”Wine is born in the vineyard” is an old, even passed truth, but still it is always true in every case. Roots of a viticulture and vinification are in terroir, its diversity, microclimate and grapes. This is the message that Verband Deutcher Prädikatsweingüter, voluntary wine producers’s organisation VDP, has highlighted from the very beginning over 110 years.
VDP is a private, voluntary
organization of German top wine producers having 198 members at the moment. VDP’s
goals are preserving the German wine culture, promoting high quality standards
and environmentally friendly cultivation in the vineyards. VDP has strict rules
for its members and winemaking; traditional single vine varieties, sustainable
winegrowing, limited
yields, manual harvesting, no chaptalization etc. VDP vineyards represent and
cultivate ca. 5.5 % of the total vineyard areas in Germany. VDP wine producers
have applied their own four-staircase classification since the vintage 2012
forward. Eagle is the quality sign of VDP organization.
VDP
wine classification
VDP’s classification underlines the
origin and terroir of the grapes when quantifying the quality of the wines!
Vineyard is a dominant factor of quality with the principle ”the more
identified origin, the better quality”.
VDP.Gutswein are basic wines from wineries, which links quality with the origins of grapes. These grapes lay the ground for the good and high quality wines. There are lightness and fruitiness among the wines, they are easily approachable and suitable for daily use.
VDP.Ortswein are wines that comes from the best
vineyards in the villages. They
identify the terroirs of the vineyards and the typical grapes of the wine area.
Wines are food friendly with different kinds of food.
VDP.Erste Lage® are wines from the specified vineyards
emphasizing the naturalness of the vineyard. They raise the issue of optimal
growth conditions of vines and the soils that are suitable for the planting of
the certain grape varieties. Essential reducing of the harvest quantity of
grapes produces refined, nuanced and long aged wines. Wines made of traditional German grapes are challenging and can be compared
with Premier Cru wines in Burgundy.
VDP.Grosse Lage® are flagship
wines that comes from the best vineyards in Germany and their indentified sites. They represent the top of the
classification within VDP pyramid where the wines possess exceptional aromas
and layering. Wines that have refined details can be compared with Grand Cru
wines in Burgundy.
Grosses Gewächs – sign of a quality
Grosses
Gewächs are the top level of very dry wines classified by VDP coming from the
vineyards classified as Grosse Lage. GG identifies the very best German wines,
that are full-bodied, dry, age-worthy. GG-wines can be released after the first
of September of the year after harvest.
Another special highlight is the annual Sneak Preview of the VDP.GROSSES
GEWÄCHS®. During the three-day tasting, one will have the opportunity to taste
the VDP.GROSSES GEWÄCHS® wines of the respective region from the current
vintages - 2020 for white wines, 2019 for red wines - as well as from other
vintages not yet on the market.
VDP wine ambassadors
The VDP.Prädikatsweingüter have been running a program for a number of
years, training a small group of international wine specialists, mainly wine
educators, to become ambassadors for the association. VDP.Ambassador is a
person who is interested in competently conveying information about the VDP and
its members, quality standards that guarantee pure wine enjoyment, site
classification and the spectrum of German wines to wine lovers abroad at
seminars and tastings that are independently organized and conducted by the
VDP.Ambassador. In a five-day VDP.training program in Germany participants had
a program focused on a two-day training seminar with tastings and visits to
various VDP.wineries in the Mosel-Saar-Ruwer region and three-day participation
and tasting in the annual Sneak Preview of the VDP.GROSSES GEWÄCHS®.
Text and photos: Heikki Remes, wineman from Finland
Photo
Ambassadors: ©VDP by Peter Bender
Ei kommentteja:
Lähetä kommentti