In an effort to make their wines more accessible, German producers have come up with two new designations for their dry wines.
'Classic' wines will begin appearing on shelves within weeks, while 'Selection' wines will follow in September.
Germany used to be best known for cheap semi-sweet generic whites, such as Liebfraumilch, Piesporter Michelsberg and Niersteiner Gutes Domal, which enjoyed enormous international popularity during the 1970s and 1980s. However, in one market after another, sales of these wines plummeted during the 1990s as younger drinkers moved on to dry wines from other countries.
From the late 1980s onwards, German co-operatives from the Baden, Pfalz and Rheinhessen regions spearheaded the creation of new varietal dry wines to replace the old-style generics. The first attempt to bring these producers together under the banner of 'Relaunch wines' met with limited success, but the new designations aim to change all this.
'Classic' is a designation for dry wines made from one of the classic grape varieties. 'Classics are good, middle-quality wines that are not too expensive to enjoy regularly,' said German Wine Institute director Armin Goring at a recent press conference. Each region has its own list, ranging from only two varieties in the Rheingau to nine in the Nahe. The principle behind Classic is planned quality production.
'Selection' sets its sights much higher. 'That is the top category for German dry wines in future. The medium-term goal for Classic is 20 per cent of total German wine production, while with Selection we are hoping for 2-3 per cent – but these should be playing in the first league world-wide,' said Norbert Weber, president of the German Winegrowers' Association. As with Classic wines, Selection wines can only be produced from grape varieties typical for the region, and must be dry. In addition, yields are limited to a maximum of 60 hectolitres per hectare, hand picking is obligatory, the minimum alcoholic content must be 12.2 degrees, and the wines must pass a blind tasting test.
The new designation has not been widely publicised in the UK and, to date, most retailers have no plans to stock these wines.
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