Mosel wines

Wine in all its facettes

Steep slopes full of vineyards, a spectacular landscape that has much to offer when it comes to leisure activities, sports and culture – and countless opportunities to discover excellent wines: at the winery, in historic wine cellars, in cosy and rustic wine taverns or in modern vinotheques.
Taste the delicately fruity Riesling that grows on world-famous steep slate slopes in our Cochem tourist region. The Moselle valley’s fruity wines with the pronounced mineral note are delicious they please the palate. It is the perfect companion for fish and poultry, and goes equally well with Asian cuisine. Or just enjoy it sitting on your terrasse, enjoying the sun.

Riesling – the quee of white grapevines

Riesling is the Moselle region’s most important grape variety. The elegant, late ripening white wine is grown on an area of 60 % of all existing wine growing districts.
The reason for its dominance is to be found in its particular suitability for our region. The steep slate slopes in our region offer ideal conditions for cultivating the Riesling grape and provide it with especially fruity and mineral notes. The wine’s colour ranges from greenish white to a golden yellow appearance.

Basic wine knowledge

The quality wines of the Moselle region (referred to as “bestimmtes Anbaugebiet”, b.A.) are offered in all quality classes, from “Qualitätswein b.A.” (Q.b.A.) to high quality wines harvested without machines.
Please note: All wines up to and including Auslese (Deutscher Wein, Deutscher Landwein, Qualitätswein (QbA), Kabinett, Spätlese and Auslese) can be dry, medium-dry or sweeter style. The winemaker ‘designs’ his wines and decides whether he or she wants these grapes to make a dry or a sweet wine.

Levels of quality

Kabinett

The quality classes of special quality wines (referred to as „Prädikatswein”) start with the so called “Kabinett”. The grapes used for this wine exclusively have to be grape varieties of the vitis vinifera kind and have to be cultivated and harvested in one certain area. Basically, it has to be processed in that same area. It needs to contain at least 9 % by vol. of alcohol. Special quality wines with the “Kabinett” rating must not be enriched during the production process.

Spätlese – late harvest

“Spätlese” is a rating to be found between “Kabinett” and “Auslese”. “Spätlese” has to match all the “Kabinett”’s requirements. The grapes however have to be harvested later and in their fullest degree of ripeness.

Auslese – selecet picking

“Auslese” is the designation of wines produced from fully ripe and sometimes noble rotted grapes that are especially picked out during the harvesting process. Some winemakers do that to a degree where they pick the grapes by hand. The German “Auslese” is a very special kind of wine among the special quality wines (“Prädikatsweine”).

Beerenauslese – berries select picking

„Beerenauslese“ is a sweet speciality that ranks among the creme de la creme of quality wines. They are made from overripe and noble rotted grapes (in that case referred to as berries) with a minimum must weight (Oechsle) of approximately 110° to 128°. These wines rarely show their original grape’s aroma in their bouquet, but instead display scents of honey and exotic fruits.

Trockenbeerenauslese – dry berries select picking

“Trockenbeerenauslese” is a wine of the highest quality level among the special quality wines referred to as “Prädikatsweine”. It is processed out of shrunken grapes infested with the Botrytis fungus. Sugar and other constituents are highly concentrated these almost dried up grapes. In order to receive its high rating among the best wines, it is vital that the grapes are handpicked as well as harvested by hand without the help of any harvesting machines.

Eiswein – ice wine

In order to produce the “Eiswein”, the chosen grapes have to be frozen when they are harvested and pressed. It has to at least match the requirements of the “Beerenauslese”’s with a minimum must weight (Oechsle).

Source of the German version of these informations: Weinglossar/DLR Mosel und Moselwein e.V.