come from added SO₂. Some can be by-products of the second-fermentation yeast. A combination of yeast- and dosage-derived sulfidic aromas can be extreme, going well beyond the burnt match aroma of molecular sulfur, to gunpowder or fireworks. SO₂ has a flavor, and most commonly that flavor is loosely described as gunpowder. Sometimes the SO₂ aromas and flavors are so strong that they obscure the house style, yet at other times they can be of such a distinctive character that they easily evoke the name of the producer (probably a result of the use of an equally distinctive in-house second-fermentation yeast culture).

True toasty aromas are soft and mellow and take time to evolve. Typical gunpowder aromas are far more immediate and aggressive. Gunpowder can be the precursor to a certain type of toasty aroma, but it has a hard edge and takes just two or three years to emerge, compared with a decade or more for much softer notes of true post-disgorgement toastiness. The more gunpowdery a Champagne is, the further from optimum drinking it will be, whereas the more toasty aromas a Champagne has, the more ready it is to drink.

To produce a Champagne that respects the reductive style yet avoids sulfidic aromas is no easy task. When deciding whether to use SO₂ after disgorgement, the producer must choose between ending up with no protection at all and achieving adequate protection. In terms of the appropriate amount of SO₂ to use, there is a very fine line between achieving adequate protection and shutting the wine down. If SO₂ is rightly used, however, the pure, pristine style of Champagne that can be achieved will be neither reductive nor oxidative. Such Champagnes provide an ideal medium for the subtle nuances of autolysis to shine through and can achieve the holy grail of longevity, drinking well in their youth, middle age, and old age.

It takes 3 to 6 months for the dosage to settle and a further 12 months for the degree of softness in the mouthfeel to return to the pre-dosage level. Postdisgorgement development typically begins after this period, initially as a creamy-floral influence on the nose before yeast-complexed fruit becomes apparent on the palate. It will take at least another three years before any hints of real toastiness begin to build, although gunpowdery toastiness can be present from day one.

Also important are Maillard reactions, which take place between amino acids created during autolysis and fructose from the dosage (thus not possible in brut nature styles unless the Champagne has sufficient residual sugar from the second fermentation). These biochemical interactions are responsible for many of the mellow, complex postdisgorgement aromas that appeal to drinkers of mature Champagne. At low concentrations, they add to the complexity of Champagne, but some reactions can introduce browning, oxidation, and oxidation-like aromas. These effects, however, should not detract from the overall importance of Maillard reactions; comparatively, autolysis is associated with many more negative effects, and that process is generally accepted as positive.

Read the Champagne Part I: Introduction expert guide.

Read the Champagne Part III: History expert guide.

Some material in this guide was previously published in The World of Fine Wine.

Compiled by user4386 (2023)

Edited by user22151 and user28307

Tags: Preview

Austria

user22387 — Mon, 06 Jan 2025 14:48:53 GMT

Current Revision posted to Expert Guides by user22387 on 1/6/2025 2:48:53 PM

History of Austria
Austrian Wine in Context
Land & Climate
Austrian Wine Law
The Grapes of Austria
Lower Austria
Vienna
Burgenland
Styria
Bergland
Bibliography

Austria is small, with barely 0.5% of its land covered in grapevines, but the country has contributed significant innovation and creativity to the wine world, from viticulture to stemware. In its more recent history, Austria’s industry was marked by the 1985 “antifreeze” scandal. Though the practice of sweetening wines with diethylene glycol, or DEG, hardly represented the majority of Austrian winemakers, all were implicated. Impressively, the industry banded together over the following years and developed stricter regulations and practices. Today, Austria has not only redeemed its reputation, but its wine industry is recognized for a proportionately high level of quality and rigorous standards. Pioneers from the last century have paved the way for today’s set of bright winemakers, many of whom are bringing excitement and originality to lesser-touted pockets throughout the country.

History of Austria

Cultivation of Vines

Geographically central, Austria has been a thoroughfare for many civilizations throughout history. The Hallstatt culture of the Late Bronze Age through the early Iron Age (1200–500 BCE), among the earliest of Celtic peoples, was first to significantly settle this area, landing just southeast of what is today Salzburg. Salt mines in the region allowed this group to prosper, producing over a ton of salt per day and supplying over half of Europe. Artifacts discovered here, such as bronze ornaments and sword handles made of African ivory, suggest significant wealth. As the tribe grew and became more sophisticated, a wine culture developed. Art and other remnants dated between 600 and 400 BCE signal more frequent wine consumption and a stratification of society, as the Hallstatt tribes were dominated by the fiercer La Tène Celts.

The first record of wild vines seems to be in the form of a funerary object that was buried at a gravesite around 1600 BCE in Lower Austria. However, the oldest evidence of cultivated vines dates back to approximately 900 BCE. Two small grapevine seeds were discovered in a storage pit covered with cereal grain in Stillfried, northeast of Vienna on the border of modern-day Slovakia. Palaeobotanic analyses of plant fossils indicated these vines were imported, likely via horse trades, and then propagated through scions or layering. Between 900 and 600 BCE, there was clear growth in grapegrowing culture throughout what is now considered Lower Austria, Burgenland, and neighboring Slovakia and Hungary.

Romans were responsible for significantly expanding viticulture from 15 BCE though the fifth century CE. At the turn of the millennium, a surplus of Italian vines was planted in response to the Mount Vesuvius devastation in 79 CE. Emperor Domitian ordered half of the vines outside of Italy to be pulled and prohibited new vineyards. This interrupted Austria’s winemaking industry for nearly 200 years, until Emperor Probus lifted this edict, enabling viticulture to resume its expansion throughout the Roman Empire.

Middle Ages

By the end of the fifth century, the Western Roman Empire had fallen. Austria entered a quiet period in 488 CE, after the Romans abandoned the vineyards. During the Age of Migration, the German, Hunnic, Bavarian, and Slavic tribes moved through this territory. Monasteries were built, and the Bavarians established their prominence (500–900 CE). In an effort to unite all Germanic peoples into one Christian kingdom, Charlemagne, King of the Franks, defeated Bavarian Duke Tassilo III in 788, eliminating Bavarian influence for the next 100 years. He then initiated a long series of battles, overtook nearly all of Bohemia, and finally defeated the Avars in order to capture the territory that is today Austria in 803. Charlemagne played a profound role in reinvigorating Austria’s wine industry. His Capitulare de villis vel curtis imperii, among the first of Europe’s official wine law documents, spelled out requirements for better grapegrowing and winemaking techniques. Grape selection was taken more seriously. Varieties were considered in two categories: the more superior Fränkisch varieties, and those of lower quality, known as Heunisch, a derogatory term directed toward the Huns.

Control returned to the Bavarians in 976 under the House of Babenberg, which expanded the territory as well as its influence and power over the next centuries. The Babenbergs elevated themselves to the status of duchy by the middle of the 12^th century. During this time, many monasteries populated Krems, Vienna, Styria, and Burgenland. Krems, then the largest town in Wachau, was home to 16 monasteries by the end of the 12^th century. The Cistercians had a tremendous impact on wine quality, bringing grapegrowing and winemaking knowledge from Burgundy.

Habsburg Era

Shortly after the death of the last ruling Babenberg male, Count Rudolf IV of the House of Habsburg was crowned the Roman-German King and relocated to Vienna, where the Habsburg monarchy would govern until the end of World War I. The Habsburgs’ skillful business and marital tactics allowed for the acquisition of many territories, including Burgundy in 1477, when Mary of Valois, Duchess of Burgundy, married Maximilian I, Archduke of Austria and Holy Roman Emperor, strengthening ties to this important wine region.

Wine became increasingly central to Austrian culture throughout the Late Middle Ages. In addition to its crucial sacramental role, it was consumed as an alternative to unclean water. Wine was nearly always diluted, and spices and honey were sometimes added for sweetness. More controls were set to limit and even prohibit foreign wine imports in the 13^th century, and wine became a key export product. In 1340, a law passed that banned all Hungarian wine from entering the country, and by the 16^th century, over 150,000 hectares of vines covered the land. In Burgenland, the free city of Rust was also gaining popularity among royals both near and afar for its distinctive Ruster Ausbruch, a sweet botrytized dessert wine that was made in a style similar to Tokaji.

By the early modern period, fortunes began to turn for Austria’s wine industry. From 1587 onward, a series of unfavorable climate conditions and poor harvests resulted in less wine. Export bans were legally enforced in an effort to secure Austria’s domestic product, and as a result, trade markets collapsed. Wine prices began to rise, not only in response to factors of supply and demand but also as a result of higher taxes. A tax particular to wine, beer, and mead, introduced as the Ungeld in 1359 under Duke Rudolf IV, ramped up considerably around 1556 and then again in 1568 to pay preparatory military debts. High taxes were noted as a major factor for the decline of viticulture in the 17^th century, as the majority of the population turned to more economical choices like beer. Rising taxes would persist through the 19^th century. In 1829, the General Consumption Tax rose to 42.2% on all wine and beer products, and in 1883, the land tax was set at 22.7% of gross yields for vineyards, only to be lowered after the devastation of phylloxera.

The Thirty Years’ War (1618–1648) left villages in ruins. Despite bans to expand vines, grapegrowers worked hard to rebuild and cultivate new vineyards. At the end of the 17^th century, 90% of vineyards were in the hands of peasants. They often rotated grain with grapes, which yielded about the same price at this time when factoring in labor costs. The Weinviertel was the site of a great deal of development during this period, with Grüner Veltliner beginning to demonstrate success. By 1830, the region was home to 67% of the country’s vineyards.

The 18^th century finally brought some hope, as both the Enlightenment and the Industrial Revolution ushered in new ways of thinking along with more mechanized techniques, which would transform the bottom line for growers. Archduke John of Austria was an important figure for agriculture in this era, particularly for Styria, which had fallen behind the advances of its neighbors in Lower Austria and Burgenland. He took varietal and site selection seriously, leading several experiments to determine what would deliver the best quality, with Sauvignon Blanc among his findings. Agricultural societies were popping up throughout the region, modernizing farming and increasing productivity.

As years passed and the Industrial Revolution advanced, the growing wine industry’s central concern became getting more wine in less time with lower costs. Greater research and experimentation took place, and more mechanized equipment was introduced. The Klosterneuburg monastery established a wine college in 1860 that continues to serve as a principal enology school today.

The final chapter for the Habsburgs involved their union with Hungary through the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of 1867. The Hapsburgs and Hungarians shared military and conducted foreign affairs as one, but they operated separate local governments. Together, they were among the most powerful forces in Europe at the time. Vineyards overlapped, which would become a matter to settle upon the dissolution of the Austro-Hungarian Empire after World War I.

Fall of the Habsburgs, World Wars, & Aftermath

Upon the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand in 1914, Austria-Hungary moved on the Serbians in a battle that would initiate the Great War. Four years and nearly 40 million casualties later, the Habsburg monarchy was defeated, and the Republic of German-Austria was established on November 12, 1918. Vineyards were hardly a focus when drawing the new borders. South Tyrol was annexed to Italy as Alto Adige; 30,000 hectares within Styria fell to the SHS-State (the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes); and Lower Austria lost some of its northern territory to Czechoslovakia. What Austria did inherit were the great vineyards of Burgenland, two nurseries (with 89 varieties), and Rust, which was home to a viticultural school and growing vineyard area. Yet perhaps more significant than physical boundaries, the ideological Iron Curtain was gaining momentum.

On March 12, 1938, German soldiers annexed Austria for the Third Reich. Austria’s wine industry was a source of much conflict during this time. An effort to Aryanise was underway. Jews were required to register assets, and vineyards were extorted for abominably depressed prices, from which the state officials and non-Jewish farmers benefited.

The Third Reich had an idealized image of the German farm: not too small as to be unsustainable, but not too large as to counter its biased image of Jewish business. The Reich Hereditary Farm Act of 1938 mandated a vineyard size of 7.5 to 125 hectares—nearly impossible for most farmers, as it was common to hold only a few hectares or less. This led to unprecedented restructuring, mergers, and the influx of cooperatives, which grew to 48 by 1938 (3,438 members) and 71 by 1943 (8,958 members).

This was perfect for the National Socialists (Nazis), who wanted to control the wine sector’s production and the race of its participants. Scholar Ernst Langthaler points out that the Reichsnährstand, which oversaw all agricultural production and distribution, attempted to justify this, explaining, “Some provisions may mean that personal rights of disposal are restricted. However, viewed from the higher vantage point of the national economy, these are just as necessary as promoting the well-being of the individual.” The Third Reich also shifted the focus at the well-reputed Klosterneuburg by establishing the Higher School and Experimentation Station of Viticulture and Fruit Production on its grounds. The new institution brought in students mainly from abroad to learn the “correct” way of growing, with limited approved varieties (15 white and 4 red). Efficiency was considered paramount, and the more industrial farming techniques that were emphasized gave larger cooperative wineries an advantage over smaller farmers who had trouble keeping up with the material and labor required for these new approaches. Dr. Fritz Zweigelt, for all that he would contribute to Austria’s wine industry, remains a controversial figure for his questionable alliance with the Nazis during their regime, which resulted in trial for treason after the war.

Vines trained in Lenz Moser’s Hochkultur system (Photo credit: MW Andreas Wickhoff)

The end of World War II cracked open new opportunities for Austrian farmers. Lenz Moser, born into a family of winemakers, would come to play a primary role in the improvement of Austrian viticulture, particularly for his introduction of high-stake training. Moser believed that it wasn’t really until the Reich had come to an end that winegrowing in Austria experienced a revolution. Throughout the 1920s, he identified the need for vineyards to adapt to the mechanizations available, not the other way around. He envisioned wider rows at three to four meters apart, lower density planting, and higher training on wires to replace low-grounded stake training. He established his first experimental vineyard in 1924, implementing this Hochkultur, or “high culture,” training method with vines on wires at 1.25 meters.

The coldest winters in over a century took place in 1928 and 1929. Of the 35 grape varieties Moser had planted, 20 froze, with exceptions including Welschriesling, Riesling, and Grüner Veltliner. Over the years, it would be Grüner Veltliner and Zweigelt that Moser would encourage most for Hochkultur training, and today, these are the most planted white and red varieties. Though it took time for growers to convert to Hochkultur training, it became the norm in the 1960s and 1970s. In 1959, 77% of vineyards were still on the old stake system, but by 1980, this had dropped to under 1%. As hectarage under vine expanded from 42,000 in 1970 to over 56,000 by 1983, all vineyards were established with Moser’s high training. Though this is his greatest legacy, Moser was also fascinated by vineyard botany and established some of the first studies in cover crop recommendations in the 1950s.

The 1985 Scandal

Following World War II, the use of fertilizers, herbicides, and pesticides had been growing. Machines were doing much of the work in the vineyards, in part due to Moser’s vine training methods. Production boomed. Meanwhile, Germans vacationed in Burgenland and raved about the region’s sweet Prädikat wines. Demand for this style soared through the 1960s and 1970s.

In 1970, a new tax policy no longer mandated cellar inspections, and counterfeit operation developed unchecked. A study commission by the local Institute of Agricultural Economics vastly underestimated consumption, encouraging overproduction and causing grape prices to plummet. Demand for sweet wine, however, wasn’t impacted. Rather, it increased dramatically, and as pressure to produce more for export grew, quality was compromised. From 1970 to 1983, vineyard area climbed from 43,000 to 56,000 hectares. A string of poor vintages in the late 1970s and early 1980s added anxiety to the equation, as winemakers sought to correct underripe, thin wines with something that could go undetected and also contribute body and texture to their wines. They identified diethylene glycol, or DEG, which easily mixes with liquids like alcohol and water and is a component in brake fluid, lubricants, skin care products, and, most famously, antifreeze. DEG has a sweet taste, adding to and obscuring sugar additions, and was hard to detect—mainly because no one thought to test for it.

On January 28, 1985, investigators confirmed the presence of DEG in Austrian wines. The news broke on April 23, 1985, and export markets dried up almost immediately. This was particularly significant for Germans, who had previously accounted for nearly 90% of Burgenland’s exports.

The supposed ringleader chemist, Otto Nadrasky, admitted that this practice began in 1978. He and chemists at other laboratories had determined the amount of DEG that could be added at safe levels—and it is true that no one was harmed, let alone killed, by consuming these beverages. A lethal dose of DEG is thought to be about 40 grams per liter, and most wines saw only a fraction of a gram to a few grams per liter. Winemakers sought, unsuccessfully, to justify their methods by explaining that a person would almost certainly die of alcohol poisoning before DEG.

Though the scandal involved sweet wine and primarily incriminated just a few large producers, all of Austria suffered, and it would take 15 years for its exports to rebound. Despite the adverse economic implications that followed, this scandal provided the industry with an opportunity for change. Winemakers quickly set out to improve their image by establishing some of the strictest regulations in Europe through the Austrian Wine Act of 1986. New requirements included cellar inspections, detailed recordings of quantities from vineyard to bottle, yield restrictions for higher-quality fruit, and the establishment of the Austrian Wine Marketing Board (AWMB). Meanwhile, a marketing effort worked to restore the nation’s reputation. Winemakers, including key players Alois Kracher and Willi Opitz, tirelessly showed their wines during this time to convince consumers of their quality.

EU Accession & Today

Before Austria could join the EU, a number of reforms needed to take place. In the early 1990s, the Ministry of Agriculture hired an outside business consultancy to evaluate Austria’s wine industry and identify areas for improvement. A thorough assessment pointed to structural shortcomings, inadequate marketing, and financial concerns around tax structure and overall industry resources. Austria responded with continued efforts from a recently established wine consultancy network, outlets for grape surplus, and abolishing taxes for non-sparkling wine.

Joining the EU had many benefits for Austria’s wine industry. Integration was relatively smooth, as Austria’s wine law was not too dissimilar from that of the EU. Exports were simplified, monetary assistance became available for bulk shipping outside the country, programs were established to improve grapegrowing and winemaking methods, and financial incentives encouraged organic viticulture. Today, the central government and local federal states help pay insurance premiums for unseen vineyard challenges.

Austrian Wine in Context

Austria produced 2.75 million hectoliters of wine in 2018, a mere 1% of global production, placing it 17^th in the world for overall volume. Still, over 90% of wine in 2018 was classified as Qualitätswein or Prädikatswein, reflecting Austria’s ongoing focus on quality. In 2015, vines covered over 45,000 hectares of land, a 22% decrease since 1987, when there was an extreme surplus. White grapes reign supreme, with over 67% of the plantings, despite a slight surge of reds in the early 2000s. In 1987, there were 45,380 growers, averaging 1.28 hectares per producer, which has dropped to about 14,111 growers today, with about 3.22 hectares per grower. Though this indicates growth in the larger wineries and consolidation, Austria still boasts many small, boutique wineries.

Austrian wine holds 90% of the domestic market share, up 6% since 2003. The average bottle price is €5.21, increased from €4.28 in 2012. In Austria, over half of the local wine is sold on-premise and at trade events, while 39% is consumed at home. Supermarkets have become important partners for the industry, and less wine is being purchased directly from wineries. The remaining Austrian wine consumed within the country is attributed to tourists.

Though small compared to other wine regions, Austria enjoys a successful and growing export market. Its wines are exported to 102 countries, nearly double the number served in 2009, in part thanks to the AWMB’s strategy to create more resilience to fluctuations from individual markets. In 2019, Austrian winemakers exported a record-breaking 640,000 hectoliters of wine (about 7.1 million cases), a huge comeback after losing four-fifths of their export market after the 1985 scandal. Germans still claim about half of this, but considerable growth comes from the United States, in part due to importers like Terry Theise and Circo Vino, who have championed these wines. In 2000, about 145,000 hectoliters were bottled for export; 214,000 hectoliters went out in bulk. By 2018, this situation dramatically reversed: 460,000 hectoliters were bottled, and the remaining 60,000 hectoliters were sold in bulk.

Land & Climate

The Land

Austria is a landlocked country nestled in the heart of south-central Europe—an ideal situation for trade throughout history. It shares borders with seven other countries: Switzerland (and Liechtenstein) on its western edge, the Czech Republic to the north, Slovakia to the northeast, Hungary to the east, and Slovenia to the south. Germany and Italy, to its north and south, respectively, pinch Austria where it narrows most. At its widest, the country measures only 275 kilometers from north to south; most of Austria fits between the 47^th and 48^th parallels.

Austria contains nine federal states. Together, Lower Austria (Niederösterreich in German), Burgenland, and Vienna (Wien) compose one large winemaking region known as Weinland. A second region, Steirerland, includes the federal state of Styria (Steiermark). Weinland and Steirerland collectively contain 17 of Austria’s 18 winemaking regions. The final growing area is Bergland, which comprises vineyards found in the five remaining federal states: Carinthia (Kärnten), Upper Austria (Oberösterreich), Tyrol (Tirol), Vorarlberg, and Salzburg. While these states don’t have any DACs, they have a long winemaking tradition and are beginning to experience a kind of renaissance.

Austria’s nine federal states

Mountains dominate nearly two-thirds of Austria’s landscape. Extending from the west, the Alps continue eastward and fade into the Pannonian Plain. Here, they descend into eastern Austria to surface again as the Carpathian Mountain Range, hugging Hungary’s eastern border and forming a crescent shape through Slovakia, Czech Republic, Poland, Ukraine, and finally Romania. The northern massif hills of the Bohemian Forest form a natural border with the Czech Republic and contain the oldest rock formations in Austria, dating back over 500 million years. Together, these geological features are responsible for some of the most diverse soils in all of Central Europe. Granite and sedimentary silty windblown loess characterize the soils of Lower Austria that are most often discussed, but millennia of tectonic and glacial activity produced a complex range of types and sizes, including schistose paragneiss, amphibolite, and granulite soils. Many of Burgenland’s soils are informed by Danubian deposits of calcareous sandy gravels. There are also pockets of silty loam and non-calcareous clays throughout Central Burgenland, while Leithaberg is home to a unique limestone composed of sea fossils as well as schist and gneiss. The Styria Basin forms the patchwork of soils in the south, influenced by several distinct mountain ranges. It includes silt, marl, sand, gravel, sandstone, conglomerates, gneiss, amphibolite, and limestone, with a small amount of volcanic basalts.

Crystalline gneiss (left) and volcanic soils (Photo credit: AWMB)

Though Austria borders no oceans, water plays an important role. The Danube is the second longest river in Europe, running for nearly 3,000 kilometers. Beginning at the confluence of the Brigach and Breg Rivers in Germany’s Black Forest, it moves southeast through 10 countries, including the upper northeast quarter of Austria, eventually draining into the Black Sea. The Danube has been economically important for Austria as a key European trade route; it is also a crucial moderating influence in an otherwise severely continental climate. Its impact is reflected in comparison of the lush, concentrated wines of the eastern Wachau, where the Danube begins flowing east through the Lower Austrian wine regions, to the acidic, laser-focused, and chiseled wines from Spitz in western Wachau. Lake Constance sits on the German-Swiss border in the west, and Lake Neusiedl (Neusiedlersee) borders Hungary in the east. The latter is key to Burgenland’s sweet dessert wines. A shallow, marsh-like lake, Neusiedl and several dozen surrounding small lakes raise the overall humidity of Burgenland, allowing grape bunches to achieve noble botrytis during the warm, misty autumn mornings.

The Climate

Austria’s winegrowing regions generally experience a continental climate, with warm-to-hot summers and cold winters. On average, winters tend to get as cold as -10 to -12 degrees Celsius (10 to 14 degrees Fahrenheit), with summers as warm as 32 to 34 degrees Celsius (89 to 93 degrees Fahrenheit). Supporting the country’s focus on white grapes, most of the grapegrowing regions experience over 2,000 hours of sunshine; the Danubian region in Lower Austria has just over 1,800 on average.

Climatic influences in Austria (Credit: AWMB)

Lower Austria, the Pannonian Plain, and Styria, however, don’t neatly fit into these generalizations, as they are further impacted by various mesoclimates. In addition to the Danube River’s warming effect on its nearby wine regions, Lower Austria experiences considerable shifts in temperature during the growing season. This is particularly true near harvest, when warm winds come in from the Pannonian Plain in the east across Wagram, settling into the valleys by day, followed by cooler winds from the northern forests at night. These shifts yield fresh yet opulent wine styles. Burgenland is significantly affected by the warm Pannonian climate. The growing season can get quite hot, allowing for robust red wines. Uniquely, Styria has a Mediterranean influence from the Adriatic in the south, causing longer, warmer days than experienced by its northern counterparts. The nights, though, feel more alpine and cool in the steeply planted vineyards.

Lower Austria is the driest region, with roughly 450 to 550 millimeters of rainfall per year. Irrigation is necessary most years to consistently maintain high quality. Further east, in Vienna, the average is closer to 700 millimeters annually, while Burgenland has about 600 millimeters and Styria nearly 900. Bergland, which comprises the western regions of the Alps, experiences an Atlantic influence, with twice as much rain as in Lower Austria. Though production is minuscule, a handful of Bergland’s regions have warm pockets that allow for grapegrowing.

Austrian Wine Law

Glossary of Terms

alte reben = old vines

blau = blue

cross = a variety formed by crossing two grapes of the same species

grau = grey

grosslage = large collective vineyard site

hauersekt = grower’s sparkling wine

hybrid = a variety formed by crossing two grapes of different species

ried = single vineyard

Sekt = sparkling wine

sturm = partially fermented grape must

sud = south

traubenmost = grape must

vulkan = volcano

weiss = white

Guidelines for quality winemaking in Austria stretch as far back as the Romans, but it was not until 1907 that formalized wine law was put into place, largely to prevent the creation of artificial wine in the period following the devastation of phylloxera. Other laws were established in the 20^th century, such as one in 1936 under the First Republic forbidding new vineyards and hybrid vines. But it wasn’t until 1985, when the DEG scandal produced a watershed moment for the Austrian winemaking industry, that more stringent measures were codified.

Until this point, Austrians had adopted a German classification based largely on must levels. This is still seen today, particularly with the Prädikatswein classification from Spätlese to Trockenbeerenauslese, where the Klosterneuburg Must Weight Scale (KMW) is a measurement of 1 gram of sugar per 100 grams of grape must (1 degree KMW is approximately 5 degrees Oechsle). However, in response to the scandal and a global shift in preference toward drier styles, regions began to focus more on dry white and red wines that valued origin over sweetness levels. Regional associations started to form and work closely with the newly established AWMB (Austrian Wine Marketing Board) to bring Austrian wine back to the forefront. Accession into the EU in 1995 ensured EU wine law adoption as a starting point, but the goal was a quality-focused, appellation-based system unique to Austria. By 2001, an amendment was proposed to establish regionally typical wines under a system called Districtus Austriae Controllatus (DAC) that was much like the French Appellation d’Origine Contrôlée (AOC) system. It was approved in 2002, with Weinviertel named the first DAC region in 2003. Austria has 18 DACs, with 15 throughout Weinland, and 3 in Steirerland.

Austrian wine law identifies three levels of quality: Wein, Landwein, and Qualitätswein. In 2018, Wein and Landwein only accounted for about 6.5% of Austria’s overall production. In line with EU regulations, Wein is without a geographical indication, replacing the former use of Tafelwein. Wein is divided into two categories: Wein, which can include grapes from anywhere in the EU, and Österreich (the German name for Austria, also labeled as österreichischer Wein), which must be sourced from Austria only. Wein may state vintage and variety if the wine adheres to national yield levels and includes grapes that are not associated with a DAC but do fall into the greater permissible Qualitätswein varieties.

Landwein is equivalent to the EU’s Protected Geographical Indication (PGI). These wines must be produced from grape varieties that are approved for Qualitätswein, and 100% of the grapes must come solely from one of the three winegrowing areas: Weinland, Steirerland, or Bergland. These wines must exhibit traits that are representative of the area.

The "banderole" symbol (Credit: AWMB)

Qualitätswein, which makes up 84% of production, corresponds with the EU’s Protected Designation of Origin (PDO). To qualify, grapes must be harvested in a single winegrowing region and produced in a facility within or bordering that region. There are 40 approved varieties, and wines must show typicity of region, meet the minimum must weight requirement of 15 degrees KMW, adhere to maximum yields of 65.7 hectoliters per hectare, and have a minimum 9% ABV (5% for Prädikatswein). Qualitätswein must be inspected and approved by a government tasting official and given a Federal Inspection Number. This number, along with the banderole capsule, verifies strict measures of quality.

There are four overarching designations that can be labeled as Qualitätswein: Kabinett, DAC wines, Prädikatswein (which has its own style categories), and Sekt Austria g.U. All build upon the basic rules laid out for Qualitätswein. For example, a Kabinett wine can be labeled as such if it has not been chaptalized, achieves a must weight of 17 degrees KMW or above, has a potential alcohol maximum of 13%, and unfermented sugars do not exceed nine grams per liter of residual sugar. DACs must adhere to the rules established by the protected region, which typically reflect stricter guidelines for viticulture, accepted grapes, winemaking, and labels.

The DAC system was meant to simplify the consumer’s understanding of a region by limiting grapes and styles to those that epitomize the location and reinforce its character. The two most significant styles are klassik and reserve. The former is an unofficial term that refers to dry, unchaptalized, medium-bodied styles that are often crisp, fruity, unoaked, and moderate in alcohol. Conversely, the latter is an official term given to fuller styles; it requires higher must weight and minimum alcohol (13%). DAC Reserve wines often exhibit more extract on the palate and frequently experience oak aging.

Prädikatswein is a category of Qualitätswein defined by must weight at harvest and has the most overlap with its German heritage. (However, unlike in Germany, Kabinett does not qualify as Prädikatswein in Austria but instead as Qualitätswein.) Final sweetness can only be achieved through an interrupted fermentation; chaptalization and the addition of unfermented grape must are forbidden. A certificate, or mostwägerbescheiningung, is required to verify the grapes’ quality. For Spätlese and Auslese, wines cannot be submitted to the tasting commission until January 1 following harvest. For all other styles (Beerenauslese, Eiswein, Strohwein, Schilfwein, and Trockenbeerenauslese), wines can be submitted beginning April 1 after harvest.

Austrian Sekt

Austrian sparkling wine can be traced back to 1842, when Robert Alwin Schlumberger came to Vienna after working as Ruinart’s cellar master and head of production. His expertise at one of the finest Champagne houses of the era gave him confidence in Austria’s potential—and particularly in Vöslau, just south of Vienna. In chalky white soils that reminded him of France, he began to plant vines in 1844. By 1859, the first Austrian sparkling wine brand was born. Called Goldeck, it was named after the Goldeggen Vineyard and remains one of the largest sparkling wine brands in Austria, today owned by the Schlumberger Wine and Sekt Company. Other formative figures behind the rise of sparkling wine production in Austria were Johann Kattus, who launched the Hochriegl brand in 1890, and Karl Inführ, who introduced the Charmat method in 1949.

Only a handful of large companies were permitted to manufacture base wines and set the price for sparkling wine. By 1976, the argument over estate production of sparkling wine became a great debate, headed largely by grower and vintner Gerald Malat in Krems, who felt wineries should be allowed to use their own grapes for base wine . Permission was granted, and sparkling wine producers rose in number. Use of the term hauersekt, meaning “grower’s sparkling wine,” on the label indicates that a wine was made with fruit that was estate grown and produced.

In 2013, the Austrian Sekt Committee formed to enhance the image of Sekt and work for more organization to differentiate high-quality sparkling. It proposed a plan that, with the assistance of other groups such as the Austrian Wine Marketing Board, was approved by the National Committee in 2015 and made law in 2016. Under this law, Austrian Sekt could apply for PDO g.U. designation. In 2022, three distinct Sekt Austria PDOs representing different quality levels were established: Sekt Austria g.U., Sekt Austria Reserve g.U., and Sekt Austria Grosse Reserve g.U.

Austrian Sekt quality and sweetness requirements

All PDO wines must be made from the 40 permitted varieties for Qualitätswein and pass a sensory panel test that indicates they are free of defect. Sekt Austria PDO wines are derived from grapes that come from one federal state but can be vinified anywhere in Austria. Grapes for Sekt Austria Reserve wines must be grown and pressed in a single Austrian federal state (commune may appear on the label, but no vineyard designation is permitted). Sekt Austria Grosse Reserve grapes must be harvested and pressed within one municipality (if registered, a single vineyard is permitted on the label).

Austrian Sekt

No PDO
Produced from the 40 grape varieties permissible for Qualitätswein
“Austrian Sekt” allowed on label if grapes or base wine comes from Austria
“Produced in Austria” allowed on label if production takes place in Austria

Sekt Austria PDO g.U.

All sparkling methods, dosage levels, styles, and colors permitted
Minimum nine months on the lees for traditional method or six months in the case of tank method
Grapes must be harvested within a single state

Sekt Austria Reserve PDO g.U.

Hand-harvested and whole-cluster pressed
Grapes must be grown and pressed within a single state that must appear on the label
Only traditional method
Minimum 18 months on the lees
Maximum Press Yield of 60%
Village source may be stated on the label
Maximum dosage 12 g/l

Sekt Austria Grosse Reserve PDO g.U.

Hand-harvested and whole-cluster pressed
Grapes must be grown and pressed within a single village that must appear on the label
Same methods, dosage levels permitted as for Reserve
Minimum 36 months on the lees
Vineyard source allowed on the label
Maximum Press Yield of 50%

Sparkling wine represents about 5% of Austria’s production. Grüner Veltliner and Welschriesling are the preferred varieties, but Riesling, Chardonnay, and Pinot Noir are also utilized. Nearly 75% of the fruit is grown in Lower Austria, particularly the northern part of the Weinviertel, and Vienna, with just under 20% from Burgenland. Over half of production takes place in Vienna. Though many winemakers have small sparkling wine projects, about 25 wineries form the core of this industry. Major producers include Hugl Weine, Weingut Steininger, Weingut Bründlmayer, Weingut Schloss Gobelsburg, and Weingut Stift Klosterneuburg (the abbey’s estate production). Domestic Sekt generates €55 million in value for Austria, employing 1,300 workers, sustaining 114 businesses, and sourcing grapes from 3,000 vintners.

The Grapes of Austria

Through Europe’s long history of grapegrowing, superior varieties (known as Fränkisch) emerged, as well as those valued for their fertility and high yields but not their quality (Heunisch). Crossings took advantage of the traits of both groups, resulting in widely appreciated international grapes like Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, and Riesling. Monks introduced these varieties to Austria, and indigenous grapes were also produced from such crossings, including Grüner Veltliner, Blaufränkisch, and St. Laurent. The historic practice of growing and pressing numerous grapes together in Gemischter Satz (mixed set) field blends undoubtedly contributed to Austria’s many crossings. As a result of phylloxera as well as powdery and downy mildew, cross-cultivation of vines also became a widely adopted and prioritized science in the early 20^th century, leading to new varieties like Zweigelt and Blauburger.

Gemischter Satz

Historically, Gemischter Satz, meaning “mixed set,” was a field blend. Grapes of all kinds were co-planted, harvested at the same time, and pressed together. It was thought to be a wise insurance plan should poor flowering, frost, or other harvest challenges negatively impact certain varieties. Though rudimentary, it was also a way to achieve balance by blending underripe, just ripe, and overripe grapes—a tactic many winemakers practice intentionally now. This approach led to the development of many autochthonous varieties, as indigenous grapes spontaneously mutated and crossed with other varieties in the vineyard. But by the 20^th century, upon replanting after phylloxera, varietal plantings became the standard. Today, it is rare to find true, diverse field blend vineyards. Where they do surface, just a handful of select varieties are typically represented. For DAC status, the grapes must be grown within a contiguous vineyard site, with each variety confined to its own area. Nevertheless, Gemischter Satz is regaining importance throughout Lower Austria and was recently acknowledged as a permitted style for regional Wachau DAC wines.

White Grapes

Grüner Veltliner: Grüner Veltliner is the most widely planted variety in Austria, accounting for nearly a third of vineyards. Though documentation traces its existence to the 18^th century, it was not until 1855 that Grüner Veltliner was first recorded by name, and it didn’t become popular until the 1960s and 1970s, when Moser introduced the Hochkultur training system. Trained high, Grüner Veltliner provided ample yields during an era when output was crucial. Like many of Austria’s varieties, Grüner Veltliner is indigenous to the country. It is not, however, related to the Veltliner family, as the name might imply. As it looks nearly identical to Blauer Veltliner, it was only with the advent of DNA diagnostics that it became clear the two are not related. Traminer (Savagnin) is one of Grüner Veltliner’s parents, and the other is likely St. Georgen, from Eisenstadt in Burgenland.

A thirsty grape, Grüner Veltliner finds nourishment in the deep, water-retaining loess soils of Lower Austria, where almost 90% is planted, and in some parts of Burgenland. It is a mid-ripening variety that wouldn’t fare well much further north. In Lower Austria, it benefits from the moderating influence of the Danube, which draws in heat from the Pannonian Plain.

Grüner Veltliner’s small greenish-yellow berries, for which it was named, offer flavors that range from citrus and stone fruit to more exotic spicy notes. Rotundone, referred to locally as pfefferl, is the distinctive white pepper aroma associated with this grape. Due to its thick skins, winemakers must be careful not to over-extract in order to avoid producing overly spicy or phenolic wines.

Depending on where it is grown and how it is handled in the winery, Grüner Veltliner offers varied expressions. Even as a dry wine, Grüner Veltliner can range from more whimsical, light styles of Weinviertel to intense, phenolic examples from top rieden, or single vineyards, in Wachau. Both stainless steel and neutral barrels are employed for fermentation and aging. Grüner Veltliner rarely goes through malolactic fermentation but does have an affinity for lees aging to achieve more texture. Thanks to its loose bunches, Grüner Veltliner can be ideal for Eiswein production in Burgenland as well.

14,548 hectares in 2022
47.8% of white varieties planted (32.5% overall)

Welschriesling: Welschriesling can be found in warm, nutrient-rich sites throughout Austria and offers a variety of styles. In the Weinviertel, Welschriesling delivers neutral base wines for the production of Sekt; in Burgenland, it is used for some of the most reputable dessert styles. In Styria, Welschriesling is the favorite for casual dry wines at the local taverns. A late-budding, late-ripening variety, Welschriesling can withstand cold temperatures. It is generally a very vigorous grape, but results prove intriguing when yields are controlled. At their simplest, Welschriesling wines are dry and unoaked, with spritely acid, green apple flavors, and diminished length. With extended ripening and in the right conditions for botrytis development, Welschriesling can display intense tropical fruit and honeyed organoleptic notes.

3,883 acres in 2022
9.4% of white varieties planted (6.4% overall)

Riesling (Weisser Riesling, Rheinriesling): While it only comprises a small portion of Austria’s vineyards, Riesling is undoubtedly one of the country’s highest-quality performers. Riesling has an ancient past, mentioned in numerous historic texts under a wide variety of synonyms. It is part of a larger family of grapes that has a parent-offspring relationship with Gouais Blanc (Gamay and Chardonnay are among its relations). Most Riesling is planted throughout Lower Austria. While there are some noteworthy vineyards in the Weinviertel, the most consistently complex expressions come from the north bank of the Danube, home to steep, south-facing slopes with deep primary granite soils that facilitate warmth for this later-ripening, cold hardy variety.

The best Austrian Rieslings are often dry, higher in alcohol, textured, broad, and even spicy, with a petrichor note. Vinification and aging tend to take place in stainless steel and/or neutral barrels. These wines can be almost creamy but with electric acidity. Examples from regions like the Wachau can sometimes be confused for Grüner Veltliner.

2,040 hectares in 2022
6.7% of white varieties planted (4.6% overall)

Weissburgunder (Klevner, Pinot Blanc): Weissburgunder, a Pinot Noir mutation, is part of the prolific Gouais Blanc family and was misidentified as its genetic relative Chardonnay until 1868. Early to bud and ripen, Weissburgunder is cold hardy but needs optimal conditions—warm soil, ample nutrients, and lower disease pressure—to achieve high quality. It is often used as a blending partner. Alone, Weissburgunder can take on very fleshy, full-bodied expressions that have an almond-like finish with diminished acidity, which is sometimes related to vinification in small barriques and undergoing malolactic fermentation.

1,872 hectares in 2022
6.1% of white varieties planted (4.2% overall)

Müller-Thurgau: Müller-Thurgau was created by Hermann Müller in 1882 at the Geisenheim Research Institute in the Rheingau. His original intent was to cross Riesling with Sylvaner for the latter’s early-ripening tendencies. Recent DNA studies have revealed, however, that Müller-Thurgau has no relation to Sylvaner. Rather, it is a cross between Riesling and Chasselas de Courtillier (Madeleine Royale). Associated with mass production due to its yields, which can be as high as 150 hectoliters per hectare, Müller-Thurgau was a very important grape after World War II, reaching its apex in the 1970s. In recent decades, though, it has lost ground. With rather soft wood, it is less hardy through winter, and its early ripening has become a disadvantage for growers in light of climate change. Further, it has a propensity to disease, including Roter Brenner and peronospora.

Nearly two-thirds of Austria’s Müller-Thurgau comes from Lower Austria, and while some later-harvest Prädikat examples can offer high-quality dessert styles, these tend to have softer acidity and lower alcohol, with very little character and complexity overall.

1,272 hectares in 2022
4.2% of white varieties planted (2.9% overall)

Chardonnay (Morillon): Chardonnay, also the offspring of Gouais Blanc and Pinot Noir, can be found throughout Austria, though it arguably finds its most compelling expressions in Styria, where it is known as Morillon. A diverse array of soils exists in Styria, including limestone, with which Chardonnay has proven success. In the same way, the limestone hills of Leithaberg in Burgenland produce more intense, Burgundian expressions.

Early to bud and ripen, Chardonnay is easy to grow, despite its susceptibility to botrytis bunch rot and powdery mildew. Managed yields and careful winemaking allow this grape to achieve greater heights. Styles in Austria range from fruity, unoaked international expressions that forgo malolactic fermentation to more serious, barrel-aged renditions that display almost Meursault-like creaminess and decadence on the palate. Chardonnay is also used in TBA blends, such as Weinlaubenhof Kracher’s #6 Grande Cuvée Nouvelle Vague.

1,934 hectares in 2022
6.3% of white varieties planted (4.2% overall)

Sauvignon Blanc: Sauvignon Blanc was introduced to Austria in the late 19^th century, then known as Muscat-Sylvaner. It was finally promoted as Sauvignon Blanc in the 1980s, which helped raise its profile in the global marketplace. Sauvignon Blanc is likely a crossing of Traminer and Chenin Blanc, and thus of some relation to Grüner Veltliner. Though it is found throughout Austria, Styria is its most celebrated region, where it is the most planted variety. Here, leading wineries have experimented with style and sites in search of a unique expression.

Sauvignon Blanc can be quite vigorous, showing its signature herbaceous methoxypyrazine character if care is not taken to manage the canopy. It is a mid-ripening variety with small, compact bunches that are susceptible to botrytis bunch rot, peronospora, and powdery mildew, demanding vigilance in the vineyard if striving for excellence. Two styles have emerged in the past 30 years: klassik and lagen. Unoaked, zippy klassik versions are grassy and youthful, with a mouthwatering acidity. Lagen (site-specific) wines are more ageworthy and often experience barrel aging as well as partial or full malolactic fermentation. Lagen wines offer more texture and nuanced aromatics.

1,170 hectares in 2022
5.5% of white varieties planted (3.8% overall)

Other Varieties: Additional white grapes in Austria include Rotgipfler, Sämling 88 (Scheurebe), Neuburger, Traminer, and Muskateller (Gelber Muskateller, Muscat Blanc à Petits Grains).

3,637 hectares in 2022
12% of white varieties planted (8.3% overall)

Red Grapes

Zweigelt: Zweigelt is a crossing of Blaufränkisch and St. Laurent produced by Fritz Zweigelt at the research center at Klosterneuburg in 1922 and originally called Rotburger. Planted throughout Austria, it is largely found in Lower Austria, where it has gained popularity for its adaptability to Moser’s high training. By the 1980s, Zweigelt was the most common red in Austria. It yields well, withstands many common disease pressures, and presents bright fruit. Even simple, unoaked klassik styles are charming. Informed by red fruit characteristics, these wines can achieve more complex expressions in lower-yield examples, where some darker black cherry notes can develop and compliment oak-derived spice on the finish. The greatest risks with Zweigelt are excessive yields and berry shrivel or wilting (traubenwelke), which can be avoided through extensive leaf pulling for vine balance and overall vine nutrition.

6,129 hectares in 2022
46.1% of red varieties planted (13.7% overall)

Blaufränkisch: An autochthonous variety, Blaufränkisch is a crossing of Gouais Blanc with Zimmettraube. While its exact origins are still unclear, it appeared under this name at a grape exposition in Vienna in 1862. Fränkisch is a term for high-quality grapes that dates back to the Middle Ages, implying that this grape has possibly existed much longer than that. Early to bud and late to ripen, Blaufränkisch needs warm sites and soils to reach its fullest potential. It thrives in Burgenland, the warmest region in Austria, where all but 150 hectares are planted.

Blaufränkisch varies in its expressions, as Burgenland offers a plethora of mesoclimates and soils. Some of the most complex, site-specific examples arguably come from the limestone and schist hills of the Leithaberg DAC. In more recent years, the Eisenberg DAC has been offering equally impressive examples, where leaner, mineral-driven expressions are attributed to the iron-rich soils. Still, in Mittelburgenland DAC, producers such as Velich, Weninger, and Moric have shown that their Blaufränkisch can rival the best in the market. The simplest klassik styles of Blaufränkisch show bright blue fruit and moderate tannins with refreshing acid. More complex reserve renditions often see barrel aging (from neutral to some new) and can demonstrate concentrated black fruit, notes of cassis and licorice, and prolonged spice on the finish.

2,597 hectares in 2022
19.5% of red varieties planted (5.8% overall)

Blauer Portugieser: It has long been believed that Blauer Portugieser came to Austria from Portugal. Not all scholars support this, however, even with clear documentation of Baron von Fries, an Austrian ambassador, bringing it from Porto to Bad Vöslau in 1772. This disagreement is in part because DNA identification seems to trace Blauer Portugieser to a crossing of Sylvaner and the Friulian Sbulzina, derived from an even older grape, Blauer Gänsfüsser, which has Austrian origins. Wine Grapes, for example, asserts that Blauer Portugieser is actually of Austrian origin and that its genetic twin Português Azul might actually be a translation of Blauer Portugieser—not the other way around as many texts indicate.

Nearly all Blauer Portugieser can be found in Lower Austria, with the vast majority in the Weinviertel. As with many varieties once valued for their high yields, Blauer Portugieser is quickly declining in plantings and overall importance. While low yields can bring more concentration and appeal, most examples are grown in volume and yield lighter-colored reds that are low in acidity and personality.

483 hectares in 2022
3.7% of red grape varieties planted (1.1% overall)

Blauburger: Blauburger is a crossing of Blauer Portugieser and Blaufränkisch created in 1923 by Fritz Zweigelt, who was seeking an early- to mid-ripening red variety that could fare well in areas better suited to white grapes. It is seldom seen alone, as it offers little in the way of acid or tannin. Rather, it is valued for its deep color as a blending grape. Most Blauburger is found in the Weinviertel, with a few plantings speckled throughout Lower Austria and a small amount in Burgenland.

459 hectares in 2022
3.3%% of red varieties planted (1% overall)

St. Laurent (Sankt Laurent): St. Laurent currently has no verifiable parents, though it seems that one has genetic proximity to the Pinot family. St. Laurent was reintroduced to Austria in the 19^th century by the Baumann brothers, who ran a tree nursery in Bollwiller. A finicky grape, it is rarely a first choice for growers. Susceptible to early-season flower drop and coulure as well as botrytis bunch rot and downy mildew, it must be grown in dry, warm regions with good drainage. If soils are extremely nutrient rich, excessive vigor focuses too much energy into the shoots. St. Laurent does well, however, in the free-draining warm soils of the Thermenregion, and Northern Burgenland is another haven. St. Laurent’s naturally high pH levels can also be an issue for winemakers, who must take precautions to avoid undesirable Brettanomyces. Despite this, St. Laurent retains acidity even after malolactic fermentation and has moderate sugars and alcohol. It has great potential for quality and has been compared to red Burgundy for its elegance, red fruit profile, and tertiary woodsy traits.

596 hectares in 2022
4.3% of red varieties planted (1.3% overall)

Other Varieties: Austria’s other red grapes include Merlot, Blauburgunder, Cabernet Sauvignon, and Blauer Wildbacher.

3,061 hectares in 2022
23% of red varieties planted (7% overall)

Lower Austria

Lower Austria (Niederösterreich), Austria’s largest federal state, is in the northeast portion of the country. It is home to over 28,000 hectares of vines and responsible for over half of Austria’s total wine production. There are eight distinct regions: Wachau, Kremstal, Kamptal, Wagram, Weinviertel, Thermenregion, Traisental, and Carnuntum. All are recognized DACs. Within this large state, there are three climatic areas. One is centered in the north around Weinviertel, a region vast enough at 100 kilometers across that it could be further broken down into a range of microclimates. A distinct climate also defines the regions west of Vienna along the Danube (Wachau, Kremstal, Kamptal, Traisental, and Wagram), which are greatly influenced by the river as well as the cool winds from the northern forests and the warm Pannonian Plain to the east. The final climatic area is southeast of Vienna (Carnuntum and Thermenregion), a territory more directly impacted by heat from the plain.

Austria’s wine regions (Credit: AWMB)

It is difficult to generalize the complex soils of Lower Austria. Broadly speaking, there are two types: loess and granite. Deep, chalky masses of wind-swept calcareous-dolomitic loess make up over half of the vineyards in Lower Austria. These mineral-laden soils, blown in from the Alps, provide ample water retention, which is crucial for Grüner Veltliner. Granite deposits, dating back to the Neogene period (23 million to 2.6 million years ago), come from the Molasse Basin and consist of thin soils over primary rock (called urgestein and derived from the Bohemian Massif). Granite is found in the higher vineyards along the Danube—a prime area for the region’s best Riesling. A third kind of soil is created from weathered metamorphic rocks, such as slate, schistic paragneiss, and amphibolite.

Grüner Veltliner makes up nearly half of plantings in Lower Austria. Still, many other grapes are grown here, most significantly in terms of hectarage Zweigelt (12.5%), Riesling (6.1%), Welschriesling (4.7%), and Müller-Thurgau (4.4%). There are also various local varieties such as Blauburger, Blauer Portugieser, Scheurebe, and Rotgipfler, as well as a number of French grapes including Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, Weissburgunder, and Pinot Noir.

Wachau

For many, it is the Wachau's prominent producers and iconic vineyards that come to mind at mention of Austrian wine. The overall quality of these wines is unparalleled, setting the bar for what Grüner Veltliner and Riesling can achieve. This westernmost region of Lower Austria has long enjoyed accolades for its wine, with recognition for its distinctive qualities as early as 830 CE, when it began its golden age under Carolingian rule.

Archaeological evidence traces the origins of Austrian winemaking to the Wachau. Monks fastidiously documented observations about the region’s soils, mesoclimates, and grapes. When secularization took place in 1790, vineyards were turned over to private landowners, and holdings became more fragmented over time. Because the small parcels were difficult to monetize, in the 1930s, Coop Dürnstein (now Domäne Wachau) was formed. This cooperative has remained central to the region and now claims a third of its vineyard land and over 250 of its growers. Only in more recent years have grapes replaced orchard fruit as the primary crop, as prices for the latter plummeted in the 1950s.

The Wachau extends for roughly 32 kilometers between the Benedictine monasteries of Melk and Göttweig in Krems. Its viticultural area is smaller, stretching about 20 kilometers from the western village of Spitz to Mautern in the east. The region’s boundaries have shifted significantly over time. For centuries , the Wachau referred only to the area from Spitz to Weissenkirchen; Dürnstein, Loiben, and Mautern were added later. Even into the 1960s, there was little delineation of Danubian winegrowing regions in general. Many were centered around towns and named accordingly. This became problematic from a marketing standpoint, and heated debates rose about how to divide. Some went so far as to argue for splitting the Wachau into two regions, using the Danube as the partition between north and south, with all winemaking villages to the north referred to as Wachau. Others, like Franz Hirtzberger Sr., reasoned that neighboring vineyards in Stein, Krems, and Senftenberg should be included as part of the Wachau for their environmental similarities. This suggestion caused much discontent among vignerons in the rest of Kremstal as well as Kamptal and Traisental, eventually leading to the boundaries as they are today.

Wachau is a relatively recent addition to the DAC system. As with other DACs that joined since 2018, the Wachau introduced a three-tier hierarchical system for its wines. All grapes, regardless of level, must be hand-harvested. At the base of the system are regional wines called Gebietsweine. These are the most inclusive, allowing 17 grapes including Gemischter Satz blends; they can be presented as monovarietal wines or blends and often represent a youthful, crisp style. The mid-tier, called Ortswein, must be produced in a recognized village (there are 23), with a more focused selection of permissible grapes including Grüner Veltliner, Riesling, Pinot Gris, Weissburgunder, Neuburger, Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, Muskateller, and Traminer. The top wines are known as Riedenwein, or single-vineyard wines, and can only be made from Grüner Veltliner and Riesling grown in 1 of 157 exceptional named vineyards. Though more complex and sometimes reflective of botrytis character, Ortswein and Riedenwein are not to have any noticeable aromatic oak influence. Wachau producers may also still adhere to the rules set by the Vinea Wachau, a regional protection association formed in 1983, and classify their wines using the stylistic categories of Steinfeder, Federspiel, and Smaragd in addition to, or instead of, applying DAC on the label. Where Vinea Wachau necessarily implies dry styles, with specific minimum alcohol and must weight parameters, DAC is less defined. With so many permitted varieties, there is potential for confusion with DAC labeling, making a strong case for Vinea Wachau’s relevance despite this new schematic.

Vinea Wachau

The Vinea Wachau Nobilis Districtus was formed in 1983 by four producers: primarily Wilhelm Schwengler (then general manager for Coop Dürnstein) and Josepf Jamek, with the support of Franz Hirtzberger and Franz Prager. This association had a commitment to “quality, origin, and purity.” First and foremost, member wineries were to produce and sell wines exclusively from the Wachau, an effort to protect the region and counter the practices of other wineries, like the nearby Dinstlgut Loiben Coop, that were bottling wine with grapes from elsewhere (often the Weinviertel). The group also offered means of communicating ripeness levels more clearly on labels.

Three categories were created and trademarked in 1984 to replace the German system in place at the time and classify Vinea Wachau wines according to weight and natural alcohol level achieved. The lightest style is Steinfeder, named for the long wispy grasses that can be found near vineyards. Typically fermented in stainless steel, Steinfeder wines are fruity and youthful, with a maximum of 11.5% alcohol and must weight of at least 15 degrees KMW. Federspiel, a name that references bait used to lure falcons to the falconer’s glove, replaced Kabinett wines. These wines have more pronounced varietal character yet still possess a youthful, fruit-driven style, as they too are commonly fermented in stainless steel. Federspiel requires alcohol levels between 11.5 and 12.5% and a minimum must weight of 17 degrees KMW. The final category, known as Smaragd and named for the sun-bathing lizards often found on stones throughout the region, was not introduced until 1986 and replaced dry wines of Spätlese ripeness. These wines come from the warmest and, arguably, best sites and tend to be long lived, powerful, and concentrated. Grapes for Smaragd are last to be harvested and may show signs of botrytis, with more honeyed and mushroom-like aromas, also resulting in a deeper golden hue in the glass. While the wines must reach a minimum of 12.5% ABV (with a minimum must weight of 18.2 degrees KMW), many can achieve over 14% alcohol in warm years.

Vinea Wachau currently has about 200 members, controlling roughly 90% of production in the Wachau. Their driving principles are reflected in the Codex Vinea Wachau, though today the group focuses on advocating for its farming values rather than its prohibitions. Some of these tenets include hand-harvesting, using only natural sugars for fermentation, and refraining from artificial concentration techniques, additions, and fractionation methods.

The Wachau has roughly 1,350 hectares—only 3% of Austria’s vineyard land—planted across its 20-kilometer length. Over 600 producers grow grapes in the quaint villages of Spitz, Joching, Weissenkirchen, Dürnstein, and Loiben on the north bank of the Danube, and the town of Mautern on the south. Grüner Veltliner claims just over half of plantings with nearly 800 hectares; Riesling accounts for about 200. Most of Austria’s other grapes can be found here as well, but in tiny amounts—often less than one hectare. Vineyards are generally planted on the north side of the bank, as there are less-optimal expositions and access to sunlight on the south side, with the exception of a few notable sites. Unique parcels are carefully outlined, with over 150 rieden and more than 900 unofficial subzones.

The Wachau is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Nearly three million square meters of hand-built granite walls mark steeply terraced vineyards, primarily on the northern bank, facing south. Despite the financial burden of maintaining these walls, their effect is both aesthetic and functional—they help preserve the humus that sits atop the bedrock, hold in heat and moisture, and contribute to vineyards’ individual microclimates and sense of terroir.

Wachau’s stone walls (Photo credit: Vinea Wachau)

One of the driest of the Danubian regions, the Wachau often receives under 500 millimeters of rain annually. It is also more affected than other regions in Lower Austria by the pre-Alpine Atlantic winds from the west. Still, warmth from the Pannonian Plain stretches as far as the eastern section of the Wachau, with a particularly notable impact in Loiben. Cool, northern winds are essential at night to help wines develop tension despite a long ripening season, high sugar development, and elevated potential alcohol.

The Wachau is considerably hillier than neighboring Danubian regions. This provides a range of exposures and elevation differentials, resulting in myriad mesoclimates despite the relatively small growing area. Slopes in the Wachau rise as high as 600 meters, though many of the best are around 400 meters, with an average 30-degree gradient (some vineyards in Spitz are as steep as 70 degrees). This makes the Wachau a poor subject for Lenz Moser’s training system, as mechanized farming is nearly impossible. For every 150 meters or so in elevation gain, another degree (Celsius) drops for average yearly temperature, making conditions close to the river remarkably different from those toward the top. Volcanic soils, which inform much of the Wachau’s geology, have a propensity to drain quickly and hold heat. Historically, these factors, combined with an already dry climate in the peak of summer, would stunt the vine’s growth, leading to less-ripe expressions in the warmest vintages. Irrigation was authorized in 1983 and, though strictly regulated, is common in warmer years. As a result, quality has improved dramatically.

Cellar techniques are varied in the Wachau. Most winemakers destem their fruit and use a pneumatic press upon reception. Temperature-controlled fermentations in stainless steel are popular, but some prefer the texture achieved with ambient yeasts, no temperature control, and neutral barrels, including Weingut Emmerich Knoll. Nearby forests supply the wood for locally crafted Stockinger barrels, a favorite in the Wachau. Some producers employ a little skin contact, others opt for extended lees aging, and various vessels can be used for fermentation and aging. Most winemakers actively avoid malolactic fermentation. Botrytis is infrequent and seldom welcome, leading to severe sorting when present. New oak is rarely used, nor is it allowed for those who are seeking to achieve wine of Ortswein, Riedenwein, or Vinea Wachau status.

Spitz, the village furthest west, sits at the base of the well-known Tausendeimerberg Vineyard, which yields delicate, easy-drinking wines. Just below, the steeply terraced rieden of Singerriedel and Hochrain contain sandier loam over gneiss, and both are excellent sites for Riesling. Further west, in the tributary valley of Spitzer Graben, some of the most celebrated rieden sit within high-reaching hillsides with notable amounts of slate and schist. This valley funnels air from the Weinviertel through to the Danube. Set apart from the river, it is the coolest region and experiences the latest harvest, sometimes extending into December. Even then, fruit expression is more austere than in other regions in the Wachau. Rieslings can be exceptional, with tension and a leaner frame, particularly those coming from the southwest-facing, slate-driven sites of Bruck (which sits at 500 meters), Schön, and Kalkofen. Donabaum, Högl, Veyder-Malberg, and Muthenthaler are the major players here.

The areas of Joching and Wösendorf have deeper paragneiss soils, and both begin to catch the loess sediments blowing in from the Alps. Ried Hochrain is one example. Downriver, Weissenkirchen yields wines with a more balanced expression overall—more generous in fruit on the palate than those from the west but a bit more focused than some of the opulent styles from further east. Rieden Achleiten and Klaus to its north are two of the most well-known sites. The west-facing Achleiten extends from about 200 to 400 meters, and soils go from mica schist to Gföhl gneiss, which characterizes Klaus soils as well. Prager and Rudi Pichler offer bottlings from Achleiten, and the site’s Grüner Veltliner and Riesling are known to carry a kind of petrichor minerality referred to locally as stinkerl.

Moving further east, in Dürnstein, wines offer more weight on the palate. Ried Kellerberg, home to one of the oldest parcels (Schmidl’s Küss den Pfennig), is among the most revered sites, with sandy loess soils over crystalline gneiss and slate. Across the river in Rossatz to the south, weightier styles are typical.

Rieden of Wachau; click to enlarge and zoom in (Credit: Vinea Wachau)

As the Danube dips south then north again, a sheltered swell in between defines the Schütt, one of the first named vineyards (1379), shared by Dürnstein and Loiben. This site is largely noted for its deep loess soils, and although it is lower in elevation, a small crevasse allows cool air to enter in the evenings. Some of the most powerful wines come from Loibenberg, a huge south-facing hill to the north of the village that offers a wide range of expressions, as the soils, elevation, and producers vary. Knoll, Dömaine Wachau, and Alzinger are among those making wine from this heralded site.

Furthest east and slightly south, on the other side of the river, Mautern is quite flat, with sandy and gravely soils. It is thought that this is where viticulture began for Austria in the ried Im Weingebirge, documented back to 470 CE. It is also home to the country’s oldest winery, Nikolaihof, owned by the Saahs family since 1894 and famous for its biodynamic practices. Vom Stein, a parcel in the ried Silberbichl, holds some of the oldest vines in the Wachau.

Kremstal

In the heart of the Danube River Valley, Kremstal is a bit more exposed and open to the Pannonian Plain’s warm air current, though more protected than the Wachau from cooler northerly winds. Riper styles come from this region, which is also capable of producing full-bodied reds. With around 500 millimeters annually, Kremstal receives more rainfall than the Wachau; in the stretch that leads to Senftenberg in the Krems River Valley, it can be as high as 720 millimeters. This, along with less wind, means that botrytis is more common as well. Kremstal can be divided into three distinct areas: the region around and north of Krems, villages to the east and northeast en route to Kamptal, and those south of the Danube that border Traisental.

Krems is an old town that serves as the cultural center of Lower Austria. It retains a medieval character, with narrow windy roads and old churches. Krems is home to many museums, such as the Kunstmeile Krems Stein, and three universities, including Wein und Obstbauschule, an important enology school second only to Bundesamt für Wein- und Obstbau in Klosterneuburg. Also near Krems is the Göttweig Abbey, built in 1072, which reflects viticulture’s monastic origins here.

Harvest at Salomon Undhof in the 1960s (Photo credit: Weingut Salomon Undhof)

Centered around the twin towns of Stein and Krems, the vineyards have the same primary soils and high terraces as the Wachau. Grüner Veltliner and Riesling are again the focus, but the wines have a softness compared to their neighbors from the west, with exotic spice and a ripe, yellow-fruited character. A handful of producers still grow vines on the borders of Wachau and Kremstal. One example is the Pfaffenberg Vineyard. Salomon Undhof, a highly respected family estate since 1792, is one of the holders of this parcel and also farms two other acclaimed sites in Stein: Hund and Kögl (known for its pure glimmerschiefer, or “mica slate,” soils). Traveling north along the Krems River, bluff-like mounds of loess buffer a seven-mile stretch of windy roads on the way to Senftenberg. Here, Nigl and Proidl work well-known sites including Hochäcker and Pellingen.

To the east and northeast are the winemaking communities of Strazing, Rohrendorf, and Gedersdorf. Deep swaths of water-retaining loess make this area ideal for Grüner Veltliner, which accounts for 55% of Kremstal’s land under vine. The warmer, flatter vineyards to the south, from the village of Furth to the edges of Traisental, offer a mixture of water-retentive gravels, sand, and loess, allowing a wide variety of grapes to thrive. Zweigelt accounts for even more hectarage than Riesling in Kremstal, with 12.9% to Riesling’s 10.5%. Malat is among the more reputable producers in the area.

The Kremstal DAC, achieved in 2007, allows only wines made from Grüner Veltliner and Riesling. Basic Kremstal DAC with no vineyard mention must have a minimum of 12% alcohol and show no oak influence or botrytis; these wines are occasionally referred to informally as klassik. With mention of a vineyard, Kremstal DAC must meet 12.5% alcohol. Reserve DAC wines must have 13% minimum alcohol, cannot exceed nine grams per liter of residual sugar, and allow oak and botrytis character. Any wines that fall outside these requirements are labeled Niederösterreich. The terms klassik and reserve are no longer used widely. Most of the well-known growers have abandoned them altogether (particularly klassik) in preference for distinctions outlined by the Österreichische Traditionsweingüter, an association that identifies distinctive sites and quality levels throughout participating regions in Lower Austria. Wines can be labeled Gebietswein (regional wine), Ortswein (village wine) and Lagenwein (single vineyard), much like labeling in the DACs established after 2018.

Kamptal

Many believe that the wines of Kamptal rival those of the Wachau. Kamptal is home to some of the most revered Riesling sites in Austria and also offers world-class Grüner Veltliner, a wide range of complex reds, and premium Sekt. Despite its relatively small size, Kamptal follows only Weinviertel and Neusiedlersee in production volume. Much of the viticultural activity is centered around Langenlois, though the neighboring towns of Zöbing, Gobelsburg, Kammern, and Lengenfeld are significant as well.

Harvest at Heiligenstein Brundylmayer (Photo credit: Andreas Wickhoff, Weingut Bründlmayer)

While Kamptal shares many of the geological and climatic aspects of Kremstal, it differs in a few important ways. For one, it is less humid and, as a result, doesn’t experience as much botrytis. (When it does, some producers experiment with sweet wines that can have racier acidity than those from Burgenland.) Kamptal is also slightly cooler at night, influenced less by the Danube and more by the Kamp tributary, which passes through its center, as well as the cool nightly winds coming in from the Waldviertel (Forest Quarter) to the west. The region is slightly warmer than the Wachau, particularly in the east near Kammern, and some Reserve offerings can achieve higher alcohol levels and denser styles. Overall, however, the wines offer more freshness than those from the Wachau or Kremstal.

The Kamp River created a gorge-like valley within the Bohemian Massif, which largely defines Kamptal. While there is more loess, unique rock formations and conglomerate soils typify some of Kamptal’s higher-reaching sites, which near 350 meters. In the warmer, lower-elevation sites, gravels, sands, and clays are more common—an ideal combination for red grapes. In Langenlois specifically, Gföhl gneiss and slate are overlaid with sand, clay, and cambisol (brown earth at an early stage of soil formation); throughout the Kamptal Valley, gravel deposits make for crystalline formations in the hillsides, with more loams and clays in the lowlands.

Österreichische Traditionsweingüter

In 1992, a handful of producers throughout Kamptal and Kremstal formed Österreichische Traditionsweingüter (ÖTW), an association dedicated to identifying vineyard sites for their quality and distinctiveness, much like Germany’s VDP system. Factors such as soil structure, precipitation, wind patterns, mesoclimate, and elevation are considered. The inaugural 2010 classification revealed 53 named ÖTW erste lage, or first growth sites; as of 2025, there are 120. As with DAC wines, only the authorized grapes may be used, and the wines must be dry. Since its formation, the organization has grown and now includes the Wagram, Wien, Carnuntum, Thermenregion, and Traisental. These regions base theirs on a three-tier pyramid, where basic regional wines, or Gebietswein, are at the bottom (for example, Kamptal); followed by village wines, or Ortswein (Langenlois); and single-vineyard wines, or Riedenwein, at the top (Heiligenstein). ÖTW members can utilize the erste lage logo on the label for bottles classified as Riedenwein. The grosse lage designation (approved but not yet utilized) will define iconic single vineyards. As of 2023, there are 90 ÖTW member wineries.

The three-tiered pyramid of ÖTW

One of the most remarkable and treasured geologic formations in Kamptal, and home to an important vineyard, is the Heiligenstein. Located near the village of Zöbing, this massive rock is composed of 270 million-year-old Permian desert sandstone—a type of sandstone with volcanic conglomerates not found in any other vineyard in the country. It is regarded as one of the most special vineyards for Riesling in Austria. Rising 345 meters in elevation, its terraced, 36-hectare vineyard faces south and west. Among the producers with vines here are Bründlmayer, Schloss Gobelsburg, and Hirsch.

There are many famed rieden throughout Kamptal, including Gaisberg, Loiserberg (a cooler, elevated vineyard at over 400 meters in altitude), and Lamm, an excellent site for Grüner Veltliner. Some of these rieden are further recognized as Österreichische Traditionsweingüter-designated erste lage sites.

Kamptal became a DAC in 2008. Basic DAC wines must have a minimum of 11.5% alcohol by volume. Wines may only come from Grüner Veltliner, Riesling, Chardonnay, Weissburgunder, or Grauburgundergrapes. While these two varieties reflect 60% of the hectarage (Grüner claiming most of this at 50%), there is still a substantial amount of wine in Kamptal bottled as Niederösterreich, though some of this percentage is presumably Niederösterreich g.U. Sekt.

Traisental

The sizeable Traisental region has relatively little area—only 815 hectares—under vine. It is peppered with historic villages that harbor heurigen, local taverns that traditionally serve fresh, recently released young wines from nearby growers. It is also home to St. Pölten, the capital of Lower Austria, in the south. One of the few regions growing in size, it serves as a hub for eager young vignerons to explore new grapes and styles—though the DAC, achieved in 2006, only allows for Grüner Veltliner and Riesling. Neumeyer, a prominent grower in Traisental, was a key figure in advocating for this region’s recognition as distinct from the umbrella Donauland designation it was under until 1995.

Traisental is tucked within the Mostviertel region south of the Danube and Kremstal, separated from the Wachau by the Dunkelsteinerwald, an extension of the Bohemian Massif, in the west. The vines are mostly clustered in the north, closer to the Danube but primarily alongside the left bank of the Traisen River, where active limestone and conglomerate soils are unique to this region. Terraced vineyards sit on east-facing slopes that reach as high as 400 meters in elevation, offering cooler conditions. Loess with conglomerate soils dominates Traisental, particularly on the right bank, and Grüner Veltliner is the leading grape with 475 hectares under vine. Grüner Veltliner from Traisental balances decadence and spice with distinctive structure and verve on the palate. The region receives more rain than its neighbors but benefits from a constant breeze that comes in from the forest. Vines are often trained high to avoid rot and counter frost. Reichersdorf and Inzersdorf are important winemaking villages.

Wagram

The vineyards of Wagram (Photo credit: ÖTW)

Wagram sits on the eastern edge of the Danubian regions, nearest to Vienna. Until 2007, it was known as Donauland and included Traisental; since then, each has gained its own boundaries. Wagram extends on both sides of the Danube. The vast majority of grapegrowing occurs on the north shore, and quite far from the river itself. Here, a ridge about 40 meters high lines the northern end of a grand plateau that was an ancient shoreline nearly 150 million years ago, when much of Central Europe was beneath the Paratethys Sea. The Ice Age brought layers of cakey loess, a significant component of the soils today, extending as deep as 20 meters atop primordial sea fossils. With steady southern exposure, Grüner Veltliner thrives, often yielding full-bodied, spicy wines with an identifiable creamy texture. Roter Veltliner and ageworthy Eiswein from Grossriedenthal are standouts as well. Other noteworthy villages include Feuersbrunn, Fels, and Kirchberg.

There are a few hundred hectares planted to the south, including around the 900-year-old Klosterneuburg Monastery, just outside of Vienna. The monastery’s wine institute, established in 1860, was formative for most of Austria’s leading winemakers in the late 19^th and much of the 20^th century. Vines are planted on mixed soils that include flysch rocks, a kind of layered shale embedded with greywacke-sandstone.

Wagram has long resided in the shadow of its more prominent western neighbors, but, much like Traisental, it is beginning to receive more respect for its rise in quality and overall value. Wagram was elevated to DAC status in 2022. A handful of dedicated and curious vignerons have reenergized the region in recent decades. Anton Bauer is experimenting with concrete eggs for his old vine Weissburgunder, Ecker-Eckhof ages reserve wines in acacia barrels, and Josef Fritz has made a name for his Roter Veltliners, the best from 60-year-old vineyards and aged in large casks. Trials with extended lees aging are also common, including with Bernhard Ott, who is among the most revered winemakers and a pioneer of biodynamic practices in Wagram.

Weinviertel

The Weinviertel offers open spaces, generous hilltop vistas, and quaint villages. In terms of winemaking, however, it was historically considered the land of bulk production and mediocre quality. Throughout recent centuries, this was an agricultural community that primarily focused on polyculture, with grapes one of many crops and the Gemischter Satz blend a utilitarian product. But by the mid-1980s, the Weinviertel, like so many regions throughout Austria, was rethinking quality, identity, and reputation. Led by individuals like Roman Pfaffl, a younger generation began to see the potential of the Weinviertel, which is home to more than 4,500 hectares of vines over 30 years of age. A commitment to quality was made more official when the Weinviertel became the first wine region to apply for and receive DAC status in 2002. That same year, 15 wineries formed the Premium Weingüter Weinviertel, an association dedicated to lifting the region’s reputation across several grapes and styles. Today, Grüner Veltliner comprises nearly half of the vines in the Weinviertel, and it is the only variety that qualifies for DAC consideration—despite ongoing debate.

The Weinviertel; click to enlarge and zoom in (Credit: AWMB)

The Weinviertel extends 80 kilometers east to west and claims nearly half of the vines planted in all of Lower Austria. It is bordered by the Danube River to the south, the Czech Republic to the north, and Slovakia to the east. The region’s western frontier sees some of the primary granitic soils of its more prestigious neighbors, allowing for more structured Riesling. In and around the northwest area of the Pulkau Valley, there are some notable red winemaking villages, such as Haugsdorf and Jetzelsdorf; red wine is also produced further east in the warm town of Mailberg. Grüner Veltliner and Weissburgunder are successful in the loess-and-granite soils around Röschitz. To the south, Hohenwarth, on the Wagram border, has chalkier soils. Here, exceptional whites from Grüner Veltliner, Weissburgunder, and Roter Veltliner have been celebrated since the 1960s for their intensity and complexity.

The eastern half of the Weinviertel can be roughly divided into north and south in considering its wines. The northern stretches, centered around Poysdorf and Falkenstein, experience more wind and produce fresh, vibrant whites as well as fine examples of Sekt. Further south and closer to Vienna, the Pannonian Plain dictates warmer, softer expressions. The stretch from Korneuburg to Wolkersdorf, otherwise referred to as the flysch zone, yields very powerful, spicy styles of Grüner and Weissburgunder.

Carnuntum

Throughout much of the late 18^th century and into the 19^th, Carnuntum enjoyed a quiet but respectable grapegrowing tradition. Yet its position on the borderlands of Slovakia and then Hungary’s Burgenland made it a popular crossroads for troops. By the end of World War II, Carnuntum had diminished in reputation. In response, a cooperative was established in the east, near Prellenkirchen, to process many of the region’s grapes. It wasn’t until the 1990s that Carnuntum’s potential, especially for red grapes, would be acknowledged again. In 1992, 25 producers formed the Rubin Carnuntum Wine Producers association and spelled out standards for high-quality Zweigelt—a grape that still dominates today, at over a quarter of the region’s vines. The Rubin designation falls within but goes beyond DAC regulations (received in 2019), mandating 100% Zweigelt, a minimum must weight of 18 degrees KMW (about 12.5% alcohol by volume), and a minimum of six months in wood. This group still exists and today has about 40 members.

Carnuntum is the only region in Lower Austria where red grapes lead, at nearly 55%, with Zweigelt and Blaufränkisch on top. But the region grows nearly all of Austria’s grapes, including impressive examples from French varieties like Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, Cabernet Sauvignon, and Merlot. If bottled monovarietally, DAC white wines must be 100% Chardonnay, Grüner Veltliner, or Weissburgunder; in a blend, two-thirds of these varieties must be present, along with other Qualitätswein grapes. Primary red varieties for DAC wines are Zweigelt and Blaufränkisch, and the same rules apply for red blends.

There are three regions that can be considered in Carnuntum: the Leitha Mountains, Arbesthal Hills, and Hundsheimer Mountains. Some of the freshest wines come from the Leitha Mountains, where limestone-accented vineyards are protected by forests from the warm winds coming up from the Pannonian Plain. The isolated and steep sandy hillsides of Stixneusiedl are the source of much of the activity in the region. Most production comes from the Arbesthal Hills, roughly in the heart of the region around the villages of Göttlesbrunn and Höflein, where Gerhard Markowitsch, Walter Glatzer, and the Artner family have been pioneers. Warm, western-facing vineyards on deep, loamy soils and gravel are foundational for the area’s red wines, the best coming from hilltop sites cooled by winds from the Danube that offset the warmth from the south. In the east, particularly around Prellenkirchen and Spitzerberg, there is a renewed sense of enthusiasm, with leaders like Muhr-van der Niepoort and Johannes Trapl offering prime examples of elegant Blaufränkisch.

Thermenregion

Thermenregion has enjoyed a long winemaking tradition, but the Cistercian monks are primarily responsible for establishing its reputation in the Middle Ages. In the 15^th century, sweet styles from the village of Gumpoldskirchen grew in popularity, going on to rival those of Rust and Tokaj through the 19^th century. Thermenregion is widely recognized for its many heurigen, which attract the Viennese and tourists but have made it difficult for the region to progress in terms of quality. The tide is starting to turn, however, and Thermenregion is attracting accolades for its aspirational wines and inspiring excitement among young winemakers.

In 2023, the region was granted the DAC designation. The DAC features a three-tiered system of Gebietswein, Ortswein, and Riedenwein. At the Gebietswein level, producers are allowed to feature Rotgipfler, Zierfandler, Pinot Blanc, Pinot Gris, Chardonnay, Neuburger, Pinot Noir, St. Laurent, Blauer Portugieser, and Zweigelt as blends, monovarietal wines, or Gemischter Satz. At the Ortswein or village level, producers can use Gebietswein varieties except for Blauer Portugieser as blends or varietal bottlings hailing from the villages of Gumpoldskirchen, Wiener Neustadt, Perchtodsdorf, Bad Vöslau, and Tattendorf. Also at the Ortswein level, producers are permitted to make sweet wines from Auslese to Trockenbeerenauslese. Lastly at the Riedenwein (single-vineyard) level, the DAC focuses on Rotgipfler, Zierfandler, Pinot Blanc, Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, and St. Laurent. The first wines within the structure will be released in 2024.

Heurigen

The heuriger is an Austrian institution, thought to date back to Charlemagne’s days, but it was only legalized in 1784, when Emperor Joseph II defined it as “an inn which the proprietor can only serve wine and food of his own production,” according to Stephen Brooks. Heurige, meaning “this year,” refers to young wines. Heurigen—the establishments—offer up wines from the current vintage, or occasionally the last (alten), alongside local cuisine such as traditional huerigenplatte (cheese and charcuterie), schinkenfleckerl (pasta and ham casserole), or fleischlaberl (burgers) in a modest, communal setting. While there are heurigen across Austria, a rich tradition is particularly evident in Vienna, Traisental, and Styria. It was not always customary to serve food; often, visitors would bring their own to enjoy with the wine. Yet by the late 1970s, heurigen began to offer a simple menu of cold dishes. This is still the most traditional setup, though some have procured licenses to offer warm food and others are essentially modified restaurants serving a range of wines—defeating the original intent. The authentic experience still exists, even if it is harder to find. Historically, heurigen kept inconsistent hours throughout the day and year, indicating that they were open with a pine branch or gathering of fir branches above the doorway. This is one reason why heurigen are also known as buschenschänke (buschen means “bunches”), a more common name throughout Burgenland and Styria.

As Thermenregion sits over a fault line, bubbling hot springs can be found around the villages of Baden and Bad Vöslau. The region can be divided into two growing areas, with Baden as the dividing line between north and south. There are over 42 different winegrowing areas, though the greatest activity is centered around Gumpoldskirchen to the north and Tattendorf in the south. On the easternmost stretches of the Alps in the north, the vineyards of the Anninger Hills reach as high as 450 meters, clinging to marine limestone fossils over 19 million years old atop brown loamy soils. These well-protected hills face east and south, receiving ample sunshine and producing the best wines mid-slope. The northern wineries are prized for their Rotgipfler and Zierfandler. Both grapes have an affinity for desirable botrytis and can achieve high levels of sugar and extract, but where Rotgipfler has an expansive palate and dense, tropical fruit, Zierfandler tends toward more balance, with pointed acidity and focused yellow fruit. It is not uncommon for dry versions, such as those from Johanneshof Reinisch, to experience some skin contact and extended aging in neutral wood.

Though it appears flat as compared to the north, southern Thermenregion sits upon a plateau of gravelly, alluvial material, fully open to Pannonian warmth. Though less celebrated than the Anninger Hills, the southerly vineyards are nonetheless finding renewed attention for their Pinot Noir and St. Laurent. The best reserve reds tend to see new oak aging regimens. In 2003, a group of eight wineries established the Burgundermacher association—less a rule making establishment and more an outlet to exchange ideas and methods for achieving higher quality with Weissburgunder, Pinot Noir, and St. Laurent.

Vienna

No capital city is so intimate with wine as Vienna. . . . Vineyards still hold their ground
right up to the tramlines within the heart of the residential districts and surge up the side
of the surrounding hills in the Vienna woods.
– "The World Atlas of Wine"

Winemaking within the city walls of Vienna (Wien in German) predates the Romans. Yet after the Turkish siege in 1683, grapegrowing was pushed beyond the walls and toward city limits—a fortunate shift, as the soils and climate there would prove to be more suitable for viticulture. Following a period of diminished sales after the city’s reorganization, Emperor Joseph II reinvigorated the local heurigen tradition, encouraging wineries to open up their doors. Wien is now recognized for its active, if not sometimes overly touristy, heurigen culture.

While some winemaking occurs south of the city in the warm areas of Mauer and Oberlaa, most of Vienna’s grapegrowing is to the north, on both sides of the Danube. The river is a critical moderating feature for vineyards subject to extreme frost in the spring and persistent heat from the Pannonian-Hungarian Plain in the summer. Wine from the Danube’s left bank is largely from the Bisamberg, a hill reaching about 350 meters in elevation and composed of well-drained flysch soils. This hill supplies winemakers in the surrounding villages of Jedlersdorf, Strebersdorf, and Stammersdorf with both white and red grapes. Across the river, fossil-laden limestone characterizes the soils in the 19^th district and on the Nussberg hill, widely considered the most prominent area for quality grapegrowing. Nussberg accounts for about 200 hectares with south and southeast exposure, ranging from 175 to 360 meters in elevation. The best rieden are found mid-slope and include prized erste lagen such as Ulm, Rosengartel, and Preussen. Old Gemischter Satz sites are among the most sought-after vineyards in Vienna. Other noteworthy villages in the 19^th are Nussdorf, Grinzing, Neustift am Walde, and Heiligenstadt.

In 2006, a group of six winemakers from across Vienna came together to form WienWein, with a mission to raise quality standards and showcase the region’s potential. Their effort culminated in obtaining DAC status in 2013, with a sole focus on Gemischter Satz. Fritz Wieninger has long been recognized for his transformative role in Vienna and was one of the first to demonstrate the potential for Gemischter Satz. Viennese crop reports document a three-fold rise in the category between 2009 and 2016, from 53 to 179 hectares. Wiener Gemischter Satz DAC requires a minimum of three white varieties; no single grape can exceed 50% of the blend, nor can one grape represent less than 10% if only three varieties are used. Those without a vineyard designation must be under 12.5% alcohol and made in the trocken style. Those with a stated ried on the label must be above 12.5% and are not required to be trocken.

Burgenland

Records suggest that there were vineyards around the town of Illmitz in the 16^th century, and Donnerskirchen alleges that it produced a Trockenbeerenauslese style in 1526. Yet the citizens of Hungarian Burgenland (with the exception of Sopron) only joined the Austrian Republic in 1921, and the area’s wine industry didn’t truly develop until after the Russians ceased their occupation in 1956. Today, Burgenland is an agricultural state with an ideal climate for growing a wide array of crops. It is an extension of the Pannonian Plain and thus the hottest region in Austria. The land is highly fragmented and the villages less populated than those in Lower Austria. Burgenland was the greatest beneficiary of grants when Austria joined the EU in 1995, which allowed for capital improvements and a subsequent rise in wine quality. Though its GDP per capita is still the lowest compared to other federal states, Burgenland has been on a healthy rebound since the late 1990s.

Burgenland’s defining geographic feature, at 36 kilometers in length, is Lake Neusiedl, which could more appropriately be called a grand marsh, as its average height rarely exceeds one meter. Lake Neusiedl has even dried up completely, though not since 1866. The lake extends across the border into Hungary, which holds about one-quarter of its area. It is a protected natural preserve and a sanctuary for birds and other wildlife. The water has been monitored and managed since the middle of the last century. Lake Neusiedl is a moderating influence and acts as a heat reservoir in the summer, reaching as high as 30 degrees Celsius. It contributes to the misty mornings responsible for some of the country’s most sought-after botrytized Beerenauslese, Ausbruch, and Trockenbeerenauslese wines from Rust and Seewinkel, two historic villages across from one another at the narrowing of the lake.

Burgenland is home to six DACs: Neusiedlersee, Leithaberg, Mittelburgenland, Eisenberg, Rosalia, and most recently, Ruster Ausbruch. The sunny, warm climate allows a greater range of grapes than in any other winegrowing region in Austria. White grapes represent an important portion of plantings, particularly for historic dessert styles from Welschriesling, Muskateller, Muscat Ottonel, Grüner Veltliner, and Chardonnay. Red grapes, however, surpassed white in 2009 and now constitute over 55% of the vineyard area, thriving in the limestone, clay, and schistose soils. Blaufränkisch and Zweigelt compose nearly three-quarters of red varieties. The best examples come from Gols, Leithaberg, and Eisenberg, though leading producers in Mittelburgenland are also rising to the fore.

Neusiedlersee

Upon the eastern shores of Lake Neusiedl, vineyards stretch from the northern towns of Neusiedl and Gols down to the dessert wine-focused villages of Illmitz and Apetlon in the Seewinkel sector. Together, this vast and varied region is referred to as Neusiedlersee, which became a recognized DAC in 2011 for its boisterous Zweigelt-based reds. Its coveted dessert wines are what originally drove the industry, and the DAC was expanded in 2020 to permit these styles. Neusiedlersee is the largest of Burgenland’s six regions and also its warmest, sitting east of both the lake and the Alps and collecting unobstructed heat from the Hungarian plains.

In Neusiedlersee, dry wines are generally grown to the north and sweet wines to the south. North of the lake is the village of Neusiedl, where soils are accented with limestone and schist, carried over from the Leitha Mountains to the west. More typically, though, gravels, sand, and clay dominate, including in the band of villages that begins just southeast of Neusiedl and includes Weiden, Gols, Mönchhof, and Halbturn. Gols is home to the most significant rieden.

The appellation mandates that DAC red wine is Zweigelt-based, while DAC Reserve wine must contain at least 60% of the grape. Zweigelt leads plantings with nearly a quarter of the hectarage. Blaufränkisch, St. Laurent, and Pinot Noir are represented as well, and Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, and Syrah collectively make up just over 5% of planted hectarage.

Winemakers may also choose to use the Pannobile classification on a label if they follow specific guidelines laid out by the Pannobile association, formed by producers in 1994. There are currently nine members, including Judith Beck, Paul Achs, Gerhard Pittnaur, and Claus Preisinger. Together, they identified the best sites and varieties and shared ideas in an effort to produce more distinctive wines. To qualify, a red wine must incorporate Zweigelt, Blaufränkisch, or St. Laurent; for whites, Chardonnay, Grauburgunder, Weissburgunder, and Neuburger are the only grapes allowed. This opens up quality-focused credentials for wines that fall outside of DAC requirements.

The warm gravel soils of Seewinkel in the south are home to dry reds and whites, but the unique geography of this area makes it ideal for late-harvest botrytized styles as well as Schilfwein and Strohwein. In addition to Lake Neusiedl, 47 surrounding lakes (called zicklacken) to the east heat up throughout the summer and contribute to the climate. These bodies of water lose nearly 40% of their volume to evaporation and increase the overall humidity. Come autumn, when cool nighttime air passes over the warm water, evaporation becomes fog, which settles over the vineyards. Dry, sunny days break up the fog and allow for noble rot to develop. This consistent weather pattern makes this pocket of Europe one of the most reliable for creating ageworthy Beerenauslese and Trockenbeerenauslese wines. Welschriesling is among the most revered varieties for this style and accordingly leads white grapes in overall hectarage planted in Neusiedlersee (11%). But many others have been successful as well, such as Weissburgunder, Chardonnay, Grüner Veltliner, Muscat Ottonel, Muskateller, Sauvignon Blanc, and Sämling 88 (Scheurebe). Grapes within the Seewinkel sector are not affected by as much diurnal fluctuation in temperature as those across the lake in Rust, leading to softer acidity overall.

Alois Kracher was among the great advocates and influencers for Illmitz. Despite his family’s winemaking roots, he started his career as a pharmacist, then joined the family business in 1986, eager to right the world’s image of Austrian sweet wines after the 1985 scandal. His mentors included Pierre Meslier, then head winemaker at Château d’Yquem, and Egon Müller in the Mosel. His son, Gerhard, has carried the torch since his death in 2007. Seewinkel also had a number of key winemakers whose work in the early ’90s was essential for the industry. Willi Opitz pioneered the Schilfwein, or “reed wine,” technique in Austria, wherein dessert grapes that don’t appear destined for great botrytis are dried on reed mats for six to eight weeks after harvesting from the vine. Hans Tschida, who got his start in 1993, is known for his powerful yet balanced BAs and TBAs of Chardonnay, Welschriesling, and Scheurebe, but he also produces a unique Zweigelt Schilfwein in addition to Grüner Veltliner Eiswein, a style this area can achieve in most years.

Leithaberg

Leithaberg served as the border dividing Austro-Hungary from the rest of Austria until the end of World War I. Situated on the western side of Lake Neusiedl, it experiences very different growing conditions from those across the water. Though still influenced by the lake and benefiting from its warm winds during ripening, Leithaberg’s vineyards begin about 15 kilometers away from the shore and are more stylistically impacted by the Leitha Mountains, which rise nearly 500 meters, separating the winegrowing area from Carnuntum and Thermenregion. Many of the vineyards are scattered upon south- and east-facing slopes in the foothills of the Leitha Mountains, though some are closer to the lake, where flatter lands are more suited to whites and dessert wines. The Pannonian Plain still heavily influences Leithaberg and enables a long, warm growing season. The elevation, however, allows for cooler nights and results in red wines that are more acid driven than those from Gols. Soils in lower areas are composed of sand, loam, and black earth, while in vineyards higher upon the slopes, soils contain more mica-schist, gneiss, and a crustaceous limestone referred to as leithakalk. The region receives more rainfall than Neusiedlersee, though there is less botrytis development as vineyards gain elevation. These higher-elevation areas, particularly surrounding Grosshöflein, produce some of the best reds in all of Burgenland.

The Leithaberg DAC was introduced in 2010 and includes reds starting from the 2008 vintage and whites from the 2009 vintage. Red wines must contain a minimum of 85% Blaufränkisch, which can only be balanced with the addition of Pinot Noir, Zweigelt, or St. Laurent. Red wines are fermented dry (no more than 2.5 grams per liter of residual sugar), and they must age two full years after harvest in modest oak. White wines must be composed of Chardonnay, Grüner Veltliner, Neuburger, and/or Weissburgunder. These, too, must be dry and age for a year after harvest before release in either stainless steel or neutral oak. All wines must achieve a minimum 12.5% alcohol.

Rust

Bordering Hungary and within Leithaberg is “the free city of Rust,” the smallest administrative city in Austria, with less than 2,000 people. In 1681, citizens of Rust bought their independence by paying 60,000 golden coins and 500 barrels of their widely coveted sweet botrytis wine to the Habsburg family and Emperor Leopold I. Rust is home to one of continental Europe’s most important wine schools, the Austrian Wine Academy, established in 1991. Nearly 450 hectares are planted to a wide variety of grapes producing all styles, though sweet botrytis-driven wines are the most revered. A tectonic break resulted in different parent material for the soils here, which are predominantly quartz-rich sandy gravels. Ever self-regulating, this region opted out of Leithaberg’s DAC classification, and the region’s famed Ruster Ausbruch style earned DAC status in 2020.

Rust’s Ruster Ausbruch wines first gained momentum in the 16^th and 17^th century. Mary, Queen of Hungary, allowed an r to be branded on the barrels as early as 1524 to differentiate these wines from those of other regions. Gustav Feiler of Feiler-Artinger is said to have recovered this historic style in 1953. Prior to the 1990s, Ruster Ausbruch was made with higher alcohol, lower residual sugar (around 90 grams per liter), and more oxidative character from extended barrel aging. Today, it can be difficult to differentiate from the cleaner, purer styles associated with Seewinkel, as many winemakers are producing BA and TBA styles using more reductive methods to preserve fruit character. Still, highly revered winemakers like Heidi Schröck claim that there is a distinct difference, as Ruster Ausbruch tends to be less tropical and more saline in character. Schröck is among the 10 producers in the Cercle Ruster Ausbruch, an organization established in 1991 by growers seeking to preserve and promote a more traditional style. Ernst Triebaumer is another prominent member.

Rosalia

The quiet region of Rosalia sits in the Alpine foothills of the Rosalia Range, along the state lines of Lower Austria and Burgenland. It is between Leithaberg to the north and Mittelburgenland to the south. The Wulka River flows to Lake Neusiedl and is responsible for the fluvial-rich deposits of brown earth and sandy loam that sit on top of loess in much of this region. These fertile soils, accented with limestone and clay, yield hearty, structured reds and are ideal for Blaufränkisch, which claims over half of all plantings. Prior to becoming a DAC in 2018, Rosalia was a grosslage. It is still a small community of less than a dozen winemakers. Many of its vineyards surround the central political district of Mattersburg, and some of the finest are in the northerly village Pöttelsdorf. DAC and DAC Reserve red wines are produced from Blaufränkisch or Zweigelt and must reach minimums of 12% and 13% ABV, respectively; red wines must not exceed four grams per liter residual sugar and are not to be blended. Rosalia was also the first region to legally protect rosé, which can be composed of any permitted Qualitätswein red variety (alone or as a blend) and must be vinified dry. A winemaker may indicate a ried on the label for Reserve reds and rosés.

Mittelburgenland

Mittelburgenland lies just south of Neusiedlersee in the heart of Burgenland, surrounded by the Sopron Mountains to the north, the Bucklige Welt hills to the west, and the Kőszeg Mountains to the south. Cradled in a kind of amphitheater, Mittelburgenland is protected from wind, enjoys over 300 days of sunshine, and collects heat from the plains to the east. It has an ideal climate for Blaufränkisch, which accounts for over half of vineyard plantings and has been important here since the late 1970s—some even call the region Blaufränkischland. Blaufränkisch is also the cornerstone and sole grape permitted for the three-tiered DAC, initiated with the 2005 vintage. A wine may qualify for Mittelburgenland DAC, Mittelburgenland DAC with stated ried, or Mittelburgenland Reserve. Mittelburgenland Reserve wines should carry a noticeable mark of new oak, where the others do not. New oak dominates the more aspirational wines of this region.

Significant grapegrowing areas and rieden in Mittelburgenland can be found in four primary municipalities: Deutschkreutz, Neckenmarkt, and Horitschon in the north, and Lutzmannsburg to the south. Lake Neusiedl maintains some influence over wineries in the north, pushing warm winds from the water, especially in the autumn. Overall, though, this region is quite dry and hot throughout the summer. Soils are primarily rich clay and loam, though higher-elevation vineyards in Horitschon see some limestone and even traces of iron, and Neckenmarkt contains red slate. Lutzmannsburg has more sandy loam. Diversity of elevation, soils, and aspect contribute to a wide range of expressions and quality throughout Mittelburgenland. Some of the most celebrated rieden are Hochäcker in Horitschon, Hochberg in Neckenmarkt, and Goldberg in Deutschkreutz.

Albert Gesellmann and Hans Igler were key figures in establishing this region. In more recent decades, single-vineyard expressions have become increasingly important, and winemakers like Franz Weninger, Paul Kerschbaum (and his son Michael), and Roland Velich of Moric have established a sense of seriousness for wines from this region.

Eisenberg

Prior to its entry into the DAC system in 2008, few people were familiar with wines from Eisenberg, and it was referred to simply as Südburgenland. Though the DAC raised awareness for a few particular wineries, the reality is that grapegrowing is not a primary pursuit for most producers in Eisenberg, and the vast majority of the wine is still sold in local heurigen.

Eisenberg is considerably different than the rest of Burgenland, as it is not affected by the moderating influence of Lake Neusiedl, nor direct Pannonian heat. It does, however, experience a slight Mediterranean influence from the south and receives more rainfall (750 millimeters annually) than any other region in Burgenland. Slightly cooler temperatures make for wines with notable acidity; growers need to take care not to harvest too early, as overly elevated acidity can cause problems in the winery and lack appeal for consumers.

The village of Rechnitz in the north produces satisfactory whites, largely from Welschriesling. Furthest south, Heiligenbrunn is known for the local specialty Uhudler, a foxy-scented, non-vinifera, hybrid rosé that authorities are attempting to phase out by 2030 but is still undeniably popular. Yet the region’s most significant winegrowing area, for which the DAC was named, sits on the Eisenberg hill and in the neighboring village of Deutsch Schützen. Eisenberg, meaning “iron mountain,” served as an iron ore mine in Roman times. It rises to about 400 meters in elevation, and its south-facing slopes are rich with iron and schist. At the base of the hill, in Deutsch Schützen, soils are more clay loam. Blaufränkisch is the primary grape grown in this area and Eisenberg’s most planted variety at over 35% of total hectarage. Many attribute a distinctive earthiness and minerality to the Blaufränkisch grown here. The Eisenberg DAC only allows Blaufränkisch in two styles: Eisenberg DAC and Reserve. The former is a fresh, fruit-forward style, with a minimum of 12% alcohol and no signs of oak. Here, Reserve indicates longer time on the vine, with a minimum of 13% alcohol and perceptible oak influence. Of Eisenberg’s producers, Weingut Krutzler and Weingut Wachter-Wiesler stand out as leaders.

Styria

The rolling hills, panoramic alpine vistas, and lush forests of Styria (Steiermark) reflect stereotypical perceptions of Austria, but the region is actually quite distinct from the majority of the country’s winegrowing regions further north. Tucked into the southeastern corner of Austria, the federal state of Styria is second only to Lower Austria in terms of size, but just 0.2% of its land mass is under vine, representing 10% of the country’s vineyards. However, hectarage has increased by 78% since 2000.

Styria (Photo credit: Shutterstock)

In the early 1800s, Archduke John disgraced his family by marrying a commoner and was banished to Styria. He introduced Sauvignon Blanc and Chardonnay (known as Morillon in Styria), among other grapes, which have become key to showcasing the region’s quality potential. John also established a viticulture school and nurseries, helping the region recover from its decline after the wars of the 16^th and 17^th centuries. Under the Habsburg dynasty, Styria was nearly twice its current size and included Slovenia, with over 27,000 vineyard hectares at its height. But following phylloxera and World War I, Yugoslavia claimed what is today Slovenia as one of its provinces, leaving Styria with about 8,000 hectares.

Styria’s wine industry was rather quiet throughout the 20^th century, but a select few, including the Sattler, Tement, Polz, and Sabathi families, worked to revive the region. In 2008, they established the Steirische Terroir- und Klassikweingüter (STK) group. STK is dedicated to exploring the individuality of Styria’s higher and steeper vineyard sites, which produce the highest-quality wines, with single vineyard distinction (lagen). There are currently 12 estate members. Like similar organizations that formed prior to DAC introduction, STK relies on a hierarchy that identifies Erste STK Ried (premier cru) and Grosse STK Ried (grand cru) vineyard sites. Minimum vine ages, maximum yields, and aging requirements are compulsory.

In 2018, Styria’s three winegrowing regions, Südsteiermark, Vulkanland Styria, and Weststeiermark, entered the DAC system. They were the first to initiate the three-tier hierarchical system that has since been the direction for DAC classification. The most general tier is Gebietswein (regional), followed by Ortswein (village, or a cluster of villages indicated by a hyphen on the label), and Riedenwein (single vineyard). All wines must come from hand-harvested grapes from eight permitted varieties (Welschriesling, Weissburgunder, Morillon, Grauburgunder, Riesling, Muskateller, Sauvignon Blanc, and Traminer). Blauer Wildbacher for Schilcher wine is allowed only in Weststeiermark. All wines must be vinified dry (with a maximum of four grams per liter of residual sugar), with the exception of Riesling, Traminer, and Muskateller under certain conditions for sweet styles and when clearly communicated on the label.

A range of styles is produced in Styria. Klassik wines are youthful and often fermented in stainless steel, with minimal lees influence and blocked malolactic fermentation. Conversely, lagen wines are characteristically more complex and full bodied, experiencing barrel age (new or neutral wood of varying sizes), skin contact, extended lees aging, and/or malolactic fermentation. There is also a budding community of young natural wine producers who call themselves the Schmecke das Leben group and are experimenting with ambient ferments, orange wine styles, and minimal to no additions throughout the winemaking process.

Styria is considered continental, but unlike regions to the north, the climate is much more variable and influenced by wind patterns from all directions. The Adriatic sends its warmth from the south, intersecting with cooler Alpine winds from the north; warm Pannonian currents from the east collide with Koralpe Mountain airstreams from the west. Styria has very hot summers, while winters can reach low temperatures, threatening younger vines. It also receives the most rain, sometimes as much as 1,000 millimeters in a year. Frost, hail, and mildew pressure are key challenges. Most vineyards are between 300 and 600 meters in elevation and set upon severely graded inclines—ideal for ripening but further compounding complications for growers, as manual pruning, canopy management, and harvesting are compulsory for most. The Eastern Alpine Unit largely informs the remarkable diversity of soils here, which change from one vineyard to the next. Sand, gravel, limestone, slate, marl, and volcanic basalt are the primary soils.

Sauvignon Blanc is now the region's most-planted grape, growing from 177 to 948 hectares between 2005 and 2023. Welschriesing, the previously most planted grape, is now the second most planted at 753 ha. The third most planted variety, Weissburgunder, is also prominent. Morillon wasn’t even mentioned in older reports but now composes 325 hectares. Plantings of Grüner Veltliner are miniscule, and very little red wine is made, though Zweigelt and a few others are planted. The most important red grape is Blauer Wildbacher, which is used for the protected Schilcher rosés of Weststeiermark.

Südsteiermark

Südsteiermark is the smallest growing region in Styria but contains over half of its vines and some of its most esteemed rieden. The area’s Sauvignon Blanc can rival examples from the Loire Valley, and Chardonnay can achieve Burgundian parallels. Most production takes place in the southeastern territory, which stretches for about 40 kilometers alongside the Slovenian border in the DAC-recognized villages of Gamlitz, Ehrenhausen, Eichberg, and Leutschach. All of Styria’s soils are represented, varying from one village to the next. There is more sand and quartz in Gamlitz, fossilized limestone and clay in Ehrenhausen, conglomerate gravel pebbles in Eichberg, and a calcareous marl locally referred to as opok in Leutschach, the southernmost municipality. Further north across the dividing Sulm River is the reputable Kitzeck im Sausal region, where foliated slate and schist account for over 85% of soils. In Kitzeck, Riesling is exemplary; this is also home to the highest (650 meters) and steepest vineyards in Styria.

After establishing his estate in 1979, Manfred Tement was among the first to champion Sauvignon Blanc, which now leads in Südsteiermark. His most well-known holdings are from the Zieregg and Grassnitzberg rieden. He was also a pioneer for barrique aging, a trend that continued well into the early 2000s, when large neutral casks became popular for even top single-vineyard wines. Other forerunners for the region include Willi Sattler, who was among the first to bottle and promote high-quality dry wine in the 1970s, when many were still blending in Muskateller to sweeten their offerings. Obegg, Hochgrassnizberg, and Sernau are other important rieden to know.

Vulkanland

Vulkanland, known as Südoststeiermark until 2016, sits in eastern Styria, bordering Burgenland’s Eisenberg. It benefits from Mediterranean warmth and humidity from the south and dry, hot winds from the Pannonian Plain, making it the warmest of Styria’s regions. The wines that result are a little more weighty and ripen slightly sooner than those from the west. Impressive diurnal variations help maintain fresh acidity in the wines. “Volcano land,” as the name translates, contains several extinct volcanos, which have given the region basalt soils, accented with patches of loam, sand, and clay.

Eight villages are acknowledged for DAC Ortswein, but most winemaking activity occurs in Sankt Anna am Aigen, Straden, and Klöch. Kapfenstein is another important village in terms of quality. Vulkanland is a hub for Welschriesling as well as Weissburgunder.

Klöch is the most renowned village and particularly valued for its Traminer, which can be made in off-dry and dessert styles as well. Basalt dominates the west side of Klöch and tuff the east. Due to their high iron content, the soils of Klöch can appear red in color and gather significant heat, making the wines particularly powerful.

Weststeiermark

Weststeiermark sits in the Alpine foothills of the Koralpe Mountains. It is the smallest region in Styria in terms of hectarage. Over 65% of plantings are dedicated to Blauer Wildbacher for Weststeiermark’s highly acidic Schilcher rosés. Documented back to the 16^th century, this regional specialty gets its name from schillern, referencing its ability to appear almost iridescent. Schilcher is most often a still wine, but it can also be lightly or fully sparkling. Crystalline gneiss, slate, and schist prevail in Weststeiermark. The steep vineyards are widely dispersed, though the best are grown between 420 to 600 meters to avoid frosts. There are four municipalities for DAC Ortswein classification: Eibiswald, Deutschlandsberg, Stainz, and Ligist. No STK wines are produced here.

Bergland

Bergland consists of five winegrowing regions located on the western side of the country: Carinthia (or Kärnten, with 170 hectares), Upper Austria (or Oberösterreich, with 45 hectares), Salzburg (7 hectares), Tyrol (or Tirol, with 5 hectares), and Vorarlberg (10 hectares). Many of these areas historically enjoyed a prosperous wine industry, but shifts in climate and economy, phylloxera, and the rise of breweries changed their fortunes in more recent years. In 1999, there were only 21 hectares in Bergland. But today, this area is experiencing a kind of renaissance. A range of grapes, especially white varieties, are represented, and wines made from the 40 approved varieties may qualify as landwein when Bergland is given for the region of origin.

Note: Data for the grape overview was taken from the AWMB statistical survey conducted by the Federal Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry, Environment, and Water Management (BMLFUW) and combined with primary data to account for federal states of Bergland that were not represented in the BMLFUW survey. For regional overviews, 2017 data reported by the individual federal states of Lower Austria, Burgenland, Vienna, and Styria provides more detailed information concerning specific grapes under vine in those regions.

Bibliography

Apple Jr., R. W. “Austrian Wines Have a Voice, and It’s Excited.” New York Times. July 19, 2006. https://www.nytimes.com/2006/07/19/dining/19thei.html.

Association of the Lake Regions. Accessed June 25, 2020. http://interlaker.org/en/services/vengriya/noyzidler-ze/.

Austrian Embassy. Accessed June 22, 2020. https://www.austria.org.

Austrian Wine. Accessed June 22, 2020. https://www.austrianwine.com/.

Blom, Philipp. The Wines of Austria. London: Octopus Publishing Group, 2006.

Brook, Stephen. The Wines of Austria. Oxford: Infinite Ideas, 2016.

Cercle Ruster Ausbruch. Accessed May 15, 2020. http://www.rusterausbruch.at.

Clarke, Oz. Oz Clarke’s New Wine Atlas: Wines and Wine Regions of the World. San Diego: Harcourt, 2002.

Gasser, Deta, et al. “Geology of Styria: An overview.” Mitteilungen des naturwissenschaftlichen Vereines für Steiermark 139 (October 2009). https://www.zobodat.at/pdf/MittNatVerSt_139_0005-0036.pdf.

Johnson, Hugh and Jancis Robinson, eds. The World Atlas of Wine. 8th ed. London: Mitchell Beazley, 2019.

Kathawala, Valerie. “Ten Reasons Domäne Wachau is Austria’s ‘Nummer Eins.” Grape Collective. November 19, 2019. https://grapecollective.com/articles/ten-reasons-domne-wachau-is-austrias-nummer-eins.

Klinger, Willi, Karl Vocelka, and Michaela Vocelka, eds. Wine in Austria: The History. Vienna: Brandstätter Verlag, 2019.

Krebiehl, Anne. “Red Vines Rising: Austria’s fresh and versatile red wines are ready for prime time.” Wine Enthusiast. June 2018. https://www.austrianwine.com/fileadmin/user_upload/PDF/US_Wine_Enthusiast__Juni_2018_Anne_Krebiehl.pdf.

Leithaberg DAC. Accessed May 22, 2020. https://www.leithaberg.at/en/.

Österreichische Traditionsweingüter 1ÖT Erste Lagen. Accessed May 10, 2020. https://www.traditionsweingueter.at.

Robinson, Jancis, ed. The Oxford Companion to Wine. 4th ed. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2015.

Robinson, Jancis, Julia Harding, and José Vouillamoz. Wine Grapes. New York: Harper Collins, 2012.

Die Rubin Carnuntum Weingüter. Accessed May 20, 2020. https://www.carnuntum.com/en/.

Schwab, Phillipe. “Salt of the Alps: ancient Austrian mine holds Bronze Age secrets.” Phys.org. August 24, 2018. https://phys.org/news/2018-08-salt-alps-ancient-austrian-bronze.html.

Siegert, Alice. “Scandal uncorked wine tainted with antifreeze chemical send Austria, West Germany reeling.” Chicago Tribune. July 31, 1985. https://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/fl-xpm-1985-07-31-8501310848-story.html.

Tagliabue, John. “Scandal Over Poisoned Wine Embitters Village in Austria.” New York Times. August 2, 1985. https://www.nytimes.com/1985/08/02/world/scandal-over-poisoned-wine-embitters-village-in-austria.html.

Turner, Barry, ed. The Statesman’s Yearbook 2007: The Politics, Cultures, and Economies of the World. London: Macmillan, 2006.

“WKO Statistik.” Wirtschaftskammer Österreich. Accessed June 1, 2020. http://wko.at/statistik/bundesland/basisdaten.pdf.

Zecevic, Aleks. “Exploring Styria: Austria’s Hidden Gem.” Wine Spectator. October 16, 2019. https://www.winespectator.com/articles/exploring-the-wines-of-styria-austria-s-hidden-gem.

Special thanks to Andreas Wickhoff MW and Dr. Bertold Salomon for their help in reviewing this guide.

Compiled by MW Ashley Hausman (August 2020)

Edited by Stacy Ladenburger

Tags: Preview

Fortified Wine

user22387 — Mon, 06 Jan 2025 14:46:41 GMT

Current Revision posted to Expert Guides by user22387 on 1/6/2025 2:46:41 PM

Defining Fortified Wines
History of Fortified Wines
Portugal
Spain
France
Italy
Greece
Cyprus
Australia
South Africa
United States
Fortified Wines in Restaurants
Bibliography

Fortified wine is integral to the history of the world of beverages. Its legacy was established in the 1600s as the wine trade rounded the Cape of Good Hope and crossed the Atlantic Ocean. Fortification, popularized by the British, made it possible for wines to survive during these long trips.

Fortified wines have a huge diversity across the spectrum of their incarnations, and there are wide-ranging offerings within their respective categories. In terms of price, they vary as much as their unfortified counterparts. They are dry, sweet, and all points in between. They can be unaged or complexed by oxidative maturation, mass-produced or the preserve of savvy enthusiasts. Some are drunk very young, when vibrantly fruity. Others are consumed as 200-year-old vinous treasures. The variances of style are virtually limitless.

Today, fortified wines constitute 5% to 10% of global wine production, with a market value of around US$19 billion. This guide focuses on the world’s most important fortified wines, ranging from the Iberian classics to France’s vins doux naturels to Cape Port. These are the wines, appearing on restaurant lists and in retail settings in the major wine markets globally, that are important for expert-level professionals to understand.

Defining Fortified Wines

Fortified wines are defined by the addition of distilled grape-based spirit before, during, or after alcoholic fermentation. All fortified wines have elevated alcohol, and each category is made using a distinct method of production that sets it apart from other categories. In this respect, these wines could be considered more “made,” or manipulated, than their unfortified or dry wine counterparts.

The timing of fortification is crucial in the manufacture of fortified wines as, depending on the addition of the spirit, it prevents or arrests fermentation, rendering a wine sweet because of the presence of unfermented grape sugars. Some wines are fortified after fermentation has been arrested, whether through osmotic pressure in very sweet wines or upon the completion to dryness of alcoholic fermentation. Fortification is an enabler in microbially aged wines and a stabilizer in wines destined for a long oxidative maturation.

Credit: Laura Perrone

Because of the difficulties inherent in accurately measuring the sugar in fermenting grape must, fortification is not a precise science. To fortify a wine to the desired level, the following variables must be considered:

Initial sweetness of the must or wine (as Baumé)
Volume of the must or wine to be fortified
Alcohol level of the must or wine to be fortified
Volume and strength of the fortifying spirit
Volume of the finished wine after fortification
Alcohol level of the wine after fortification

When calculating how much alcohol to add, and when to add it, the winemaker must first know the alcohol in the fermenting (or fermented) must or wine and the degree of alcohol that the fortification should reach. The possibility of alcohol lost through evaporation during élevage must also be considered.

History of Fortified Wines

Although the precise origin of fortified wines is unknown, the widespread practice of adding brandy to a wine, and the popularity of the resulting styles, is attributed to the British. One of the earliest mentions of fortification references the abbot of Lamego adding spirit to the abbey’s wines to render them more stable. This technique was later exploited in 1678 by a Liverpool wine merchant who visited the abbey, in the Douro region, and shipped its fortified wines back to England, finding that they survived the trip well. Soon after, when England and France were once again at war and it was difficult for the British to purchase French wine, Douro became a reliable source of wines. Certainly, by the second decade of the 18^th century, Port wine was sometimes fortified. Merchants found that these wines were more resilient to the effects of heat and oxygen during long and turbulent sea voyages, and none more so than the wines of Madeira, whose style was heavily influenced by these vinhos da roda—literally, “rolled wines,” or “wines of the round voyage.”

Both the Dutch and British navies, as well as their respective merchant fleets, were instrumental in spreading the popularity of these new wines, steadily increasing demand throughout their respective colonies and beyond. Admiral Lord Nelson was a very good customer of the Marsala-producing houses of Sicily during the struggles with France. These wines were robust and resilient during voyages at sea that frequently spanned two or more years.

While it wasn’t exclusively the British who spread the popularity of fortified wines, they certainly drove the category more than any other group, heavily influencing Australian and South African fortified wines, Port, Madeira, Marsala, and the once-prevalent fortified variants of Commandaria.

Portugal

Port

The rugged landscape of Douro, in northeastern Portugal, is fabled for its fortified wines. The delimited area covers more than a quarter of a million hectares, with roughly 26,000 hectares (64,200 acres) assigned to the production of Porto DOC wine.

Land and Climate

The Douro is a markedly warm region that follows a continental climatic pattern, with summer temperatures topping 40 degrees Celsius (105 degrees Fahrenheit) and almost all precipitation occurring between November and April. In this area, rainfall varies according to proximity to the Atlantic Ocean, with the coast at Porto and Vila Nova de Gaia receiving at least 1,200 millimeters (47 inches) annually. Just 70 kilometers (45 miles) away, at the western end of Porto DOC, in Baixo Corgo, rainfall is 900 millimeters (35 inches) annually. Further east, and into the warmer Cima Corgo, that figure falls to around 700 millimeters (28 inches). In the remote Alto Douro, the average temperatures are the highest, as this area is farthest from the coast, and rainfall is just 400 to 500 millimeters (16 to 20 inches) annually. Throughout these subregions, the altitudes, topography, and aspects change significantly, and various rivers feed the Douro, impacting microclimates and the subsequent terroirs.

Douro landscape (Credit: Jenny Hemmer)

The vineyards of Douro are often steeply raked and precipitous, and the soils are free draining and shallow. Apart from elements of largely impenetrable granite around the fringes of the region, the main rock stratum is metamorphic, comprised of schist. Douro schist is relatively pale and reflective. Because of ancient tectonic activity, this hard rock has been thrown up into vertical waves, forming splits in its otherwise impenetrable layers. This enables the vines to send their roots down deep into fissures in the substrate where they can find nutrition and moisture, despite a dry environment with minimal organic matter.

Because of the steep and rugged terrain of Douro, pruning and harvesting are still mostly conducted by hand, so mechanization, where it is possible, is used instead for working the soil, spraying, mowing, weeding, and hedging the vines. One of the startling features of the Port wine region is its precipitously steep vineyards. Gradients greater than 30% are common, severely limiting the amount of land that can be planted to vines.

In Douro, as in many older winegrowing regions, terracing was the traditional solution to providing a platform on which to plant vines on an otherwise challenging slope. Here, the narrow terraces that closely follow the contours of the land are called socalcos. These intricate dry stone walls support the narrow vineyard terraces behind them. Although sloping, socalcos are much less steep than the mountainsides they occupy, and, while they are not well suited to mechanization, small machines and tractors can sometimes be used. Recently, the Symingtons have been successfully experimenting with small mechanical harvesters designed for the terraces. These harvesters, though slower than the larger machines sometimes used on the flattest vineyards in Baixo Corgo, will provide a partial solution to the labor shortage in Douro. Ultimately, the size of the narrow socalcos dictates the number of vines that can be planted on them, and anything up to 6,500 vines per hectare can be found.

From around the mid-1960s, and especially in the 1980s, with improved access afforded by better roads, a new type of terrace called patamares was developed. Unlike socalcos, patamares do not have retaining stone walls, instead relying on taludes (steep earth ramps or banks) with two or three rows of vines above on the sloping terrace. Patamares are much cheaper to create than socalcos, and, though prone to collapse and soil erosion after heavy rain, they can be repaired with small, tracked tractors or bulldozers. The ramps, however, reduce the plantable vineyard area, which drops to 3,000 to 3,500 vines per hectare, approximately half the density possible with socalcos. This reduction in usable planting space is particularly significant with the narrow, single-row patamares estreitos.

A final vineyard system is vinha ao alto, which was developed in the late 1970s. In these vineyards, rows of planted vines run up and down the contours of the land, rather than across them. This system is unsuitable to steeper slopes, particularly those above a 30% incline. Planting densities for vinha ao alto range from roughly 4,500 to 5,000 vines per hectare.

Although there are still co-planted vineyards in Douro, most Port is no longer made as a field blend. This is particularly the case with the vines planted on the newer patamares and vinha ao alto; one goal in developing these systems was to provide control and predictability through establishing well-understood single grape blocks. In their own way, however, the co-planted vineyards on the terraces also provide insurance against the vagaries of different varieties across vintages.

Most vines planted for Port wine production are in the form of single or double Guyot, set low in vertical rows.

The IVDP and the Beneficio System

The Instituto dos Vinhos do Douro e do Porto (IVDP) represents the interests of wine producers in the region, regulating both Port and the unfortified wines of Douro. The IVDP determines the volume of Port that can be produced in any given year via the beneficio system and the volume that can be released onto the market, with producers obliged to release no more than one-third of their stocks annually. The IVDP is also responsible for the land registry of vineyards and companies making and shipping wine, and it upholds the standards of each Port style through tasting and analysis.

Under the beneficio system, each vineyard is given a letter, from A to I, denoting its quality. Grapes from vineyards rated below F cannot be used to produce Port wine; instead, they can be made into dry wine or distilled for spirits. Each year, the beneficio sets the volume of wine that can be made from each grade of vineyard and a corresponding grape price per kilo. Prices outside the beneficio are much lower.

Vineyard owners are given a certificate for each of their vineyards, and they may trade them. Many producers feel that the tradability of these certificates does not serve the interests of either the winemakers or the industry, as there is too much incentive to exchange lower-quality grapes during trading. This is particularly true for growers who do not make their own wine and rely purely on trading certificates to make money.

While sales of Port are gradually declining, the average price of Port is steadily rising, reflecting the general premiumization of the special categories (that is, those beyond basic Ruby, Tawny, white, and rosé). In 2023, global sales of Port surpassed 65,648,800 million liters. The entry-level categories accounted for more than 80% of sales by volume, leaving just 20% to the special categories. These, however, accounted for at least 45% of sales by value.

Port Grapes

Touriga Nacional: The mid- to late-ripening Touriga Nacional is the basis of many top-quality Ports and is considered the finest Port variety for ageworthy styles. It is relatively disease resistant and not significantly affected by powdery or downy mildew, but it can be highly vigorous, directing a lot of its energy into its canopy, and it can also suffer from poor fruit set. The hallmarks of this grape are notable acidity, marked black fruit intensity, and thick skins that produce wines of a deep color and elevated tannic structure. Touriga Nacional is the fifth most planted red grape in Portugal.

Touriga Franca (Touriga Francesa): Touriga Franca is the most planted red grape in Douro and the second most planted in Portugal. It is a late-ripening variety that is suited to sites that remain warm until later in the growing season; as a result, it is often planted in the lowest-elevation and warmest south-facing sites. Touriga Franca is prolific, but, despite its thick skins, it grows in compact bunches that can harbor fungal diseases, though this is less common in hotter, drier sites. It is popular with producers because of its deep color, its relatively firm structure, and the fragrance it brings to a blend.

Tinta Cão: Tinta Cão is a late-ripening variety with notable vigor and a long vegetative cycle. Because of this, it rarely becomes overripe. Thanks to its small, open bunches of thick-skinned berries, it is not particularly susceptible to fungal diseases. Though it does not contribute a great deal of structure or color, Tinta Cão provides marked freshness, ensuring slow evolution and longevity in Port blends.

Touriga Nacional (Credit: Wines of Portugal

Tinta Roriz (Aragonez, Tempranillo): Tinta Roriz is the most planted grape in Portugal. It ripens relatively early in Douro and benefits from being cultivated on cooler sites where there is not significant stress on the grape close to harvest. Despite its thick skin, Tinta Roriz can suffer from powdery mildew, and fruit set can be erratic. While it is prolific and capable of producing high yields, for optimum maturation of the berries and to prevent stemminess, yields are typically controlled. Wines made from Tinta Roriz can age well in wood and bottle.

Tinta Barroca: Tinta Barroca is another early-ripening variety that benefits from the slightly cooler sites at higher elevations or on north-facing slopes, where it is less likely to dehydrate or lose acidity. The variety has long bunches with thin-skinned berries that are prone to sunburn, though not to fungal diseases. The wines demonstrate high fruit intensity and, though pale, have a fine tannic structure and do not oxidize rapidly.

Tinta Amarela (Trincadeira): A later-ripening variety, Tinta Amarela has small, tightly bunched clusters and thick-skinned grapes. It is prone to disease pressure and, because of this, is more successful on arid sites. Tinta Amarela yields wines that are not particularly concentrated or deep in color but have an attractive fragrance.

Sezão: Sezão is a mid- to late-ripening variety with a deep color intensity and elevated acidic freshness. Historically, it was used to intensify the color of Port wines; today, it is often relied on for wines intended to age.

Port Production

The timing of harvest depends on the location of the vineyard and the weather. In the warm Douro Superior, harvest often begins in the middle of August. In the cooler Baixo Corgo, it can be as late as the end of September or even early October. Between the two, in Cima Corgo, harvest usually begins during the third week of September.

One of the most significant quality developments in the harvesting of Douro grapes has been the introduction of small, stackable plastic bins with slatted sides. These 25-kilogram (55-pound) baskets prevent the invariable squashing of grapes that occurred in the much larger hods, bins, bags, and baskets that were historically used, and ensure that whole clusters arrive to the winery intact.

In dry red wine production, the maceration of the grapes and juice before, during, and after fermentation can last for two weeks or significantly longer. Port wine producers, however, must arrest fermentation by mutage (the addition of grape spirit) early in the process of fermentation. Port production, then, is focused on rapid, vigorous extraction prior to fortification.

The traditional apparatus for making Port is the granite lagar. Although it is estimated that only about 2% of Port is made in these stone basins, as many of them were taken out of use in the 1960s and 1970s, they appear to be making a comeback. To make Port using the lagar, bunches are destemmed and the grapes are crushed before being poured into the lagar, which typically holds 8,000 to 14,000 liters (2,100 to 3,700 gallons), to a depth of around 45 to 60 centimeters (18 to 24 inches). Some stems are added back in with the grapes for flavor, tannin, and ease of pressing. Laborers then step in, and the rhythmic knee-lifting march begins to the sound of a rogador (a senior member of the team) ordering the corte (cut), backward and forward, left and right. This might continue for a couple of hours.

While very vigorous in its ability to extract color, tannin, sugars, and aroma and flavor precursors, foot treading is also gentle and prevents the release of bitter phenols from the pips. After a few hours, fermentation might begin spontaneously, or it might take a couple of days to begin. This depends on the temperature of the incoming grapes, the ambient conditions within the press room, and, of course, the effect of many warming feet. Today, most lagares are fitted with heat exchangers that can aid the onset of fermentation and prevent temperatures from running too high. Once the musts begin to ferment, workers known as macacos (monkeys) use mantas (monkey sticks) to prevent the cap from drying out and causing volatile off-flavors, and to encourage color extraction.

A modern variant on the lagar is the robotic lagar, a bank of polyurethane-clad robot feet that emulate the extraction afforded by foot treading. These can be operated above a traditional stone lagar or a steel lagar. The latter can be hydraulically tilted to enable rapid removal of the skins and stalks, and it can be easily cleaned. The skins and stalks left behind in these lagares are pressed and added back into the wines in small measure at a later stage. Qualitatively, the results are very similar to traditional foot treading.

Another modern system for fermentation is autovinification, which was first adopted in the 1970s, when electricity started to become commonplace throughout Douro. In autovinification, a sealed tank, usually made from concrete, houses a chamber above. CO₂ produced from fermentation raises grape juice up through pipes and into the higher chamber. At a certain pressure, a valve is released, and the wine in the holding chamber is poured onto the cap—an ingenious solution for a region once beset by unreliable electrical supply. A drawback to the original autovinification system was that, before fermentation began, limited extraction was possible. Modern mechanical modifications and systems that draw the juice up and over the must have assisted in somewhat remedying this problem. Although foot treading and robotic lagares are considered the most appropriate methods for making top-quality Port, adapted autovinifiers can produce excellent wines, too.

This system has also been adapted through the addition of piston plungers, which, when fitted to temperature-controlled stainless steel vats, can achieve very high levels of extraction; and, when retrofitted to traditional concrete autovinifiers, can produce high-quality wines. Many producers operate their own proprietary variants based on these improved and adapted systems.

Pumping over alone can produce convincing Ports, though less adequately than foot treading, modern robotic lagares, or autovinifiers. Sometimes pumping over, in one form or another, is practiced jointly with piston plungers for optimal extraction.

The early-stage fermentation creates great complexity of flavors in the must and begins, in the presence of rising alcohol, to extract tannins. Once the natural alcohol reaches approximately 5% to 7% ABV, the fermenting wine is drawn off and aguardente (spirit) of 77% ABV is added. Aguardente imparts a sappy, herbal character to the wine. The spirit is now sourced by the individual shipper, pending approval by the IVDP. At this point, the wine is a fiery 19% to 22% ABV (usually around 20% ABV) and has 80 to 120 (most often 95 to 105) grams of residual sugar per liter. All microbial activity has been arrested, and the wine is ready for the appropriate maturation pathway.

Port cellar (Credit: Adobe Stock)

Most Port is aged in oak, and the more recent wood supply is usually from France. In the past, vats were sometimes made from Brazilian mahogany (macacahuba wood). Casks were occasionally Italian chestnut, but historically oak was mostly sourced from an area that was formerly Russia (now Lithuania), as well as from northern Portugal and the southern US. Barrels vary from the small pipes, casks of around 600 liters (usually 550 to 640 liters) that are mostly used for the maturation of top Tawny and Vintage Ports, up to the balseiros, huge oak vats that can be greater than 100,000 liters and are used in the storage of earlier-drinking wines, such as Ruby Port. Because oak aromas and flavors are undesirable in Port, new vessels are seasoned in the maturation of unfortified wines. The timber of these many denominations of barrel is closely maintained and continually remade.

The cooler, more humid climate of Vila Nova de Gaia is ideal for the maturation of Port, and particularly Ruby-style wines. Until 1986, this town was the legally required location for aging because of both shipping logistics and the lack of electricity and refrigeration elsewhere in Douro. As the city of Porto grows, encroaching on the Port lodges of Vila Nova, producers are keeping more of their Tawny Ports up in Douro, where the aridity and heat have less of an effect on them than they would on their Ruby styles. Producers are also adapting their quintas in Douro to provide better temperature control and higher humidity for aging.

Red Ports

Ruby Ports

Ruby Port: Ruby Ports are nonvintage wines best suited to early drinking. They have spent a maximum of three years in large vats made of either wood, stainless steel, or concrete, and are approachable on release and typically fruity.

Reserve Ruby Port: Despite the name, Reserve Ruby Port is a quality designation, not an aging designation; there is no minimum age for Reserve Ruby Ports. Like Ruby Ports, these wines are made from more than one vintage, but Reserve Rubies are finer in quality and consequently more expensive.

Late Bottled Vintage (LBV) Port: LBV Ports are from a single vintage and have been matured in large-format barrels or stainless steel. They must be bottled between four and six years following the vintage. There are unfiltered variants, which have greater concentration, body, and complexity. If aged for at least three years in bottle, LBV Port can be labeled as “bottle matured.” These wines were formerly referred to as Vintage Character.

Crusted Port: These are nonvintage wines that must be aged in wood for no longer than two years. They are bottled without fining or filtration, leading to a crust forming in the bottle. They can be released immediately after bottling, though the best examples can include “bottle matured” on their labels if they have been aged for at least three years in bottle. Crusted Port is produced in very small quantities with the intention of providing an experience like that of Vintage Port but at a lower price.

Single Quinta Vintage Port: In vintages when a producer does not make a Vintage Port, a Single Quinta Vintage Port may be produced from just one of the estates, or quintas, that usually contribute to the vintage blend. Some Vintage Ports are made only from one estate, so they are always a Single Quinta (e.g., Quinta do Vesuvio).

Vintage Port: Vintage Port is the apogee of red Port production and is made from the best-quality grapes from superior sites. Producers must state their intention to release, or declare, a Vintage Port in the second year after the harvest. As the name suggests, these wines are from a single year and can age a maximum of three years. Usually, Vintage Ports are bottled in the second spring following the vintage, approximately 18 to 20 months after the harvest. Once bottled and released, Vintage Ports can be cellared for decades, improving as they mature.

Tawny Ports

Unaged Tawny Port: These basic Tawnies are nonvintage wines matured for no longer than Ruby Ports (three years) and designed for early drinking. The extraction process for unaged Tawnies is short, and they appear somewhat garnet rather than tawny (brown) in color. Inexpensive Tawnies are frequently color adjusted with the addition of caramelized grape must, or mosto torrado, to create the impression of age.

Reserve Tawny Port: Reserve Tawny Port has greater concentration and complexity than basic Tawny and must be matured in wood for at least seven years. Through the aging process, these wines will eventually appear tawny.

Indication of Age Tawny Port: These are wines from a blend of many vintages that must follow an indicated time in pipe and/or toneis (large, horizontal wooden casks of 10,000–20,000 liters) and list an average age of 10, 20, 30, 40, or 50 years. Rather than strictly adhering to the average age designation, however, these wines must have a taste profile typical of the stated designation. They must be approved by an IVDP tasting panel. These wines develop in the presence of oxygen while in wood and become a tawny color, but they are topped up to avoid excessive oxidation. Their bouquet and palate are markedly tertiary and reflect dried-fruit characteristics as well as abundant nonfruit complexity. These are wines that are ready to be drunk on release. In 2022, a new category called Very, Very Old Tawnies was created for wines averaging over 80 years in cask. Older Tawnies often possess the so-called Douro bake flavor, redolent of singed fruit cake combined with a volatile quality—not an unpleasant characteristic if it doesn’t dominate.

Colheita Port: This is a Tawny Port from a single harvest that has spent at least seven years maturing in cask. Colheita Port has the singular character of a vintage wine but is oxidative, tertiary in character, and rich. These wines are also topped up to avoid uncontrolled oxidation.

Rosé Ports

Also called pink Port, rosé Port is usually made from grapes from the coolest sites in Baixo Corgo. These wines are intended to be sweet, fruity, and accessible. The must macerates for just a few hours before draining. A cooler fermentation ensues, and it is arrested with high-quality aguardente that is as neutral as possible. Rosé Port is then released onto the market as a nonvintage wine within 12 months. The first example of pink Port was from Croft in 2008.

Moscatel do Douro

Although Moscatel is found throughout the Douro, most of it is planted around the town of Favaios, where the local cooperative is the dominant producer. Made similarly to Port, Moscatel do Douro spends three years in larger wooden toneis and balseiros. These wines are oxidative, often intensely sweet, and reminiscent of muscovado sugar and molasses.

White Ports

Once an afterthought of the Port world, often used as an adjustment to Tawny Ports, white Port wines have vastly improved over the past decade through more thoughtful grape selections, more protective handling, cooler fermentation temperatures, and a greater reliance on stainless steel maturation. Producers of white Port favor Malvasia Fina and Moscatel Galego Branco (Muscat Blanc à Petits Grains), though the usual Douro white grapes, including Arinto, Codega, Gouveio, Loureiro, Rabigato, and Viosinho are also used in these wines.

At the more modest end of the spectrum, the grapes, often led by Moscatel, are crushed and cold-macerated for a couple of hours before being pressed, and a cool fermentation of the juice alone begins. Fermentation is arrested with the highest-quality aguardente. These wines range in residual sugar from around 40 to over 100 grams per liter. They are reductively made, and wood is typically not used in their short maturation. Higher-end, invariably oxidative styles of white Port are usually based on Malvasia. They macerate on their skins slightly longer than the standard blends before being pressed and then fermented at a higher temperature to extract greater levels of phenols that assist their maturation. Once fortified, they are matured in small oak pipes. Thanks to notable evaporation and concentration during their cask maturation, aged white Ports are often amber and bordering on orange. They are luscious wines that typically have at least 100 grams of residual sugar per liter, and often much more.

White Port may be released as standard white Port or with the same designations as Tawny Ports, following the same requirements.

Madeira

History of Madeira

The history of wine on Madeira is an old and colorful one. The island was reached in 1419 by three explorers, João Gonçalves Zarco, Tristão Vaz Teixeira, and Bartolomeu Perestrelo, early in the period of Portuguese voyages of discovery. Prince Henry the Navigator immediately gave them license to begin cultivating the land.

The early colonists were Portuguese nobility. They started populating the island with agriculturalists and craftsmen from the north of the mainland. Merchants from Portugal and Italy soon joined them. During this time, the first system of levadas, water channels from the mountainous center of the island, were constructed; they are still used today. Agriculture was heavily focused on the cultivation of sugarcane, and vines were planted as well. Historical records from 1450 suggest that various varieties, including Malvasia Cândida (Malmsey), brought from Candia in Crete, had already been planted.

The island of Madeira (Credit: Adobe Stock)

At the beginning of the 16^th century, there was a decrease in sugarcane cultivation, with most of this land converted to vineyards. Voyages to the New World stopped at Madeira, and much of the island’s wine was sent onward to the Americas. Throughout the 17^th century, British influence in North America contributed to an increase in Madeira wine exports, which tripled during these years. British merchants on the island benefited from significant concessions, and the island’s wines became part of the triangular commerce between Madeira, the New World, and Europe.

During the war between France and England, the signing of the Methuen Treaty between England and Portugal in 1703 reduced duties on Portuguese wines imported to England and its colonies by two-thirds. By the middle of this century, most of the island’s producers were fortifying their wines. To replicate the vinho da roda that had made the island’s wines so popular, the estufagem process, in which wines were heated, had been developed. This, in tandem with fortification, created a stable and robust style of wine particularly popular in England’s North American and Indian colonies.

The production and export of Madeira wine boomed in the early 19^th century, mostly attributed to the Napoleonic Wars. But after the conflict ended, Madeira fell into a postwar depression, facing new competition from French and Spanish ports reopened to trade, then impacted by the insecurities surrounding the American Civil War. Perhaps the biggest single negative impact on the island’s trade, however, came from the opening of the Suez Canal in 1869. Even as Russian demand for Madeira grew, far fewer ships were calling at the island. The joint horrors of oidium and phylloxera substantially reduced vineyard coverage and further compounded these problems.

Despite these many obstacles, Madeira wine had largely recovered by the start of the 20^th century, with Germany becoming the foremost export market, followed by Sweden and Denmark. Many shippers joined forces in the middle of the century, and, at this time, regulation surrounding the production and sale of Madeira became enshrined. The modern Madeira market was established by the 1980s. Although the hectares under vine and the volume of Madeira produced have decreased since its peak, today, the absolute quality of Madeira has never been better.

In 2023, approximately 29,800 hectoliters of Madeira wine were sold, with EU countries purchasing 70.6% by volume and 59% by value. The top markets were France (27.9%), Portugal (20.6%), Germany (9.6%), and Belgium (4.5%). Other markets, including the UK, the US, Japan, and Switzerland, exert value far above their market share by volume.

Land and Climate

Vineyards extend across Madeira and the nearby island of Porto Santo, with 403 hectares (996 acres) in the production of Madeira DOC fortified wines and Terras Madeirenses IGP light wines. The main communes are Câmara de Lobos, on the south coast of Madeira, with 149 hectares (368 acres); and, on the north coast, São Vicente, with 111 hectares (274 acres), and Santana, with 53 hectares (131 acres).

Madeira has acidic volcanic soils, predominantly basaltic, rich in organic matter, iron, and magnesium. This basalt resulted from a fracture or split in the Atlantic plate, forming a huge upwelling from the ocean floor. The island’s mountains, rising to over 1,800 meters (5,900 feet), are just the tip of this prominence. The basaltic soils, the proximity of the sea, and the climatic conditions on the island result in Madeira’s unique terroir.

Madeira has warm and humid summers and mild winters that have varied impacts on the island’s numerous microclimates. In the center of the island, annual rainfall is over 3,000 millimeters (118 inches); on the south coast, it is close to 500 millimeters (20 inches). Vineyards on the northern portion of the island receive more than double this. Average annual temperatures vary from about 15.5 degrees Celsius (60 degrees Fahrenheit) to 21 degrees Celsius (70 degrees Fahrenheit). Mean humidity is 69%, though 75% of the total annual rainfall occurs in autumn and winter.

Because of the island’s mountainous topography, most agriculture requires terraces, here called poios, held in place by walls of basalt blocks. In line with both the nature of the terrain and the fractured ownership of land, most vineyard plots are very small. The vineyards on Madeira and Porto Santo are cultivated by 1,775 growers, who are represented by the Instituto do Vinho, do Bordado e do Artesanato da Madeira (IVBAM). Most vineyard plots belong to multiple growers, and the average vineyard is just 0.3 hectares (0.7 acres). Mechanization is nearly impossible, except in larger vineyards that have shallower gradients.

The most common training system is the latada, a version of pergola. These are often only one to two meters (3.3 to 6.6 feet) off the ground, trained on wires or stakes, with roughly 2,500 to 4,000 vines per hectare. On flatter land, espalier, a form of easier-to-service vertical shoot positioning, with vine densities up to 5,000 vines per hectare, is used. With both methods, pruning occurs near the end of February and the beginning of March. Harvest is an arduous and completely manual process.

Madeira Grapes

Madeira’s grape production has, in recent years, ranged from 3,500 to 4,000 metric tons annually. There are many accredited and recommended grape varieties for Madeira, but those that are the most used and have the longest tradition on the island are the red grape Tinta Negra and the white grapes Verdelho, Sercial, Boal, and Malvasia. In addition to these primary grapes, it is worth noting the white grape Terrantez, usually made in a medium-dry style, and occasionally a medium-sweet style, and the red Bastardo, a now-rare grape typically used for medium-sweet wines.

Tinta Negra: The versatile Tinta Negra grape is by far the most widely planted grape on Madeira. It constitutes at least 52% of plantings, even without including its many virtually unknown vineyard companions. Tinta Negra grows at all altitudes up to 600 meters (2,000 feet) and can yield a range of grape styles as a result of its many clones and the impacts of diverse growing conditions.

Verdelho: Distinct from Verdelho Branco and Gouveio on the mainland, and the same as its namesake in the Azores, Verdelho is Madeira’s second most widely planted variety and the most planted white grape, making up about 13% of the vineyard area. Interestingly, until phylloxera, Verdelho comprised two-thirds of the island’s vines. It grows mostly in the north-central and northwest areas of the island, at altitudes up to 400 meters (1,300 feet) and in well-drained soils, trained low to the ground.

Sercial (Esgano Cão): The name Esgano Cão translates to “dog strangler” and refers to the grape’s mouth-puckering acidity. Sercial can grow at the highest altitudes in Madeira, at 600 to 700 meters (2,200 to 2,300 feet). It, along with Malvasia, is among the last varieties to be harvested.

Boal (Bual, Malvasia Fina): Boal grows at relatively low altitudes, below 300 meters (1,000 feet), in the southern portion of the island. It is low yielding but robust and is a popular table grape.

Malvasia: Madeira’s Malvasia is mostly Malvasia Branca de São Jorge, along with the much rarer but historic Malvasia Cândida. IVBAM does not distinguish between the two grapes, though they are ampelographically quite different. Malvasia grows at altitudes below 150 meters (500 feet), usually close to the sea and predominantly on the south coast. It is one of the last grapes to be harvested.

Madeira Production

To make Madeira, once the grapes have been brought to the winery and pressed, fermentation begins and runs to the degree of sweetness desired. A neutral grape spirit of 96% ABV is used to arrest fermentation at the appropriate point, which differs between “dry” (technically, there are no dry Madeiras), medium-dry, medium-rich, and rich styles. The wines are then sent to the heating systems, according to the quality of the grapes.

Entry-level wines are typically heated through the estufagem system. These wines are mostly or entirely made from the workhorse Tinta Negra grape; when not varietal, they typically include many of the other accepted grapes. The wines are placed in an estufa, a stainless steel tank heated by hot water coils to 45 to 50 degrees Celsius (113 to 122 degrees Fahrenheit) for a minimum of three months. Once this estufagem is complete, the wine is rested for a further three months. The wines may not be bottled until October 31 of the second year following the harvest, though they are usually aged in wood and then bottle for three years.

Better-quality wines are put in casks that are placed on wooden supports or trestles called canteiros for a minimum of two years. Compared with the forced estufagem method, this is a gentler aging process that takes advantage of seasonal ambient temperatures, encouraging oxidative maturation, concentration, and complexity through evaporation. These wines can be sold only at least three years from January 1 following harvest. Most Vinho de Canteiro wines spend far longer in wood.

Dry extract in fortified wines, and particularly those destined for long maturation in cask and bottle, such as top Madeira categories, is of paramount importance. (The OIV requires at least 12 grams of dry extract per liter in any beverage labeled as wine.) The dry extract of a wine is composed of nonvolatilizable organic compounds that increase over time because of concentration. It is therefore considered a quality parameter indicative of a wine’s aging potential. Long aging with elevated temperatures might deplete or even destroy some organic compounds in the wine. To counter any loss of these compounds, winemakers extract as many grape components as possible, primarily mineral salts, aroma and flavor precursors, and polyphenols. This is achieved through maceration, gentle extraction methods, and, where necessary, the addition of pectolytic enzymes.

Label Designations

Rainwater: Although the precise origins of Rainwater Madeira are uncertain, the legend is that rainwater made its way into a cask of Madeira that was ready to be shipped. The resulting wine, slightly lighter in style than the norm, proved pleasing to the market, and the name stuck. Rainwater was a popular style of Madeira in the late 18^th century and gained notable market traction in the US in the early 20^th century. The fame of the style persisted long after the market for the wine had diminished. Today, most shippers still make this style of wine but in much-reduced quantities. Perhaps the most celebrated are those of Vinhos Barbeito, elaborated differently for each market. The wine is almost always made from Tinta Negra as an unaged (three-year-old) medium-dry style that is between 1 and 1.5 Baumé, around 18% ABV, and pale in color.

Indications of Age: Designations are available for blends with an age of 5, 10, 15, 20, 30, 40, 50, and over 50 years, when deemed to be in conformity with standards of quality and typicity.

Colheita: These are wines from a single harvest with special organoleptic characteristics, and that have been matured in cask for at least five years.

Frasqueira: Frasqueira wines are from a single vintage and recommended variety, produced in the canteiro method and aged continuously in cask for at least 20 years, showing exceptional organoleptic characteristics. The year of bottling must be indicated on the back label. Garrafeira refers to a private cellar or collection of wines of Frasqueira quality.

Other notable terms include the following:

Reserve or Old: A blend of at least five years of age.
Old Reserve (sometimes Special Reserve or Very Old): A wine of at least 10 years of age.
Selected, Choice, Fine, or Finest: A wine showing special qualities for the stated age.
Solera: A wine with a minimum of five years in cask. After this period, 10% of the base wine can be drawn off annually and replaced with the same volume of younger wine of the same variety, with a maximum of 10 additions. No new soleras have been started on Madeira for many years.

Madeira’s stylistic designations range from extra dry to sweet. Tinta Negra can be used to make wines across these labels, at any level of sweetness. When white varieties are used, however, there are specific requirements for sweetness levels. Sercial must be extra dry (0 to 0.5 Baumé, or 30 grams of residual sugar per liter) or dry (0 to 1.5 Baumé, or 40 to 55 grams of residual sugar per liter). Verdelho must be medium dry (1 to 2.5 Baumé, or 60 to 70 grams of residual sugar per liter), and Boal must be medium sweet (2.5 to 3.5 Baumé, or 70 to 95 grams of residual sugar per liter ). Malmsey is the sweetest and must exceed 3.5 Baumé (over 90 grams of residual sugar per liter). Although extra dry wines are allowed, few are produced. While there is no maximum for residual sugar in sweet wines, 125 grams per liter is considered the upper limit.

Moscatel de Setúbal

The history of Moscatel de Setúbal and its most famous wine stretches back to the ancient Greeks and Phoenicians, who likely introduced the Moscatel grape to the Sado estuary. Richard II of England was an enthusiastic drinker of the wine, as was Louis XIV of France. Another Frenchman, Léon Douarche, described Moscatel de Setúbal with the now-famous phrase “the sun in a bottle.”

Located to the southeast of Portugal’s capital city, Lisbon, Setúbal Peninsula has 13 municipalities. Four of these are included in Palmela DO: Montijo, Palmela, Setúbal, and Sesimbra. Since 1989, they have been regulated to produce red, white, rosé, sparkling, and fortified wines. When fortified, these wines are labeled Setúbal DO.

Setúbal DO, established in 1908, is exclusively for fortified wine. The region can be divided into two main areas inland from the Sado estuary. The flatter lands lie inland to the east and south and have clay subsoils between 1 and 2 meters (3.3 and 6.6 feet) above sea level. Above these, there is a band of sandy soils between 50 and 80 meters (165 and 260 feet). In this flatter region, which constitutes approximately 80% of the total production area, there is a large diurnal temperature range, and the resulting wines are rich, concentrated, and full bodied.

The hillier sites are between 150 and 250 meters (490 and 820 feet) in altitude and are heavily influenced by the mountains of Serra da Arrábida, São Luís, and São Francisco. These more elevated vineyards are composed of clay and limestone. Here, there is a more moderate maritime climate with a smaller diurnal range and greater humidity. Ripening is slower, and the wines are lighter bodied and more aromatic.

Moscatel de Setúbal must be made from at least 85% of that grape, also known as Graúdo and Muscat of Alexandria. Its characteristic perfume is redolent of lychee, rose petal, citrus blossom, and citrus peel. There are 634 hectares (1,570 acres) planted. The other permitted grapes that can make up the remainder of the blend are Antão Vaz, Arinto, Fernão Pires, Malvasia Fina, Moscatel Galego Branco, Rabo de Ovelha, Roupeiro, Verdelho, and Viosinho.

The red grape Moscatel Roxo de Setúbal, also known as Galego or Purple Muscat, is a mutation of Muscat Blanc à Petits Grains (though some in the region believe that it’s a red mutation of Moscatel de Setúbal), with compact bunches of round berries with a pale purple hue. Its grapes are intensely sweet and aromatic. Just 62 hectares (153 acres) of this grape are planted, and they are used to make the wine of the same name, which must include 85% Moscatel Roxo de Setúbal. Other permitted grapes are Aragonez, Bastardo, Castelão, Touriga Franca, Touriga Nacional, and Trincadeira.

In 2023, production of Moscatel de Setúbal was roughly 1,837,400 liters, and 193,300 liters of Moscatel Roxo de Setúbal were made.

To make these wines, once the grapes are harvested, destemmed, and crushed, the juice and berries are cold-macerated. Fermentation is arrested by aguardente of 52% to 86% ABV. Alternatively, a pure neutral grape spirit of no less than 96% ABV may be used. The wine must spend at least three months macerating on its skins. After pressing, the skins are added back to the wine. Both colors of Moscatel must spend a minimum of 18 months in either steel or oak.

Moscatel de Setúbal of both colors must spend a minimum of 18 months maturing before it can be labeled Setúbal DO. Younger wines are matured in wood or stainless steel for up to five years and are light and fresh, with notable fruit intensity and floral aromas. Setúbal DO may be labeled with a vintage or a stated age: 5, 10, 15, 20, 25, 30, 35, or 40-plus years. Moscatel de Setúbal wines must be at least five years of age, are usually matured in wood, and are bottled unfiltered. Further designations might appear on the label, including Superior, for wines with a minimum aging of five years; Reserva, for wines deemed to be of outstanding quality by the Chamber of Tasters; Moscatel de Setúbal Datado, 100% Moscatel wines from a stated vintage; and Moscatel de Setúbal Não Datado, a blend of grapes and a blend of vintages.

Spain

Sherry

The Sherry region is in southwestern Andalucía, in the provinces of Cádiz and Seville, with the Guadalquivir River to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and vineyards extending to the hills inland. The region is prone to extended bouts of heat, particularly in areas farther from the estuary, but the sea provides cooling breezes. The approximately 7,150 hectares (17,670 acres) of vineyards within the delimited area of the Jerez-Xérès-Sherry DO are divided among 10 towns: Jerez de la Frontera, El Puerto de Santa María, Sanlúcar de Barrameda, and the less well-known towns of Chiclana de la Frontera, Puerto Real, Trebujena, Chipiona, Lebrija, Rota, and San José del Valle. Cooperatives run 47% of the DO’s vineyards, 22% are owned by independent growers, and 31% are owned by the bodegas/shippers.

History of Sherry

It is believed that the Phoenicians started growing vines around Jerez toward the end of the second millennium BCE and later gave the name Xera to the town that still bears a derivation of its name. The Phoenician colonies along the Mediterranean, principally Carthage, and the Greek colonies in Spain heavily influenced the culture of wine from the eighth to the first centuries BCE. The Romans, however, who referred to the region as Ceret, propelled the export of local wine, olive oil, and the much-loved fish sauce called garum.

The Moors crossed the Strait of Gibraltar in 711 CE, and their 500-year rule significantly impacted the region they called Sherish. Grapegrowing was allowed only for raisin production and grapes used for medical purposes, but wine consumption seems to have continued, if not prospered, during this period, and the science of distillation was introduced.

Even before the Reconquista of Jerez in 1264 by Alfonso X, king of Castile and Léon, who rapidly expanded vineyard area, the wines of Sherish became popular abroad, principally in England, where they were often traded for wool. In the succeeding centuries, following Spanish colonization of the New World, the wines of the region were often brought to the Americas. This trade sometimes resulted in English piracy, as in the case of Sir Francis Drake seizing 3,000 casks of wine as booty in 1587, making Sherry very popular in England. The foreign thirst for Sherry led to entrepreneurs embedding themselves in the region. By the beginning of the 18^th century, Sherry bodegas had adapted their winemaking to meet the demands of the Dutch and British markets. The need to supply the market with the volume, consistency, and quality that it required led to the innovation of the solera based on criaderas, or tiers. The practice of fortification soon followed, as a means of stabilizing and preserving the wines during and after transit.

Sherry was quick to recover after the devastation of phylloxera, and British merchants were responsible for the international spread of the region’s many wine styles. They also developed many imitation products in their colonies around the world. This resulted, in 1933, in the establishment of Jerez-Xérès-Sherry DO, followed in 1935 by the consejo regulador, one of the first organizations of its type in Spain.

The Bodegas

The historic winemaking economy of Jerez is based on the symbiotic relationships between landowners, winemakers, those with storage capacity, and shipping businesses. The following three types of specialized bodegas, or houses, drive this economy.

Bodegas de la Zona de Producción (production bodegas): These are typically large cooperatives that will process the must up to the base wine stage, then sell it to the aging bodegas. If they do mature and sell their own wines, those wines are not permitted to be part of the DO.

Bodegas de Crianza y Almacenado (aging and storing bodegas): The almacenistas mature wine before selling it to the Bodegas de Crianza y Expedición. Almost all almacenistas are very small operations.

Bodegas de Crianza y Expedición (aging and shipping bodegas): These bodegas, also known as shippers, are the only bodegas permitted to sell and export bottled Sherry. Traditionally, they were situated in the towns of Jerez de la Frontera, El Puerto de Santa María, and Sanlúcar de Barrameda. Because of a decline in the Sherry market, larger almacenistas have been permitted to register as aging and shipping bodegas as well.

Land and Climate

Sherry is located at one of Europe’s most southerly viticultural latitudes and is low in altitude, resulting in warm and sunny conditions, with well over 3,000 sunshine hours during the growing season. Temperatures are extremely high in the summer, often reaching over 40 degrees Celsius (104 degrees Fahrenheit), with some moderation from the Atlantic Ocean. Although annual rainfall is only 600 millimeters (23.5 inches), nighttime humidity from the sea mitigates evapotranspiration. Winters here are mild, with very limited danger of frost. The average annual temperature is 17.3 degrees Celsius (63 degrees Fahrenheit). Within the Marco de Jerez (the winegrowing area), there are many climatic variations.

Much of the rolling downland of Jerez is composed of a chalky limestone known locally as albariza. Characteristically white, soft, and friable, these soils, the most prized of the region, are very rich in calcium carbonate, silica, and clay, the proceeds of an ancient seabed. They retain moisture and enable extensive root systems—both vital in this dry climate—and they are easy to work.

Credit: Laura Perrone

While albariza soils are principally composed of the exoskeletons of marine algae deposited during the Oligocene period (roughly 33.9 million to 23 million years ago), there are varying types of albariza soils, each with its own characteristics. Antehojuelas are loose, crumbly soils, with notable porosity. These, along with lentejuelas, are coastal soils. Lentejuelas contain more sand and limestone, and they are even more friable. These latter soils are associated with wines of great precision and slightly more elevated acidity. Some of the best Finos and Manzanillas are grown on these two types of albariza soil.

Tosca cerrada soils are less chalky, though denser, albarizas. Covering over three-quarters of the Jerez vineyards, these are the constituent soils of several famous vineyards, including Pago Miraflores. Tosca de barajuelas contain the most limestone of any albariza formation. Consequently, they are dense, layered, and less penetrable by vine roots. Palomino vines grown on these hard soils, notably around Carrascal in Jerez, produce wines of delicacy and intensity. Albariza parda soils are the sandiest in this family. The wines from them are fruity, but less fine. They can be found in Rota and Chiclana. Albariza tajón soils are the hardest, most compact, and most agglomerated albarizas. They contain the most active limestone. Vineyards are rarely planted on these soils.

The other main soil types are barros—clay-rich, fertile soils containing some organic matter—and free-draining sandy loams known as arenas. They are principally found in the coastal areas, valleys, and lower-lying areas, such as Chipiona.

The specific areas of production (though not necessarily single vineyards) are termed pagos. These areas display distinct terroir personalities. There are approximately 70 pagos, but only 40 are currently used on labels.

Sherry Grapes

The most important Sherry grapes are Palomino, Pedro Ximénez, and Moscatel, but since 2022 three others have also been permitted: Perruno, Beba, and Vigiriega.

Palomino: Often referred to as Listán Blanco, Palomino is the most widely used and traditional of the permitted varieties. It has great affinity for the albariza soils, is relatively drought and disease resistant, and is crucial to the history and character of the region. Its bunches are long and cylindrical, with medium-sized, thin-skinned berries that are juicy and sweet but relatively neutral in character. A cultivar of Palomino, Palomino Fino, is the most used variant and produces dry base wines of around 11% to 12% ABV. Palomino of Jerez produces lower yields, but its grapes have more elevated acidity and sugar. The consejo regulador classifies dry wines from Palomino with a maximum residual sugar of four grams per liter as Generoso.

Pedro Ximénez: Often referred to as PX, Pedro Ximénez, or Alamis y Pedro Ximén, is another traditional and historic grape of Andalucía. It produces grapes with a potential alcohol of 12% to 13.5% ABV and higher acidity than Palomino. PX grapes are often dried in the sun prior to pressing, and the variety is closely associated with the great sweet wines of the same name. PX accounts for less than 1% of production within the DO, and the name can also apply to grapes or wine brought in from the Montilla district of neighboring Córdoba.

Moscatel: Also known as Muscat of Alexandria, Moscatel de Alejandría, Moscatel Gordo, and Moscatel de España, Moscatel is an ancient aromatic grape grown in vineyards on arenas soils close to the sea. Moscatel requires far less water than Palomino and is well suited to these arid vineyards. Typically, the grapes are sun-dried and fashioned into the unctuous sweet wines associated with Chipiona.

Sherry Production

Classifications

Although the practice of fortifying Sherry was originally for stabilization, enabling the wines to successfully travel to export markets, today the practice continues for other reasons. Manzanillas and Finos are fortified to 15% ABV to encourage the microbiological growth of a film-forming yeast, flor, that will dictate the style of the wines. This level of alcohol also inhibits the growth of undesirable microbes, while leaving flor, tolerant of this level of alcohol, to flourish and cover the wine, preventing oxidation. Wines destined for oxidative maturation undergo initial fortification to at least 17% ABV, preventing the formation and growth of flor and other microbes. In this environment, the wine can age oxidatively over a long period.

Credit: Laura Perrone

The first classification of Sherry wines is conducted after fermentation and prior to fortification. Those wines that are considered sufficiently pale, light, and elegant, made mostly from free-run musts or from those expressed with light pressure, are designated to become Finos or Manzanillas, and their tanks are marked with a single slash (/), known as a palo. Those base wines with greater body, structure, or character are marked with a circle (o), called a gordura, and designated as appropriate for Oloroso Sherry.

After fortification with 96% neutral grape spirit, the second classification takes place. The young wines are transferred from tank to 600-liter used American oak butts. The wines destined for oxidative aging as Olorosos begin their maturation in solera. Wines from the same harvest and classified as Olorosos are stored together, then transferred to an Oloroso solera.

Wines destined to be aged biologically are handled differently. At this stage, those wines, fortified to 15%, are termed sobretablas (on the table). They are transferred to butt and tasted again. Should they remain destined for biological aging under flor, the butt will be marked with the palma, a mark resembling a reversed Y.

Sometimes wines destined for biological aging are deemed best suited to another pathway and are marked with the symbol for Palo Cortado, a horizontal line across the original slash. These wines are fortified to 17% ABV and aged oxidatively. (The style is further discussed below.) Occasionally during the sobretablas stage, if the flor has weakened or failed altogether, wines are fortified to 17% and then aged oxidatively as future Olorosos.

The Solera

Once the young wines have been classified and assigned their respective pathway, they enter the criaderas and solera system. This system enables the fractional blending of wines from different stages of their maturation to promote specific elements that are characteristic of a particular style of Sherry. The Sherry butts are arranged with the oldest wines, ready for bottling, in a solera level on the floor. Although the whole edifice of tiered butts is referred to as a solera, the levels above the actual solera level are referred to as criaderas. The wines older than those in the solera level are held above them, in the first criadera. Above them, the younger wines are in the second criadera, and there may be a third criadera above that. The sobretablas wines enter at the top.

Periodically, an element of the solera will be removed for bottling (the consejo regulador does not permit wines under two years of age to enter the market), a process known as saca. The same volume of the first criadera’s butts is transferred to replace this void; an equivalent amount is taken from the second criadera and from the sobretablas butts. This process of topping up, or replenishment, is referred to as rocio.

The skilled bodega workers who conduct it are called trasegadores. Their work (trasiegos) is particularly delicate, as they must not disturb the flor. The constant replenishment with new wine feeds the flor and enables it to continue covering the wines. In solera wines aged oxidatively, the oxygen introduced during trasiegos accelerates the oxidative development of the wines. Whether biological or oxidative, the butts are never filled entirely. They are usually about five-sixths full, leaving approximately dos puntos (two fists) to either enable the growth of flor or aid the effect of oxygen.

Sampling Sherry is conducted in a practical yet showy way by a venenciador. The instrument lowered through the bojo, or bunghole, of a Sherry butt is called a venencia. Once made of silver and whalebone, this tool is composed of a long rod with a small metal capsule on the end.

Aging Styles

Most Sherry is aged either biologically or oxidatively. Biologically aged wines are aged under flor in a solera. The yeast protects the wine from oxidation, releases acetaldehyde aromas and flavors, and metabolizes most of the wine’s glycerol. It might also digest some alcohol and acidity, though the process of evaporation and subsequent concentration largely reverses these losses.

Flor is a unique element of terroir, as each town’s climate creates a different growing environment. Towns closer to the water tend to have thicker flor than those farther inland, where there is a drier and warmer environment with slightly cooler winters. Oxidatively aged wines do not use flor and develop complex flavors through the long interaction of oxygen with the wine.

Label Designations

Fino

Fino wines are aged biologically and can be produced throughout the DO. These wines focus on brightness and freshness and must spend a minimum of two years under flor in a solera. Finos are permitted to have 15% to 18% ABV, though they are typically around 15% ABV.

The term en rama (raw) is used to describe dry wines, usually Finos, that have been bottled without any stabilization, clarification, or fining, and with minimal filtration.

Manzanilla

Manzanilla Sanlúcar de Barrameda is a DO located within the greater Jerez-Xérès-Sherry DO. It sits on two natural features, the Barrio Bajo (low quarter) and the Barrio Alto (high quarter). The DO is associated with the town of Sanlúcar de Barrameda, which sits at the mouth of the Guadalquivir River. The only authorized grape for DO Manzanilla Sanlúcar de Barrameda is Palomino, and the same production techniques used for Sherry are used here, though all wines bearing the Manzanilla name must be aged within Sanlúcar de Barrameda.

The wines are fermented dry to around 12% ABV before being fortified with 96% ABV neutral grape spirit to around 15% to 15.5% ABV. Because of the humidity and mild winters of Sanlúcar, flor grows more thickly, adding to the DO’s unique terroir.

To earn the designation of Manzanilla, wines must be aged a minimum of two years in solera. Wines matured in solera for at least seven years can be labeled as Manzanilla Pasada. These take on a slightly oxidative character as the flor weakens and breaks down. The DO also allows for añada, or vintage, wines, which must be aged in a static system without interruption until bottling.

Amontillado

When the flor of Fino or Manzanilla wines dies away naturally, through lack of nutrition or because the alcohol in the evaporating and concentrating wine has risen to a level at which the yeast cannot survive, the wines are refortified to 17% ABV (or as low as 16%) and begin an oxidative stage of development. This process darkens the wines and lends them a nutty complexity, layered on top of the subtleties already created by maturation under flor. These Amontillado wines become much more concentrated over time, often more than 20 or 30 years, and, through evaporation and the resulting concentration, can rise to as much as 22% ABV.

Palo Cortado

Although originally destined to be biologically aged as Finos or Manzanillas, Palo Cortado wines are marked, prior to fortification and before aging in solera, as special. They are refortified to 17% ABV and matured oxidatively. They possess more glycerol than a biologically aged wine, resembling Oloroso Sherry in roundness, though they are generally more delicate and elegant than Oloroso. There are several possible pathways to the creation of a Palo Cortado, as there are no fixed rules to their manufacture, but they are rare. Palo Cortado wines grow in finesse and complexity as they mature. They range in alcohol from 17% to 22% ABV.

Oloroso

These wines, destined from the outset to be matured oxidatively, are the fullest and roundest of the dry styles of Sherry. As with Amontillados and Palo Cortados, they can age for a very long time; oxygen gains ingress through the oak of the barrels, increasing the alcohol of the wines to as much as 22% ABV and intensifying the flavor profile.

Vinos de Pasto

Vinos de Pasto are unfortified white table wines that reflect their unique terroirs and share some of the same winemaking traditions as their fortified relations. They cannot be fortified and must originate from albariza soils, be composed principally (though by no means exclusively) of Palomino grapes, and follow traditional winemaking practices, such as fermentation in cask. Because they undergo a brief period of biological aging in used Sherry casks, they show a close olfactory link to Sherry. An industry group called Territorio Albariza comprises nine winery members who work together to promote the category.

Sweetened Sherries (Vinos Generosos de Licor)

Pale Cream: Pale Cream wine is young, biologically aged Fino or Manzanilla to which rectified concentrated grape must (RCGM) has been added. Pale Cream typically ranges from 45 grams of residual sugar per liter to 115 grams of residual sugar per liter and is generally 17% to 17.5% ABV, though 15.5% to 22% ABV is permitted.

Medium Cream: Any Sherry above five grams of residual sugar per liter can be termed Medium Cream. Below 45 grams of residual sugar per liter, they can be labeled as medium dry; from that level up to 115 grams of residual sugar per liter, they can be labeled as medium sweet. These wines can be sweetened with RCGM or a Naturally Sweet Wine (see below). They can be made from wines that were oxidatively matured for part or all of their development. They must be 15% to 22% ABV; most are around 18% ABV.

Cream: Ranging from 15.5% to 22% ABV, though usually around 20% ABV, and with 115 grams of residual sugar per liter to 140 or more grams of residual sugar per liter, Cream Sherries are oxidatively matured wines, mainly Olorosos, sweetened with RCGM or a Naturally Sweet Wine.

Naturally Sweet Wines

Moscatel: Moscatel vineyards are planted on arenas soils close to the sea, primarily around Chipiona. Ranging from 15% to 22% ABV, though usually 15% to 16% ABV, Moscatels are produced from either fresh or raisined grapes. They are either protectively or, more often, oxidatively aged, and they have remarkable aromatic intensity. They must contain at least 160 grams of residual sugar per liter, though usually they have closer to 350 grams of residual sugar per liter. They are always unctuously sweet. When Moscatel grapes are dried under the sun on straw mats, a process termed asoleo, soleo, or “sunning,” the wines develop a distinctly raisiny perfume and are known as Moscatel de Pasas. Moscatel is also used as a sweetening component.

Pedro Ximénez (PX): Most Sherry producers make a varietal PX wine. Many use the grape as a sweetening agent in their Cream Sherries. PX grapes are thoroughly ripened on the vine and then dried in the sun until raisined. This takes anywhere from a week to a month. The resulting berries have a greater concentration of acidity as well as towering levels of sugar. Once they are pressed, fermentation begins. The wines are fortified, then transferred to a solera of their own. Over time, evaporation in barrel further concentrates the sugars, and it is not uncommon to find PX wines with more than 400 grams of residual sugar per liter. (The minimum permitted is 212 grams of residual sugar per liter, though it is always far exceeded.) The oxidative maturation gives these viscous and intensely unctuous wines a tertiary character counterbalanced by notable grapiness, and they have flavors redolent of molasses, muscovado sugar, fruitcake, and nuts. As with Moscatels, PX Sherries are usually 15% to 16% ABV.

Indications of Age

There are several permitted average ages that might be displayed on the label of a bottle of Sherry, including 12 or 15 years. As with the 20- and 30-year-old wines described below, these must be assessed by an official tasting panel. Older wines might have a small amount of PX added to them, for balance rather than sweetness, as they can be quite fiery and astringent after decades in butt.

VOS (Vinum Optimum Signature or Very Old Sherry): This term denotes a wine with an average maturation in cask of at least 20 years.

VORS (Vinum Optimum Rare Signature or Very Old Rare Sherry): This term denotes a wine with an average age of at least 30 years.

Montilla-Moriles

The progeny of a very ancient winemaking heritage that dates back to the eighth century BCE, Montilla-Moriles DO is centered around the towns of Montilla and Moriles, and it is the most northerly of Andalucía’s DO regions. The DO includes all of Doña Mencía, Montalbán, Monturque, Nueva Carteya, and Puente Genil, and it extends in part into 10 other villages.

Located about 150 kilometers (90 miles) inland from Jerez, Montilla-Moriles DO is similarly dry and warm, with extensive albariza soils and a flat topography. Its wines are similar to many Sherries, though the region is best known for its unctuous dessert wines. Montilla-Moriles wines are not always fortified, as they are easily able to reach natural alcohol levels of 14% to 15% ABV. Although Moscatel makes some luscious dessert wines here, the principal grape is Pedro Ximénez (PX), which is used to make wines that can be labeled as follows.

Fino: These Finos are made much like those in Jerez, but, because of Montilla-Moriles’s hot and arid continental climate, the flor grows less strongly, resulting in wines with less of the characteristic aromas and flavors of flor.

Amontillado: Amontillado, meaning “Montilla style,” refers to wines that start their maturation under flor and, as the flor weakens and dies, begin to oxidize. After extensive oxidative maturation, these dry wines are blended with sweet PX.

Palo Cortado: Like its Sherry counterpart, Palo Cortado from Montilla is stylistically halfway between Amontillado and Oloroso.

Oloroso: Because they are made from PX, these Oloroso wines are richer, fuller, and deeper in color than their Sherry counterparts, which are made from Palomino. They are almost always fortified.

Pedro Ximénez (PX): PX wines from Montilla-Moriles are deep, viscous, and incredibly sweet. As with the Moscatels, they are made by drying grapes in the sun on straw mats. When the grapes are almost completely raisined, they are pressed.

Málaga

Gained shortly after Jerez-Xérès-Sherry DO, Málaga DO dates to 1933, but the area’s vinous history stretches back to the time when the Phoenicians and Greeks established vineyards here. Following the Reconquista in 1487, the Catholic monarchs Ferdinand and Isabella developed a regulation and codifying system for the ordering of vineyards as well as the trading and hierarchy of wines sold. In succeeding centuries, the wines of the region became as famed as those of Sherry, but they fell into obscurity during the 19^th century. Although they are revered on the domestic market, the lusciously sweet wines of the region have not received the same acclaim and export success as those of Jerez.

Málaga DO is for naturally sweet wines, including fortified wine. The fortified variants are termed Vinos de Licor (liqueur wine) and are made from the two main local white grapes, Moscatel and Pedro Ximénez. The names of these grapes may appear on the bottle. Other permitted varieties include Moscatel Morisco (Muscat Blanc à Petits Grains) and the local Doradilla grape. There is also a minority red variant, made mostly from the black grape Romé.

The soils of this nearly 1,000-hectare (2,470-acre) region range from alluvial to iron-rich clay, limestone, and slate. The terrain varies from low-altitude flatland near the sea to elevations above 750 meters (2,460 feet). This is one of the hottest and driest vineyard areas in Spain. Unsurprisingly, the wines are made from sun-dried berries, pressed, fermented, and fortified with neutral grape spirit by the process of mutage to 15% to 22% ABV. Arrope (concentrated PX grape juice) might be added, and the wines may be aged in wood. The following color and sweetness classification is for liqueur and unfortified variants unless otherwise specified:

Dorado/Golden: An unaged wine made with no arrope addition.
Rojo Dorado/Rot Gold: An aged wine made with 5% arrope by volume added.
Oscuro/Brown: An aged wine made with 5% to 10% arrope by volume added.
Color: An aged liqueur wine made with 10% to 15% arrope by volume added.
Negro/Dunkel: An aged liqueur wine made with at least 15% arrope by volume added.

Credit: Laura Perrone

Sweetness levels vary and might be described as follows:

Dry Pale/Pale Dry: No arrope added and containing less than 45 g/l RS.
Pale Cream: No arrope added and containing more than 45 g/l RS.
Vino Maestro: A mistelle of 15% to 16% ABV with more than 100 g/l RS.
Dulce Cream/Cream: An amber, wood-matured liqueur wine with 100 g/l RS to 140 g/l RS.
Sweet: A liqueur wine of amber to dark mahogany with more than 140 g/l RS.
Vino Tierno: A liqueur wine made from sun-dried grapes with more than 350 g/l RS.

Catalunya

Catalunya’s fortified wines, though among the most traditional wines of the region, receive minimal attention. Whether Moscatel or Garnacha, the fortified wines here resemble the vins doux naturels of the South of France. Garnatxa de l’Empordà, in the far north of Catalunya, is fashioned from very ripe Garnacha, partially dried in the sun, and fortified with neutral grape spirit to around 15% ABV. In Tarragona, in the south, and in Priorat, in the east, vi ranci (vino rancio) is made from both white and black Garnacha that is deliberately oxidized in demijohns under the strong Catalan sun before spending several years in cask. These wines have a distinct rancio flavor.

France

After the Greeks colonized the regions along the Mediterranean Sea, the Romans extended the spread of the vine. France’s fortified wines, the vins doux naturels (VDN), “naturally sweet wines,” likely originated in Roussillon. The technique of arresting fermentation with grape distillate was perfected by Arnaldus de Villa Nova in the late 13^th century, a time when southwestern France and its southeastern coast were contested by the French, the English, and various Spanish and Catalan kingdoms. By the late 19^th century, the process of arresting fermentation with neutral grape spirit, creating a vin doux naturel, was widespread in the South of France and varied in its application and influences. In 1936, the first Appellation d’Origine Controlée (AOC) for vin doux naturel was created.

There are myriad styles within the vin doux naturel category:

Blanc: An unaged wine made from white grapes.
Tuilé: In Maury and Rivesaltes, this term refers to red wines that have been aged oxidatively. In Banyuls, the term traditionnel is used instead.
Rosé: A rosé wine made by macerating black grapes.
Ambré: A cask-aged wine made from white grapes that has taken on an amber hue through oxidation.
Grenat: In Maury and Rivesaltes, this term refers to an unaged style of red wine.
Rancio: A wine that has been deliberately exposed to heat and oxygen, often directly under the sun in demijohn.
Hors d’Âge: A red or white wine that has been matured oxidatively for at least five years.

Southern Rhône

Rasteau Vin Doux Naturel

Rasteau Vin Doux Naturel constitutes just five hectares (12 acres) of the warmer south-facing sites of Rasteau, Cairanne, and Sablet, in the southern Rhône. The effect of the mistral is evident here, and the region’s grapes receive high levels of heat and sunlight. The soils, similar to those of the Côtes du Rhône Rasteau appellation, include calcareous brown soils over marl and red clay soils over sandstone. Most vines are 50 to 80 years old.

Vineyards in Rasteau (Credit: Adobe Stock)

Rasteau Vin Doux Naturel AOC was awarded in 1944, a year before Muscat de Beaumes-de-Venise AOC. Yields here are 23 hectoliters per hectare on average, and sugar in the grapes must reach at least 252 grams per liter prior to harvest. Fortification is by mutage, using neutral grape spirit of at least 95% ABV that arrests fermentation and leaves a minimum of 45 grams of residual sugar per liter in the wine. Most wines, however, have around 90 grams of residual sugar per liter. At least 15% ABV is required; it is common for wines to reach 16% ABV.

Rasteau VDN is focused on Grenache, including Gris, Blanc, and Noir. The accessory varieties, used in up to 10%, are Bourboulenc, Brun Argenté, Carignan, Cinsault, Clairette, Clairette Rose, Counoise, Marsanne, Muscardin, Piquepoul Blanc, Piquepoul Noir, Roussanne, Terret Noir, Ugni Blanc, and Viognier.

There are essentially two styles of Rasteau Vin Doux Naturel. For Rasteau Doré, grapes are macerated for a short time on skins before the juice is run off, similarly to the saignée method. For Rasteau Rancio, either red or white wine is aged very oxidatively for at least 12 months in cask, usually for much longer, with a sizable ullage. The resulting aromas and flavors are reminiscent of rancid butter, overripe fruit, nuts, and sometimes animal notes.

Muscat de Beaumes-de-Venise

Muscat de Beaumes-de-Venise AOC has existed since 1945 (applied retrospectively to include the 1943 vintage). Its production region is an old one, first planted with vines by the ancient Greeks, then flourishing as a source of high-quality Muscat under Roman rule. Grape plantings increased in the 14^th century under Pope Clement V before nearly disappearing during the Wars of Religion in the latter half of the 16^th century. In the 18^th century, the region was established in its more modern form, but it was wiped out by phylloxera in the late 19^th century. The vineyards were revived once again when they were grafted onto American rootstocks in the early 20^th century.

The vineyards of Muscat de Beaumes-de-Venise are in the communes of Beaumes-de-Venise and Aubignan, on the southern slopes of the Dentelles de Montmirail, sharp-peaked mountains in the southern Rhône’s Vaucluse department. This is one of the hottest and driest parts of France, heavily influenced by the both the mistral wind that blows down the Rhône valley for much of the year and the Mediterranean. Cooler air from the mountains provides some relief to the vines. The soils throughout Beaumes-de-Venise vary, including Jurassic Oxfordian marls, complex calcareous soils from the Triassic and Upper Cretaceous epochs, and safre (decayed sandstone) from the Miocene epoch. Safre is most prominent in the vineyards of Muscat de Beaumes-de-Venise.

Muscat de Frontignan (Muscat Blanc à Petits Grains) is the primary grape here, though a small amount of the vineyard is planted to its black mutation, Muscat Noir à Petits Grains. With about 305 hectares (754 acres) of production, and an average yield of just 16 hectoliters per hectare, wine production is limited. Of this, 84% is white, 15% is rosé (containing some Muscat Noir), and 1% is red.

The grapes are harvested ripe, though not overripe or shriveled, to maintain fresh acidity. Juice is handled protectively and, once fermentation begins, after about four to six degrees of natural alcohol, fortification occurs by mutage, with a minimum of 96% ABV neutral grape spirit. The resulting wines must be at least 15% ABV, are reductively matured, and are released early to market in a youthful and vibrantly fruity state. They must have at least 100 grams of residual sugar per liter. Muscat de Beaumes-de-Venise is best drunk as a fresh wine. It is lighter than VDN from Languedoc. The slightly rosé-colored wines are enhanced by the inclusion of a small amount of Muscat Noir.

Languedoc

Languedoc has four AOCs for vin doux naturel: Muscat de Frontignan, Muscat de Saint-Jean-de-Minervois, Muscat de Mireval, and Muscat de Lunel. They are all for white VDN and have similar requirements, mandating 100% Muscat Blanc à Petits Grains, which must reach 252 grams of residual sugar per liter (equating to roughly 15% potential alcohol) before harvest. Mutage occurs with a minimum 96% ABV neutral grape spirit that constitutes 5% to 10% of the volume of the fermenting wine. The finished wines must have a minimum of 15% ABV, with at least 110 grams of residual sugar per liter in all but Muscat de Saint-Jean-de-Minervois, which requires 125 grams of residual sugar per liter.

Muscat de Frontignan

Muscat de Frontignan AOC is near the town of Frontignan, between the Mediterranean and the Gardiole hills. Granted AOC status in 1936, Muscat de Frontignan has a production area of nearly 800 hectares (1,980 acres). It is dominated by a single cooperative, the Frontignan Cooperative Cellar, which includes around 150 members. There are approximately 26 independent producers.

The region’s clay-limestone soils are increasingly sandy closer to the sea. Maximum permitted yields are just 30 hectoliters per hectare. Roughly 38,000 hectoliters of this luscious wine are made in a variety of styles, from unaged wines to those with a stated average age exceeding 10 years.

Muscat de St. Jean de Minervois

Muscat de Saint-Jean-de-Minervois AOC was established in 1949. It is situated around the village of Saint-Jean, to the east of Minervois AOC, at the southern end of the Massif Central in the Hérault department. The 200 hectares (490 acres) of the AOC are largely composed of calcareous clay at around 250 to 280 meters (820 to 920 feet) in elevation, resulting in a cooler climate than that of the neighboring light-wine AOC of Minervois. Here, Muscat Blanc à Petits Grains benefits from a longer maturation and extended time on the vine. This builds complexity in the grapes, yielding a wine with finesse, elegance, and lightness, similar to that of Muscat de Beaumes-de-Venise. Unlike the other Languedoc VDN appellations, which require 110 grams of residual sugar per liter, Muscat de Saint-Jean-de-Minervois mandates 125 grams of residual sugar per liter.

Muscat de Noël is a substyle of wine also produced here, with origins dating to the 14^th century. These wines were originally intended to be enjoyed young, fresh, sweet, and sometimes very slightly sparkling, for imbibing over the Christmas feast in the same year as the harvest. Muscat de Noël must be bottled by December 1 in the year of the harvest, resulting in a youthful, vibrant wine.

Muscat de Mireval

Muscat de Mireval gained AOC status in 1959 and consists of 260 hectares (640 acres) across two villages: Mireval and Vic-la-Gardiole. It sits on a Jurassic limestone plateau to the south of the Gardiole massif and to the east of Frontignan.

Muscat de Lunel

Muscat de Lunel AOC comprises the area around the town of Lunel northeast of Montepellier, in coastal eastern Languedoc. Granted AOC status in 1943, Muscat de Lunel includes the four communes of Lunel, Lunel-Viel, Vérargues, and Saturargues. Its 340 hectares (840 acres) are dominated by the 80 or so growers of the Vignerons de Muscat de Lunel cooperative.

The soils here are predominantly sandstone with a high level of iron oxide and red silicious pebbles. Rhône fluvial deposits containing quartz are also found. Although the area is low lying and subject to Mediterranean drought and high temperatures in summer, the extremes of heat are tempered by the cooling effect of humid winds from the sea.

Roussillon

Roussillon is west of the Mediterranean, north of the Albères mountains, and east of the Canigou mountain. It has five AOCs for sweet wine: Rivesaltes, Muscat de Rivesaltes, Banyuls, Banyuls Grand Cru, and Maury.

In all five appellations, the wines are made by arresting fermentation with 96% neutral grape spirit that composes 5% to 10% of the volume of the fermenting wine. The finished wines must have a minimum of 15% ABV and, in all regions but Muscat de Rivesaltes, 45 grams of residual sugar per liter; in Muscat de Rivesaltes, the minimum is significantly higher, at 100 grams per liter. Across all five AOCs, however, many wines have a much higher level of residual sugar than the minimum.

In these regions, solera wines are made, though they are much rarer than in decades past. For these wines, 10% of a vintage wine is removed and replaced with a younger component. This can continue at various intervals up to a maximum of 10 fractions.

Rivesaltes

Rivesaltes AOC is one of the oldest appellations in France, awarded in 1936. It constitutes 5,180 hectares (12,800 acres), comprising 94 communes in the eastern Pyrenees and 9 communes in the Aude department of Roussillon. It is west of the sea, north of Spain, and east of the Canigou mountain. The soils are complex, with granitic sand and gneiss, as well as black and brown schist in the Fenouillèdes region of the northwest part of the zone. There is red calcareous clay and limestone in the foothills of Corbières, sandy clay in Aspres, rocky fluvial terraces along the rivers, and gneiss and siliceous clay in Albères.

Vin Doux Naturel Ambré and Tuilé, aged oxidatively, and Vin Doux Naturel Rosé, aged reductively, are made from Grenache Blanc, Grenache Gris, Grenache Noir, Macabeu, Tourbat (Malvoisie du Roussillon), Muscat Blanc à Petits Grains, and Muscat d’Alexandrie. VDN Ambré and Tuilé wines are released on September 1 of the second year following the harvest year. Rosé wines must be bottled no later than December 31 of the year following harvest. Rivesaltes VDN Grenat (Garnet) is fresh, fruity, and made from Grenache Noir. It is aged in a reductive environment until at least May 1 of the year following harvest, then bottled no later than June 30 of the second year after harvest.

Rivesaltes VDN Hors d’Âge and Rancio wines are also allowed here. Most Rivesaltes wines are nonvintage, which here refers to a wine that is a blend of vintages with a specific average age.

Muscat de Rivesaltes

Muscat de Rivesaltes, awarded its AOC in 1956, includes 5,221 hectares (12,900 acres) of vineyards across 98 communes in the eastern Pyrenees and 9 communes in the Aude. The appellation covers roughly the same area as Rivesaltes.

There are two permitted grape varieties here, Muscat d’Alexandrie and Muscat Blanc à Petits Grains, usually blended in even amounts. Potential alcohol in the grapes must be at least 21.5%. Unlike the other VDN appellations of Roussillon, which require a minimum of 45 grams of residual sugar per liter, Muscat de Rivesaltes mandates at least 100 grams of residual sugar per liter. The wines may be sent to the market beginning on February 1 of the year following harvest.

As in Saint-Jean-de-Minervois, in Languedoc, Muscat de Noël is produced here; the name can be applied to wines that are bottled no later than December 1 of the year of harvest.

Banyuls

Banyuls AOC was established in 1936, with Banyuls Grand Cru AOC following in 1962. The two AOCs cover the same 1,160 hectares (2,870 acres), planted in four communes alongside the Spanish border: Collioure, Port-Vendres, Banyuls-sur-Mer, and Cerbère. The soils are composed of ancient Cambrian gray schist, and the vineyards are situated on steeply sloped terraces facing the sea.

All three Grenache cultivars are used here. The region’s other grapes include Macabeu, Tourbat, Muscat Blanc à Petits Grains, Muscat d’Alexandrie, Carignan, Cinsault, and Syrah. The hierarchy is similar to that of Rivesaltes. Banyuls Rimage is a youthful, primary red wine made from Grenache Noir; Banyuls Traditionnel is also made from Grenache Noir but aged oxidatively in cask. Banyuls Grand Cru Rouge must be made from at least 75% Grenache Noir and oxidatively aged in cask for at least 30 months; Rancio and Hors d’Âge wines are allowed as well. Banyuls AOC Blanc, Ambré, and Rosé wines can be made from both white and red grapes.

Maury

Maury became an AOC in 1936, with significant revision in 2011. With garigue-covered hills and forests over black marl and black schist soils, its terrain is very different from that of Banyuls. Maury AOC includes 280 hectares (690 acres) that extend across the four communes of Maury, Tautavel, Saint-Paul-de-Fenouillet, and Rasiguères.

Vineyards in Maury (Credit: Adobe Stock)

Like the other Roussillon VDNs, Maury permits wines in the styles of blanc, ambré, grenat, and tuilé, with similar production requirements. Maury Blanc and Maury Ambré must be made from Grenache Blanc and Grenache Gris, supported by Macabeu, Tourbat, and the two Muscats. Maury Grenat and Maury Tuilé must be made from a minimum of 75% Grenache Noir (though frequently above 90%), supported by Grenache Blanc and Grenache Gris, with up to 10% combined Carignan, Syrah, and Macabeu. Maury Tuilé must be aged in glass or another sealed container and may not be released until March 1 of the third year following harvest. The short-aged Maury Grenat must be bottled no later than June 30 of the second year following harvest and may not be released until May 1 of the year following harvest. Maury Grenat is considerably more tannic than its Banyuls Rimage counterpart in youth, with the best examples requiring a few years in bottle to show at their best.

Mistelle

A mistelle (also called mistella, mistela, and vin de liqueur, depending on region) is a grape must that has been fortified with an unaged brandy. Some mistelles are aged in cask to add flavor. Mistelles are used as a sweetening agent in various fortified wines, including Pale Cream Sherry and vermouth; as unfermented products, they are the sweetest possible additions. They sometimes are standalone fortified wines styles, as with Pineau des Charentes.

It should be noted that the term vin de liqueur is also used by the European Union in reference to any fortified wine.

Maury Hors d’Âge and Maury Rancio have the same rules as those of Banyuls and Rivesaltes. Many other styles are allowed, including solera and vintage wines.

Pineau des Charentes

Pineau des Charentes is a mistelle made in the Charente, Charente-Maritime, and Dordogne departments and allegedly discovered by accident in the late 16^th century when spirit was mistakenly added to a cask of grape juice. Pineau des Charentes AOC covers almost the entire area delimited by Cognac; most producers of the category also make Cognac. It is produced by combining fresh or slightly fermented grape juice and Cognac eau-de-vie in a process known as assemblage. The finished wines can be 16% to 22% ABV, but around 17% ABV is most common.

There are white, rosé, and red styles. Pineau des Charentes Blanc is usually made from Ugni Blanc, Folle Blanche, and Colombard, and Sémillon and Sauvignon Blanc are sometimes used. The wines must be aged for at least 18 months, including a minimum of 8 months in cask. They are frequently at least two years old when released. Finer examples are aged in barrel for at least five years and are labeled as Vieux Pineau. When aged for more than 12 years in wood, they can be termed Très Vieux (Extra Vieux) Pineau.

Pineau des Charentes Rosé and Rouge must be made from Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, and/or Merlot. They must spend a minimum of eight months in oak.

Italy

Marsala

The story of the city of Marsala, which possibly gained its name from the Arabic for “Ali’s harbor,” began in 397 BCE when the Carthaginians created a new colony situated in western Sicily in a place that the Greeks would refer to as Lilibaion and the Romans would later call Lilybaeum. Long before the city became famed for its fortified wine, it was renowned for the exceptional quality of its salt. Marsala’s salt flats are still harvested today.

The story of Marsala wine, however, is a relatively recent one. In 1773, the British merchant John Woodhouse sheltered his ship in the Marsala harbor during a storm. During his time in the city, Woodhouse became enthused by the local wine, referred to as Perpetuum. He brought some back home and, wishing to protect his wine in transit, added spirit. This is the origin of Marsala wine as it is known today.

Marsala DOC includes most of the Trapani province and sits just above sea level. It is famed for the near-constant breezes that mitigate the often extreme heat and high humidity. Soils here vary from terra rossa clay to volcanic tuff to shell-rich agglomerate.

The roughly 1,500-hectare (3,700-acre) Marsala DOC is exclusively for fortified wines. The Consorzio Vino Marsala was reestablished in 2023 and has 11 producers and 6 cooperatives. Three utilizzatori (“at-large” producers) are not in the consorzio. In 2023, total production of Marsala DOC was 5,835,000 bottles, of which the great majority was Ambra Semisecco, followed by Ambra Dolce.

Marsala Grapes and Production

Marsala DOC wines are made by blending base wines with mistella or mosto cotto. The legally designated grapes for Marsala Oro and Ambra base wines are the white varieties Grillo, Catarratto, Inzolia, and Damaschino (which is rarely used). Grillo, harvested in late September, is the most-used variety, at 50% of all grapes fermented, and Catarratto and Inzolia each constitute roughly 25%. Grillo is the majority component of most base wines. The relatively rare Marsala Rubino is made from the red grapes Perricone (Pignatello), Calabrese (Nero d’Avola), and Nerello Mascalese, plus a maximum of 30% white grapes.

The best Marsala wines are produced from white grapes grown in the superior locations of Triglia Scaletta and Spagnola, in the coastal area. The grapes are grown on a combination of bush and trellised vines, the latter being more common but the former resulting in lower yields of an arguably higher quality. The wines are fermented dry and fortified with a small amount of 96% ABV neutral grape spirit. Fine wines must be at least 17.5% ABV, and all other styles require 18% ABV. During the winemaking process, some producers use extended skin maceration to obtain more extract for aging, tannin, flavor, and aroma.

Mistella and mosto cotto may be added to Marsala. Marsala mistella is made from fresh must from Marsala DOC that has been fortified. It is sweet and grapey. Cooked grape must, or mosto cotto, can also be added. The must is simmered for at least 36 hours, reducing significantly and concentrating sugar as well as caramel and molasses flavors. Marsala Ambra wines must include a minimum of 1% mosto cotto, but it cannot be added to Marsala Oro or Rubino styles. Wines are typically matured in traditional Slavonian oak casks, though sometimes French or American oak is used, according to the maker’s style.

Label Designations

Secco (dry) Marsala can have 0 to 40 grams of residual sugar per liter. Semisecco (semidry) refers to wines with 41 to 100 grams of residual sugar per liter, and dolce (sweet) refers to wines with over 100 grams of residual sugar per liter.

There are several designations for aging. Aging must take place in oak or cherry wood following the first four months, a period when alternative containers can be used.

Fine: Aged for at least one year
Superiore: Aged for at least two years
Superiore Riserva: Aged for at least four years
Vergine/Solera: Aged for at least five years
Vergine Riserva/Solera Riserva/Vergine and Solera Stravecchio: Aged for at least 10 years

Several historic label indications are also available. These labels pay homage to the traditional styles of the region, which were blended to the preference of the destination.

Marsala Vecchio: A wine that has met the minimum requirements for Marsala Superiore
Marsala Fine IP: Italy Particular
Marsala Superiore SOM: Superior Old Marsala
Marsala Superiore GD: Garibaldi Dolce, a reference to the 19^th-century general
Marsala Superiore LP: London Particular

Greece

Muscat of Samos

According to legend, the god Dionysus instructed the ancient Samians in the culture of vines and in winemaking as a reward for helping him defeat the Amazons. Today, Samos is famous for its wines and the high-quality clay pitharia (amphorae) that were historically used to transport it.

The island of Samos (Credit: Adobe Stock)

Samos is a beautiful, mountainous island in the eastern Aegean Sea, and across the Samos Strait from Turkey. It has almost 1,500 hectares (3,700 acres) of vineyards, of which 98% are Samos Muscat, known internationally as Muscat Blanc à Petits Grains but sometimes also called White Muscat and Moschoudi in Greece. This ancient Greek variety is closely associated with the island.

Samos PDO is only for the island’s sweet wines, made from 100% Samos Muscat. More than half of the wines are fortified, but there are also unfortified examples. Medium-sweet and dry wines made on the island are labeled Aegean Sea PGI or Table Wine. These are made from either Samos Muscat or the red grapes Fokiano, Ritino, and Avgoustiatis, which together make up 2% of plantings.

The vineyards, rising to an altitude of 900 meters (2,950 feet) on the flanks of Mount Ampelos, are sited on narrow terraces retained by dry stone walls and often only one vine deep. The soils are free draining and predominantly composed of gravel and schistoliths, with elements of iron-rich clay. The vineyards are mostly composed of cup-shaped bush vines, and vines over a century old are not uncommon. The dry Mediterranean climate of Samos is tempered by sea breezes and proximity to the coast of Turkey, where rainfall is higher and mean temperatures lower than in the Aegean Islands to the west.

Founded in 1934, the island’s cooperative, the United Winemaking Agricultural Cooperative of Samos (UWC Samos), is by far the biggest producer on the island. It includes over 2,200 growers who cultivate over 90% of grapes grown. UWC Samos produces about 5,500,000 liters of wine annually, over 3,000,000 liters of which are fortified.

Label Designations

Samos PDO allows for the style called unfortified Naturally Sweet Wine (Sun Dried) but mostly focuses on fortified wines labeled as Natural Sweet Wine (VDN), Natural Sweet Wine from Specified Vineyards (VDN Grand Cru), and Sweet Wine (VDL). These fortified wines can be 15% to 22% ABV.

Samos VDN: For Samos VDN, freshly harvested grapes are fermented, and, by process of mutage, the fermentation is arrested with by neutral grape spirit that has a minimum of 95% ABV, and that must be 5% to 10% of the must volume and not more than 40% of the total alcoholic strength of the wine. These wines are not aged. They are intensely sweet and grapey. VDN Grand Cru wines are sourced from a select group of vineyards that are generally at a high elevation and are subject to stricter maximum yields.

Samos VDL: Essentially a mistelle, Samos VDL is made by fortifying grape must with neutral grape spirit before alcoholic fermentation. Base musts, however, can have up to 1% ABV before they are fortified. The fortified wine is then aged for up to five years in large-format used oak barrels before release.

Mavrodaphne of Patras

Mavrodaphne of Patras PDO, located in the north of the Peloponnese region, is focused on Mavrodaphne of Patras, a sweet, fortified wine made here since the 19^th century. The local black variety of Mavrodaphne is the primary grape, and Mavri Korinthiaki may be used for up to 49% of the blend. Mavri Korinthiaki is used for making currants, and some producers choose to partially dry it when making these wines. Mavrodaphne has good color and marked tannic grip, while Mavri Korinthiaki has low tannic structure and refreshing acidity, and develops high sugar levels.

The vineyards for Mavrodaphne of Patras are mostly composed of limestone and clay, and they are typically at lower elevation than the vineyards used for unfortified Patras PDO wines. The Peloponnese has an extreme Mediterranean climate, with the heat largely mitigated by elevation and the nearby Gulf of Corinth, which provides sea breezes that reduce the extremes of the daytime temperatures.

The process of fortification is by mutage with neutral grape spirit once fermentation has raised natural alcohol levels a few degrees. The wines can have 15% to 22% ABV, with residual sugar levels ranging from 50 grams per liter to over 100 grams per liter. Time in barrel increases the concentration of the wines.

Muscat of Patras

Muscat of Patras PDO wines are made from Muscat Blanc à Petits Grains. The PDO, established in 1971, is only for dessert wines, which may be sun-dried or fortified; as in Muscat of Samos, Naturally Sweet Wine (Sun Dried), Natural Sweet Wine (VDN), Natural Sweet Wine from Specified Vineyards (VDN Grand Cru), and Sweet Wine (VDL) can be made. The PDO includes part of the area of Mavrodaphne of Patras PDO, as well as an area overlapping the dry white wine PDO of Patras and parts of the city of Patras.

Other Sweet Wines of Greece

In the smaller, neighboring Muscat of Rio Patras PDO, Muscat Blanc à Petits Grains is used to make the same four categories of wine, though most are the unfortified Naturally Sweet Wine (Sun Dried). Provided that the vineyards are privately owned and the vines low yielding, the wines may also include the suffix grand cru.

Monemvasia-Malvasia PDO permits its sweet wines to be fortified as VDN, but this is rare; most wines are Naturally Sweet Wine made from the process of liasta stafilia, or sun-drying grapes.

Similarly, in Santorini PDO, Sweet Dried Grape Wine (vinsanto/liastos) is made, and Fortified Dried Grape Wine (vinsanto) is allowed but not currently produced.

Cyprus

Commandaria of Cyprus

Commandaria takes its name from La Grande Commanderie, the great farming estate on Cyprus during the Lusignan occupation (1192–1489). Its wealth came mostly from grapegrowing and winemaking, and it was at one point the fief of both the Knights Templar and the Knights Hospitaller (of St. John). During the wedding of King Richard I of England to Berengaria of Navarre in Limassol, Cyprus, Richard declared the famous sweet wine of the island, “The wine of kings and the king of wines”—not the last time that these words would be uttered.

The original name of Commandaria was Nama. It was an altar wine made in Cyprus for thousands of years and played a role in the worship of both the Olympian deities and the Christian God. Hesiod referred to it around 700 BCE in his Works and Days, describing the dried-grape production process used to make it. While Nama still exists as sacramental wine, Commandaria is a finer wine made only in the 14 villages of the Commandaria PDO zone, which is exclusively focused on this wine. It is often referred to as the oldest continually produced wine style in the world. Roughly 200,000 to 280,000 liters of Commandaria are produced annually, depending on vintage conditions.

The Commandaria region’s vineyards are 500 to 900 meters (1,600 to 3,000 feet) in elevation in the remote and mountainous southern range of the Troodos Mountains. The soils are almost exclusively chalky limestone with clay elements.

Commandaria Grapes and Production

Commandaria is made from the indigenous Xynisteri (white) and Mavro (black). The two grapes can be used on their own or together, in any ratio. The grapes can be harvested up to a maximum of 6,000 kilograms per hectare. Xynisteri must reach 204 grams of sugar per liter (12 Baumé), and Mavro must reach 230 grams of sugar per liter (13.5 Baumé) at harvest, with the earliest picking date announced each year. The grapes can then be dried and fermented in the Commandaria PDO zone. After drying, the potential alcohol of the grapes must reach 374 grams of residual sugar per liter (22 Baumé).

In the 20^th century, possibly because of British rule, Commandaria was often fortified. Today, fortification is uncommon, with the wine returning to its origins as an unfortified wine made from sun-dried grapes. The process of liasta stafilia, equivalent to the passito process in Italian winemaking, lasts up to 30 days and further concentrates the sugars in the grapes. During this process, approximately 60% of the grape’s original weight is lost, and, of that, 55% to 60% is juice. About three kilograms (6.5 pounds) of grapes, then, are required for every liter of juice.

Fermentation begins slowly, whether spontaneously with native yeasts or through inoculation with selected strains. Eventually, because the wine is so sweet, osmotic pressure forces the fermentation to arrest. Neutral 96% ABV grape spirit is added only when the fermentation has ceased. Fermentation must reach 9.5% ABV by law, but, if it continues to 15% ABV or more, the wine will likely remain unfortified. The minimum level of natural alcohol in fortified variants must be 15% to 20% ABV, and 15% ABV is the norm. Residual sugar in either type of Commandaria is generally 160 to 200 grams per liter. Fortified and unfortified Commandaria wines are typically vintage wines today, though nonvintage solera wines are also permitted. Maturation of either variant of Commandaria must occur in wood for at least two years. Blending is permitted across the villages once the base wine has completed its barrel aging.

Many of the Commandaria villages have their own cooperatives that mostly sell their wine, as well as their grapes, to the island’s three large cooperative wineries, LOEL, SODAP, and KEO, which are the only producers of fortified Commandaria. KEO is by far the biggest player, purchasing nearly 60% of the region’s base wines for fortification, maturation, and blending.

In recent years, producers have been experimenting with fermentation and maturation in the historically significant clay pitharia and amphorae and advocating for their inclusion in the regulations. Other innovations include a slow rollover of the drying berries and drying grapes under cover, open to air at the sides.

Australia

The fortified wines of Australia were once the country’s most important style of wine, accounting for 86% of total domestic and export wine sales in 1950. This percentage began to decrease in the 1960s, and today Australia’s fortified wines account for only 2% of its global sales. Rutherglen, in northeastern Victoria, is undoubtedly Australia’s most revered region for fortified wine production, winning internationally recognized wine awards since 1870. The first vineyards were planted in Rutherglen in 1851, though the region was somewhat overrun by the expansion that occurred in the following years.

Rutherglen Muscat

Muscat growing in Rutherglen (Credit: Adobe Stock)

Rutherglen has a warm, dry continental climate and a high average temperature of 23.7 degrees Celsius (74.7 degrees Fahrenheit). Just 550 millimeters (21.5 inches) of rain fall annually. The region’s over 780 hectares (1,930 acres) of vineyards are relatively flat, with a very gently rolling topography at 130 to 180 meters (430 to 590 feet) in elevation. Sandy loam is the main soil in the northern part of the area, with moisture-retaining red Rutherglen loam over clay in the center, and very free-draining shale and quartz elsewhere. In the area near the Murray River, the dominant soil is the well-draining Black Dog sandy loam. There are about 18 wineries in the region, many of them seventh- or eighth-generation family-owned boutiques.

Here, Muscat à Petits Grains Rouges, a mutation of Muscat Blanc, is known as Rutherglen Brown Muscat. Its clones are specific to the region. The grapes are allowed to become overripe on the vine until they shrivel. After the grapes are crushed, fermentation begins, usually with the grapes and juice macerated together. Some producers prefer not to ferment their musts at all, conducting an extended maceration of skins and juice for additional flavor. More commonly, though, musts are pressed off the skins at around 2% to 3% natural alcohol, fortified with 95% to 96% neutral grape spirit, and sent to barrel. This early fortification ensures a marked fruit character in the finished wines. The final alcohol of the wines is 17.5% to 18.5% ABV.

Aging occurs in wooden barrels of many sizes, ranging from tiny 60-liter casks up to those containing many tens of thousands of liters. Most wood is seasoned, and the ambient barrel-room temperature fluctuates seasonally. There is no single blending method for Rutherglen Muscat. Some wines are made in a type of solera and transferred from barrel to barrel during their time in wood. These wines lose about 3% by volume annually through evaporation, and the concentration of flavor and accumulation of sugars are staggering. The longer the wines are aged, the more oxidatively complex they become, with increasing viscosity, sweetness, and flavors of baked orange peel, toffee, fudge, caramel, and molasses. These qualities are most apparent in the longest-aged wines, termed Rare Rutherglen Muscat.

Rutherglen Topaque

Rutherglen Topaque was once called Tokay in the mistaken belief that it was Hárslevelű, of Hungarian Tokaji fame. It is, rather, Muscadelle, and the wines are now known as Topaque. Although classified like Rutherglen Muscat, Topaque wines are lighter and more citrusy and honeyed. Unlike Rutherglen Muscat, some Topaque wines are fermented off their skins as must. Instead of the pungent grapiness and muscovado concentration of the Muscat wines, Rutherglen Topaque wines generally have aromas of tea leaf, toffee, and honey.

Other Sweet Wines of Australia

Apera is a Sherry-style fortified wine that is made in styles ranging from dry to sweet. These wines are produced in a solera system that uses a variety of vessels of different formats. The dry wines are made using the Palomino grape and can be aged under flor or matured oxidatively. When sweetened, the oxidatively made wines have Pedro Ximénez blended into them.

The term Tawny can be used to describe oxidatively made Port-style fortified wines produced from Touriga Nacional, Cabernet Sauvignon, Shiraz, Mourvèdre, and Grenache. The wines are classified in a manner similar to that of Rutherglen Muscat, and the additional terms of Classic (minimum 5 years of aging in wood), Grand (minimum 10 years of aging in wood), and Rare (minimum 15 years of aging in wood) can be used. One of the best-known producers of these styles of wine is Penfolds, founded in South Australia, with its Father, Grandfather, and Great Grandfather Tawny-style wines.

Another important name in fortified wine is Seppeltsfield, also established in South Australia. Founded in 1851, this Australian heritage producer is famed for its Sherry-style Apera and Tawny-style Para fortified wines. These latter wines, based almost entirely on Shiraz, are aged in small barrels for 10 years, 15 years, or longer, then added to a 2,000-liter solera prior to bottling. Seppeltsfield’s 21 Year Old Para Tawny wines are released as vintage wines.

The regions of McLaren Vale and Riverland, both in South Australia, as well as Riverina, in New South Wales, have historically made fortified wines that don’t fit into the categories above. Many producers are witnessing a resurgence of interest in these fortified wines.

South Africa

Cape Port

The first Europeans to settle South Africa landed in 1652. These Dutch settlers, led by their first governor, Jan van Riebeeck, identified the area’s agricultural potential and planted vineyards. The earliest wines were made in 1659. No one is certain about when the first fortified wines were made, though the manufacture of these Port-style wines has been traced to the early 19^th century.

In South Africa, the Cape Port Producers’ Association (CAPPA), founded in the early 1990s, is a membership organization that offers a label classification. Its members may use temperature-controlled stainless steel tanks with regular pumpovers, traditional open-top cement fermenters (called kuipe in Afrikaans) with vigorous punchdowns, or a combination of the two. As with Douro wines, after a vigorous extraction and the onset of fermentation, fortification is by mutage with a neutral grape spirit.

Today, CAPPA producers make these wines mainly from Portuguese varieties, though the grape selection is not regulated, and Shiraz and Pinotage are sometimes used. There are style parameters established for the following wines.

Cape White: Ranging from off-dry to sweet, Cape White wines are made from non-Muscat varieties, usually Chardonnay, Chenin Blanc, or Verdelho. They must be matured in oak barrel for at least six months.

Cape Pink: A rosé fashioned from non-Muscat red and white varieties, Cape Pink wine must mature for at least six months in barrel or tank.

Cape Ruby: The most popular of the Cape Port-style fortified wines, Cape Ruby is made from red varieties, with at least 50% of the wine matured for six months to three years in oak barrels or tank. These wines are vibrantly ruby in color, ripe, and fruity.

Cape Tawny: Cape Tawny is made from red varieties, and a minimum of 80% of the wine must be matured in barrel for at least six years. These oxidative, nutty wines are ready to drink at bottling.

Cape LBV: A darkly colored wine made from red varieties, Cape LBV must be matured in oak barrels for at least two years, with a minimum requirement of bottle and barrel maturation of three years. At least 85% of the wine must come from the stated harvest year.

Cape Vintage: Made from red varieties from a single harvest year, Cape Vintage wines are matured in oak casks for a minimum of one year. They are sold only as vintage wines and in glass bottles. Generally, these wines are slightly drier in style than those of the other red categories.

Cape Vintage Reserve: Based on the best selection of Cape Vintage wines, Cape Vintage Reserve wines are designed to age in bottle for decades.

United States

Angelica

As possibly the oldest style of wine made in the United States, Angelica is named for the type of fortified wine made in the early 18^th century by Spanish missionaries near Los Angeles. This wine traditionally relied on Mission (elsewhere known as Criolla Chica, País, and Listán Prieto), a relatively neutral and low-acid black grape brought from Spain and used by the priests of the many Spanish missions. Today, other grapes, including Muscat of Alexandria and Viognier, are also used.

Angelica is made in a range of styles. Very ripe or even slightly sun-dried grapes are crushed and macerated, with grape spirit as high as 90% ABV poured over the must, resulting in a fortified wine of varying levels of residual sugar and alcohol. In some versions, the grape must starts fermentation and may almost complete it before the spirit is added to arrest fermentation.

Fortified Wines in Restaurants

Fortified wines are a focal point of top-tier beverage programs and can be used throughout a meal, with, for example, bright and tart Manzanilla to start, savory and textured Verdelho for roasted courses, and rich Rutherglen Muscat for dessert. From a business perspective, these wines create opportunities to drive sales, and they produce less waste than other wines, as they last longer when stored properly.

Fortified wines are best offered to guests in by-the-glass formats or as pairings. The ideal way to encourage guests to enjoy them is by highlighting the stories behind the wines and their ability to pair with any cuisine, as their elevated alcohol and lower acidity provide a unique texture.

On a wine list, fortified wines can be included in various ways. A fortified wine section organizes everything on one page; it should be split by region of origin or dry and sweet styles. Alternatively, these wines can be integrated into the list, with the drier styles listed near sparkling wines and the sweet styles with dessert wines. When fortified wines are served, they should be at cellar temperature. Because of the higher ABV of fortified wines, an appropriate serving size is two to three ounces.

Knowledge of fortified wines provides beverage professionals with not only a deeper understanding of the history and trajectory of wine but also opportunities to drive experiences for clients and guests.

Compiled by user37608 (December 2024)

Edited by user22151

Bibliography

Barquín, Jesús, and Peter Liem. Sherry, Manzanilla, and Montilla: A Guide to the Traditional Wines of Andalucía. Mantius, 2012.

Jackson, Ronald. Wine Science. Academic Press, 1994.

Liddell, Alexander. Madeira: The Mid-Atlantic Wine. 1^st ed. Faber & Faber, 1998.

Mayson, Richard. Port and the Douro. 5^th ed. Infinite Ideas, 2024.

Rankine, Bryce. Making Good Wine: A Manual of Winemaking Practice for Australia and New Zealand. Sun Books, 1989.

Spence, Godfrey. The Port Companion: A Connoisseur’s Guide. Apple Press, 1997.

Many thanks to the following individuals for contributing their knowledge to this guide.

Francisco Albuquerque, Blandy’s Madeira

Dimitris Antoniou, KEO

Maryna Calow, Wines of South Africa

Savvas Constantinou, Ministry of Agriculture, Department of Viticulture, Cyprus

Alexandra Curatolo, Curatolo Arini Marsala

Giorgos Ftenogiannis, UWC Samos

Laura Jewell MW, Wine Australia

Anna Loisel, Sopexa

Andrea Lucas, Comissão Vitivinícola Regional da Península de Setúbal

Carmen Patrícia de Abreu Santana, IVBAM

Anthony Symington, Symington Family Estates

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Australia

user22387 — Sun, 05 Jan 2025 13:50:32 GMT

Current Revision posted to Expert Guides by user22387 on 1/5/2025 1:50:32 PM

Introduction to Australia
Wine Australia: The Label Integrity Program and Geographical Indications
Technology in Viticulture and Winemaking
South Australia
New South Wales
Victoria
Western Australia
Tasmania
Queensland

Introduction to Australia

In 1788 Captain Arthur Phillip landed the First Fleet, eleven ships whose passengcers included British soldiers, convicts, and a few free settlers, along the coastline of Botany Bay, just eight miles south of the modern-day Sydney Central Business District. Captain Phillip founded the penal colony of New South Wales and its capital, the city of Sydney—Australia’s first permanent European settlement. Prior to landfall in Australia, the First Fleet stopped for supplies—including vine cuttings—at the Cape of Good Hope in South Africa, and the British planted vines near Sydney upon landing in 1788. This original vineyard bore fruit three years later but did not last. In its earliest days as a penal colony, Australia suffered from little winemaking expertise, and advances in viticulture were slow. Nonetheless, the vine (a non-native plant) spread from New South Wales to Tasmania in 1823, and from Tasmania to South Australia by 1837 and to Victoria in 1838. In the Swan River Colony of Western Australia, settlers planted the first vineyard in 1830. Free immigrants arrived in Australia throughout the 1830s and 1840s from all corners of Europe, and brought winemaking traditions with them. Some of today’s most famous names arose as small family-owned wineries in this period, including Lindeman’s (1843), Penfolds (1844), Orlando Wines (1847), and Yalumba (1849). In the 1850s, the promise of gold lured even greater droves of European immigrants to southeastern Australia, and interest in winemaking burgeoned.

Boom days for gold equaled boom days for wine, particularly in the gold-rich colony of Victoria, which asserted itself as Australia’s largest producer of wine by the 1870s. However, as the easily extractable surface and stream deposits of gold depleted, many prospectors followed, and domestic demand for wine fell. Lowered demand, coupled with restrictive state trade barriers, led some producers to export to survive, whereas others remained small and localized—a division that exists, in exacerbated form, to this day. Economic recession and phylloxera befell Australia in the latter half of the 19th century and further harmed the industry, but colonial officials took strict and immediate measures to combat the spread of phylloxera, confining it to Victoria and a small foothold near Sydney. The root louse ravaged the Victorian wine industry, yet its successful containment elsewhere rewarded modern Australia with some of the world’s oldest surviving vines and allowed South Australia to surge ahead of Victoria in production. South Australia’s position was further bolstered with the federation of six Australian colonies—South Australia, New South Wales, Victoria, Queensland, Western Australia, and Tasmania—as an independent commonwealth in 1901. Federation brought an end to restrictive interstate trade barriers and increased South Australia’s competitiveness in the larger urban markets of New South Wales and Victoria. In the early 1900s South Australia emerged as the top wine-producing state in Australia—a position it maintains to this day—and the center of the wine industry shifted to the Barossa and the newly irrigated areas surrounding the Murray and Murrumbidgee Rivers. Australia’s focus in these warmer regions turned to fortified wine production.

From the post-phylloxera period until the 1960s, approximately 80% of Australia’s production consisted of sweet, fortified wines. They remained in the majority until 1970, but momentum was building for dry table wines. Fortified wines slid to less than 40% of total wine production in 1972, and by 2011 they accounted for less than 0.02% of the total harvest. During that same period, total annual production increased fourfold, surpassing one billion liters of wine by the 2001 harvest. A surge in quality at the lowest level, coupled with the adoption of new technologies, changing consumer preferences, skyrocketing domestic consumption and new interest abroad, brought Australia to the forefront globally by the close of the last century. The new stars were Chardonnay and Shiraz (Syrah), a traditional variety which—despite the minor hiccup of a 1980s vine-pull scheme that saw many of Barossa’s oldest vineyards destroyed—easily and successfully transitioned into the new era of varietal wines. The value-priced Australian varietal wines of the last decades of the 20th century were fruity, soft, and technically sound at a time when many similarly priced bottlings from the Old World were poorly made, and they enjoyed great success in the UK and the US (two of Australia’s top export markets). By 2003 Australia’s gross annual wine sales reached 4.5 billion Australian dollars, a target the Australians had conservatively set for 2025. “Brand Australia” offered a friendly gateway into wine for new consumers in the 1990s and early 2000s, and the country rocketed forward to become the fourth-largest wine exporter in terms of volume (behind Italy, Spain, and France), surpassing three billion dollars in exports in 2007. As of 2022, over 20% of Australia's exports by value go to USA, making it Australia's largest export market by value. Whereas the UK is the largest export market by volume with 35% of volume.

Australia’s newfound successes were not restricted to the “cheap and cheerful” entry-level category. Back in the mid-century, when Australia was still churning out a majority of sweet, fortified wines, winemakers like Maurice O’Shea in Hunter Valley and Max Schubert in Adelaide had a different vision in mind. O’Shea founded Mt. Pleasant in Hunter in 1925 and produced some of Australia’s first wines labeled by variety during his three-decade tenure as winemaker, despite tepid local interest. Schubert worked from 1948 to 1975 as Chief Winemaker for Penfolds, with whom he introduced the Shiraz-based “Grange Hermitage” in the 1951 vintage. The wine was originally panned by both critics and the company’s own management, but its star rose. Known simply as “Grange” from 1990 forward, Schubert’s creation became Australia’s first truly collectible wine, and today stands shoulder-to-shoulder with the great wines of the world. Unlike many of its luxury-class peers, “Grange” is not the expression of a single site but rather a selection of the best grapes from a number of the company’s vineyards. This is a testament to the nature of the wine business in Australia, wherein production had become concentrated in the cellars of a few large wine companies, who could blend from vast resources across regions and state lines to create a consistent, desired wine style. For some, this philosophy remains congruous from the base level all the way to the top. But not every icon wine in Australia is the product of multi-regional blending; in fact, Australian wine at the highest level is more vineyard-focused now than at any point in the country’s history. Many single vineyard wines—such as “Hill of Grace” Shiraz, first produced by Henschke in 1958—have arisen to manifest venerable single sites left untouched by phylloxera. With breakout vintages in 1990, 1991, and 1998, “Grange” and “Hill of Grace” led the charge, racking up points and ratcheting up prices. Langton’s, Australia’s leading wine auction house, created its “Classification of Australian Wine” in 1991 to detail top-performing, investment-grade Australian wines. The classification, now in its eighth installment, includes 21 wines in its “First Classified” category and 79 in its "Classified" category.

With surging exports and domestic consumption, lavish critical praise, a strong base of quality and efficiency, and a bevy of varietal offerings, the future looked very bright indeed for Australian wines in the mid-2000s. However, problems for the industry loomed. Many of the country’s southeastern winemaking regions were gripped by severe, decade-long drought, affecting the 2003, 2006, 2007, 2008, and 2009 vintages and leading to questions about the long-term sustainability of vineyard irrigation in the driest climates. Only with 2010’s substantial rainfall did drought conditions, which began as early as 1995, cease for many winegrowing regions in Victoria and South Australia. Drought is cyclical in Australia, and lengthy periods of low rainfall have been recorded throughout the 19th and 20th centuries; however, the greater scale of the modern wine industry takes a heavy toll on finite water resources, and some question the role of climate change in the augmentation of drought severity. On the other side of the business, changing economic conditions have damaged exports, cleaving a third from Australia’s 2007 all-time high as total wine exports dropped below two billion dollars by 2011. (The per-liter price of exports fell even earlier, peaking in 2001.) The 2008 economic recession in the US and Europe hit Australian producers hard: the Australian dollar gained value against US and European currencies, driving export prices up and reducing Australian wineries’ ability to compete in the global market. In the face of the global financial crisis, interest in Australian super-premium wines abroad evaporated, with the rapidly expanding Chinese market offering the best hope for immediate recovery. In the long run, Australia’s troubles with drought may actually serve to regulate its oversupply, reigning in vineyard expansion and cutting down on the sudden excess of wine.

Just as worrying, however, is Australia’s damaged reputation—particularly in the US market. Australian labels still line US supermarket shelves, but American consumers appear less charmed by the innumerable “critter” labels birthed Down Under in the early 2000s. Movement at the top is suffering as well, as many of the cult stars of the late '90s are now struggling to recoup demand. Concentration—from old vines, from ripe fruit, from oak, and from winemaking treatment—seduced influential American critics in the 1990s, and many wineries seemed equally captivated by their suddenly extravagant scoring. Alcohol levels in Australia—and in the Barossa Valley in particular—rose to match critical infatuation with “power.” Wines were tailored to the formula, and were generously rewarded by critics. But tougher economic times, coupled with sommelier interest in lighter, more elegant styles, has left some of these abrupt stars abruptly gathering dust on US shelves. The truly iconic wines of Australia will continue to sell, and the backlash against yesteryear’s oversized, disproportionate wine styles has actually led to some soul-searching amongst the country’s winemakers. In many Australian regions, styles have shifted significantly in the span of the last decade, and—despite a beleaguered reputation—Australia is entering a new era of diversity, drinkability, and exciting wines.

Australia is currently the seventh-largest producer of wine in the world. Of the six states that compose the Commonwealth of Australia, three—South Australia, New South Wales, and Victoria—were responsible for about 97% of the crush in 2019. Western Australia produces most of the remainder, with Tasmania and Queensland accounting for less than 1% each. In 2019, the latter two combined states produced approximately nine million liters of wine, whereas South Australia alone produced over 500 million liters. The top five varieties in the country today, in order of planting, are: Shiraz, Cabernet Sauvignon, Chardonnay, Merlot, and Semillon. Chardonnay, which roared to life in the last decades of the 20th century and fetched higher prices in the late 1980s than top red grapes, was Australia’s third-most planted variety, but it reached its apex of 32,000 hectares in 2007 and has slid significantly since then.

Note: In the export markets of Europe and the US, Australian vintage-dated wines always appear on shelves before Northern Hemisphere wines, as the harvest occurs six months earlier in the wine-producing countries of the Southern Hemisphere.

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Wine Australia: The Label Integrity Program and Geographical Indications

Wine Australia, a government authority established in 1981 as the Australia Wine and Brandy Corporation, maintains oversight over the wine industry, regulating its label language, defining geographical boundaries of wine regions, moderating exports and trade, and promoting the product at home and abroad. It introduced the Label Integrity Program for the 1990 vintage, requiring any wines labeled by variety, vintage, or region to contain a minimum 85% of the stated grape, year, or region, respectively. If multiple varieties are to be listed on the label (i.e., Grenache-Syrah-Mourvèdre) the grapes must be listed in order of proportion in the blend. All components making up a minimum 85% of the blend must appear on the label, and no listed grape may be in lower proportion than an unnamed variety.

In 1993 the Australian government signed an agreement with the EU to prohibit the use of European geographical names on Australian labels, and in turn Australian wine producers gained greater access to European markets. Some lesser-used geographical names, like Chianti and Madeira, were phased out by 1997; other more popular names, like Sherry and Tokay, were subject to further negotiations. In order to protect European place names, however, Australia first needed to devise a framework for their own appellations. Thus, the existing Wine and Brandy Corporation Act of 1980 was substantially amended to define Geographical Indications (GIs) and create a Geographical Indications Committee, responsible for determining which regions should be placed on a new Register of Protected Names. The Australian appellation system was born, and the first GIs rolled out in 1994. As in other New World countries, Australia’s GIs are purely geographic in scope, with no restrictions on grape varieties, yields, or other viticultural techniques. The broadest Geographical Indications—apart from the countrywide Australia GI itself—are states, followed by zones, regions, and sub-regions. Regions and sub-regions are defined by Wine Australia as single tracts of land, comprising at least five independently owned vineyards of at least five hectares apiece, with a minimum annual output of 500 tonnes of wine grapes. Regions are not necessarily contained within a single zone, nor are zones necessarily contained within a single state. In 1996 Wine Australia responded to EU laws requiring varietal wines to bear a specific region on the label by authorizing the multistate zone of South Eastern Australia, which encompasses all of Victoria, Tasmania, and New South Wales, along with the winegrowing areas of South Australia and Queensland. This huge zone became the GI of choice for many a mass-market varietal wine, and gave Australian producers a huge competitive advantage in European supermarkets in the era prior to EU table wine law reforms of 2009.

In 2008, the EU and Australia signed a new agreement establishing immediate legal protection for the most entrenched European Geographical Indications and Traditional Expressions in Australia. From 2011 onward Australian producers were barred from using European GIs like Burgundy, Champagne, Sherry, and Port; and Traditional Expressions like Claret and Amontillado. Shiraz could henceforth no longer be labeled as its traditional Australian synonym “Hermitage.” Some expressions, such as Tawny, Solera, and Icewine, were reaffirmed for use under the new agreement, but the hotly contested “Tokay,” used by Rutherglen producers for more than a century, will be finally phased out by 2020. The loss of old terms is a catalyst for replacements: Tokay becomes Topaque and Sherry becomes Apera, an all-too-Australian play on “aperitif.”

Map of Australian GI zones, courtesy of Wine Australia

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Technology in Viticulture and Winemaking

Technical proficiency has played a large role in Australia’s emergence as a mass-market wine powerhouse. The Australian Wine Research Institute (AWRI) and the Commonwealth Scientific & Industrial Research Organization (CSIRO), both based in Adelaide, have contributed greatly to the nation’s scientific understanding of the grape, and the University of Adelaide has an acclaimed oenology program. Australian winemakers rose to the forefront of viticultural innovation, utilizing modern techniques of canopy management and high-tech soil mapping, and they have spread their winemaking acumen across the globe as “flying winemakers”—a term that originated in reference to Australians. Emphasis on winery hygiene has been paramount in modern Australian winemaking; indeed, in the battle against wine spoilage it was AWRI scientists who successfully sequenced the genome for Dekkera bruxellensis (Brettanomyces) in 2011. Teams from the same organization discovered the relationship between the sesquiterpene rotundone and the peppery smell of Syrah, and have contributed in many different areas of wine science, from deepening understanding of smoke taint—a major issue in wildfire-prone Australia—to the development of commercial yeast strains that produce undetectable levels of hydrogen sulfide. Of course, many of the same innovative technological advancements for which Australia can be proud also render it susceptible to criticisms that the country—which has so successfully exported its scientific understanding—bears some responsibility for the “globalization” of wine.

…build me that machine, and we’ll get to the stage of seeing how far we can go to eliminating labour in the vineyard.

– Bob Hollick, former Vineyard Director for Mildara Wines in Coonawarra, in a 2003 interview with Rob Linn (courtesy State Library of South Australia)

The Australian vineyard is a highly mechanized one. Lacking a large population and a source of cheap labor, Australia’s vintners adopted mechanical harvesting in the 1970s and have increasingly relied on it, with vineyards planted accordingly, on flat or gently sloping sites rather than unworkable hillsides. Mechanical harvests often occur at night to preserve freshness and acidity, and they are far more economical than manual harvests, which are generally reserved for top wines only. Tasks such as hedging, fruit thinning, and pruning are also often carried out by machine. Mechanical pruning saves a significant amount of time and money on a vineyard task that is generally second only to harvesting in cost. In fact, in the 1980s it became increasingly popular in Australia not to prune at all, really. The concept of minimal pruning, developed by CSIRO in the 1970s, relies on a vine’s natural self-discipline over time to keep its growth in check, and growers are essentially freed from winter pruning tasks. This technique gained widespread acceptance in many warmer areas, and in South Australia's Coonawarra region, where it has been more recently recast as a culpable party in lackluster wine quality.

As Australians have wholeheartedly adopted vineyard mechanization, they have also pioneered sophisticated techniques of irrigation. Irrigation in the extremely dry climates of Australia is usually essential, and viticulture in the country’s largest regions of production along the Murray and Murrumbidgee Rivers would never have been possible without it. Wasteful techniques of flood and spray irrigation were replaced by more efficient drip systems from the 1960s forward, and the Australians, ever adept at moisture management, developed the restrictive irrigation techniques of regulated deficit irrigation (RDI) and partial rootzone drying (PRD) for the grapevine in the '80s and '90s, improving berry quality while reducing water usage. RDI creates water stress during certain key periods of the vine’s development by lowering the total amount of applied irrigation water. By utilizing RDI after fruit set, vineyard managers could limit vegetative growth while enhancing fruit coloration and restricting berry size, and it is thus particularly useful for red wine grapes. However, water deficit may lower yield, and negatively impact the development of aromatic varieties by slowing the accumulation of monoterpenes in the ripening grapes. RDI provides only marginal water use savings, and lower water use efficiency. PRD, on the other hand, reduces total water use by up to 50% by alternating the application of drip irrigation from one side of a vine row to the other, keeping half of the rootzone irrigated and half dry. PRD may accomplish many of the same results in terms of heightened grape quality, but it does not greatly affect yield. In the driest inhabited continent on earth, where periods of drought seem increasingly debilitating, PRD is quickly becoming a favored means of significant water usage reduction, and it makes positive economic and qualitative sense. However, studies on both techniques continue, and the precise effects both techniques have on grape and wine quality is still a matter of robust debate.

In the winery, Australia has earned a reputation for producing clean, “correct” wines that emphasize varietal fruit in soft, supple frames. While any attempt to define a homogenous Australian style creates untenable generalizations, at the basic commercial level these attributes—clean, soft, fruit-forward—are positive achievements, and modern winemakers in Australia incorporate a wealth of winemaking knowledge and technique to create wines of such character. Fruit character is preserved through cool white wine fermentations (in the 50-60° F range) and moderate red wine fermentations (in the 70-80° F range). Cleanliness is maintained via judicious sulfur dioxide additions and sterile filtration. Oak chips are common at the basic level. Achieving sugar ripeness in Australia’s largest regions is never a worry, and chaptalization is illegal throughout the country. Acidification with tartaric acid, on the other hand, is legal and is assuredly incorporated at the basic level and generally practiced for premium warm climate wines, from Rutherglen Muscat to Barossa Shiraz. However, as Australian cool climate winemakers are moving pick dates forward and preserving natural acidity, the need for acidification in such regions is lessened, if not entirely abrogated. In general, tart fruit acidity is viewed as a virtue by Australian palates, and tartaric additions reflect this. Other winemaking techniques—cultured yeasts, micro-oxygenation, exogenous tannin must additions, deepened extraction via rotofermenters, alcohol reduction through reverse osmosis—are all in play, but for the sommelier interested in modern Australian wines with a sense of place, these techniques are no more (or less) common than in any other part of the wine world.

Lastly, Australia has led the way forward in wine packaging alternative technology: Australians developed bag-in-the-box technology in the 1960s, and they were early and avid proponents of the screwcap closure. The first truly premium wines to be released under screwcap anywhere in the world issued from a group of producers in Australia’s Clare Valley, in 2000. Australian wine critic, James Halliday, reported that in 2013 99% of all Australian white table wine (regardless of price) and 98.8% of its red table wines under $20 was closed under screwcap. Even Australia’s most ageworthy red wines—with the notable exception of “Grange”—are generally bottled under screwcap closures today, and winemakers and consumers alike have seemingly lost any sense of romance with cork. Only the importance of the Chinese export market, wherein consumers may outpace even Europeans in their disdain of alternative closures, keeps wine producers in Australia from abandoning natural cork completely.

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South Australia

Capital: Adelaide

South Australia (SA), a free colony, usurped Victoria’s position as the country’s center of wine production after phylloxera crippled the Victorian industry in the late 1800s. SA managed to avoid phylloxera despite ruin in neighboring Victoria’s vineyards by quickly implementing a total ban on imported vine material in 1874. South Australia cemented its role as the “wine state” following the cessation of interstate trade duties in 1901—which brought SA wines into the population centers of Victoria and New South Wales at competitive prices—and the development of irrigation districts in the Riverland region along the Murray River. In the late 1940s, SA produced more than three-quarters of Australia’s wine, although this figure has declined with the resurgence of the Victorian wine industry and the rise of other irrigated viticultural regions along the Murray in both Victoria and New South Wales. Today, South Australia remains completely phylloxera-free, and SA wine production hovers near 50% of the national total. Many of the country’s largest wine groups, such as Accolade Wines and Premium Wine Brands (Pernod Ricard), are headquartered in SA. The state is divided into eight zones, with production concentrated in the lower southeastern sector of the state. Much of the arid Far North zone, which covers the entire northern portion of the state, is not suitable for any kind of agriculture. Despite clustered viticultural activity in a relatively small sector of the state, the southeastern regions are homogenous in neither climate nor character, and a range of grapes and styles exists.

The Adelaide Super Zone: Barossa, Fleurieu, and Mount Lofty Ranges

The Adelaide Super Zone surrounds the coastal city of the same name, and includes warm plains along the Gulf of St. Vincent coastline, where summer water temperatures can be 7-8° F higher than those off the southern Victorian coast, and the cooler low mountains of the Mount Lofty Ranges further inland. It encompasses three zones, various climates and significant changes in elevation, so there is little to link its diverse fruit sources save for the marketing trick of labeling the wine as “Adelaide,” which rarely appears on labels anyway. But the numerous regions the super zone comprises represent the centerpiece of South Australian winemaking; with the exception of Coonawarra, all of the state’s most important premium winemaking GIs—Barossa Valley, Eden Valley, McLaren Vale, and Clare Valley—are within it.

Barossa Zone

Barossa is South Australia’s single most important winemaking zone. Named for a Spanish battlefield in the Napoleonic Wars, the Barossa was largely carved up among wealthy—and frequently teetotaler—English landowners in the 1830s, but populated in 1842 by German-speaking Prussian Lutherans fleeing religious persecution in their home country (and only too happy to plant vines). In 1842 Lutherans founded Bethany, the first European settlement in the valley, and in 1847 Bavarian immigrant Johann Gramp planted a vineyard along the banks of Jacob’s Creek in Rowland Flat, establishing Orlando Wines, the region’s first commercial winery and the company behind the modern “Jacob’s Creek” brand. The Barossa zone has over 100 ha of vines that are at least a century old, including the world’s oldest Syrah/Shiraz vines (Langmeil’s “Freedom” vineyard, planted in 1843), and what are presumably the world’s oldest Grenache and Mataro/Mourvèdre vines as well: Cirillo owns a three-hectare parcel of Grenache planted in 1850, and Hewitson produces Mataro from the Koch family’s “Old Garden” of vines dating to 1853. Australia’s oldest plot of Cabernet Sauvignon vines, Penfolds’ “Block 42,” lies in Kalimna in the northern Barossa Valley and dates to 1888. The wealth of phylloxera-free old vine resources in the Barossa is celebrated and codified in the Barossa Old Vine Charter, a self-regulated classification of vineyard age in the region. The charter, based on a model developed internally by Yalumba, introduced four age categories for vines: Old (at least 35 years of age), Survivor (at least 70 years of age), Centenarian (at least 100 years old), and Ancestor (at least 125 years old). Producers may use these designations on labels, provided vineyard sources meet the requisite age.

Barossa Valley GI

Zone: Barossa
Climate: Warm Continental
Degree Days (°C): 1710 (Region III)
Top Varieties: Shiraz, Cabernet Sauvignon, Grenache
Secondary Varieties: Chardonnay, Semillon

The Barossa zone is divided into two parallel valleys, Barossa Valley GI and Eden Valley GI. The Barossa Valley GI is the country’s largest fine wine region, and it is the fourth-largest region overall, falling in line behind the volume-driven regions of Riverland, Riverina, and Murray Darling. Barossa Valley is lower in elevation (100-300 meters above sea level) and daytime temperatures are typically two to three degrees (Celsius) warmer than in Eden Valley. The hot, flat Barossa Valley floor has deep, loamy clay soils and a plentiful reserve of underground water to accommodate irrigation during the region’s dry summers. In the past, fortified wines drove production in the region—a legacy retained in the wines of Seppeltsfield, whose world-class “100 Year Old Para Liqueur” is a national treasure—but Barossa Shiraz is its most famous product today. The grape is cultivated in over 50% of the GI’s vineyards, and the valley has more land dedicated to the grape than any other single region in Australia. The classic picture of Australian Shiraz—intense flavors of chocolate, prune and date, wrapped in velvety tannins and emboldened by high, mentholated alcohol levels, often in excess of 15%—was painted here. The region continues to produce Australia’s hottest and heaviest styles of Shiraz, sometimes verging on port-like concentration, mouthfeel and alcohol. Plantings of the grape skyrocketed on the Barossa Valley floor during the style’s boom in the 1990s, and Penfolds “Grange,” Australia’s most collectible red wine, is based on Barossa Shiraz, along with fruit from other regions. Other top Shiraz bottlings from the valley include Elderton’s “the Command,” and Torbreck’s “RunRig” and “The Laird”—the latter a micro-production wine first released in 2005 with a price tag surpassing even “Grange.” Sommeliers and many wine drinkers may be looking for restraint, but much of Barossa moves relentlessly forward, headstrong.

Looking westward over the Barossa Valley.

Not all Shiraz is made as a still wine—modern sparkling renditions are growing in popularity domestically, and they recall the (grand?) Australian tradition of “Sparkling Burgundy,” a fizzy red style dating to the end of the 19th century. Edmund Mazure produced Australia’s first Sparkling Burgundy in the Adelaide Hills in 1888—and his wine likely included at least some Shiraz—but the Victorian producer Great Western popularized the style. Sparkling reds shifted back to Barossa in the early 1970s, when Orlando Wines joined the “Cold Duck” fad, flooding the market with cheap, sweet, carbonated red wines. Today, Barossa has a number of sparkling Shiraz producers, and the method of production is fairly similar throughout their ranks. A base Shiraz is fermented to dryness and aged in oak prior to undergoing a second fermentation in tank—only a very few sparkling Shiraz wines are produced in the traditional method. Typically, sweetness is added through a small dosage of Australian Tawny, and most examples are at least semi-sweet in style. Sparkling Shiraz rarely earns more than a shrug among US sommeliers, but it can be a delightful Christmastime wine in Adelaide, and it fares well at the breakfast table, particularly with bacon-and-egg rolls—an Aussie “brekkie” favorite. For good examples, Rockford and Peter Rumball (who sources fruit from Coonawarra) are reputable sources.

Barossa Shiraz is the star, but other red varieties suited to warmer climates can perform well in the region’s heat. Cabernet Sauvignon, the second-most planted variety in the GI, ripens easily on the valley floor, and Grenache and Mataro can produce exciting varietal wines and GSM-style blends. White varieties tend to struggle. Chardonnay rapidly increased in acreage during its heyday in the 1980s and 1990s, but most winemakers today concede that it is best left to cooler climes. Semillon, however, performs surprisingly well on the Barossa Valley floor. When picked early enough, it can produce a wine of piercing acidity, echoing the low-alcohol, austere styles of the Lower Hunter Valley. Peter Lehmann’s “Margaret,” sourced from a 1929 Semillon vineyard, is a top example in the category.

In 1847—the same year that Johann Gramp planted his vineyard at Jacob’s Creek—an Englishman named Joseph Gilbert planted his Pewsey Vale vineyard in the windswept Barossa Ranges east of the Barossa Valley, and winemaking arrived in Eden Valley. In comparison with Barossa Valley, Eden Valley is cooler, higher in elevation (400-600 meters above sea level) and more sparsely planted: its rolling hills contain approximately one-fifth of the vineyard acreage of Barossa Valley, and sheep grazing is a much more common endeavor than viticulture. Water scarcity (and salinity) makes expansion unlikely. A thin layer of red clay colors the hills of Eden, and granite outcrops are everywhere. Stuart Blackwell, senior winemaker at St. Hallett, neatly sums up the valley’s poor, rocky, rough soils: “It shouldn’t be called Eden—it’s not the Garden of Eden.” Shiraz sourced from amongst these cooler, exposed hills assumes a different character than on the Barossa Valley floor, showing more elegance, spice, and red fruit character. The valley’s most famous Shiraz vineyard—Henschke’s eight-hectare Hill of Grace, planted in 1860—is the source of Australia’s top single vineyard wine, providing a site-specific counterpoint to the philosophy behind “Grange.” Many Shiraz wines labeled “Barossa” rather than "Barossa Valley" (signifying the zone rather than the region) include a dash of Eden Valley fruit for lift and acidity.

While nearly nine of ten grapevines on the Barossa Valley floor are red, red wines slightly outnumber whites in Eden Valley, and Riesling occupies over one-quarter of its vineyard real estate. A reminder of the area’s German heritage, Eden Riesling sits among the country’s most thrilling efforts with the grape; it is classically dry, sharply acidic, and dripping with lime flavor. Generally, the best examples of Riesling (and other white grapes) are produced in the cooler southern sectors of the GI, while the better Shiraz vineyards, like Henschke’s Hill of Grace and the 100-year-old Mt. Edelstone, tend to be further north. At over 500 meters above sea level, the most elevated and southernmost point in Eden Valley is the sub-region of High Eden GI, an area first championed in the 1970s by Mountadam, one of Australia’s pioneering producers of Chardonnay.

Gnadenberg Church, Hill of Grace, Eden Valley

Fleurieu Zone

McLaren Vale GI

Zone: Fleurieu
Climate: Warm Mediterranean (with substantial variation)
Degree Days (°C): 1910 (Region III)
Top Varieties: Shiraz, Cabernet Sauvignon, Grenache
Secondary Varieties: Chardonnay, Merlot

The McLaren Vale GI, bounded by the South Mt. Lofty Ranges to the east and the Gulf of St. Vincent to the west, is one of South Australia’s signature Shiraz growing regions and the most important region within the Fleurieu zone. First planted in 1838, the region—like all of South Australia—has remained phylloxera-free, and its windy, warm climate alleviates fungal disease pressure, allowing growers to freely pursue organic and biodynamic viticultural practices. Approximately one-quarter of the GI’s seven-dozen wineries are certified as organic, and approximately 40 of the producers participate in “Generational Farming,” a new sustainable farming initiative. Drought is the chief viticultural hazard in this dry climate, and water—the hidden but heavy environmental cost of wine production—is scarce. While a small percentage of vineyards are dry-farmed, many rely on recycled wastewater from the nearby suburbs of Adelaide for irrigation water, a pioneering program that serves as a conservationist model for other water-starved areas throughout Australia and the world.

McLaren Vale is predominantly a red wine area. Shiraz, planted in over half of the GI’s 7,100 hectares of wine grapes, is the appellation’s top variety, followed by Cabernet Sauvignon and Grenache. Shiraz in McLaren Vale is typically an intense experience, with brooding tannins, high alcohol levels (14-15%) and deep blue fruits, but there is metamorphosis: conscious of changing consumer tastes, some winemakers are starting to soften their touch, particularly in regards to the type and percentage of new oak used. French oak has steadily outpaced American barrels in both Shiraz and Cabernet Sauvignon production. The mighty, massive chocolate and prune flavors common in many Barossa examples of Shiraz are less dominant here, and tasters frequently ascribe iron notes to the wines of McLaren Vale—perhaps pointing underfoot, to the ironstone, or red sandstone, common in some areas of the appellation. Overall, determining a standard style of McLaren Shiraz can be complicated, as soil, geology, and climate are not uniform. Seven different underlying geological structures, or ‘terranes,’ exist, and the growing season steadily lengthens as one moves inland and upward in altitude from the coast. Shiraz from the coolest and most northeastern area, Clarendon, may be harvested a month after wines sourced from the heavier, richer soils of the valley floor west of the town of Willunga.

Shiraz and Cabernet Sauvignon are the most planted red grapes, but some of the most exciting, up-and-coming McLaren Vale wines are produced from Grenache. Grenache performs particularly well in the sandier areas of Blewitt Springs and Kangarilla, and is especially drought-resistant. John Davey of Shingleback Wines affirms the variety’s hardiness in McLaren Vale’s warm climate, “If there is a nuclear war, only two things will survive: cockroaches and Grenache vines.” Ultimately, McLaren Vale Grenache at its best reveals a warm climate’s counterpoint to Pinot Noir. Typically raised in old hogsheads and 500-liter puncheons rather than new barriques, the grape can take on Rhône-like savory tones to bolster its warm strawberry and mint character. Chardonnay is currently the most planted white variety, a result of past popularity rather than actual suitability to the region, as most winemakers concede that other Rhône and Southern Italian white grapes, such as Roussanne and Fiano, are more promising. These “alternative” varieties (as they are forever condemned to be called) comprise only a miniscule portion of the total vineyard area today.

With about 6,000 hectares of vines on the north side of Lake Alexandrina, Langhorne Creek GI is Fleurieu’s second-most significant winegrowing region. Vines first took root here in 1860, and Metala, the region’s longest-running producer, established their vineyards in 1890. The brand persists to this day, albeit under the Treasury Wine Estates umbrella. Wolf Blass arrived in 1967; Orlando Wines followed in 1995. Langhorne Creek is now a principal source for the latter’s “Jacob’s Creek” brand, and flat region is more associated with large-scale, machine-harvested operations than smaller, more premium wineries. Currency Creek GI is southwest of Langhorne Creek, adjacent to the western shoreline of Lake Alexandrina at the mouth of the Murray River. Viticulture in Currency Creek is a recent pursuit, and about a quarter of the 800-odd hectares of vines in the region are Shiraz; Cabernet Sauvignon reflects nearly as much with Chardonnay trailing just behind. Southern Fleurieu GI is due south of McLaren Vale, on the Fleurieu Peninsula, with only about 500 hectares under vine; it tends to be slightly warmer and drier than Currency Creek. Shiraz accounts for one-third of its vines; Cabernet Sauvignon and Sauvignon Blanc are the region’s second- and third-most important varieties. Kangaroo Island, separated from Cape Jervis on the Fleurieu Peninsula by the 8.4-mile wide Backstairs Passage, is the site of the Fleurieu zone’s smallest GI, with less than 150 hectares under vine. The island itself is the third-largest island off the coast of Australia, and it was the site of the first official European colonial settlement in South Australia, predating the founding of Adelaide by five months.

Mount Lofty Ranges Zone

Clare Valley GI is the Mount Lofty Ranges’ most heavily planted region, and it can be a rewarding source for some very different styles of wine, from steely Riesling to bold examples of Shiraz and Cabernet Sauvignon. Just under a two-hour drive north of Adelaide, Clare Valley is the northernmost GI within the Mount Lofty Ranges zone. It is less a single valley than a series of contoured, north-south ridges and the depressions and sub-valleys between them, with most vineyards located between the towns of Auburn and Clare itself. Viticulture in the region originated with the arrival of English settlers and the establishment of Hope Farm around 1840. Jesuits built the region’s first true winery, Sevenhill Cellars, as a source of sacramental wines (a tradition maintained by the producer today) on a plot of land purchased in 1851, and others soon followed. AP Birks Wendouree, makers of classically styled, ageworthy red wines, was founded in 1892. By the turn of the century there were over 500 hectares of vines in the ground in Clare Valley. Jim Barry arrived in the region in the 1940s, and founded Jim Barry Wines in 1959. Other top modern producers arrived on the scene later: Grosset began production in 1981 and Kilikanoon was established in 1997. Today, Clare Valley has nearly 5,000 hectares of vineyards, and its top producers enjoy a proven, worldwide reputation for their wines.

Clare Valley GI

Zone: Mount Lofty Ranges
Climate: Moderate-Warm Continental
Degree Days (°C): 1465-1767 (Region II-III)
Top Varieties: Shiraz, Riesling, Cabernet Sauvignon
Secondary Varieties: Merlot, Chardonnay

Clare Valley, a network of rural communities some 75 miles due north of Adelaide, may look warmer on paper than it actually is. Elevation (400-600 meters throughout Clare Valley) cools the vines, and the only official weather station currently recording climate data in the GI is located at one of its lowest points—Clare High School, and the town post office prior to that—and is surrounded by roadways, concrete, buildings: the machinery of heat. Dr. John Gladstones, Petaluma’s Brian Croser, and a 2005 report compiled by Davidson Viticultural Consulting have all concluded that the actual climate for many grapevines is cooler than official statistics lead one to believe. In the small Polish Hill River area, a hotspot for Riesling 9 miles southeast of Clare itself and 440 meters in elevation, heat degree days may number 200 or fewer than at Clare High School—Davidson measures 1767 for the school and 1465 (° Celsius) for the Polish Hill River, a shift downward from Region III to Region II. In addition, diurnal variation is significant in Clare. Spring frosts can be a danger, particularly in the cooler eastern and southern areas like Polish Hill River, Watervale, and Auburn; but insect pests and other disease pressures are not a major danger in Clare’s dry climate. Historically, low growing season rainfall (an average of fewer than 8 inches for the season) and little groundwater—which has difficulty penetrating the dense, low-porosity bedrock of the region—resulted in many dry-farmed vineyards, although drip irrigation has become more common today.

Shiraz is the region’s most planted variety, with Jim Barry’s “Armagh” vineyard Shiraz ranking among the top internationally recognized icons of the region. Shiraz from Clare Valley is typically rich and round in style, with slightly less weight and alcohol than one would encounter in Barossa Valley. Cabernet Sauvignon, the region’s second-most planted red variety, is sometimes blended with Shiraz but more often with Malbec, as seen in the classic Wendouree Cabernet-Malbec bottlings. Despite the generally high quality of Clare's reds, many sommeliers are more interested in the region's Riesling. Like those examples hailing from Eden Valley, Clare Valley Riesling tends to be extremely dry, with nearly excruciating acidity. Lime, flowers, and taut stone fruit flavors characterize the wines, which often finish in the neighborhood of 12.5-13% abv. In this birthplace of the modern Australian screwcap movement, Clare Riesling producers almost unanimously bottle under the closure, emphasizing reductive flavors in the wine's youth while gaining desirable toasty, honeyed notes through slow aging in bottle. The better examples of Riesling tend to emerge from the areas of Watervale and Polish Hill. The latter area, which lends its name to Grosset's top bottling, lies atop blue slate bedrock not dissimilar from the Devonian blue slate of the Mosel Valley in Germany.

The Adelaide Hills GI is directly south of Barossa and its vineyards are nestled between the ridges of the South Mount Lofty Ranges. At 727 meters above sea level, Mt. Lofty itself is one of the highest elevation spots in the appellation, as well as one of South Australia’s wettest points. Despite its location between Barossa and McLaren Vale, the appellation is surprisingly cool and nearly 70% of plantings are white grapes.

A selection of sparkling wines from the Adelaide Hills.

Chardonnay is dominant in the central sub-region of Piccadilly Valley GI, where Petaluma planted the Adelaide Hills’ first modern commercial vineyard in 1976. Sauvignon Blanc, the GI’s most planted variety, takes center stage in the Lenswood GI sub-region, where it produces a softer, less aromatic and pungent style than one finds in New Zealand. Pinot Noir and Shiraz are the top red varieties in “the Hills.” The region’s winemakers craft slightly riper styles of Pinot Noir than their counterparts in the Yarra Valley, and they coax softer, lighter—but not lean—melon-scented still wines from the Chardonnay grape. Both grapes also provide a base for the region’s robust sparkling wine industry. Some of Australia’s larger companies use Adelaide Hills fruit to give lift to regional blends, but the region is still tiny in comparison with its neighbors—the Hills produces about 2% of the Barossa’s grape tonnage each year. Local producers of note include Petaluma and Shaw + Smith (the region’s largest wineries), the Lane, Golding, Bird in Hand, and BK Wines—the latter is quickly becoming a sommelier favorite as the producer is making truly drinkable and energetic wines well-suited to the table.

The Adelaide Plains GI, north of the city itself, could not be less similar to the Hills: the Adelaide Hills is the coolest and rainiest region within the entire Adelaide Super Zone, whereas the Adelaide Plains is the warmest, and nearly its driest. In the former, average January temperatures remain in the mid-60s, whereas in the sunny Adelaide Plains they rise into the mid-70s. This hot coastal region is not highly regarded today for quality wine production, but Penfolds’ historic Magill Estate, where Max Schubert’s first experiments with "Grange" have since passed into the realm of legend, lies just a few miles outside of its borders. Adelaide’s suburban sprawl now completely encircles the once-rural “spiritual home of Grange,” and the small estate, with its five remaining hectares of Shiraz vineyards, is a showpiece for the company today.

Limestone Coast Zone

Coonawarra GI, in the Limestone Coast, considers itself Australia’s foremost region for Cabernet Sauvignon, and it is equally famous for its so-called terra rossa, or “red soil.” This thin, cigar-shaped band of friable clay loam, tinted vivid red by iron oxide, overlies soft limestone and is commonly considered the most suitable topsoil for the grape in Australia. Terra rossa, which is also found in La Mancha and other areas of Southern Europe, is at once highly permeable for a clay-based soil yet offers good water retention to support the vines’ roots through dry Coonawarra summers. Prof. Alex Maltman, a UK geologist specializing in vineyard soils, suggests: “terra rossa…is justly famous but the key to its quality is probably the drainage and storage offered by the underlying fissured limestone.” Overall, the region is fairly flat and featureless, and it experiences a cool Mediterranean climate, although winters turn cold through a lack of moderating maritime influence. Degree days in Coonawarra are fewer than in the Médoc, yet Coonawarra is drier than Bordeaux and experiences significantly greater sunlight hours during the growing season. With about 5,200 hectares under vine, Coonawarra promotes itself as “Australia’s Red Wine Centre”: Cabernet Sauvignon typically accounts for just over half of the annual harvest, and Cabernet, Shiraz and Merlot together produce over 85% of the region’s output. White grapes are an afterthought today. Winemakers from the region may show glimmers of excitement for Sauvignon Blanc, Riesling and Pinot Gris—despite the fact that Chardonnay is the most planted white variety—but public demand for “Australia’s Red Wine Centre” whites likely remains a long way off.

Coonawarra GI

Zone: Limestone Coast
Climate: Cool Mediterranean
Degree Days (°C): 1430 (Region II)
Top Varieties: Cabernet Sauvignon, Shiraz
Secondary Varieties: Merlot, Chardonnay

Like many Australian wine regions, Coonawarra has its origins in the 19th century, but its modern history of viticulture is really a much shorter tale. In 1861, a Scottish migrant named John Riddoch purchased a large estate near the town of Penola, and moved westward from Geelong, Victoria to Coonawarra. In 1891 he planted the region’s first grapevines on his sprawling property (the Penola Fruit Colony) and soon began construction of his limestone cellar and winery, Chateau Comaum. In 1897 tensions with the nearby township of Penola led Riddoch to rename his colony “Coonawarra”; most accounts suggest that the Aboriginal word means “honeysuckle ridge,” although other meanings, some more or less appropriate, have been suggested: “place of signal fires,” “black swan,” and (A native's practical joke?) “pile of excrement.” By that year, the third vintage for Riddoch’s “Coonawarra” wines, over 100 hectares of vines were in the ground. But this first foray into viticulture was not particularly successfully. Unsold wine multiplied, and the colony was eventually sold in parcels after Riddoch’s death in 1901. Bill Redman, a cellar-hand at Riddoch’s Chateau Comaum, acquired part of the Riddoch estate in 1908. Redman provided grapes and wine to the negociant firm Woodley’s from 1920, and he supervised the only table wine production in Coonawarra through the 1940s. (Until the 1950s, most wine produced on the original Riddoch property was sold as distillate, and the white Doradillo grape was among the district’s most common varieties.) Woodley’s purchased Chateau Comaum in 1946, and produced a famous series of Coonawarra “Treasure Chest” Clarets from 1949 to 1956 under Redman’s direction. In 1952 Bill and son Owen founded Rouge Homme, releasing several vintages of Coonawarra Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet-Shiraz blends before selling the label in 1956 to Lindemans (and founding the rather more straightforward-named Redman Wines a decade later). Mildara commissioned a vineyard planting in 1955, releasing its first Coonawarra Cabernet Sauvignon, “Peppermint Pattie,” in 1963; and Penfolds began developing vineyards in the region in 1960. However, it was the arrival of Samuel and David Wynn in 1951 that truly signaled a new beginning for the region. The Wynns purchased Chateau Comaum and Riddoch’s core property from Woodley’s, and immediately began production. From 1954 forward, the new Wynns Coonawarra Estate produced varietally labeled, estate-bottled Cabernet Sauvignon, trumpeting its place of origin in an era when multi-regional blending was commonplace. Unlike many of Australia’s most successful winegrowing regions today, Coonawarra is disconnected and distant; the nearest large market (Adelaide) is over 240 miles away. Wynns’ early successes in the 1950s led other companies to the isolated region, accelerating expansion in the 1960s and 1970s. Today Wynns owns about half of the entire region’s vineyards, and since 1982 the estate has produced one of Coonawarra’s top bottlings, the “John Riddoch” Cabernet Sauvignon, in honor of the region’s pioneer.

It is important to make four preliminary points about soils in the Coonawarra district. First, the soil types vary considerably. Second, considerable variation may be found across relatively small distances, even over a few yards. Within a single vineyard or paddock soil types can vary dramatically. Third, there are no comprehensive soil maps of the Coonawarra district. Fourth, while terra rossa remains prominent in advertising, wine journalism and popular consciousness, it has been abandoned as a classification by soil scientists.

–Gary Edmond, Adelaide Law Review Association, Volume 27, No. 1 (Disorder with Law: Determining the Geographical Indication for the Coonawarra Wine Region)

In the 1980s and '90s, the wine industry in Coonawarra rapidly expanded, and areas outside of the original band of terra rossa soils were planted with grapes. With the creation of the Register of Protected Names and the GIC in the early 1990s, the Coonawarra Vignerons Association and the Coonawarra Grape Growers’ Association recommended that only the original, defined band of terra rossa soil between Penola and Comaum qualify for the proposed Coonawarra GI. This determination coincided neatly with both organizations’ memberships, and set off an incredibly contentious, decade-long fight between those inside the proposed boundary and those excluded. Years of litigation diluted Coonawarra’s proposed boundaries. The core issue at hand—terra rossa soil profile—was thrown into doubt as a legally acceptable limit to the appellation, while other factors, such as similarities in climate and water catchment, upheld the argument for a larger region. Dr. Richard Smart and other viticulturalists testified as to the relative unimportance of soil on grape quality, and rendered claims linking terra rossa and wine quality unsubstantiated. A separate Penola GI was initially approved in 2000 and scrapped several years later. In 2003, following years of lawsuits, appeals, and ruined relationships, Coonawarra GI was formally established. To date, it is the last of Australia’s first-tier winegrowing regions to earn formal GI status.

Coonawarra wines have been criticized in the past for overt manipulation in the winery and lack of attention in the vineyard. Winemakers have responded: acidification is much more measured today and exogenous tannin additions have been greatly reduced. Oak usage, as in much of Australia, is changing. New oak levels are falling from absurd heights in the 1990s and early 2000s, and most producers are buying French rather than American barrels. In the vineyard, the overwhelming mechanization of the 1980s is slowly being reduced, a reversal made possible by a new wave of cheap migrant labor from Asia into this sparsely populated area. Once-popular but counter-productive viticultural practices like minimal pruning have been abandoned, and emphasis is building on single vineyard expressions. Sue Hodder, Senior Winemaker at Wynns Coonawarra Estate, sums up the region’s recent revolution: “Good Coonawarra winemaking in the past ten years has been made possible through immense quality improvement in the vineyards. In general, this has enabled a return to the styles of the 1960s: medium-bodied wines, with moderate alcohol levels (closer to 13% than 14%) and balanced oak.” Modern Cabernet in Coonawarra is resurgent, developing powerful yet polished tannins, and achieving ripeness without verging into imbalance.

Typical Coonawarra Cabernet showcases distinctive ripe red berry fruits alongside cassis, followed by sweet herb and dried mint secondary tones. “Mint” is an oft-proclaimed signature note for Australian reds in general, perhaps owing to the country’s omnipresent red gum eucalypts, as studies have shown that the highly aromatic monoterpene eucalyptol can be transferred from tree leaves to grapes through the air. The subject of “mintiness” stirs debate amongst Coonawarra producers. Peter Gambetta, Senior Winemaker for Yalumba’s Limestone Coast wines, ponders the origin of mint in Coonawarra Cabernet—airborne terroir, regional feature, or simply pyrazine-related greenness? “Some argue that it is ‘green fruit’ character and others argue that it is endemic to the region. We have measured eucalyptol in wines and can see a decrease as we move further from the patches of remnant red gums on our estate, though we also see a ‘mintiness’ that is not (derived from) eucalyptol in shaded grapes, so I believe it to be from (multiple) sources.”

With about 1,200 fewer hectares of vines than Coonawarra, Padthaway GI is a heavily cultivated, slightly warmer region inhabiting a five-mile-wide sliver of land along the Riddoch Highway north of the town of Naracoorte. The region extends for 38 miles from north to south, but most of the appellation’s 4,000 ha of vines inhabit a single, unbroken ten-mile-long stretch between the tiny villages of Keppoch and Padthaway. Several of Australia’s largest houses have set up shop in the area, including Seppelt (who planted Padthaway’s first vineyard in 1964), Lindemans, Hardys, Wynns, and Orlando Wines. Padthaway fruit often disappeared into multi-regional blends at the big houses, but there is a movement toward regional identity in the GI today, with Cabernet Sauvignon, Shiraz, and Chardonnay showing success. One in three vines in the region is Shiraz.

Wrattonbully GI is located between Padthaway and Coonawarra. Like Coonawarra, Wrattonbully is overwhelmingly a red wine-focused region, with Cabernet Sauvignon as its top variety. And like Padthaway, Wrattonbully is a young winegrowing region. 11 hectares of vines appeared in 1969, and the Koppamurra Vineyard, now under the ownership of star Wrattonbully producer Tapanappa, followed in 1974. Most grapevines in Wrattonbully are between 10 and 20 years old, as vineyard development rapidly accelerated during the 1990s. In that decade, wine companies on the outside recognized the same veins of terra rossa soil that ran through the core of Coonawarra within Wrattonbully, and at much lower prices. Wrattonbully Cabernet Sauvignon is likewise similar in style to that of Coonawarra, showing relatively soft tannins and ripe red fruits.

Mount Gambier GI surrounds the mountain and town of the same name (SA’s second largest population center), and extends southward from Coonawarra along the Victoria border, all the way to the state’s southern coastline. It is the state’s largest region in sheer size, but it contains fewer than 300 ha of vines. Mount Gambier is similar in climate to neighboring Henty GI in Victoria, and Pinot Noir and Sauvignon Blanc are currently the most planted varieties in its cooler maritime climate. The zone’s two other regions, Mount Benson GI and Robe GI, sit at the same latitudes as Wrattonbully and Coonawarra, respectively, but lie on the coastline, an hour’s drive west. Vine cultivation did not occur in either region prior to 1989, and there are less than 1,200 hectares of vines between them. Shiraz leads in both GIs, with Cabernet Sauvignon, Sauvignon Blanc, and Chardonnay rounding out the list of top varieties.

Lower Murray Zone

With over one-quarter of the national annual grape tonnage, Riverland GI is Australia’s leader in production. The region follows the course of the Murray River from the South Australia state border westward to Blanchetown, near the Eden Valley. The river is wide and languid, and the fertile, sandy soils along its banks provide an agricultural oasis in the otherwise hot and arid continental interior. Irrigation water from the river is essential for viticulture. Some of Australia’s largest value brands—Berri, Oxford Landing, and Banrock Station—have massive vineyards in the region, and the second-largest family-owned winery in Australia, Kingston Estate, is based here. Chardonnay and Shiraz are neck and neck as the region’s most planted varieties, together making up just over half of the total production; however, the Riverland has a surprising number of boutique producers—not typically exported to the United States—experimenting with everything from Petit Manseng and Vermentino to Montepulciano, Graciano and Saperavi. Riverland is also home to the largest single planting of Petit Verdot in Australia, a nearly 100-hectare plot farmed by Kingston Estate. All unlikely commercial stars, granted, but they do provide a bit of color to an otherwise monochromatic and fairly industrial vineyard palate.

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New South Wales

Capital: Sydney

New South Wales (NSW) is Australia’s most populous state and the site of the country’s first vineyards, planted on a site not far from the modern-day Sydney Opera House and Harbour Bridge. These first vines bore fruit in 1791, but succumbed to disease and died soon thereafter. Further, more enduring attempts followed in the early 1800s: John Macarthur established vineyards at his Camden Park estate with European cuttings—including Shiraz—by 1820 and Gregory Blaxland exported a 136-liter barrel of wine to London in 1822. In Hunter Valley, George Wyndham founded Australia’s now-oldest continuously operating winery (Wyndham Estate) in 1828, and he planted Australia’s first commercial Shiraz vineyard in 1830. Their achievements notwithstanding, a Scottish-born botanist named James Busby (1801-1871) would have an even greater impact on the early years of New South Wales viticulture, earning the mantle “father” of the Australian wine industry. Busby moved to New South Wales in the early 1820s, but returned to Europe in 1831, gathering various vine cuttings from Spain and France. He gathered hundreds of specimens, and planted them upon his return, dividing the cuttings between his Kirkton estate in the Hunter Valley and the Sydney Botanical Gardens. These vines, including Rhône, Bordeaux, and Burgundy varieties, represent the core of Australia's viticultural heritage.

Despite early advocacy by Busby—who left for New Zealand in 1833—and others, winemaking in Australia remained a marginal activity until the discovery of gold in 1851, which spurred vineyard expansion in New South Wales and in the new colony of Victoria. Hunter Valley’s vineyards likewise continued to grow due to the region’s proximity to the population center of Sydney. Phylloxera, which devastated Victoria around the turn of the century, appeared in vineyards near Sydney in 1884, and in those surrounding Albury on the north bank of the Murray, 30 miles due east from Rutherglen. However, the bug’s spread in NSW has been effectively contained, and most winegrowing regions in the state, including Hunter Valley, have remained phylloxera-free. By the Federation of Australia in 1901 vineyards were well established north of Sydney, in the Hunter Valley, Mudgee, and beyond, within the modern-day GIs of Hastings River and New England. In 1912 the debut of the Murrumbidgee Irrigation Area, a massive project delivering water from the Murrumbidgee (a major tributary of the Murray River) to the otherwise dry and drought-prone farmlands in the Riverina region west of the Great Dividing Range, provided a seemingly limitless new frontier for food and wine grape production. McWilliams, one of the largest family-owned producers in Australia today, planted the region’s first grapevines in 1913. Penfolds followed McWilliams into Riverina in 1919, and De Bortoli was established near the town of Griffith in 1928. Riverina flourished as an engine of fortified wine production throughout the first half of the 20th century.

With Federation in 1901, all interstate trade barriers were abolished and the rapidly growing South Australian wine industry could compete for attention in Sydney. This sudden competition, coupled with the rise of fortified wine production, shrunk interest in some areas, such as Hastings River and New England, both of whom stopped producing wine completely—for decades. Mudgee was propelled forward by the discovery of gold in 1872 but dwindled to nothing in the early 20th century. Even Hunter Valley struggled. Maurice O’Shea, the first great Australian winemaker of the 1900s, produced Hunter Valley Shiraz table wines (labeled as “Hunter Burgundy”) for McWilliams’ Mt. Pleasant until his death in 1956, despite overwhelming domestic interest in fortified wines and beer. But the overall industry in Hunter Valley contracted until a flurry of new plantings occurred in the 1960s, led by Lake’s Folly. On the other hand, the machine of Riverina continued to move forward, relentlessly, producing over 21,000 tonnes of fruit in 1961. As Australians begin to shift back toward table wines in that decade, Riverina responded with a host of new plantings better suited for the new styles, moving toward Chardonnay and Merlot and away from Pedro and Trebbiano. In the 1970s new regions were born—or reborn—along the coastline and the inland side of the Great Dividing Range. By 1981, Riverina was firmly a part of Australia’s “cheap and cheerful” image, producing over 90,000 tonnes of fruit, and Hunter Valley was capitalizing on a new interest in wine tourism to rebound from its midcentury doldrums. New South Wales, like the rest of Australia, rocketed forward during the wine boom of the 1990s, and many of its fledgling regions experienced dramatic growth during this period. From 1973 to 2011, NSW increased its annual crush from 73,000 tonnes to 580,000 tonnes—a larger leap forward than any other state. In 2010, NSW accounted for 29% of Australia’s total wine production.

The major climatic features in New South Wales include the Pacific Ocean and the Great Dividing Range. In the coastal zones of South Coast, Hunter, and Northern Rivers, humidity is high and summer rainfall is especially common, particularly as one moves north, where the water warms and lingering effects of the Indo-Australian monsoon season’s impact are felt. The Great Dividing Range, a complex of mountain chains running along the entire coastline of NSW, blocks western areas from rainfall and cooling maritime breezes—the inland zones of Big Rivers and Western Plains are especially arid and progressively hotter as one moves north. The highest mountains in Australia are the Snowy Mountains, an alpine sector of the Great Dividing Range located within the Southern New South Wales zone. In the highlands of this range and the ranges running north and south of it, climate becomes continental and temperatures cool with elevation.

Hunter Valley Zone

The Hunter Valley region has become a casualty of faulty logic in the age of Geographical Indications. There is the Hunter Valley zone, which contains the Hunter GI region, which in turn encompasses three GI sub-regions: Upper Hunter Valley, Broke Fordwich, and Pokolbin. Pokolbin and Broke Fordwich are both located within what has traditionally been known as the Lower Hunter Valley—the heart of the region’s viticultural activities—but “Lower Hunter Valley” did not merit GI status, according to the local authorities’ infinite wisdom. In 2013 a round-up of top winemakers and vineyard owners in the Lower Hunter Valley, representing Tyrrell’s, Brokenwood, Thomas Wines, Audrey Wilkinson and McWilliam’s Mt. Pleasant, responded with ready dismissal when asked if any of them would ever consider using “Pokolbin”—the GI wherein they are all located—on a wine label. Historically, the Lower Hunter has been divided into six sub-regions: Pokolbin, Broke Fordwich, Allandale, Belford, Dalwood, and Rothbury—but only the first two have earned sub-region GI status to date. The Upper Hunter Valley GI has fewer vineyards and a shorter narrative, as modern viticulture dates only to 1960, when Penfolds established 250 ha of vines at Wybong in the region.

Hunter GI (Lower Hunter)

Zone: Hunter Valley
Climate: Hot Subtropical
Degree Days (°C): 2070 (Region IV)
Top Varieties: Semillon, Chardonnay, Verdelho, Shiraz
Secondary Varieties: Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon

The Hunter Valley endures one of the warmest and wettest climates among Australia’s winegrowing regions. It is sub-tropical and humid, and the Lower Hunter averages over 20 inches of rain during the growing season. According to Winkler’s Scale, the marginally warmer Upper Hunter Valley is considered Region IV—a zone best utilized for fortified wine production—and is actually hotter than the Riverland, South Australia’s warmest GI (although it remains slightly cooler than Riverina). Ripening comes early in the Hunter Valley and is unimpeded through the region’s warm summer nights. However, autumn also arrives early, and with it comes a near-constant cloud cover. Ripe fruit character thus develops early in the season, when pH is still relatively low, but sugar ripening slows early as well, as vines transition to producing carbohydrates for dormancy in the early fall. Fierce storms often arrive in the last week of January—the first two months of the year are the wettest in the Hunter Valley—and may provoke early harvesting decisions for white grapes. Despite the heat Hunter produces surprisingly elegant and low- to moderate-alcohol styles of wine. White grapes are more common than red.

Picking Semillon early was originally an economic decision. In the late '50s and '60s several vintages were totally
destroyed by rains, so people started picking once they saw a single cloud in the sky.
-Bruce Tyrrell, Tyrrell’s Wines

If we catch anyone blending Semillon with Sauvignon Blanc, we’ll probably shoot them.
-Iain Leslie Riggs, Chief Winemaker, Brokenwood

Semillon is the most planted grape in Hunter Valley, and Hunter Valley Semillon is the world’s most classic and ageworthy dry example of the grape. Semillon was once sold as “Hunter Riesling” here, a synonym that offers a clue to its austere character: the wine is fairly low in alcohol (frequently in the 10-12% range) and incredibly acidic (pH levels remain around 2.9). Classic Hunter Semillon is harvested at the end of January or during the first week in February, at Baumé levels of 9-12°; it is generally vinified with commercial yeasts and quickly bottled (in the June or July following harvest) with a significant remaining level of carbon dioxide. Classic Hunter Semillon never sees oak and there is no emphasis on lees stirring, but it will be aged by its makers for several years prior to release, during which period it begins to gain notes of browned toast and crème caramel—expanding on the simple lemon and slight grass notes of its extreme youth. Top bottlings include Tyrrell’s “Vat 1” and Brokenwood’s “ILR Reserve,” which are released five and six years after the vintage, respectively. Both have aging potential measured in decades rather than years, and their makers, like many others in Australia, have shifted entirely to screwcap closures. That overly simplistic blind tasting adage—“New World” wines have higher alcohol and “Old World” wines have higher acidity—is called into question with Hunter Semillon, and one is reminded that temperature is only one factor in the equation of wine climate.

Tyrrell’s in Hunter Valley takes credit for the country’s first varietal bottling of Chardonnay, the 1971 “Vat 47 Pinot Chardonnay.” Since that year, Chardonnay has become an important variety in the Hunter Valley, comprising over a quarter of its total plantings; however, winemakers typically do not consider it a top variety in the region, and prefer to plant Semillon and Shiraz in top sites. The Portuguese grape Verdelho is also common, perhaps feeling as welcome in the Hunter as it does in its other subtropical home, Madeira. The grape’s naturally thick skins lend a measure of protection against mold—a constant worry in Hunter’s humid climate. Verdelho offers an alternative to Semillon, yielding generous wines of tropical fruit character, often finishing with a degree or so more alcohol than Semillon. Shiraz is the top red variety in the Hunter, performing especially well on the red volcanic soils of the Lower Hunter Valley (Semillon prefers the white alluvial sands). Maurice O’Shea was producing varietal Shiraz and Shiraz-Pinot Noir blends at Mount Pleasant when “Grange” was just a twinkle in Max Shubert’s eye, and Hunter Shiraz has long been one of the great archetypes in Australia, with fruit and acid at the forefront.

Central Ranges Zone

The three regions of the Central Ranges lie on the western slopes of the Great Dividing Range, near the town of Bathurst some 125 miles west of Sydney. Mudgee GI is the zone’s oldest producing region and it borders Hunter GI, yet rises 400-500 meters higher in altitude and experiences a drier, sunnier, and less humid climate with greater diurnal shifts in temperature. Budbreak is delayed and harvests often occur a month after those in the Lower Hunter Valley—and they are less frequently interrupted by severe storms. Concentrated, deeply colored red wines are the order of the day in warm Mudgee. Cabernet Sauvignon, Shiraz, and Merlot are among the region’s most planted varieties, and red grapes outnumber white grapes by four to one. Regardless of the modern emphasis on reds, Mudgee Chardonnay—the region’s most planted white grape—has a special place in Australian wine history. Murray Tyrrell asserts that he was the first to release varietal Chardonnay, but he may have taken his cuttings from Mudgee, and at least one Mudgee winery preceded his in producing a single varietal Chardonnay wine. Craigmoor—the first winery established in Mudgee, in 1858—cultivated Chardonnay for half a century prior to Tyrrell’s first release, although it was not identified as such until the late 1960s. Craigmoor winemaker Pieter van Gent made Chardonnay in the 1971 vintage, paralleling Tyrrell’s first release, but the winemaker concedes that there was not enough wine to warrant bottling. An employee of Craigmoor, Alf Kurtz, planted his own vineyard with Craigmoor cuttings and founded Mudgee Wines in the 1960s, releasing several small vintages of Chardonnay prior to both Craigmoor and Tyrrell’s. The Craigmoor Chardonnay selection came to the vineyard by way of one Kaluna Vineyard near Sydney, which was likely planted with cuttings from Kirkton—James Busby’s estate in Hunter.

Southwest of Mudgee is Orange GI, the Central Ranges’ youngest, coolest, and potentially most exciting region. It is also one of the highest regions in the entire country overall: Orange GI begins at the 600-meter line of elevation, and its vineyards rise up the slopes of NSW’s central highlands, past the 1000-meter mark. The highest point in the appellation is Mount Canobolas, an extinct volcano and the source of the region’s richest, basalt-derived soils. On the high volcanic plateau extending northward from Mount Canobolas, the pioneering producer Bloodwood planted Orange’s first modern vineyard in 1983. With about 1,000 ha under vine, the region has grown rapidly since then. Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Shiraz, and Chardonnay are the region’s most popular grapes, but Sauvignon Blanc and Pinot Noir look increasingly promising in Orange’s cool mountain climate. Cowra GI, the southernmost and warmest region in the zone—an indication of its lower elevation rather than its higher latitude—is best known for soft, generous styles of Chardonnay.

South Coast, Northern Rivers, and Northern Slopes Zones

The South Coast and Northern Rivers zones nearly span the entirety of the New South Wales coastline, separated by a small segment of the Hunter Valley. The Northern Rivers’ Hastings River GI lies right on the coast; it is unequivocally hot—falling within Region V on Winkler’s Scale—and it experiences more rainfall during the growing season than any other region in Australia. With early picking, Semillon in Hastings River can develop some of the same characteristics as it does in the Hunter, but this is overall not a fine wine destination. The Northern Slopes’ New England Australia GI, formally approved in 2008, is northwest of Hastings River. Elevation afforded by the Great Dividing Range in New England mitigates the heat, and allows the region’s growing number of wineries to produce cooler-climate versions of Shiraz and other red grapes, despite the area’s northerly latitude. In 2019, both regions together accounted for less than 150 total hectares of vines.

The South Coast’s Shoalhaven Coast GI hugs a strip of the NSW coastline about 75 miles south of Sydney. While growing season rainfall and heat are slightly diminished in the South Coast, the region still struggles with identity, and only a handful of small wineries have emerged. To date, the region is best known for wines produced from Chambourcin—a red French hybrid. The Southern Highlands GI, on the other hand, is nestled in the hills of the Great Dividing Range, and has greater potential to produce quality wines. Surprisingly, Tempranillo is currently the most planted grape in the region. Like their northern counterparts, Shoalhaven Coast and the Southern Highlands remain small, and in 2019 they together contained less than 200 hectares of vines.

Big Rivers Zone

The Big Rivers zone is located along the Victorian border to the west of the Great Dividing Range; the big rivers in question are the Murray and the Murrumbidgee. SA’s Riverland GI may be the largest single region in Australia, but Big Rivers is the top-producing zone in the country. Riverina GI remains the production leader here and in the entire state, and Chardonnay is its most planted grape, followed by Shiraz and Semillon. McWilliam’s and De Bortoli were market leaders in Riverina for decades, but they were surpassed by Casella Wines. Founded in 1969, Casella is the largest family-owned wine company in Australia today, and sky’s-the-limit fortunes rested with the incredible, overnight success of the company’s [yellow tail] brand of wines in the US export market. This original and most identifiable—and most loathed, in some quarters—of the Australian “critter” labels debuted exclusively for the US market in 2001. In 2003 [yellow tail] became the top imported brand in the US, and in 2006 it earned the top spot overall in US supermarkets, overtaking Sutter Home as the leading wine brand. Casella boasts that one in five bottles leaving Australia are labeled [yellow tail]. But the good days may be over: a strong Australian dollar has hampered US sales for the past few years, and consumers are moving on from Australian “critter” labels, or at least growing tired with the one that sustained them through the 2000s. Casella recorded a loss of 30 million Australian dollars for the 2012 financial year, and many wine (and business) writers have suggested that [yellow tail] and its imitators are squarely to blame for Australia’s recent troubles in the US market. In a 2009 Slate article titled “Not Such a G’Day: How Yellow Tail Crushed the Australian Wine Industry,” author Mike Steinberger argues that the Australians’ “woes are mostly self-generated; they’ve trashed their own brand, a point many of them now concede.”

Riverina is not solely defined by its mass-market brands. On the other end of the spectrum, the region can produce tiny quantities of high-end botrytis-affected dessert wines. In 1958 McWilliam’s was the first Riverina winery to explore the style, but De Bortoli, who crowns an otherwise low-priced range in Riverina with the world-class “Noble One Botrytis Semillon,” is the star. First released in the 1982 vintage, the lusciously sweet “Noble One” quickly rose to the pinnacle of Australian dessert wines, and has garnered an outpouring of international critical praise.

Southern New South Wales Zone

The Southern New South Wales zone is located within the Great Dividing Range, and encompasses the Australian Capital Territory (ACT). The Canberra District GI surrounds the national capital (Canberra) and is the zone’s most important growing region. Set against the backdrop of the Snowy Mountains, it has a mild, continental climate—not unlike the Northern Rhône Valley. While viticulture has been practiced in the area since the mid-1800s, the modern region was born in 1971, when Edgar Riek planted vines on the shores of Lake George and John Kirk planted his Clonakilla vineyard in Murrumbateman. Clonakilla produced Canberra District’s first commercial vintage in 1976, and the winery’s Shiraz-Viognier, a moderate-bodied, pretty medley of red fruit, flowers and spice modeled on Côte-Rôtie, debuted in 1992 to become a modern icon in Australia. Hardys moved into Canberra District in 2000, immediately doubling vineyard acreage, but withdrew from the region in 2007. The vacuum left in Hardys’ wake has been filled by a growing number of smaller producers, emboldened by critical praise for their wines. Elegant styles of Shiraz, high-quality dry Riesling, and increasingly good examples of Bordeaux blends and Pinot Noir are being produced. One emergent producer, Lark Hill, has even planted Australia’s first Grüner Veltliner vineyard, and is achieving some critical success with the grape.

Côte-Rôtie is a clear parallel (to Canberra District). In cooler vintages a great trick to play on experienced palates is to line up a blind tasting of Côte-Rôtie and Canberra Shiraz. It is very easy to confuse the two. The red fruit surge and spice rack complexity is common to both. Even the dried herb element in Côte-Rôtie is found in Canberra Shiraz in some cooler years. Côte-Rôtie does tend towards a smoky character at times, which is especially brought to the fore in the wines of producers who use a large whole bunch inclusion (think Jamet and Rostaing). I don't see this in Canberra Shiraz so much. And as with all Australian wine the palate structure is a little fuller and sweeter, even with the higher natural acids that the high altitude (600 meters or more) provides in our GI.

Co-fermenting a small amount of Viognier with cool-climate Shiraz produces a synergy that is hard to define, but delightful to behold. My own experience is that the Viognier expands the wine, both aromatically and texturally. It extends the aromatic profile, providing a subtle high note that hovers above the red berry/cracked pepper tones of the Shiraz. The Viognier also contributes a rounding effect to the palate, acting to soften the sharper tannin edges of the Shiraz and tying the acid more cohesively to the fruit. In the best examples a seamless palate is the result.
–Tim Kirk, Winemaker, Clonakilla

In the warm, continental climate of Hilltops GI, west of Canberra District, Cabernet Sauvignon and Shiraz have emerged as primary grapes, and red grapes account for approximately 80% of the total vineyard acreage. Riverina’s McWilliam’s has the largest share of plantings in the region, and Clonakilla has been sourcing Shiraz fruit from the region for over a decade, drawing attention back to this former gold-mining region. Hilltops Shiraz, in comparison with Canberra District fruit, tends to develop deeper color, lower acid, more robust tannins and darker fruit. Gundagai GI, with the Murrumbidgee flowing through it, is adjacent to Hilltops’ southern border. The land here flattens out as one moves west from the Great Dividing Range into the arid bush, with rainfall becoming sparser and temperatures rising accordingly. Some major vineyards have emerged since the mid-1990s, but the region is still in its infancy. Tumbarumba GI, south of Gundagai, lies within the foothills of the Snowy Mountains and has a measurably cooler climate, well suited for the production of sparkling wines. In 2012, Chardonnay and Pinot Noir accounted for almost 90% of the total grape harvest in the GI. Several of Australia’s larger producers value the crisp acidity Tumbarumba fruit lends to sparkling wine blends, but few are willing to risk ownership of vineyards in its frost-prone mountain climate. Thus, most of Tumbarumba’s two-dozen growers remain small, and sell the majority of their fruit.

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Victoria

Capital: Melbourne

In 1838 the Ryrie brothers, three Scottish-born cattlemen from Sydney, leased 43,000 acres for grazing in the Yarra Valley. The named their property “Yering,” and planted a vineyard, cultivating two grapes: the Black Cluster of Hamburg and a white grape called Sweetwater. Thus at Yering Station in the Yarra Valley, just east of Melbourne, did Victorian viticulture begin. From the first European (convict) settlement in Victoria at Sullivan Bay in 1803 to the formal founding of the British Colony of Victoria in 1851, the remote region remained sparsely populated, but in that latter year fortunes turned: the discovery of gold at Ballarat, Bendigo, and other locations throughout the colony triggered one of the biggest gold rushes in world history. In the following decade Victoria’s population—and its thirst for wine—increased sevenfold as prospectors from around the world arrived to find their fortune. The Victorian wine industry hummed alongside the steady flow of gold; at its heyday in the latter half of the 19th century the colony produced over half of Australia’s wine. In the 1860s Geelong (west of Melbourne and southeast of the gold fields at Ballarat) became the most prodigious wine region in all of Australia. In his A Short History of Wine, historian Rod Phillips recalls: “At the 1873 Vienna Exhibition the French judges, tasting blind, praised some wines from Victoria but withdrew in protest when the provenance of the wine was revealed, on the grounds that wines of that quality must clearly be French.” Australia exported 145,600 cases of wine annually to the United Kingdom between 1860 and 1875, and much of it was Victorian in origin. Yarra vintner Hubert de Castella—who had purchased a sector of the original Yering property to found St. Hubert’s in 1862—speculated in his 1886 book John Bull’s Vineyard that Victoria could supply all the wine Britain might ever require.

Black Saturday

Throughout Australia, the ever-present eucalypt trees (“gum trees”) contain highly flammable eucalyptus oil, and the trees’ discarded dry bark acts as a powder keg in the Australian bush. Bush fires are a constant source of worry. On Saturday, February 7, 2009, high temperatures and extended drought conditions conspired to produce a series of violent firestorms throughout Victoria. “Black Saturday” resulted in 173 deaths as wind conditions changed rapidly, driving fires in unpredictable directions. In loss of life, it is Australia’s worst natural disaster to date; the state’s vineyards suffered serious losses as well. Decanter Magazine reported that 5% of Yarra Valley’s vineyards were damaged or destroyed, along with vineyards in Bendigo, Beechworth, Heathcote, and Gippsland. The CSIRO does not publically implicate climate change as a cause, but states on its website that “by 2020 we expect to see a greater number of extreme fire weather days, longer fire seasons and a greater potential for multiple fire events like those seen in the Victorian fires.”

Alas, the boom days would not last: with its appearance in a Geelong vineyard by 1877, phylloxera had arrived in Australia. Much of Victoria was devastated, particularly as the immediate official response was “death by extinction,” a criticism levied by viticultural expert François de Castella (son of Hubert). Rather than a sensible replanting on American rootstocks, the Victorian government ordered every vine in Geelong uprooted, bringing an instant end to Australia’s then-largest wine region. Rutherglen usurped its place and greatly surpassed it in size, becoming the Southern Hemisphere’s largest wine region by the time phylloxera struck its vineyards in 1899. Other regions throughout the state were similarly attacked in the late 19th century. In 1891 the boomtown of Beechworth had 70 ha of vines; in 1916 two hectares remained. Bendigo had about 220 ha of vines and 100 wineries in 1880; not a vineyard remained after phylloxera’s arrival in 1893. Phylloxera spared Yarra Valley (The bug did not arrive there until 2006!) but in the 1930s its vineyards were entirely grubbed up anyway to make room for pastureland. Crippled by phylloxera and hit hard by the domestic temperance movement, shortages of manpower during the World Wars, economic depression, and newfound competition from South Australia with the removal of interstate trade barriers, the wine industry in Victoria floundered during the early 20th century. By midcentury Rutherglen had realigned with the tastes of the day and was producing large quantities of sweet fortified wines, but by the 1960s there were only two-dozen wineries left in the state—and fourteen were located in Rutherglen.

Yet there were stirrings: the first modern winery in Yarra Valley (Wantirna Estate) was established in 1963, and Idyll Vineyard was planted in Geelong in 1966. Other regions in which viticulture was nearly or totally abandoned—Macedon Ranges, Sunbury, Bendigo, Beechworth, Heathcote—reemerged with new vines, and new areas, such as King Valley and Strathbogie Ranges, entered into viticulture.

Modern Victoria has rebounded—as of 2013 there are over 775 wineries in the state (more than any other state in the country) and 21 distinct GI regions. In 2010, Victoria provided 17% of Australia’s total wine grape tonnage. Unlike the other mainland Australian states, winegrowing occurs throughout Victoria; vineyards line the banks of the Murray River—marking the state’s border with New South Wales—and are planted throughout the cooler coastal regions of the Port Phillip zone and Henty GI. The Great Dividing Range, with its southernmost extremity at Grampians, shelters numerous wine regions between its low ridges. Overall, climate in Victoria turns markedly warmer as one moves inland, but it is tempered by elevation in the complex of numerous low mountain ranges that run through the state. Victoria is Australia’s most densely populated state, and there are wines for every taste, from crisp sparkling wines to raisiny and rich fortified wines, produced across a broad range of climates.

The Port Phillip Zone

Anyone can oak**** a wine. In any region. There’s no skill, art, or endeavor in that. Twenty years ago, we didn’t understand how to make wine. We just knew how to add more to everything. How to go from seven to eight, from nine to ten. Now we make medium-weight, elegant wines in Yarra Valley, not wines designed for hand-to-hand combat. Today I like our stuff. How do you make it? Irrelevant. How you grow it is much more important. We just want to make drinks that we like drinking.
– David Bicknell, Chief Winemaker, Oakridge

The Port Phillip Zone, termed the “dress circle of Melbourne” by James Halliday, surrounds the capital city and encircles the Port Phillip Bay—the shallow, collapsed delta of the Yarra River. The Rip, a small channel about 2 miles wide, connects the Port Phillip Bay with the Bass Strait and the Southern Ocean, and strong southwesterlies—chilling winds from the polar latitudes—help cool the zone. Climate is generally Mediterranean, and all five of the region’s zones are classified as either Region I or II in Winkler’s Scale of heat summation. Overall climate, cooled by wind, proximity to water, and—in the northern area of the Macedon Ranges—elevation, is cooler than what one would find in Bordeaux; thus, the region’s most successful varieties are Burgundian in origin. Cabernet Sauvignon struggles to ripen in many vintages. Climate change, however, has brought unpredictability. Many of the vast temperate rainforests that once covered the zone—and helped to regulate weather patterns—have been logged, and with ozone depletion the southern sunlight has a magnified impact on vines. In Yarra, Bicknell offers a real-world reminder: “Averages mean nothing anymore. In the mid-1990s we picked in early March for every variety; now we start picking in the first week of February.”

Yarra Valley GI

Zone: Port Phillip
Climate: Cool Maritime
Degree Days (°C): 1250-1352 (Region I)
Top Varieties: Chardonnay, Pinot Noir
Secondary Varieties: Shiraz, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot

Yarra Valley GI, a gentle, rolling and bucolic region, has boomeranged from the total loss of its wine industry in the 1930s to become the most important area of production in Victoria today, and one of Australia’s top fine wine regions. Regional stars Yarra Yering, Mount Mary, and Chateau Yarrinya (purchased by De Bortoli in the mid-1987) were established by the mid-1970s. Yeringberg and St. Hubert’s (sectors of the original Yering Station property) came back on line by 1975. In the mid-1980s, Halliday founded Coldstream Hills and the French Champagne giant Moët & Chandon established Domaine Chandon in Yarra Valley, bringing national and international fame back to the region. Now, Yarra Valley has just over 2,000 ha of vines. Pinot Noir is the region’s most planted variety, with Chardonnay coming in a close second. Together, the two grapes account for nearly 75% of Yarra Valley’s total acreage. Shiraz and Cabernet Sauvignon, the valley’s second- and third-most planted red grapes, produce lighter and more elegant styles in Yarra’s cool climate. Shiraz—often labeled “Syrah” to tweak consumer expectations—is often attractively peppery, floral, and red-fruited. Whole cluster (or whole berry) fermentations and low levels of new oak are common amongst Syrah producers in Yarra. To the stereotype of American oak-driven Aussie Shiraz, De Bortoli Chief Winemaker Steve Webber retorts: “I don’t think there’s an American barrel in the Yarra.” The myth of high alcohol is also put to bed: levels over 13.5% are uncommon for any variety in the region.

Yarra Valley, alongside Margaret River in Western Australia, provides one of the top examples of Chardonnay in Australia. Here the prevailing modern style is stony and mineral rather than fat and tropical—a distinction Webber describes as “detailed” rather than “a bit blurred.” Malolactic fermentation is rare, and while barrel fermentations are common, new oak levels are generally restrained to one-third or less during maturation. Leesy characteristics frequently appear, and sweet citrus and melon flavors are common. Despite the level of its Chardonnay, Yarra Valley is best known internationally for the quality of its Pinot Noir. Yarra’s cool climate and generally lengthy growing season promotes a style that is, despite ripe red fruit character, somewhat leaner and lower in alcohol than those produced in Otago, the other premier Pinot Noir-growing region in Oceania. The valley contains two sectors: the warmer Lower Yarra Valley in the north, with its ancient sandy loam soils, and the cooler, higher-elevation Upper Yarra Valley in the south, where the soil is composed of younger red basalt. Pinot Noir from the Upper Yarra Valley tends to be more defined and mineral, whereas those from the valley floor in the Lower Yarra are often plumper and less aromatic. Preferences in clonal selections, so often at the forefront of Pinot Noir conversations elsewhere, are less emphasized in Yarra, yet many producers are focusing on Dijon clones 667 and 777 and/or MV6, a “mother vine” selection James Busby brought into the country in 1831 from Clos Vougeot.

The Yarra Valley in fall and spring.

South of the Yarra Valley, the slender Mornington Peninsula GI divides the Port Phillip Bay from the Bass Straight. Much of its expensive oceanfront real estate has been gobbled up by the wealthy elites of Melbourne for weekend homes, but winegrowing has taken hold between the tourists and holidays. Today there are about 900 ha of vines in the Mornington Peninsula, and over 60 wineries. With such significant maritime influence, Mornington Peninsula is overall—no surprise—quite cool, but climate can vary more than one might expect from such a small area. Red Hill, near the peninsula’s western tip—an area Ten Minutes by Tractor Winemaker Martin Spedding refers to as “up the hill”—is considerably cooler than the “down the hill” northeastern area near Moorooduc (a southern suburb of Melbourne), where the same grape variety might be harvested three weeks earlier. Despite these differences, the region can produce thrilling Pinot Noir—which accounts for almost half of the GI’s planted vineyards and about 85% of its red grape acreage—as well as good examples of Chardonnay and Pinot Gris. Across the bay, Geelong GI has revived its wine industry but it has never fully recovered its past glory. In 2012 Geelong was declared completely free of phylloxera, and today the region has almost 500 ha under vine, with producers—like their fellows around the Port Phillip Bay—pinning their hopes on Pinot Noir as the flagship variety. By Farr and Bannockburn are leading producers today. Geelong is the driest GI in the Port Phillip zone, and spring frosts and wind damage can be especially challenging here. The GI has three unofficial sub-regions: Surf Coast/Otways, the Bellarine—a peninsula that reaches out toward Mornington—and the Moorabool Valley, the beating heart of Victorian wine production in the 1860s and the center of the Geelong wine industry today. Port Phillip’s final two regions, Sunbury and Macedon Ranges, extend northward from Melbourne. Vineyards in the Macedon Ranges are generally between 400 and 600 meters in elevation; these are the highest vineyards in the Port Phillip zone and Macedon Ranges is the coolest region on the Australian mainland. Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, and Shiraz are the most common varieties, and both still and sparkling wines are produced. Bindi Wine Growers is the most recognizable Macedon Ranges name worldwide, and one of Australia’s top boutique producers.

Central, North East, and North West Victoria Zones

Gold was discovered near Bendigo in 1851 and at Beechworth in 1852, and small wine industries followed. However, with the collapse of Geelong in 1875 the bulk of Victorian wine production moved northward. So did phylloxera. In Central Victoria, phylloxera landed in the neighboring wine regions of Heathcote and Bendigo in 1891 and 1893, respectively, and laid waste to their vineyards. Over a half-century would pass before viticulture was renewed in either region. Today, both are predominantly red wine-producing areas, and Heathcote has become highly regarded for the quality of its full-bodied, densely flavored Shiraz. Jasper Hill is one of its foremost producers in the region, and one of the marquee names in blockbuster-styled Shiraz in the country. Heathcote is a fraction cooler than Bendigo, but both are similar in climate and terrain: dry, warm, continental, and undulating in aspect, with Heathcote experiencing a more pronounced variation in elevation due to the ridgelines of the Mount Camel Range. The major difference lies underfoot: on the eastern side of Heathcote, a strip of red earth rich in 500-million-year-old Cambrian volcanic greenstone is especially prized for growing vines.

Northeast of Bendigo and Heathcote is the Goulburn Valley GI, a region with a lengthy—and continuous—history of viticulture. Tahbilk, Goulburn Valley’s first commercial winery, planted 25 hectares of vines in 1860, and managed to persist despite the advance of phylloxera in the late 1800s. A half-hectare of Tahbilk’s original, ungrafted vineyard survives today—thanks to alluvial, sandy soils deposited along the course of the Goulburn River that kept the bug at bay—and from this plot the winery produces one of Victoria’s most acclaimed bottlings of Shiraz. Shiraz is the most important grape in Goulburn Valley today; here it is more in line with the fuller, bolder styles of South Australia than the elegant, lifted Syrahs of Yarra. Tahbilk also counts some of the world’s oldest Marsanne vines (planted in 1927) amongst its holdings, and the estate was the sole operating winery remaining in the region during the dark years of the early 20th century. Today, Tahbilk and many of the other Goulburn Valley properties are clustered within the southern sub-region of Nagambie Lakes GI, where a complex of inland lakes and lagoons helps to moderate the otherwise quite warm and continental climate of the region. As one moves southeast from Nagambie into the folds of the Great Dividing Range, the climate turns cooler still with a corresponding increase in elevation. Here, Strathbogie Ranges GI and Upper Goulburn GI are sparse areas with no great tradition of viticulture. The highest vineyards in each zone climb to 600 and 800 meters above sea level, respectively, and vintner interest is increasingly shifting to Chardonnay and Pinot Noir.

Rutherglen GI surrounds the historic, 19th century gold-mining town of the same name, and the Murray River provides its northern border. This warm, continental area is famous today for its unique—if somewhat unfashionable—sweet, fortified “stickies,” but the quiet, bygone region got its start slacking prospectors’ thirst with heavy red table wines in the heady gold rush days of the mid-19th century. Morris Wines was established in 1859 and All Saints Winery—the first in Rutherglen to win international acclaim—opened its doors in 1864. By 1906, seven years after phylloxera’s arrival, Rutherglen had nearly 3,000 hectares of vineyards. At the time it produced one-quarter of Australia’s wine and provided one-third of its exports, almost wholly destined for markets in the United Kingdom. Regrettably, phylloxera delivered one blow and the Great Depression delivered another: UK exports dried up and producers in the foothills around the old gold rush town shifted to fortified wine production in bulk to sate local palates. Fortified wines boomed through the mid-century; successes came in the form of fortified Muscat, “Sherry,” “Tawny,” “Tokay,” and other styles modeled on European wines. A small resurgence in table wines followed in the 1960s and 1970s. In the '60s, more than half of Victoria’s wineries were located in Rutherglen; however, the region has remained rather stagnant in plantings and size since then, particularly in comparison with Yarra Valley’s ascent. Today Rutherglen has about 800 hectares of vineyard landscape. Shiraz and Durif/Petit Sirah are the principal red grapes for table wines, and wineries in the region have invested in the (still unclear) success of white Rhône varieties. Despite waning interest in the category, the region’s most emblematic and exceptional wines remain its top fortified styles: Muscat and Topaque.

Rutherglen Muscat is one of the world’s sweetest, most ambrosial, and liqueur-like wines. It is released as a blend of vintages, whether in its fresh and floral youth or after years—even decades—of aging, during which the wine darkens and develops nutty, rancio complexity and concentration. The Muscat of Rutherglen Network, a producers’ syndicate established in 1995, has developed a voluntary and self-regulating four-tier classification system for the Muscat wines based on taste profile. The basic level, Rutherglen Muscat, showcases the orange and rosy aromatics of young Muscat in a saccharine, mouthcoating frame. “Classic” Muscat retains intense varietal aroma, but adds concentration and slight rancio tones. The greatest shift in color and style is at the “Grand” level, where the wines take on decidedly more oxidative tones and begin to show mature rancio character. The oldest, sweetest, most concentrated and most viscous wines are labeled “Rare.” Minimum age guidelines and residual sugar ranges are suggested rather than absolute: a “Rare” Muscat should taste as though it is at least 20 years of age—and often it will be much older—but there is no technical analysis to prove it. According to Colin Campbell (Campbells), “the whole system works on peer pressure,” much like the aging designations for Tawny Port.

Rutherglen GI

Zone: North East Victoria
Climate: Hot Continental
Degree Days (°C): 1770 (Region III)
Top Varieties: Shiraz, Brown Muscat, Durif
Secondary Varieties: Muscadelle

Brown Muscat (Muscat de Frontignan, or Muscat Rouge à Petit Grains) grows on deep “Rutherglen loam” and shrivels on the vine through long, dry late summers and early autumns. Botrytis is undesirable—and historically uncommon—as it ruins the varietal, terpene-laden character of Muscat grapes, but this process of passerillage is essential for concentration of sugar. By the Muscat harvest, usually carried out by early April, Brix levels may exceed 36°. Locals are fond of noting that, “it never rains until it rains on the march,” (Anzac Day, April 25) but climate change has brought summer showers and the specter of mold in recent years.

After the harvest, Rutherglen producers typically allow the Muscat grapes to undergo a short fermentation on the skins, consuming 20-40 g/l of sugar over the course of one or two days. The wine is then pressed and immediately fortified with a neutral 96° grape spirit, added—as in Port—in a one-to-four ratio. The wine matures for years, even decades, in various formats of old wood: 225-liter barriques, 300-liter hogsheads, and occasionally 500-liter puncheons and even larger oval casks, depending on the producer and the wine. As the wines mature in cask, evaporation sends a share to the angels, resulting in a net loss of around 5% per year and a greater concentration of sugar, acid, and alcohol in the remaining wine. Some producers use a solera system; others tend to keep lots and vintages separate, preferring to assemble blends just prior to bottling. Eight wineries today produce fortified Muscat wines: All Saints, Morris, Campbells, Chambers, Stanton & Killeen, Rutherglen Estates, Buller, and Pfeiffer.

Fortified Muscat may be the most concentrated and well-known wine of Rutherglen, but Topaque is perhaps the region’s most unique style. Formerly known as Tokay—a designation phased out through agreement with the EU—Topaque is a fortified wine made with Muscadelle grapes. In fact, it may be the world’s only fortified wine produced with the grape, an uncommon aromatic variety found in Bordeaux and Southwest France, and totally unrelated to any Muscat grape. Like Muscat, Muscadelle concentrates through passerillage, but it often hangs on the vine until the end of April, and accrues noticeably less sugar. Fermentation, fortification and aging procedures are similar to the processes associated with Muscat, and the same categories (Classic, Grand, etc.) are in place for Topaque. The final wines are lighter in color than Muscat, as they are produced from white rather than red grapes, and typically exhibit 30-40 g/l less residual sugar than Muscat wines in the same category. Winemaker Chris Pfeiffer (Pfeiffer Winery) highlights common Topaque aromatic descriptors: honey, cold tea, and sardine oil—the latter a not-at-all unpleasant, seaweed-like character that offers interesting counterbalance to otherwise sweet-smelling and candied aromas. With less intensity and greater acidity than fortified Muscat, Topaque is a better wine for the table, and the basic styles can be offered as a chilled aperitif (In place of Apera, perhaps?) over ice.

Other regions of the North East Victoria Zone include Glenrowan GI, which produces similar styles of dry reds and fortified wines as Rutherglen, and the progressively higher-elevation GIs of Alpine Valleys, Beechworth, and King Valley. Rainfall increases and climate cools slightly with altitude as one moves upward into the foothills and low ranges of the Victorian Alps (part of the Great Dividing Range). While red wine production continues to outweigh whites—particularly in Beechworth—white grapes like Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay, and Pinot Gris have assumed greater importance. The most important red varieties currently are Pinot Noir and Bordeaux grapes; Shiraz and Durif, so popular in both Glenrowan and Rutherglen, take a backseat in these cooler appellations. In King Valley, much of the Chardonnay and Pinot Noir fruit actually becomes blending material for sparkling wines. Wangaratta (King Valley’s northernmost point) and Rutherglen are separated by only 23 miles, but there is a nearly 700-meter difference in elevation between the highest vineyards in King Valley and those in Rutherglen—sparkling wines are plausible in the former and hot-climate fortified wines are the latter’s best bet.

Victoria’s warmest wine regions, Murray Darling GI and Swan Hill GI, are located in the North West Victoria zone, and they are shared with New South Wales. These dry inland areas, like South Australia’s Riverland GI, straddle the Murray River (Australia’s longest) and sustain viticulture and other commercial agriculture through steady irrigation. In drought cycles, such as the period that lasted through most of the 2000s, the Murray’s reduced flow becomes a serious cause for concern. Overall, Murray Darling GI and Swan Hill GI contain nearly 9,000 hectares of vines, accounting for about 6% of the entire Australian vineyard, and this is supermarket-brand territory: 92% of the wines produced in these GIs (which invariably carry the “South Eastern Australia GI” moniker) sell for less than five Australian dollars per liter.

Western Victoria and Gippsland Zones

Grampians GI and its single sub-region, Great Western GI, lie at the western end of the Great Dividing Range, where moderately high elevation (rising to 440 meters) tempers the climate. The cool but extremely arid area developed a historical reputation for sparkling wines, shouldered on the efforts of Great Western Winery, founded by Joseph Best in 1865 but now under the Seppelt name. In 1890 Charles Pierlot, a French winemaker who trained at Pommery, made Australia’s first-ever traditional method sparkling wine, at Great Western. In 1894, Pierlot’s boss, Hans Irvine, showed the winery’s first “Sparkling Burgundy” at a Melbourne wine show, and under legendary winemaker Colin Preece Great Western shepherded Australia’s unique sparkling red style through the depression-era years of 1930s, when all others had abandoned the style. Red grapes dominate Grampians today: in 2018 they accounted for over 80% of the harvest, led by Shiraz and Cabernet Sauvignon. Despite its historical image, Grampians is primarily a still red table wine producer, and styles of Shiraz from the region are often elegant, defined, and peppery—although the occasional sparkling example does appear. Pinot Noir and Riesling are also becoming winemaker favorites in the area, and the region’s best modern producer is, aptly, Best’s.

The Pyrenees GI is adjacent to the northeastern border of Grampians. Its name is yet another example of the Australian colonial prerogative to simply name new places for the old ones to which they bear the most resemblance. Here it was perhaps wishful thinking: the Pyrenees in Australia, one of the last ranges within the Great Dividing Range, rarely rises above 700 meters. Like Grampians, the focus is on red varieties like Shiraz and Cabernet Sauvignon. The wines are richer and more full-throttled in Pyrenees than in Grampians. Henty GI, located along the southern coast in Victoria’s southwestern corner—and closer to Coonawarra than the regions of Port Phillip or Central Victoria—is on the opposite end of the spectrum: Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, and Riesling are the dominant grapes in this genuinely cool region, and sparkling winemaking is a common pursuit. As in Grampians, Seppelt is the largest producer in this tiny region: their 100 ha vineyard at Drumborg, originally planted in 1964, accounts for nearly two-thirds of Henty’s total vine acreage.

On the eastern side of coastal Victoria, Gippsland is unique among the state’s zones in that it does not currently have any smaller GI regions within it. The sprawling zone extends eastward from the Yarra Valley along the Bass Strait coastline, and reaches into the Great Dividing Range just south of the King and Alpine Valleys. Viticulture first sprung up in the 19th century in the area of East Gippsland, but modern efforts are concentrated nearly 125 miles away, in West Gippsland—which abuts the Yarra Valley—and in the cooler, maritime climate of South Gippsland, home to one of Australia’s top producers of Pinot Noir, Bass Phillip. As in Yarra, Pinot Noir is currently the most planted grape in Gippsland. Given the huge distances and significant differences in climate between the three unofficial subzones, many producers would like to see GI regions within the zone defined, but the low level of production is an obstacle. As a region must produce at least 500 tonnes of fruit annually to merit consideration for GI status, the entire Gippsland zone, with only 190 ha under vine in 2019, is simply not large enough to currently warrant the creation of three distinct Geographical Indications.

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Western Australia

Capital: Perth

In 2019, the state of Western Australia (WA) comprised 7% of the total Australian vineyard area, and produced under 2% of the country’s total harvest. With over 1300 miles separating SA’s Adelaide from Perth (Western Australia’s only real center of population), the GI zones of Greater Perth and South West Australia are a world removed from the growing regions in southeastern Australia. Viticulture in WA is essentially confined to the coastal regions in the southwest, as much of the state’s vast inland desert and northern tropical regions are totally unsuitable for grape-growing. Like any major winegrowing region, growth usually occurs in proximity to a major market; that the wine industry in WA first developed in the hills and valleys surrounding Perth is no surprise. Thomas Waters, a botanist, planted Western Australia’s first vineyard in Swan Valley—now a sub-region of the Swan District GI—after his arrival with the first European fleet of settlers in 1829. Two of the state’s oldest wineries, Houghton and Sandalford, were founded in Swan Valley in 1836 and 1840, respectively. Today Perth’s northeastern suburbs are encroaching upon Swan Valley, and it has the rather notorious distinction of being Australia’s hottest GI in an era when pursuit of cooler climes drives the fine wine industry. In the 1980s more than half of WA’s wine was produced in Swan Valley; today, the volume of production has shifted from the Greater Perth zone to the South West Australia GIs of Margaret River, Great Southern, and Geographe.

South West Australia Zone

As far this writer is aware, this region has never been seriously proposed as suitable for commercial viticulture. Nevertheless a study of its climate shows that it merits serious consideration.
– Dr. John Gladstones on the potential of the Busseltown/Margaret River area, 1965, “The Climate and Soils of South-Western Australia in Relation to Vine Growing”

Margaret River GI, a coastal region bounded by the Geographe Bay and the Indian and Southern Oceans, is the state’s most acclaimed appellation and among the foremost areas for Chardonnay, Cabernet Sauvignon, and Sauvignon Blanc-Semillon blends in the country today. This despite relative youth: Margaret River as a commercial wine region is barely a half-century old, and its original development was the result of scientific planning rather than historical accident. In 1965, Dr. John Gladstones, a local agronomist, presented his research on the suitability of the region for grape-growing to a group of local landowners—“mad doctors in run-down dairy country,” one elder winemaker recollects—and the first experimental plantings followed in 1966. In 1971 Dr. Tom Cullity’s Vasse Felix label produced the first commercial Margaret River wine—a Riesling. That first, raucous release party, attended by local farmers used to the alcohol levels of beer (rather than wine) is the stuff of local legend! Efforts with Cabernet Sauvignon, Malbec and Shiraz followed soon thereafter. The “Gladstones Line”—the line of longitude 115° 18’ E—established the modern appellation’s eastern border, essentially following alongside the Whicher Range. With further research in 1999, Dr. Gladstones proposed six unofficial subzones, cataloged not by soil profile but by the drainage direction for the region’s numerous rivers and creeks, which corresponded to the direction of air flow systems. The coastal zones, from north to south, are Yallingup, Wilyabrup, Wallcliffe, and Karridale. Carbunup lies on the Geographe Bay east of Cape Naturaliste in Yallingup, and Treeton is an inland region, with the warmest summer daytime temperatures but also the greatest diurnal variation. The heart of the appellation is Wilyabrup, home to three of the appellation’s “first five” producers: Vasse Felix, Cullen, and Moss Wood. The other two pioneers in the region, Leeuwin Estate and Cape Mentelle, are located in Wallcliffe, a cooler subzone that follows the course of the Margaret River as it flows westward into the Indian Ocean. The Blackwood River flows into the Southern Ocean in Karridale, home to some of the region’s best Sauvignon Blanc—crisp, cool, and often reflecting a pure snow pea character.

Margaret River GI

Zone: South West Australia
Climate: Warm Mediterranean with Maritime influence
Degree Days (°C): 1690 (Region III)
Top Varieties: Cabernet Sauvignon, Sauvignon Blanc, Semillon, Chardonnay
Secondary Varieties: Shiraz, Merlot, Malbec

Margaret River stands alongside Coonawarra as one of the country’s premium sources of Cabernet Sauvignon, and has pushed in the last decade to surpass it. According to local folklore, the grape arrived in Western Australia with Thomas Waters and other early European settlers, who picked up pre-phylloxera cuttings on their voyage around the Cape of Good Hope in South Africa, and planted vines near Perth. From these original South African cuttings came the “Houghton” selections, first established at the 175-year-old winery of the same name in Swan Valley, which provided the original source material for Cabernet vines in Margaret River. Margaret River’s general climate is Mediterranean—dry summers and rainy winters—and while marginally warmer than Coonawarra or the Médoc, Dr. Gladstones determined that its similarity in climate to Bordeaux held promise for varieties from that region. Cabernet Sauvignon from the red gravelly loam soils of Wilyabrup is the star: in warm vintages they are ripe yet moderate in weight, with bright acidity, dark berry, savory bay leaf herbal flavors and red capsicum notes. South of Wilyabrup, the cooler Wallcliffe often produces more austere and herbal Cabernet Sauvignon wines, but the sub-region excels with Chardonnay. The “Golden Triangle” within Wallcliffe—coined by James Halliday, the Golden Triangle comprises Leeuwin Estate, Cape Mentelle, and Voyager Estate—has been home to top Australian Chardonnay for two decades, and the entire region today delivers inspiring examples. Many of Margaret River’s Chardonnay vineyards are planted with the Gingin clone, a hen-and-chicken Chardonnay clone named after a town north of Perth, but better known as Mendoza elsewhere. While some producers are moving to Bernard (Dijon) clones in Margaret River, Gingin provides the base for the region’s classic style of rich, phenolic wines framed with taut acidity, accented by flavors of peach and lime. New oak is prominent but handled with finesse, and flinty, sulfite-derived character in “Chardy” has become a regional signature.

In the 1980s, all Cabernet was picked at 12.4° Baumé. In the '90s people started to pick on flavor ripeness and wines got bigger, but in the '00s we started to look at the vineyards more, and make wines in a more ‘sympathetic’ way. From the mid-2000s forward, we are starting to see more of the elegance and finesse of great Cabernet coming in, and we have entered an era of more attention to our vineyards and wines.
–Virginia Willcock, Chief Winemaker, Vasse Felix

Cabernet Sauvignon and Chardonnay are the region’s most respected wines internationally, but the engine room of local production is the Sauvignon Blanc-Semillon blend. Varietal Semillon was a regular entry in producer portfolios two decades ago, but today the blend (SBS or SSB) is a much more saleable venture. A wide array of crisp, unoaked wines are available, but the region can also produce high quality, oak-driven wines with Graves-like character, a style introduced by veteran Margaret River winemaker Stuart Pym (Stella Bella) after a season’s stint at Domaine de Chevalier.

The first bottle of red wine commercially
released in Margaret River.

Margaret River joined the winners’ circle of Australian wine regions in fairly short order, whereas the expansive Great Southern GI—another area promoted by Gladstones in 1965—remains emergent, still struggling to carve a cohesive regional identity. In a 1956 report, Professor Harold Olmo (UC Davis) recommended a shift in table wine production from the hotter climate of the Perth Hills to the cooler apple-growing regions of Mount Barker and the Frankland River, which lay inland off the southern coastline of WA. Gladstones’ endorsement followed: “Certainly, this area, lying on the borders of Region I and II (Winkler heat summation zones), would be greatly superior to the Swan Valley for table wine making.” Although the commercial possibilities of the Mount Barker region were explored as early as the 1930s, Olmo and Gladstones amplified enthusiasm for viticulture in the area. Riesling vines at Forest Hill in Mount Barker date to 1965, and respected Houghton’s winemaker Jack Mann, whose career spanned five decades, Great Southern’s first red wine from Forest Hill Cabernet grapes in 1972. In the isolation of Western Australia, he developed some of his own intuitive techniques—Mann crushed his grapes with a butcher’s mincer.

Today, the Great Southern GI includes five official sub-regions: the inland GIs of Mount Barker, Frankland River, and Porongurup; and the coastal GIs of Denmark and Albany. Albany is the site of Western Australia’s oldest permanent settlement and the spot from which Britain formally claimed Western Australia for the crown, on Christmas Day 1826. Climate in Albany and Denmark is strongly influenced by cool ocean breezes moving northward from the Antarctic, and diurnal temperature range is minimal. Both areas produce promising, if not totally evolved, examples of Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. In the inland areas of Porongurup and Mount Barker the climate turns more continental, and Riesling and Shiraz are the most dominant varieties. Mount Barker, the Great Southern’s most established sub-region and its center of production, is home to the regional pioneers Forest Hill Vineyard and Plantagenet. Overall, the wine industry in Great Southern continues to grow, but—with over 250 miles separating Albany from Perth—the region remains isolated, a wide expanse of rocky and savage coastline, gum tree forests, rolling hills and pastureland, where grazing animals outnumber persons and the nearest continent is Antarctica.

85% of Western Australia’s vines are located in the South West Australia zone, and the lion’s share is divided amongst Margaret River and Great Southern. Geographe GI is the state’s third-largest appellation (nearly 800 ha of vines in 2019) and another relative newcomer to viticulture—Capel Vale, Geographe’s most important producer today, planted the region’s first vines in 1974. The GI sweeps northward from the Gladstones Line along the seaboard of the bay of the same name—so named in dedication to le Géographe, vessel of the French explorer Nicolas Baudin, who mapped its coastline in 1800. It contains four distinct areas: Donnybrook, Ferguson Valley, Harvey, and the Capel-Busselton coastline. The focus in Geographe has always been on red varieties, with Shiraz and Cabernet Sauvignon leading the pack, but Semillon-Sauvignon Blanc blends are gaining steam as their popularity inflates next door in Margaret River. Other GIs in the region are younger still, and less tested: Blackwood Valley GI’s first vines were planted in 1976, whereas Pemberton GI—home to some surprisingly good Chardonnay—and Manjimup GI did not see the advent of commercial vineyards until the 1980s.

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Tasmania

Capital: Hobart

Located off the coastline of Victoria, the island state of Tasmania is Australia’s coolest and southernmost wine-producing area. Bartholomew Broughton planted Tasmania’s first commercial vineyard in 1823, predating the vine’s arrival in South Australia and Victoria. With about 1,700 hectares of vines, the state’s wine industry is dwarfed by that of many single regions and most zones on the mainland. Individual, unofficial regions exist on the island, but Tasmania GI is the state’s sole appellation. (One winemaker, Natalie Fryar of the Jansz Wine Company, describes further division as little more than “late night private talk,” as the focus in this tiny state is best kept on “Tassie” itself.) The island can however be broadly divided between its northern and southern sectors. The center of production is the Tamar Valley region in Northern Tasmania, where over one-third of the state’s vines are located, and the most important region in Southern Tasmania is the Coal River area, just north of Hobart. The climate of Northern Tasmania is similar to that of Champagne or the Rheingau, and Southern Tasmania is even cooler, although long sunshine hours during the growing season promote slow, even ripening. Overall, white grapes—Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, Pinot Gris, and Riesling—outnumber red plantings by a slim margin, but Pinot Noir is still by far the most planted variety. Overall, the island’s climate is perfectly suited for sparkling winemaking, as finesse, elegance, and acidity are easily maintained. In 2019, Tasmanian producers transformed 71% of the total Chardonnay harvest and 37% of the Pinot Noir fruit into sparkling wines. One in every two bottles from the island is bubbly, and Tasmania’s traditional method sparkling wines are without a doubt Australia’s best efforts in the category. Jansz, a property now owned by Yalumba but founded in the early 1980s as a joint venture between Louis Roederer and Heemskerk Wines, is the eldest commercial producer of sparkling wines and one of the premier wineries in Tasmania.

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Queensland

Capital: Brisbane

Queensland is the least significant state in Australia in terms of wine, and conditions throughout much of it render viticulture improbable. Inland climate turns desert-like west of the Great Dividing Range, and coastal climates shift from subtropical to tropical as one moves north. The summer-dominant rainfall patterns evidenced further south in the wine regions of Hunter and Hastings River intensify in coastal Queensland. To date, Granite Belt GI, a region on the border with New South Wales and adjacent to New England Australia GI, has produced the state’s best wines. Granite Belt is situated in the high country along the Great Dividing Range’s spine, with vineyards planted at 700 meters above sea level and higher. With its altitude, climate becomes continental despite the majority of rainfall occurring during the growing season. The region’s first modern vineyard—one hectare of Shiraz—was planted in 1965, and Shiraz remains its most successful variety. Over two-thirds of plantings are red grapes. The state’s other GI, South Burnett, is the northernmost wine region in Australia, and it experiences a fully subtropical climate. South Burnett was approved in 2001 as Queensland’s first GI, yet the first commercial vineyards in the area were planted as recently as 1993. Producers in the region have had some success with Verdelho, but this is an unequivocally hot and humid region, and challenges for fine wine production are legion. Other unofficial wine regions in Queensland include Darling Downs, Gold Coast, Sunshine Coast, and the environs of Brisbane, but as of 2013 none meets the minimum level of production required for GI approval. The state of Queensland experienced more rapid wine industry growth than any other in the early 2000s, but it has reversed with the contraction of Australia’s overall wine sector in recent years. While the local market of Brisbane provides a home for the state’s wines and tourists for its cellar doors, any future for the state as an internationally recognized producer of quality wines will be an uphill battle.

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Germany

user22387 — Fri, 03 Jan 2025 15:39:01 GMT

Revision 16 posted to Expert Guides by user22387 on 1/3/2025 3:39:01 PM

In the public eye, the story of German wine usually begins and ends with Riesling.

Setting the Stage
Origin of the 1971 Germany Wine Law
The 1971 German Wine Law Today
The VDP
The Grapes of Germany
Winegrowing Regions of Germany

Setting the Stage

Origin of the 1971 German Wine Law

The 1971 German Wine Law Today

Classic and Selection: By the Numbers

Prädikatswein Minimum Must Weight Ranges

All weights in degrees Öchsle

Kabinett: 70-85°
Spätlese: 76-95°
Auslese: 83-105°
Beerenauslese: 110-128°
Eiswein: 110-128°
Trockenbeerenauslese: 150-154°

Therefore, the four German categories of wine today are the following:

Wein: Formerly Tafelwein, this category carries no geographic designation, although wines may be labeled as Deutscher Wein if produced from German grapes. Variety and vintage are permitted on the label.
Landwein: An IGP category including trocken and halbtrocken wines produced from any of 26 winegrowing regions, known as Landweingebiete.
Qualitätswein: A PDO category, encompassing most of the country’s top dry wines. This category, inclusive of Prädikatswein, covers 96% of German wine production and almost all exports. In light of the low alcohol levels classically achieved by some of Germany’s finest sweet wines, this category requires wines to acquire a minimum 7% alcohol content, rather than the minimum 8.5% mandated by European law.
Prädikatswein: A PDO category and a subset of Qualitätswein, encompassing all of the country’s best sweet wines. The lower Prädikate require a minimum 7% acquired alcohol; from Beerenauslese on up, the minimum is reduced to 5.5%.

The VDP

The name of the category for each individual wine may appear on the capsule alongside the VDP logo, but producers often omit this mention for the Gutswein and Ortswein tiers.

The maximum yield for each category is as follows:

Gutswein: 75 hl/ha
Ortswein: 75 hl/ha
Erste Lage: 60 hl/ha
Grosse Lage: 50 hl/ha

The Grapes of Germany

Today, Germany maintains 102,000 hectares of vines. In 2017, it was the world’s 14th largest grower, behind Greece and South Africa.

All statistics courtesy of the German Wine Institute.

Like Müller-Thurgau, Scheurebe was originally recorded as a cross of Riesling and Silvaner, an error corrected one century after its birth.

German Sekt

– Romana Echensperger, MW

Rheingau

The Rheingau is the classic site of Rhenish Riesling cultivation
-H.W. Dahlen, General Secretary of the German Wine-Growers Association, 1894

The classic English nickname for Rhine wines, Hock, is derived from the name of Hochheim.

Mosel

Traditionally, Riesling from the Rheingau was bottled in brown glass, while Riesling from the Mosel was bottled in green glass.

Districts of the Mosel

Bernkastel

Burg Cochem

Obermosel

Ruwertal

Saar

Moseltor

Rheinhessen

Pfalz

In 2005, growers in the Pfalz introduced a DC Pfalz category, modeled off the Austrian DAC example. Wines were limited to trocken examples of Riesling, Grauburgunder, Weissburgunder, Spätburgunder, and Dornfelder. However, it appears short-lived and forgotten, with no major producers adopting the designation.

Pfalz Soil and Geology

Franken

Franken Silvaner is bottled in the traditional, squat Bocksbeutel.

Nahe

Baden

Württemberg

Ahr

Mittelrhein

Hessische-Bergstrasse

Sachsen and Saale-Unstrut

GuildSomm would like to thank Romana Echensperger, MW, for her help in reviewing this guide.

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Germany

user22387 — Fri, 03 Jan 2025 15:32:55 GMT

Revision 15 posted to Expert Guides by user22387 on 1/3/2025 3:32:55 PM

In the public eye, the story of German wine usually begins and ends with Riesling.

Setting the Stage
Origin of the 1971 Germany Wine Law
The 1971 German Wine Law Today
The VDP
The Grapes of Germany
Winegrowing Regions of Germany

Setting the Stage

Origin of the 1971 German Wine Law

The 1971 German Wine Law Today

Classic and Selection: By the Numbers

Prädikatswein Minimum Must Weight Ranges

All weights in degrees Öchsle

Kabinett: 70-85°
Spätlese: 76-95°
Auslese: 83-105°
Beerenauslese: 110-128°
Eiswein: 110-128°
Trockenbeerenauslese: 150-154°

Therefore, the four German categories of wine today are the following:

Wein: Formerly Tafelwein, this category carries no geographic designation, although wines may be labeled as Deutscher Wein if produced from German grapes. Variety and vintage are permitted on the label.
Landwein: An IGP category including trocken and halbtrocken wines produced from any of 26 winegrowing regions, known as Landweingebiete.
Qualitätswein: A PDO category, encompassing most of the country’s top dry wines. This category, inclusive of Prädikatswein, covers 96% of German wine production and almost all exports. In light of the low alcohol levels classically achieved by some of Germany’s finest sweet wines, this category requires wines to acquire a minimum 7% alcohol content, rather than the minimum 8.5% mandated by European law.
Prädikatswein: A PDO category and a subset of Qualitätswein, encompassing all of the country’s best sweet wines. The lower Prädikate require a minimum 7% acquired alcohol; from Beerenauslese on up, the minimum is reduced to 5.5%.

The VDP

The name of the category for each individual wine may appear on the capsule alongside the VDP logo, but producers often omit this mention for the Gutswein and Ortswein tiers.

The maximum yield for each category is as follows:

Gutswein: 75 hl/ha
Ortswein: 75 hl/ha
Erste Lage: 60 hl/ha
Grosse Lage: 50 hl/ha

The Grapes of Germany

Today, Germany maintains 102,000 hectares of vines. In 2017, it was the world’s 14th largest grower, behind Greece and South Africa.

All statistics courtesy of the German Wine Institute.

Riesling (23,809 ha, 2017): In the late 1990s, Riesling, Germany’s most distinguished grape variety, surpassed Müller-Thurgau to become the country’s most planted grape. Riesling is the most planted variety in 7 of Germany’s 13 Anbaugebiete, and the country maintains just under 40% of the world’s nearly 64,000 hectares of the vine. Whether the grape originated in Alsace or Germany is unknown; monks cultivated Riesslaner in the Rheingau vineyards of Kloster Eberbach by 1435, and in a 1552 Latin book of herbs, Hieronymus Bock logged Riesling in the modern-day regions of the Mosel, Rheingau, and Rheinhessen. Forces both noble and clerical mandated its cultivation throughout Germany’s emergent fine-wine regions from the late 17th century on. Riesling became synonymous with the Rheingau, a region that was dominated by red wine in the Middle Ages. Indeed, the Benedictine monks of Johannisberg insistent on its propagation were immortalized in the nickname Johannisberger, used throughout the 20th-century New World to refer to the grape.

Müller-Thurgau (12,397 ha, 2017): Müller-Thurgau, a Riesling and Madeleine Royale crossing first obtained by the Swiss Dr. Hermann Müller at the Geisenheim Grape Breeding Institute in 1882, became an incredibly important variety in Germany after World War II. Early ripening and high yielding, the variety became such an important component of mass-made Liebfraumilch wines and other low-end products that it quickly emerged as Germany’s leading grape variety in 1969, a position it maintained until Riesling usurped it 30 years later. German consumers during the period loved off-dry Müller-Thurgau for its muscat-like taste, but the variety is less acidic and less aromatic than Riesling and is not considered a quality grape in Germany today. It remains the second most planted variety in the country, but acreage continues to diminish; acreage in 2014 was about half of what it was in 1995.

Spätburgunder/Pinot Noir (11,767 ha, 2017): Germany is the world’s third-largest producer of Pinot Noir, trailing only France and the United States. Baden, where Pinot Noir first appeared in the late 800s, leads the way with nearly half of the country’s supply, followed by the Pfalz and the Rheinhessen. From 1964, when Pinot Noir claimed less than 2,000 hectares, the grape’s popularity has soared. It is a beneficiary of climate change and maturing German tastes for fine red wine, and the grape’s ascendance is in line with the overall advancement of red grapes in Germany.

Dornfelder (7,649 ha, 2017): Germany’s second most planted red grape variety, Dornfelder, is a cross of Helfensteiner and Heroldrebe developed by August Herold in 1956 and named after a founder of the Weinsberg viticulture school, August Dornfeld. The thick-skinned grape produces a darker, fuller style of wine than Spätburgunder but is highly vigorous in the vineyard. Its current popularity in Germany's domestic market stems from the common belief among consumers that color equals quality in reds.

Grauburgunder/Pinot Gris (6,402 ha, 2017): Grauburgunder has been cultivated in Germany since the Middle Ages and shows the most potential in the southern region of Baden, across the Rhine River from Alsace. Germany is actually the world’s second-largest grower of Pinot Gris, trailing Italy in total acreage. Here the wines are typically dry, with more power and richness than Italian Pinot Grigio but less outright funk than in Alsace. Occasionally, sweet botrytized wines are produced, labeled as Ruländer.

Weissburgunder/Pinot Blanc (5,334 ha, 2017): Germany is the world’s leading grower of Pinot Blanc, and the grape appears throughout Germany’s Anbaugebiete. Strongholds are Baden and the Pfalz. Weissburgunder in Germany can be simple, innocuous, and aromatically neutral, but at the top end, it has emerged as Germany’s leading textural white grape. Acidity typically rates higher than in Grauburgunder but lower than in Riesling. Great Weissburgunder is subject to many of the same treatments in the winery as good white Burgundy.

Silvaner (4,853 ha, 2017): Once the most planted variety in Germany, Silvaner lost its top billing to Müller-Thurgau in 1969 and has been sliding ever since. Today, it makes up just under 5% of the total German vineyard, yet in 2015, Silvaner finally gained a little ground, halting 50 years of decline in the vineyard. A Traminer and Österreichisch-Weiss (“Austrian white”) crossing, Silvaner is Austrian in origin and first arrived in Franken, its natural home in Germany, during the mid-17th century. In comparison to Riesling, it is lower in acid, less aromatic, less fruit driven, and prone to higher levels of alcohol. (If anything, Grüner Veltliner may be a better comparison for style.) Silvaner ripens earlier than Riesling, which led many 18th- and 19th-century growers to interplant it as a form of insurance, a tradition mirrored by grape breeders, who used Silvaner as a parent stock for crossings like Bacchus, Morio-Muskat, and Rieslaner. There are four broad types of the variety: Grüner, Blauer, Roter, and Gelber—green, blue, red, and yellow. By the 20th century, grape breeders isolated the most popular clones of the grape from the Grüner Silvaner sub-variety, which developed a thicker skin, generating greater resistance to rot and mildew but also a higher degree of bitterness and green character in the wines. Today, the newest clones developed at the Würzburg grape-breeding institute in Franken are typically of the Grüner or Gelber Silvaner sub-varieties, exhibiting looser clusters, smaller berries, less susceptibility to botrytis, and heightened aromatics and acid structure.

Lemberger/Blaufränkisch (1,865 ha, 2017): German renditions of the Austrian Blaufränkisch variety are beginning to show modest success, and many consider Lemberger to be the second highest quality red grape in Germany. It is cultivated primarily in Württemberg.

Scheurebe (1,404 ha, 2017): Named for the grape breeder Georg Scheu, who obtained this cross of Riesling and Bukettrebe at Alzey in 1916, Scheurebe is held as one of the few German crossings that can achieve high quality in the glass. Like Riesling, it can over-deliver in both dry and sweet versions, and it offers some of the pungently aromatic, thiol-based aromas of Sauvignon Blanc: grapefruit, cassis, cat pee. It is most successful in the Rheinhessen and the Pfalz.

Like Müller-Thurgau, Scheurebe was originally recorded as a cross of Riesling and Silvaner, an error corrected one century after its birth.

German Sekt

– Romana Echensperger, MW

Rheingau

The Rheingau is the classic site of Rhenish Riesling cultivation
-H.W. Dahlen, General Secretary of the German Wine-Growers Association, 1894

The classic English nickname for Rhine wines, Hock, is derived from the name of Hochheim.

Mosel

Traditionally, Riesling from the Rheingau was bottled in brown glass, while Riesling from the Mosel was bottled in green glass.

Districts of the Mosel

Bernkastel

Burg Cochem

Obermosel

Ruwertal

Saar

Moseltor

Rheinhessen

Pfalz

Pfalz Soil and Geology

Franken

Franken Silvaner is bottled in the traditional, squat Bocksbeutel.

Nahe

Baden

Württemberg

Ahr

Mittelrhein

Hessische-Bergstrasse

Sachsen and Saale-Unstrut

GuildSomm would like to thank Romana Echensperger, MW, for her help in reviewing this guide.

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Champagne Part II: Viticulture and Winemaking

user22387 — Tue, 24 Dec 2024 02:04:47 GMT

Revision 94 posted to Expert Guides by user22387 on 12/24/2024 2:04:47 AM

Viticulture

Vineyards in the Marne (Credit: Unsplash)

But it is true that a variety destined for Champagne production, when compared with the same variety grown in the same place for a still wine, generally requires the following in a classic vineyard:

An increase in:
- Shoot density
- Leaf layers
- Nodes per shoot
- Leaf area to fruit weight
- Pruning weight per meter of canopy
- Fruit produced per kilogram of prunings removed
A decrease in:
- Canopy gaps
- Cluster exposure

Vine Density

Vine Training Systems

Credit: Laura Perrone

Yields

The maximum usable annual yield is classified Champagne AOC and is the proportion of the crop that is immediately usable in a large harvest.

Harvest

Ripe Pinot Noir grapes on the vine (Credit: Adobe Stock)

Winemaking

Pressing and Settling

First Fermentation

Vins Clairs

Assemblage

Reserve Wines

Second Fermentation

Liqueur de Tirage

Sugar

Yeast

Yeast Nutrients

Fining Agents and Riddling Aids

Remise en Cercles

It is standard to add a fining agent, a riddling aid, or both, a practice that began in 1947.

Bottles and Temporary Closures

Glass Bottle Color

Click to enlarge and zoom in.

Bottle Weight

Bottle Format

Click to enlarge and zoom in.

Varying sizes of Veuve Clicquot and Drappier bottles (Credit: Florence Piot, Adobe Stock)

Temporary Closures

Aging on Lees

Optimum Time on Yeast?

Many windows of opportunity for disgorgement will result in very similar aromatic profiles, but some will be significantly better or worse than others.

Click to enlarge and zoom in.

Riddling

Pupitre

Girasol and Ticono

Mechanized Riddling

Gyropalette (Credit: Adobe Stock)

Wines stored sur pointe in the Bollinger caves (Credit: Unsplash)

Sur Pointe

Disgorgement

Dosage and Final Additions

Click to enlarge and zoom in.

Acetaldehyde

Sulfur

Recorking

Credit: Laura Perrone

Closures

A classic Champagne cork (Credit: Adobe Stock)

Postdisgorgement Aging

Read the Champagne Part I: Introduction expert guide.

Read the Champagne Part III: History expert guide.

Some material in this guide was previously published in The World of Fine Wine.

Compiled by user4386 (2023)

Edited by user22151 and user28307

Tags: Preview

Champagne Part II: Viticulture and Winemaking

user22387 — Tue, 24 Dec 2024 01:51:47 GMT

Revision 93 posted to Expert Guides by user22387 on 12/24/2024 1:51:47 AM

Viticulture

Vineyards in the Marne (Credit: Unsplash)

But it is true that a variety destined for Champagne production, when compared with the same variety grown in the same place for a still wine, generally requires the following in a classic vineyard:

An increase in:
- Shoot density
- Leaf layers
- Nodes per shoot
- Leaf area to fruit weight
- Pruning weight per meter of canopy
- Fruit produced per kilogram of prunings removed
A decrease in:
- Canopy gaps
- Cluster exposure

Vine Density

Vine Training Systems

Credit: Laura Perrone

Yields

The maximum usable annual yield is classified Champagne AOC and is the proportion of the crop that is immediately usable in a large harvest.

Harvest

Ripe Pinot Noir grapes on the vine (Credit: Adobe Stock)

Winemaking

Pressing and Settling

First Fermentation

Vins Clairs

Assemblage

Reserve Wines

Second Fermentation

Liqueur de Tirage

Sugar

Yeast

Yeast Nutrients

Fining Agents and Riddling Aids

Remise en Cercles

It is standard to add a fining agent, a riddling aid, or both, a practice that began in 1947.

Bottles and Temporary Closures

Glass Bottle Color

Click to enlarge and zoom in.

Bottle Weight

Bottle Format

Click to enlarge and zoom in.

Varying sizes of Veuve Clicquot and Drappier bottles (Credit: Florence Piot, Adobe Stock)

Temporary Closures

Aging on Lees

Optimum Time on Yeast?

Many windows of opportunity for disgorgement will result in very similar aromatic profiles, but some will be significantly better or worse than others.

Click to enlarge and zoom in.

Riddling

Pupitre

Girasol and Ticono

Mechanized Riddling

Gyropalette (Credit: Adobe Stock)

Wines stored sur pointe in the Bollinger caves (Credit: Unsplash)

Sur Pointe

Disgorgement

Dosage and Final Additions

Click to enlarge and zoom in.

Acetaldehyde

Sulfur

Recorking

Credit: Laura Perrone

Closures

A classic Champagne cork (Credit: Adobe Stock)

Postdisgorgement Aging

Read the Champagne Part I: Introduction expert guide.

Read the Champagne Part III: History expert guide.

Some material in this guide was previously published in The World of Fine Wine.

Compiled by user4386 (2023)

Edited by user22151 and user28307

Tags: Preview

Champagne Part II: Viticulture and Winemaking

user22387 — Tue, 24 Dec 2024 01:46:25 GMT

Revision 92 posted to Expert Guides by user22387 on 12/24/2024 1:46:25 AM

Viticulture
Winemaking
First Fermentation
Assemblage
Second Fermentation
Aging on Lees
Riddling
Disgorgement
Dosage and Final Additions
Recorking
Postdisgorgement Aging

Viticulture

Vineyards in the Marne (Credit: Unsplash)

But it is true that a variety destined for Champagne production, when compared with the same variety grown in the same place for a still wine, generally requires the following in a classic vineyard:

An increase in:
- Shoot density
- Leaf layers
- Nodes per shoot
- Leaf area to fruit weight
- Pruning weight per meter of canopy
- Fruit produced per kilogram of prunings removed
A decrease in:
- Canopy gaps
- Cluster exposure

Vine Density

Vine Training Systems

Credit: Laura Perrone

Yields

The maximum usable annual yield is classified Champagne AOC and is the proportion of the crop that is immediately usable in a large harvest.

Harvest

Ripe Pinot Noir grapes on the vine (Credit: Adobe Stock)

Winemaking

Pressing and Settling

First Fermentation

Vins Clairs

Assemblage

Reserve Wines

Second Fermentation

Liqueur de Tirage

Sugar

Yeast

Yeast Nutrients

Fining Agents and Riddling Aids

Remise en Cercles

It is standard to add a fining agent, a riddling aid, or both, a practice that began in 1947.

Bottles and Temporary Closures

Glass Bottle Color

Click to enlarge and zoom in.

Bottle Weight

Bottle Format

Click to enlarge and zoom in.

Varying sizes of Veuve Clicquot and Drappier bottles (Credit: Florence Piot, Adobe Stock)

Temporary Closures

Aging on Lees

Optimum Time on Yeast?

Many windows of opportunity for disgorgement will result in very similar aromatic profiles, but some will be significantly better or worse than others.

Click to enlarge and zoom in.

Riddling

Pupitre

Girasol and Ticono

Mechanized Riddling

Gyropalette (Credit: Adobe Stock)

Wines stored sur pointe in the Bollinger caves (Credit: Unsplash)

Sur Pointe

Disgorgement

Dosage and Final Additions

Click to enlarge and zoom in.

Acetaldehyde

Sulfur

Recorking

Credit: Laura Perrone

Closures

A classic Champagne cork (Credit: Adobe Stock)

Postdisgorgement Aging

Read the Champagne Part I: Introduction expert guide.

Read the Champagne Part III: History expert guide.

Some material in this guide was previously published in The World of Fine Wine.

Compiled by user4386 (2023)

Edited by user22151 and user28307

Tags: Preview

Champagne Part II: Viticulture and Winemaking

user22387 — Tue, 24 Dec 2024 01:43:53 GMT

Revision 91 posted to Expert Guides by user22387 on 12/24/2024 1:43:53 AM

Viticulture
Winemaking
First Fermentation
Assemblage
Second Fermentation
Aging on Lees
Riddling
Disgorgement
Dosage and Final Additions
Recorking
Postdisgorgement Aging

Viticulture

Vineyards in the Marne (Credit: Unsplash)

But it is true that a variety destined for Champagne production, when compared with the same variety grown in the same place for a still wine, generally requires the following in a classic vineyard:

An increase in:
- Shoot density
- Leaf layers
- Nodes per shoot
- Leaf area to fruit weight
- Pruning weight per meter of canopy
- Fruit produced per kilogram of prunings removed
A decrease in:
- Canopy gaps
- Cluster exposure

Vine Density

Vine Training Systems

Credit: Laura Perrone

Yields

The maximum usable annual yield is classified Champagne AOC and is the proportion of the crop that is immediately usable in a large harvest.

Harvest

Ripe Pinot Noir grapes on the vine (Credit: Adobe Stock)

Winemaking

Pressing and Settling

First Fermentation

Vins Clairs

Assemblage

Reserve Wines

Second Fermentation

Liqueur de Tirage

Sugar

Yeast

Yeast Nutrients

Fining Agents and Riddling Aids

Remise en Cercles

It is standard to add a fining agent, a riddling aid, or both, a practice that began in 1947.

Bottles and Temporary Closures

Glass Bottle Color

Click to enlarge and zoom in.

Bottle Weight

Bottle Format

Click to enlarge and zoom in.

Varying sizes of Veuve Clicquot and Drappier bottles (Credit: Florence Piot, Adobe Stock)

Temporary Closures

Aging on Lees

Optimum Time on Yeast?

Many windows of opportunity for disgorgement will result in very similar aromatic profiles, but some will be significantly better or worse than others.

Click to enlarge and zoom in.

Riddling

Pupitre

Girasol and Ticono

Mechanized Riddling

Gyropalette (Credit: Adobe Stock)

Wines stored sur pointe in the Bollinger caves (Credit: Unsplash)

Sur Pointe

Disgorgement

Dosage and Final Additions

Click to enlarge and zoom in.

Acetaldehyde

Sulfur

Recorking

Credit: Laura Perrone

Closures

A classic Champagne cork (Credit: Adobe Stock)

Postdisgorgement Aging

Read the Champagne Part I: Introduction expert guide.

Read the Champagne Part III: History expert guide.

Some material in this guide was previously published in The World of Fine Wine.

Compiled by user4386 (2023)

Edited by user22151 and user28307

Tags: Preview

Champagne Part II: Viticulture and Winemaking

user22387 — Tue, 24 Dec 2024 01:42:04 GMT

Revision 90 posted to Expert Guides by user22387 on 12/24/2024 1:42:04 AM

Viticulture
Winemaking
First Fermentation
Assemblage
Second Fermentation
Aging on Lees
Riddling
Disgorgement
Dosage and Final Additions
Recorking
Postdisgorgement Aging

Viticulture

Vineyards in the Marne (Credit: Unsplash)

But it is true that a variety destined for Champagne production, when compared with the same variety grown in the same place for a still wine, generally requires the following in a classic vineyard:

An increase in:
- Shoot density
- Leaf layers
- Nodes per shoot
- Leaf area to fruit weight
- Pruning weight per meter of canopy
- Fruit produced per kilogram of prunings removed
A decrease in:
- Canopy gaps
- Cluster exposure

Vine Density

Vine Training Systems

Credit: Laura Perrone

Yields

The maximum usable annual yield is classified Champagne AOC and is the proportion of the crop that is immediately usable in a large harvest.

Harvest

Ripe Pinot Noir grapes on the vine (Credit: Adobe Stock)

Winemaking

Pressing and Settling

First Fermentation

Vins Clairs

Assemblage

Reserve Wines

Second Fermentation

Liqueur de Tirage

Sugar

Yeast

Yeast Nutrients

Fining Agents and Riddling Aids

Remise en Cercles

It is standard to add a fining agent, a riddling aid, or both, a practice that began in 1947.

Bottles and Temporary Closures

Glass Bottle Color

Click to enlarge and zoom in.

Bottle Weight

Bottle Format

Click to enlarge and zoom in.

Varying sizes of Veuve Clicquot and Drappier bottles (Credit: Florence Piot, Adobe Stock)

Temporary Closures

Aging on Lees

Optimum Time on Yeast?

Many windows of opportunity for disgorgement will result in very similar aromatic profiles, but some will be significantly better or worse than others.

Click to enlarge and zoom in.

Riddling

Pupitre

Girasol and Ticono

Mechanized Riddling

Gyropalette (Credit: Adobe Stock)

Wines stored sur pointe in the Bollinger caves (Credit: Unsplash)

Sur Pointe

Disgorgement

Dosage and Final Additions

Click to enlarge and zoom in.

Acetaldehyde

Sulfur

Recorking

Credit: Laura Perrone

Closures

A classic Champagne cork (Credit: Adobe Stock)

Postdisgorgement Aging

Read the Champagne Part I: Introduction expert guide.

Read the Champagne Part III: History expert guide.

Some material in this guide was previously published in The World of Fine Wine.

Compiled by user4386 (2023)

Edited by user22151 and user28307

Tags: Preview

Fortified Wine

user22151 — Fri, 20 Dec 2024 17:46:14 GMT

Revision 47 posted to Expert Guides by user22151 on 12/20/2024 5:46:14 PM

Defining Fortified Wines
History of Fortified Wines
Portugal
Spain
France
Italy
Greece
Cyprus
Australia
South Africa
United States
Fortified Wines in Restaurants
Bibliography

Defining Fortified Wines

Credit: Laura Perrone

Initial sweetness of the must or wine (as Baumé)
Volume of the must or wine to be fortified
Alcohol level of the must or wine to be fortified
Volume and strength of the fortifying spirit
Volume of the finished wine after fortification
Alcohol level of the wine after fortification

History of Fortified Wines

Portugal

Port

Land and Climate

Douro landscape (Credit: Jenny Hemmer)

Most vines planted for Port wine production are in the form of single or double Guyot, set low in vertical rows.

The IVDP and the Beneficio System

Port Grapes

Touriga Nacional (Credit: Wines of Portugal

Port Production

Port cellar (Credit: Adobe Stock)

Red Ports

Ruby Ports

Vintage Port: Vintage Port is the apogee of red Port production and is made from the best-quality grapes from superior sites. Producers must state their intention to release, or declare, a Vintage Port in the second year after the harvest. As the name suggests, these wines are from a single year and must spend a maximum of three years in pipe. Usually, Vintage Ports are bottled in the second spring following the vintage, approximately 18 to 20 months after the harvest. Once bottled and released, Vintage Ports can be cellared for decades, improving as they mature.

Tawny Ports

Rosé Ports

Moscatel do Douro

White Ports

White Port may be released as standard white Port or with the same designations as Tawny Ports, following the same requirements.

Madeira

History of Madeira

The island of Madeira (Credit: Adobe Stock)

Land and Climate

Madeira Grapes

Madeira Production

Label Designations

Indications of Age: Designations are available for blends with an age of 5, 10, 15, 20, 30, 40, 50, and over 50 years, when deemed to be in conformity with standards of quality and typicity.

Colheita: These are wines from a single harvest with special organoleptic characteristics, and that have been matured in cask for at least five years.

Other notable terms include the following:

Reserve or Old: A blend of at least five years of age.
Old Reserve (sometimes Special Reserve or Very Old): A wine of at least 10 years of age.
Selected, Choice, Fine, or Finest: A wine showing special qualities for the stated age.
Solera: A wine with a minimum of five years in cask. After this period, 10% of the base wine can be drawn off annually and replaced with the same volume of younger wine of the same variety, with a maximum of 10 additions. No new soleras have been started on Madeira for many years.

Moscatel de Setúbal

In 2023, production of Moscatel de Setúbal was roughly 1,837,400 liters, and 193,300 liters of Moscatel Roxo de Setúbal were made.

Spain

Sherry

History of Sherry

The Bodegas

Land and Climate

Credit: Laura Perrone

Sherry Grapes

The most important Sherry grapes are Palomino, Pedro Ximénez, and Moscatel, but since 2022 three others have also been permitted: Perruno, Beba, and Vigiriega.

Sherry Production

Classifications

Credit: Laura Perrone

The Solera

Aging Styles

Label Designations

Fino

The term en rama (raw) is used to describe dry wines, usually Finos, that have been bottled without any stabilization, clarification, or fining, and with minimal filtration.

Manzanilla

Amontillado

Palo Cortado

Oloroso

Vinos de Pasto

Sweetened Sherries (Vinos Generosos de Licor)

Naturally Sweet Wines

Indications of Age

VOS (Vinum Optimum Signature or Very Old Sherry): This term denotes a wine with an average maturation in cask of at least 20 years.

VORS (Vinum Optimum Rare Signature or Very Old Rare Sherry): This term denotes a wine with an average age of at least 30 years.

Montilla-Moriles

Palo Cortado: Like its Sherry counterpart, Palo Cortado from Montilla is stylistically halfway between Amontillado and Oloroso.

Oloroso: Because they are made from PX, these Oloroso wines are richer, fuller, and deeper in color than their Sherry counterparts, which are made from Palomino. They are almost always fortified.

Málaga

Dorado/Golden: An unaged wine made with no arrope addition.
Rojo Dorado/Rot Gold: An aged wine made with 5% arrope by volume added.
Oscuro/Brown: An aged wine made with 5% to 10% arrope by volume added.
Color: An aged liqueur wine made with 10% to 15% arrope by volume added.
Negro/Dunkel: An aged liqueur wine made with at least 15% arrope by volume added.

Credit: Laura Perrone

Sweetness levels vary and might be described as follows:

Dry Pale/Pale Dry: No arrope added and containing less than 45 g/l RS.
Pale Cream: No arrope added and containing more than 45 g/l RS.
Vino Maestro: A mistelle of 15% to 16% ABV with more than 100 g/l RS.
Dulce Cream/Cream: An amber, wood-matured liqueur wine with 100 g/l RS to 140 g/l RS.
Sweet: A liqueur wine of amber to dark mahogany with more than 140 g/l RS.
Vino Tierno: A liqueur wine made from sun-dried grapes with more than 350 g/l RS.

Catalunya

France

There are myriad styles within the vin doux naturel category:

Blanc: An unaged wine made from white grapes.
Tuilé: In Maury and Rivesaltes, this term refers to red wines that have been aged oxidatively. In Banyuls, the term traditionnel is used instead.
Rosé: A rosé wine made by macerating black grapes.
Ambré: A cask-aged wine made from white grapes that has taken on an amber hue through oxidation.
Grenat: In Maury and Rivesaltes, this term refers to an unaged style of red wine.
Rancio: A wine that has been deliberately exposed to heat and oxygen, often directly under the sun in demijohn.
Hors d’Âge: A red or white wine that has been matured oxidatively for at least five years.

Southern Rhône

Rasteau Vin Doux Naturel

Vineyards in Rasteau (Credit: Adobe Stock)

Muscat de Beaumes-de-Venise

Languedoc

Muscat de Frontignan

Muscat de St. Jean de Minervois

Muscat de Mireval

Muscat de Lunel

Roussillon

Rivesaltes

Rivesaltes VDN Hors d’Âge and Rancio wines are also allowed here. Most Rivesaltes wines are nonvintage, which here refers to a wine that is a blend of vintages with a specific average age.

Muscat de Rivesaltes

As in Saint-Jean-de-Minervois, in Languedoc, Muscat de Noël is produced here; the name can be applied to wines that are bottled no later than December 1 of the year of harvest.

Banyuls

Maury

Vineyards in Maury (Credit: Adobe Stock)

Mistelle

It should be noted that the term vin de liqueur is also used by the European Union in reference to any fortified wine.

Maury Hors d’Âge and Maury Rancio have the same rules as those of Banyuls and Rivesaltes. Many other styles are allowed, including solera and vintage wines.

Pineau des Charentes

Pineau des Charentes Rosé and Rouge must be made from Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, and/or Merlot. They must spend a minimum of eight months in oak.

Italy

Marsala

Marsala Grapes and Production

Label Designations

There are several designations for aging. Aging must take place in oak or cherry wood following the first four months, a period when alternative containers can be used.

Fine: Aged for at least one year
Superiore: Aged for at least two years
Superiore Riserva: Aged for at least four years
Vergine/Solera: Aged for at least five years
Vergine Riserva/Solera Riserva/Vergine and Solera Stravecchio: Aged for at least 10 years

Several historic label indications are also available. These labels pay homage to the traditional styles of the region, which were blended to the preference of the destination.

Marsala Vecchio: A wine that has met the minimum requirements for Marsala Superiore
Marsala Fine IP: Italy Particular
Marsala Superiore SOM: Superior Old Marsala
Marsala Superiore GD: Garibaldi Dolce, a reference to the 19^th-century general
Marsala Superiore LP: London Particular

Greece

Muscat of Samos

The island of Samos (Credit: Adobe Stock)

Label Designations

Mavrodaphne of Patras

Muscat of Patras

Other Sweet Wines of Greece

Monemvasia-Malvasia PDO permits its sweet wines to be fortified as VDN, but this is rare; most wines are Naturally Sweet Wine made from the process of liasta stafilia, or sun-drying grapes.

Similarly, in Santorini PDO, Sweet Dried Grape Wine (vinsanto/liastos) is made, and Fortified Dried Grape Wine (vinsanto) is allowed but not currently produced.

Cyprus

Commandaria of Cyprus

Commandaria Grapes and Production

Australia

Rutherglen Muscat

Muscat growing in Rutherglen (Credit: Adobe Stock)

Rutherglen Topaque

Other Sweet Wines of Australia

South Africa

Cape Port

Cape Pink: A rosé fashioned from non-Muscat red and white varieties, Cape Pink wine must mature for at least six months in barrel or tank.

Cape Tawny: Cape Tawny is made from red varieties, and a minimum of 80% of the wine must be matured in barrel for at least six years. These oxidative, nutty wines are ready to drink at bottling.

Cape Vintage Reserve: Based on the best selection of Cape Vintage wines, Cape Vintage Reserve wines are designed to age in bottle for decades.

United States

Angelica

Fortified Wines in Restaurants

Compiled by user37608 (December 2024)

Edited by user22151

Bibliography

Barquín, Jesús, and Peter Liem. Sherry, Manzanilla, and Montilla: A Guide to the Traditional Wines of Andalucía. Mantius, 2012.

Jackson, Ronald. Wine Science. Academic Press, 1994.

Liddell, Alexander. Madeira: The Mid-Atlantic Wine. 1^st ed. Faber & Faber, 1998.

Mayson, Richard. Port and the Douro. 5^th ed. Infinite Ideas, 2024.

Rankine, Bryce. Making Good Wine: A Manual of Winemaking Practice for Australia and New Zealand. Sun Books, 1989.

Spence, Godfrey. The Port Companion: A Connoisseur’s Guide. Apple Press, 1997.

Many thanks to the following individuals for contributing their knowledge to this guide.

Francisco Albuquerque, Blandy’s Madeira

Dimitris Antoniou, KEO

Maryna Calow, Wines of South Africa

Savvas Constantinou, Ministry of Agriculture, Department of Viticulture, Cyprus

Alexandra Curatolo, Curatolo Arini Marsala

Giorgos Ftenogiannis, UWC Samos

Laura Jewell MW, Wine Australia

Anna Loisel, Sopexa

Andrea Lucas, Comissão Vitivinícola Regional da Península de Setúbal

Carmen Patrícia de Abreu Santana, IVBAM

Anthony Symington, Symington Family Estates

Tags: Preview

Fortified Wine

GuildSomm Admin — Fri, 20 Dec 2024 17:24:38 GMT

Revision 46 posted to Expert Guides by GuildSomm Admin on 12/20/2024 5:24:38 PM

Defining Fortified Wines
History of Fortified Wines
Portugal
Spain
France
Italy
Greece
Australia
South Africa
United States
Fortified Wines in Restaurants
Bibliography

Defining Fortified Wines

Credit: Laura Perrone

Initial sweetness of the must or wine (as Baumé)
Volume of the must or wine to be fortified
Alcohol level of the must or wine to be fortified
Volume and strength of the fortifying spirit
Volume of the finished wine after fortification
Alcohol level of the wine after fortification

History of Fortified Wines

Portugal

Port

Land and Climate

Douro landscape (Credit: Jenny Hemmer)

Most vines planted for Port wine production are in the form of single or double Guyot, set low in vertical rows.

The IVDP and the Beneficio System

Port Grapes

Touriga Nacional (Credit: Wines of Portugal

Port Production

Port cellar (Credit: Adobe Stock)

Red Ports

Ruby Ports

Vintage Port: Vintage Port is the apogee of red Port production and is made from the best-quality grapes from superior sites. Producers must state their intention to release, or declare, a Vintage Port in the second year after the harvest. As the name suggests, these wines are from a single year and must spend a maximum of three years in pipe. Usually, Vintage Ports are bottled in the second spring following the vintage, approximately 18 to 20 months after the harvest. Once bottled and released, Vintage Ports can be cellared for decades, improving as they mature.

Tawny Ports

Rosé Ports

Moscatel do Douro

White Ports

White Port may be released as standard white Port or with the same designations as Tawny Ports, following the same requirements.

Madeira

History of Madeira

The island of Madeira (Credit: Adobe Stock)

Land and Climate

Madeira Grapes

Madeira Production

Label Designations

Indications of Age: Designations are available for blends with an age of 5, 10, 15, 20, 30, 40, 50, and over 50 years, when deemed to be in conformity with standards of quality and typicity.

Colheita: These are wines from a single harvest with special organoleptic characteristics, and that have been matured in cask for at least five years.

Other notable terms include the following:

Reserve or Old: A blend of at least five years of age.
Old Reserve (sometimes Special Reserve or Very Old): A wine of at least 10 years of age.
Selected, Choice, Fine, or Finest: A wine showing special qualities for the stated age.
Solera: A wine with a minimum of five years in cask. After this period, 10% of the base wine can be drawn off annually and replaced with the same volume of younger wine of the same variety, with a maximum of 10 additions. No new soleras have been started on Madeira for many years.

Moscatel de Setúbal

In 2023, production of Moscatel de Setúbal was roughly 1,837,400 liters, and 193,300 liters of Moscatel Roxo de Setúbal were made.

Spain

Sherry

History of Sherry

The Bodegas

Land and Climate

Credit: Laura Perrone

Sherry Grapes

The most important Sherry grapes are Palomino, Pedro Ximénez, and Moscatel, but since 2022 three others have also been permitted: Perruno, Beba, and Vigiriega.

Sherry Production

Classifications

Credit: Laura Perrone

The Solera

Aging Styles

Label Designations

Fino

The term en rama (raw) is used to describe dry wines, usually Finos, that have been bottled without any stabilization, clarification, or fining, and with minimal filtration.

Manzanilla

Amontillado

Palo Cortado

Oloroso

Vinos de Pasto

Sweetened Sherries (Vinos Generosos de Licor)

Naturally Sweet Wines

Indications of Age

VOS (Vinum Optimum Signature or Very Old Sherry): This term denotes a wine with an average maturation in cask of at least 20 years.

VORS (Vinum Optimum Rare Signature or Very Old Rare Sherry): This term denotes a wine with an average age of at least 30 years.

Montilla-Moriles

Palo Cortado: Like its Sherry counterpart, Palo Cortado from Montilla is stylistically halfway between Amontillado and Oloroso.

Oloroso: Because they are made from PX, these Oloroso wines are richer, fuller, and deeper in color than their Sherry counterparts, which are made from Palomino. They are almost always fortified.

Málaga

Dorado/Golden: An unaged wine made with no arrope addition.
Rojo Dorado/Rot Gold: An aged wine made with 5% arrope by volume added.
Oscuro/Brown: An aged wine made with 5% to 10% arrope by volume added.
Color: An aged liqueur wine made with 10% to 15% arrope by volume added.
Negro/Dunkel: An aged liqueur wine made with at least 15% arrope by volume added.

Credit: Laura Perrone

Sweetness levels vary and might be described as follows:

Dry Pale/Pale Dry: No arrope added and containing less than 45 g/l RS.
Pale Cream: No arrope added and containing more than 45 g/l RS.
Vino Maestro: A mistelle of 15% to 16% ABV with more than 100 g/l RS.
Dulce Cream/Cream: An amber, wood-matured liqueur wine with 100 g/l RS to 140 g/l RS.
Sweet: A liqueur wine of amber to dark mahogany with more than 140 g/l RS.
Vino Tierno: A liqueur wine made from sun-dried grapes with more than 350 g/l RS.

Catalunya

France

There are myriad styles within the vin doux naturel category:

Blanc: An unaged wine made from white grapes.
Tuilé: In Maury and Rivesaltes, this term refers to red wines that have been aged oxidatively. In Banyuls, the term traditionnel is used instead.
Rosé: A rosé wine made by macerating black grapes.
Ambré: A cask-aged wine made from white grapes that has taken on an amber hue through oxidation.
Grenat: In Maury and Rivesaltes, this term refers to an unaged style of red wine.
Rancio: A wine that has been deliberately exposed to heat and oxygen, often directly under the sun in demijohn.
Hors d’Âge: A red or white wine that has been matured oxidatively for at least five years.

Southern Rhône

Rasteau Vin Doux Naturel

Vineyards in Rasteau (Credit: Adobe Stock)

Muscat de Beaumes-de-Venise

Languedoc

Muscat de Frontignan

Muscat de St. Jean de Minervois

Muscat de Mireval

Muscat de Lunel

Roussillon

Rivesaltes

Rivesaltes VDN Hors d’Âge and Rancio wines are also allowed here. Most Rivesaltes wines are nonvintage, which here refers to a wine that is a blend of vintages with a specific average age.

Muscat de Rivesaltes

As in Saint-Jean-de-Minervois, in Languedoc, Muscat de Noël is produced here; the name can be applied to wines that are bottled no later than December 1 of the year of harvest.

Banyuls

Maury

Vineyards in Maury (Credit: Adobe Stock)

Mistelle

It should be noted that the term vin de liqueur is also used by the European Union in reference to any fortified wine.

Maury Hors d’Âge and Maury Rancio have the same rules as those of Banyuls and Rivesaltes. Many other styles are allowed, including solera and vintage wines.

Pineau des Charentes

Pineau des Charentes Rosé and Rouge must be made from Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, and/or Merlot. They must spend a minimum of eight months in oak.

Italy

Marsala

Marsala Grapes and Production

Label Designations

There are several designations for aging. Aging must take place in oak or cherry wood following the first four months, a period when alternative containers can be used.

Fine: Aged for at least one year
Superiore: Aged for at least two years
Superiore Riserva: Aged for at least four years
Vergine/Solera: Aged for at least five years
Vergine Riserva/Solera Riserva/Vergine and Solera Stravecchio: Aged for at least 10 years

Several historic label indications are also available. These labels pay homage to the traditional styles of the region, which were blended to the preference of the destination.

Marsala Vecchio: A wine that has met the minimum requirements for Marsala Superiore
Marsala Fine IP: Italy Particular
Marsala Superiore SOM: Superior Old Marsala
Marsala Superiore GD: Garibaldi Dolce, a reference to the 19^th-century general
Marsala Superiore LP: London Particular

Greece

Muscat of Samos

The island of Samos (Credit: Adobe Stock)

Label Designations

Mavrodaphne of Patras

Muscat of Patras

Other Sweet Wines of Greece

Monemvasia-Malvasia PDO permits its sweet wines to be fortified as VDN, but this is rare; most wines are Naturally Sweet Wine made from the process of liasta stafilia, or sun-drying grapes.

Similarly, in Santorini PDO, Sweet Dried Grape Wine (vinsanto/liastos) is made, and Fortified Dried Grape Wine (vinsanto) is allowed but not currently produced.

Commandaria of Cyprus

Commandaria Grapes and Production

Australia

Rutherglen Muscat

Muscat growing in Rutherglen (Credit: Adobe Stock)

Rutherglen Topaque

Other Sweet Wines of Australia

South Africa

Cape Port

Cape Pink: A rosé fashioned from non-Muscat red and white varieties, Cape Pink wine must mature for at least six months in barrel or tank.

Cape Tawny: Cape Tawny is made from red varieties, and a minimum of 80% of the wine must be matured in barrel for at least six years. These oxidative, nutty wines are ready to drink at bottling.

Cape Vintage Reserve: Based on the best selection of Cape Vintage wines, Cape Vintage Reserve wines are designed to age in bottle for decades.

United States

Angelica

Fortified Wines in Restaurants

Compiled by user37608 (December 2024)

Edited by user22151

Bibliography

Barquín, Jesús, and Peter Liem. Sherry, Manzanilla, and Montilla: A Guide to the Traditional Wines of Andalucía. Mantius, 2012.

Jackson, Ronald. Wine Science. Academic Press, 1994.

Liddell, Alexander. Madeira: The Mid-Atlantic Wine. 1^st ed. Faber & Faber, 1998.

Mayson, Richard. Port and the Douro. 5^th ed. Infinite Ideas, 2024.

Rankine, Bryce. Making Good Wine: A Manual of Winemaking Practice for Australia and New Zealand. Sun Books, 1989.

Spence, Godfrey. The Port Companion: A Connoisseur’s Guide. Apple Press, 1997.

Many thanks to the following individuals for contributing their knowledge to this guide.

Francisco Albuquerque, Blandy’s Madeira

Dimitris Antoniou, KEO

Maryna Calow, Wines of South Africa

Savvas Constantinou, Ministry of Agriculture, Department of Viticulture, Cyprus

Alexandra Curatolo, Curatolo Arini Marsala

Giorgos Ftenogiannis, UWC Samos

Laura Jewell MW, Wine Australia

Anna Loisel, Sopexa

Andrea Lucas, Comissão Vitivinícola Regional da Península de Setúbal

Carmen Patrícia de Abreu Santana, IVBAM

Anthony Symington, Symington Family Estates

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Fortified Wine

user22151 — Fri, 20 Dec 2024 17:12:22 GMT

Revision 45 posted to Expert Guides by user22151 on 12/20/2024 5:12:22 PM

Defining Fortified Wines
History of Fortified Wines
Portugal
Spain
France
Italy
Greece
Australia
South Africa
United States
Fortified Wines in Restaurants
Bibliography

Defining Fortified Wines

Credit: Laura Perrone

Initial sweetness of the must or wine (as Baumé)
Volume of the must or wine to be fortified
Alcohol level of the must or wine to be fortified
Volume and strength of the fortifying spirit
Volume of the finished wine after fortification
Alcohol level of the wine after fortification

History of Fortified Wines

Portugal

Port

Land and Climate

Douro landscape (Credit: Jenny Hemmer)

Most vines planted for Port wine production are in the form of single or double Guyot, set low in vertical rows.

The IVDP and the Beneficio System

Port Grapes

Touriga Nacional (Credit: Wines of Portugal

Port Production

Port cellar (Credit: Adobe Stock)

Red Ports

Ruby Ports

Vintage Port: Vintage Port is the apogee of red Port production and is made from the best-quality grapes from superior sites. Producers must state their intention to release, or declare, a Vintage Port in the second year after the harvest. As the name suggests, these wines are from a single year and must spend a maximum of three years in pipe. Usually, Vintage Ports are bottled in the second spring following the vintage, approximately 18 to 20 months after the harvest. Once bottled and released, Vintage Ports can be cellared for decades, improving as they mature.

Tawny Ports

Rosé Ports

Moscatel do Douro

White Ports

White Port may be released as standard white Port or with the same designations as Tawny Ports, following the same requirements.

Madeira

History of Madeira

The island of Madeira (Credit: Adobe Stock)

Land and Climate

Madeira Grapes

Madeira Production

Label Designations

Indications of Age: Designations are available for blends with an age of 5, 10, 15, 20, 30, 40, 50, and over 50 years, when deemed to be in conformity with standards of quality and typicity.

Colheita: These are wines from a single harvest with special organoleptic characteristics, and that have been matured in cask for at least five years.

Other notable terms include the following:

Reserve or Old: A blend of at least five years of age.
Old Reserve (sometimes Special Reserve or Very Old): A wine of at least 10 years of age.
Selected, Choice, Fine, or Finest: A wine showing special qualities for the stated age.
Solera: A wine with a minimum of five years in cask. After this period, 10% of the base wine can be drawn off annually and replaced with the same volume of younger wine of the same variety, with a maximum of 10 additions. No new soleras have been started on Madeira for many years.

Moscatel de Setúbal

In 2023, production of Moscatel de Setúbal was roughly 1,837,400 liters, and 193,300 liters of Moscatel Roxo de Setúbal were made.

Spain

Sherry

History of Sherry

The Bodegas

Land and Climate

Credit: Laura Perrone

Sherry Grapes

The most important Sherry grapes are Palomino, Pedro Ximénez, and Moscatel, but since 2022 three others have also been permitted: Perruno, Beba, and Vigiriega.

Sherry Production

Classifications

Credit: Laura Perrone

The Solera

Aging Styles

Label Designations

Fino

The term en rama (raw) is used to describe dry wines, usually Finos, that have been bottled without any stabilization, clarification, or fining, and with minimal filtration.

Manzanilla

Amontillado

Palo Cortado

Oloroso

Vinos de Pasto

Sweetened Sherries (Vinos Generosos de Licor)

Naturally Sweet Wines

Indications of Age

VOS (Vinum Optimum Signature or Very Old Sherry): This term denotes a wine with an average maturation in cask of at least 20 years.

VORS (Vinum Optimum Rare Signature or Very Old Rare Sherry): This term denotes a wine with an average age of at least 30 years.

Montilla-Moriles

Palo Cortado: Like its Sherry counterpart, Palo Cortado from Montilla is stylistically halfway between Amontillado and Oloroso.

Oloroso: Because they are made from PX, these Oloroso wines are richer, fuller, and deeper in color than their Sherry counterparts, which are made from Palomino. They are almost always fortified.

Málaga

Dorado/Golden: An unaged wine made with no arrope addition.
Rojo Dorado/Rot Gold: An aged wine made with 5% arrope by volume added.
Oscuro/Brown: An aged wine made with 5% to 10% arrope by volume added.
Color: An aged liqueur wine made with 10% to 15% arrope by volume added.
Negro/Dunkel: An aged liqueur wine made with at least 15% arrope by volume added.

Credit: Laura Perrone

Sweetness levels vary and might be described as follows:

Dry Pale/Pale Dry: No arrope added and containing less than 45 g/l RS.
Pale Cream: No arrope added and containing more than 45 g/l RS.
Vino Maestro: A mistelle of 15% to 16% ABV with more than 100 g/l RS.
Dulce Cream/Cream: An amber, wood-matured liqueur wine with 100 g/l RS to 140 g/l RS.
Sweet: A liqueur wine of amber to dark mahogany with more than 140 g/l RS.
Vino Tierno: A liqueur wine made from sun-dried grapes with more than 350 g/l RS.

Catalunya

France

There are myriad styles within the vin doux naturel category:

Blanc: An unaged wine made from white grapes.
Tuilé: In Maury and Rivesaltes, this term refers to red wines that have been aged oxidatively. In Banyuls, the term traditionnel is used instead.
Rosé: A rosé wine made by macerating black grapes.
Ambré: A cask-aged wine made from white grapes that has taken on an amber hue through oxidation.
Grenat: In Maury and Rivesaltes, this term refers to an unaged style of red wine.
Rancio: A wine that has been deliberately exposed to heat and oxygen, often directly under the sun in demijohn.
Hors d’Âge: A red or white wine that has been matured oxidatively for at least five years.

Southern Rhône

Rasteau Vin Doux Naturel

Vineyards in Rasteau (Credit: Adobe Stock)

Muscat de Beaumes-de-Venise

Languedoc

Muscat de Frontignan

Muscat de St. Jean de Minervois

Muscat de Mireval

Muscat de Lunel

Roussillon

Rivesaltes

Rivesaltes VDN Hors d’Âge and Rancio wines are also allowed here. Most Rivesaltes wines are nonvintage, which here refers to a wine that is a blend of vintages with a specific average age.

Muscat de Rivesaltes

As in Saint-Jean-de-Minervois, in Languedoc, Muscat de Noël is produced here; the name can be applied to wines that are bottled no later than December 1 of the year of harvest.

Banyuls

Maury

Vineyards in Maury (Credit: Adobe Stock)

Mistelle

It should be noted that the term vin de liqueur is also used by the European Union in reference to any fortified wine.

Maury Hors d’Âge and Maury Rancio have the same rules as those of Banyuls and Rivesaltes. Many other styles are allowed, including solera and vintage wines.

Pineau des Charentes

Pineau des Charentes Rosé and Rouge must be made from Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, and/or Merlot. They must spend a minimum of eight months in oak.

Italy

Marsala

Marsala Grapes and Production

Label Designations

There are several designations for aging. Aging must take place in oak or cherry wood following the first four months, a period when alternative containers can be used.

Fine: Aged for at least one year
Superiore: Aged for at least two years
Superiore Riserva: Aged for at least four years
Vergine/Solera: Aged for at least five years
Vergine Riserva/Solera Riserva/Vergine and Solera Stravecchio: Aged for at least 10 years

Several historic label indications are also available. These labels pay homage to the traditional styles of the region, which were blended to the preference of the destination.

Marsala Vecchio: A wine that has met the minimum requirements for Marsala Superiore
Marsala Fine IP: Italy Particular
Marsala Superiore SOM: Superior Old Marsala
Marsala Superiore GD: Garibaldi Dolce, a reference to the 19^th-century general
Marsala Superiore LP: London Particular

Greece

Muscat of Samos

The island of Samos (Credit: Adobe Stock)

Label Designations

Mavrodaphne of Patras

Muscat of Patras

Other Sweet Wines of Greece

Monemvasia-Malvasia PDO permits its sweet wines to be fortified as VDN, but this is rare; most wines are Naturally Sweet Wine made from the process of liasta stafilia, or sun-drying grapes.

Similarly, in Santorini PDO, Sweet Dried Grape Wine (vinsanto/liastos) is made, and Fortified Dried Grape Wine (vinsanto) is allowed but not currently produced.

Commandaria of Cyprus

Commandaria Grapes and Production

Australia

Rutherglen Muscat

Muscat growing in Rutherglen (Credit: Adobe Stock)

Rutherglen Topaque

Other Sweet Wines of Australia

South Africa

Cape Port

Cape Pink: A rosé fashioned from non-Muscat red and white varieties, Cape Pink wine must mature for at least six months in barrel or tank.

Cape Tawny: Cape Tawny is made from red varieties, and a minimum of 80% of the wine must be matured in barrel for at least six years. These oxidative, nutty wines are ready to drink at bottling.

Cape Vintage Reserve: Based on the best selection of Cape Vintage wines, Cape Vintage Reserve wines are designed to age in bottle for decades.

United States

Angelica

Fortified Wines in Restaurants

Compiled by user37608 (December 2024)

Edited by user22151

Bibliography

Barquín, Jesús, and Peter Liem. Sherry, Manzanilla, and Montilla: A Guide to the Traditional Wines of Andalucía. Mantius, 2012.

Jackson, Ronald. Wine Science. Academic Press, 1994.

Liddell, Alexander. Madeira: The Mid-Atlantic Wine. 1^st ed. Faber & Faber, 1998.

Mayson, Richard. Port and the Douro. 5^th ed. Infinite Ideas, 2024.

Rankine, Bryce. Making Good Wine: A Manual of Winemaking Practice for Australia and New Zealand. Sun Books, 1989.

Spence, Godfrey. The Port Companion: A Connoisseur’s Guide. Apple Press, 1997.

Many thanks to the following individuals for contributing their knowledge to this guide.

Francisco Albuquerque, Blandy’s Madeira

Dimitris Antoniou, KEO

Maryna Calow, Wines of South Africa

Savvas Constantinou, Ministry of Agriculture, Department of Viticulture, Cyprus

Alexandra Curatolo, Curatolo Arini Marsala

Giorgos Ftenogiannis, UWC Samos

Laura Jewell MW, Wine Australia

Anna Loisel, Sopexa

Andrea Lucas, Comissão Vitivinícola Regional da Península de Setúbal

Carmen Patrícia de Abreu Santana, IVBAM

Anthony Symington, Symington Family Estates

Expert Guides

Canada

Contents

History

Canadian Wine in Context

Canadian Wine Law

Ontario Wine Law

British Columbia Wine Law

Quebec Wine Law

Nova Scotia Wine Law

Icewine Wine Law

The Grapes of Canada

The Grapes of British Columbia

The Grapes of Ontario

The Grapes of Quebec

The Grapes of Nova Scotia

British Columbia

Okanagan Valley GI

Similkameen Valley GI

Vancouver Island GI

Cowichan Valley sub-GI

Gulf Islands GI

Fraser Valley GI

Thompson Valley GI

Kootenays GI

Lillooet GI

Shuswap GI

Ontario

Niagara Peninsula GI

Niagara Escarpment Regional GI

Niagara-on-the-Lake Regional GI

Other Niagara Peninsula Sub-GIs

Prince Edward County GI

Lake Erie North Shore GI

Emerging Regions in Ontario

Quebec

Nova Scotia

Bibliography

Italy Part IV: Southern Italy

Contents

The Grapes and Grape Families of Southern Italy

White Grapes

Red Grapes

Abruzzo

Montepulciano

Trebbiano

Other Regions of Abruzzo

Molise

Puglia

Castel del Monte

Gioia del Colle and Manduria

Salento Peninsula

White Grapes in Puglia

Campania

Aglianico-Based Denominations

Other Wines of Irpinia and Sannio

Coastal and Island Areas

Basilicata

Calabria

Sicily

Mount Etna

Other Regions of Northeastern Sicily

Other Regions of Southeastern Sicily

Marsala

Pantelleria

Other Regions of Western and Central Sicily

Sardinia

Vermentino-Based Denominations

Cannonau-Based Denominations

Other Varieties and Regions of Sardinia

Bibliography

Germany

Contents

Setting the Stage

Origin of the 1971 German Wine Law

The 1971 German Wine Law Today

The VDP

The Grapes of Germany

Rheingau

Mosel