the magazine of the german wine institute - Wines of Germany

16 DAS GERMAN ETIKETT WINE HISTORY IN FAST MOTION
A LAW TAKES EFFECT
The Wine Act of 1971 provides the basis for
German viticulture as it is today: the winegrowing
regions, appellations of vineyard locations
and large vineyard sites are still largely
valid. Since then, there have also been clearly
defined grades such as quality wine and predicate
wine. The basis of the law was the creation
of the Common Organisation of the Market in
Wine in the EU.
1971
1990
NOW THERE ARE THIRTEEN
With the reunification of Germany the number
of wine-growing regions increases to thirteen.
The two additional areas are Sachsen and
Saale-Unstrut.
1995
RIESLING
RENAISSANCE
It is not that long ago
that Riesling started to be
seen again as the king of
German wines – with a
market share of over
60 percent Germany has
the largest Riesling growing
area in the world. The
world’s growing demand
for German Riesling is
associated with a change
in the quality-oriented
thinking and patterns of
consumption. More and
more winemakers rely on
Riesling.
WINE BEATS BEER
For the first time, the
Germans spend more
money on wine than on
beer. Although only just:
the share of the household
alcoholic beverage budget
is 32.3 percent for wine,
just ahead of the share for
beer (32.2 percent). But
in a country where beer
consumption is much
higher than the wine
consumption, this is an
historic moment. Since
then the wine share has
grown significantly.
2001
RED WINE BOOM
The proportion of red wine
varieties has been growing
steadily since 1981, until it
reached 36.9 percent in 2006.
The reason: When replanting
many vintners choose Pinot
Noir, Dornfelder and other red
grape varieties because Germans
increasingly prefer
to drink red wine. However,
the area planted with red
varieties has since then
decreased slightly.
2006
2010
LANDMARKS OF WINE
CULTURE
Since 2010, the German
Wine Institute has awarded
prizes to “Landmarks of
Wine Culture”: places which
are documenting the history
and tradition of wine
growing in an impressive
way. These include old vineyards
and wine museums as
well as historical winepresses
or traditional wine-growing
communities.
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