Observations of German Viticulture GregGreg JohnsJohns TheThe OhioOhio StateState UniversityUniversity // OARDCOARDC AshtabulaAshtabula AgriculturalAgricultural ResearchResearch StationStation KingsvilleKingsville The Group Under the direction of the Ohio Grape Industries Committee Organized by Deutsches Weininstitute Attended by 20+ representatives ODA Director & Mrs. Dailey OGIC Mike Widner OSU reps. Todd Steiner & Greg Johns Ohio (and Pa) Winegrowers / Winemakers Wine Distributor Kerry Brady, our guide Others Itinerary March 26 March 29 Mosel Mittelrhein & Nahe Join group - Koblenz March 30 March 27 Rheingau Educational sessions March 31 Lower Mosel Rheinhessen March 28 April 1 ProWein - Dusseldorf Depart Observations of the German Winegrowing Industry German wine educational sessions German Wine Academy ProWein - Industry event Showcase of wines from around the world Emphasis on German wines Tour winegrowing regions Vineyards Wineries Geisenheim Research Center German Wine Academy Deutsches Weininstitute EducationEducation -- GermanGerman StyleStyle WinegrowingWinegrowing RegionsRegions RegionalRegional IdentityIdentity LabelingLabeling Types/stylesTypes/styles WineWine LawsLaws TastingsTastings ProWein German Winegrowing Regions German Wine Regions % white vs. red Rheinhessen 68%White 32%Red Pfalz 60% 40% Baden 57% 43% Wurttemberg 30% 70%*** Mosel-Saar-Ruwer 91% 9% Franken 83% 17% Nahe 75% 25% Rheingau 84% 16% Saale-Unstrut 75% 25% Ahr 12% 88%*** Mittelrhein 86% 14% Hessische Bergstrasse 82% 18% Sachsen 83% 17% German Wine Statistics Riesling 20% Spatburgunder (P.noir) 11.1% Muller-Thurgau 14.7% Dornfelder 8% Silvaner 5.5% Portugieser 4.8% Kerner 4.5% Trollinger 2.5% Rulander (P.gris) 3.7% Schwartzriesling(P.meunier) Weissburgunder(P.blanc)3.1% 2.4% Bacchus 2.3% Regent 2% Scheurebe 1.9% Lemberger 1.5% Gutedel 1.1% Chardonnay 0.9% Elbling 0.6% Total 64% Total 36% Mosel - Saar - Ruwer Steep slopes Some 70 degrees Moselle - Mosel Saar & Ruwer Luxembourg Mosel - Saar - Ruwer Steep slopes Some 70 degrees Slate soils predominate Upper (south) / Shell Limestone Middle / sand and gravel on plains with Devonian slate slopes Lower (north) / clayish slate Riesling, Muller-Thurgau, Spatburgunder (P,noir), White Elbling, an ancient variety Mosel - Saar - Ruwer Steep slopes Some 70 degrees Stake and bow training on very steep slopes Trellised when possible Pendelbogen Flashbogen Mosel - Saar - Ruwer Winegrowing history since Roman times! Mosel - Saar - Ruwer Steep slopes Some 70 degrees Slate soils predominate Upper (south) / Shell Limestone Middle / sand and gravel on plains with Devonian slate slopes Sand and gravel in some areas Lower (north) / clayish slate Mosel - Saar - Ruwer Steep slopes Some 70 degrees Economics Abandoned vineyards 29.000 acres in 80’s to 20,000 today Mosel - Saar - Ruwer Steep slopes SomeSome 7070 degreesdegrees Riesling is king 57% vineyard area M-S-R Regionally 92% white 8% red Mosel - Saar - Ruwer Steep slopes Some 70 degrees Heymann Lowenstein Unique slate types Impart qualities to the wine “The Riesling vine is the medium which takes the soil to the glass.” Mosel - Saar - Ruwer Steep slopes Some 70 degrees Specialized equipment used to move equipment and grapes up and down slopes Ahr SteepSteep terracedterraced slopesslopes VolcanicVolcanic slateslate soilssoils RedRed winewine regionregion 1,3001,300 acresacres Ahr VolcanicVolcanic slateslate soilssoils LoessLoess onon lesserlesser slopedsloped sitessites RedRed winewine regionregion Ahr RedRed winewine regionregion 88%88% redred SpatburgunderSpatburgunder,, DornfelderDornfelder,, FruhburgunderFruhburgunder WhitesWhites 12%12% RieslingRiesling 7%7% Mittelrhein SteepSteep terracedterraced slopesslopes KoblenzKoblenz toto BingenBingen ClayishClayish slateslate soilssoils andand GraywackeGraywacke (dirty(dirty sandstone)sandstone) AbandonedAbandoned vineyardsvineyards Mittelrhein 1,2231,223 acresacres SteepSteep terracedterraced slopesslopes ClayishClayish slateslate soilssoils WhiteWhite 86%86% RedRed 14%14% RieslingRiesling 68%68% SpatburgunderSpatburgunder 8%8% RegentRegent Mittelrhein Common vineyard implement Lowered down slope Winched up (Includes a rider!) Mittelrhein Steep slate terraced slopes Terrace area is down 5,000 acres to 1,000 due to economics 12 to 20 acre farms 405 hours per vineyard acre hand labor Polish labor common Pruning Canopy Harvest Nahe Rolling Diverse soils Volcanic Sandstone Clay Limestone Slate 10,400 acres White 75% Red 25% Riesling… and others Rheingau FlatFlat toto rollingrolling topographytopography toto veryvery steepsteep slopesslopes DiverseDiverse soilssoils Rheingau Flat to rolling topography Diverse soils 7,800 acres White 84% red 16% Riesling is king at 78% Spatburgunder queen 13% Schloss Johannesburg Assmanhousen Rheingau Geisenheim Research Center Vineyard Museum Viticulture & Enology Institutes of Chemistry, Economics, Grape Breeding and Horticulture Sustainable Researchers are consultants to industry Rheinhessen Gently rolling hills 64,000 acres White 71% red 29% Varied soils Sand, limestone, red slaty-sandy clay Fertile Mueller-Thurgau is king at 17% Silvaner, Portugieser, Kerner, Spatburgunder, Scheurebe, Bacchus, etc. .