Melbourne Wine School · Self Test

German Wine Cards

The DWI's "Germany by Facts and Figures" as flip cards. Read the question, answer it in your head, then flip to check.

The DWI and Numbers·Terroir and Styles·History and Regions

German Wine Cards: The DWI and Germany in Numbers

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Answer

The DWI
What is the Deutsches Weininstitut (DWI) known as internationally?
Wines of Germany.
The DWI
What are the DWI's three key tasks?
1. PR for German wine in the national press and media
2. Support for German wine in international markets
3. Promotion in trade and gastronomy
The DWI
Which body does the DWI work with on the scientific side of wine consumption, and at EU and UN level?
The Deutsche Weinakademie (DWA).
Marketing structure
What are the three tiers of German wine marketing?
National: the DWI (all PDOs, all producers, worldwide)
Regional: 13 regional boards (their own region and producers only)
Individual: the producers themselves
Marketing structure
How many producers are there, and how do they split?
More than 14,000; roughly a third each bottlers, cooperatives and wine estates.
Funding
Which law and section create the German Wine Fund?
The German Wine Act (Weingesetz, WeinG), Part 8 Promotion of sales, §37.
Funding
What are the German Wine Fund's two tasks?
1. Raise the quality and sales of wine by developing and cultivating the market
2. Protect Germany's legally defined wine designations at home and abroad
Funding
What levy do vineyard owners pay?
€0.67 per 100 m² of vineyard (on holdings over 100 m²).
Funding
What levy do bottlers pay?
€0.67 per 100 litres.
Funding
What is the DWI's overall budget, and what does the deck compare it to?
About €12 million a year; roughly 51.4 seconds of Super Bowl advertising.
DWI projects
Who can join Generation Riesling?
Young winemakers under the age of 35.
DWI projects
What does the DWI do for Generation Riesling members?
Connects them, and runs fairs, masterclasses and marketing campaigns for them, to lift the quality and perception of German wine.
DWI projects
Describe the DWI Sommelier Cup.
Held every two years, open to trade and gastronomy. A theory exam plus five blind-tasting formats, 45+ wines, with a "matured wines" category. The winner gets €1,500 and a place at the Sommeliers Summer College.
DWI projects
What is the Specialised Sommelier German Wine programme?
Launched in 2026: one month covering all 13 regions, viticulture, oenology, history, varieties and current challenges, with 100+ wines and practical work such as a winery visit.
DWI projects
What are the DWI's open tenders for?
Producers enter wines free for a high-calibre jury; the goal is visibility at the point of sale, in "wine deserts" and in strategic PR positions.
DWI projects
Since when has the DWI partnered with WSET?
2024.
DWI projects
Name the markets where the DWI has partner agencies (2026).
Netherlands, Switzerland, Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Finland, UK, Poland, USA, Czech Republic, China and Japan.
Germany in numbers
In 2024, what share of the world's vineyards, wine production and wine exports did Germany have?
Vineyards 1.5%
Production 3.4%
Exports 3.1%
Germany in numbers
How does Germany's vineyard area compare with Bordeaux's?
Germany: 102,000 ha. Bordeaux: about 86,000 ha (updated figure; the deck's slide gives Bordeaux 102,000 ha).
Germany in numbers
Where does Germany rank worldwide by vineyard area (2024)?
18th, at 103,000 ha (OIV).
Germany in numbers
How big is the world's vineyard area, and how much of it is in Europe?
World: 7,096,000 ha. Europe: 3,272,000 ha, nearly half.
Germany in numbers
How has Germany's vineyard area changed since 1950?
1950: 49,479 ha (the low point)
2000: 104,726 ha (the peak)
2025: 101,965 ha
Germany in numbers
Which four countries have the largest vineyard areas (2024)?
Spain 930,000 ha, France 783,000 ha, China 753,000 ha, Italy 728,000 ha.
Germany in numbers
How much wine did Germany produce in 2024, and where does that rank?
7.8 million hl; 9th in the world.
Germany in numbers
Which three countries produced the most wine in 2024?
Italy 44.1m hl, France 36.1m hl, Spain 31m hl.
Germany in numbers
How many German growers farm more than 0.5 ha?
14,152.
Germany in numbers
What is the most common holding size, and how many farm over 20 ha?
1 to 3 ha (29%). Only 6% farm more than 20 ha.
Consumers
How much wine does Germany drink per head per year?
21.5 litres.
Consumers
What share of 18 to 69 year olds say they drink wine, and how often?
Almost two-thirds; around 80% of them more than once a month.
Consumers
Where is more than half of all wine in Germany bought?
In retail.
Consumers
What is the average shelf price of German wine against foreign wine?
€4.51 for German wine; €3.79 for foreign wine.
Consumers
Which channel has the highest average price?
Gastronomy, at €8.92 per litre.
Consumers
What was the colour split of consumption in 2025?
White 48.9%, red 37.1%, rosé 14.0%.
Consumers
When did red wine's share of consumption peak?
2005, at 55.5%.
Trade
What is Germany's wine self-sufficiency?
45%: production 9 million hl a year against consumption of 20 million hl.
Trade
How much wine does Germany import, and how much does it export (net)?
Imports 15.2 million hl; net exports 3.2 million hl.
Trade
How do German wine exports break down by format?
Bottled 74%, bag-in-box 12%, sparkling 10%, bulk 4%.
Trade
What is the highest export price per litre on the deck's chart?
€3.35 per litre.
Trade
How big is wine in Germany's total exports?
€0.38 billion, about 0.07%.
Trade
How much of its EU wine support did Germany spend on promotion (2009 to 2023), against Italy?
Germany 3%; Italy 23%.
Trade
What three things decide how EU wine subsidies are allocated?
Total vineyard area, total wine production, and past subsidy claims (including surplus measures such as crisis distillation).

German Wine Cards: Terroir, Varieties and Styles

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Answer

Climate
What is Germany's average growing-season temperature (1990 to 2020), and how is that classed?
14°C, which is cool climate (13°C to 15°C).
Climate
How much daylight do Mainz and Rome get in early August?
Mainz (50°N): 15h18. Rome (41.9°N): 14h22.
Climate
What does the deck say drives grape ripeness in Germany?
Photosynthesis, not heat: long days support ripening while lower temperatures slow sugar build-up and acid loss.
Climate
What wine style results from Germany's climate?
Moderate alcohol and body, crisp acidity, and expressive, precise aromas.
Soils
How many soil compositions are found in the Nahe alone?
More than 180.
Soils
What is the main geology of the Mosel?
Slate (Burg Cochem: slate and greywacke; Obermosel and Moseltor: Muschelkalk).
Soils
What is the main geology of Franken?
Maindreieck: Muschelkalk
Steigerwald: Gipskeuper
Mainviereck: Buntsandstein
Soils
What is the main geology of Rheinhessen?
Loess, limestone and marl; Rotliegend at Nierstein.
Steep slopes
What share of German viticulture is on at least moderately steep slopes?
Around 60%.
Steep slopes
How many working hours per hectare do steep and flat vineyards need?
Steep slopes (manual only): 1,500 hours. Flat (mechanised): 400 hours.
Steep slopes
Give three ways steep slopes affect the wine.
1. More intense sunlight from the angle of the sun
2. Warm air rises
3. Ventilation prevents waterlogging and reduces fungal disease
Varieties
What is the white/red split of German plantings (2024), and when was red at its peak?
69% white, 31% red. Red peaked at 37% in 2005.
Varieties
Name Germany's top five white varieties with their shares.
Riesling 24%, Müller-Thurgau 10%, Grauburgunder 8%, Weissburgunder 6%, Silvaner 4%.
Varieties
Which white variety has lost the most area since 1995, and which gained the most?
Lost: Müller-Thurgau (-13,259 ha). Gained: Grauburgunder (+5,853 ha).
Riesling
What share of the world's Riesling is grown in Germany?
45.21%.
Riesling
What is the record auction price for a modern German Riesling?
€14,994.
White Pinots
Give three facts about Grauburgunder.
A natural mutation of Pinot Noir; the fastest-growing variety in Germany; also called Ruländer, after the merchant Johann Seger Ruland.
White Pinots
Give three facts about Weissburgunder.
A natural mutation of Pinot Noir; Germany has the largest area in the world; it ripens a little later than Chardonnay and is more prone to botrytis.
White Pinots
What is Chardonnay's parentage, and when was it recognised as its own variety in Germany?
Pinot Noir crossed with Gouais Blanc; not recognised in Germany until the 1990s.
Aromatics
What three groups does the deck sort aromatic varieties into?
Terpene-driven: Gewürztraminer, Muskateller, Bacchus
Thiol-driven: Scheurebe, Sauvignon Blanc
Hybrids: Müller-Thurgau, Kerner (and Riesling)
Aromatics
How do terpenes become aromatic?
They are present in the must but only become pronounced once they are split from sugar during fermentation. Examples: linalool, geraniol, nerol, citronellol (floral).
Aromatics
How are thiols released, and why are they fragile?
They need reductive fermentation to be activated, and oxygen quickly destroys them. Examples: 4MMP, 3MH, 3MHA (fruity, exotic).
Silvaner
Where is Silvaner mainly grown, and how far back can it be traced in Germany?
Franken and Rheinhessen; official documents trace it to 1659.
Silvaner
Until when was Silvaner Germany's most widespread variety?
The 1970s.
Reds
Name Germany's top five red varieties with their shares.
Spätburgunder 11%, Dornfelder 6%, Portugieser 2.1%, Lemberger 1.8%, Trollinger 1.7%.
Spätburgunder
Where does Germany rank for Pinot Noir plantings?
Third, after France and the USA.
Spätburgunder
How many German Spätburgunder now score 95+ with Wine Advocate?
More than 57, against no more than 15 three years earlier.
Spätburgunder
Until when were Spätburgunder exports practically irrelevant?
Until 2000.
Spätburgunder
How is Samtrot treated in law, and which Pinot is not permitted for wine in Germany?
Samtrot is legally treated as Spätburgunder. Pinot Liébault is not permitted.
Styles
What are the two ways to keep natural sweetness in a wine?
1. Stop fermentation: temperature, filtration, adding alcohol or sulfur
2. Concentrate sugar: drying or freezing on the vine
Styles
What share of German wine was dry in 1985, and in 2024?
16.1% in 1985; 51% in 2024.
Styles
Roughly what share of German wine was dry or half-dry in 1985, and in 2024?
About 36% in 1985; about 71% in 2024.
Styles
Roughly what share of quality wine is rosé (2024), and what was it in 1999?
About 13%, up from about 8%.
Sparkling
What share of world sparkling wine production did Germany make in 2018?
14%.
Sparkling
What share of the world's sparkling wine does Germany import?
About 7%, on average.
Sparkling
What share of sparkling wine made from German wine is Sekt b.A.?
Around 6% to 7%.
Sparkling
How much Sekt b.A. was made in 2025, and which region made the most?
71,822 hl in total; Baden made the most (21,231 hl).
Sparkling
What were the main taste profiles of Sekt b.A. in 2020?
Brut 45%, Trocken 35%, Extra Trocken 11%.
Sparkling
Which variety leads Sekt b.A.?
Riesling, at 41%.
Alcohol-free
Who pioneered de-alcoholised wine, and when?
Carl Jung, Rheingau, from 1907.
Alcohol-free
Why is de-alcoholised wine legally defined as wine?
Because alcoholic fermentation takes place.
Alcohol-free
What market share did alcohol-free wine and Sekt have in 2025?
Still wine 1.2%; sparkling 12.5%.

German Wine Cards: History and Regions

Read the question, answer it in your head, then flip. Mark it Got it or Again; anything you miss comes back round until you have it.

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Answer

History
When and where were the first vines planted in Germany?
Around 50 BC, in the Mosel, in Roman times.
History
What spread viticulture in the 7th century?
The founding of numerous monasteries in the Rhine valley, especially Kloster Lorsch.
History
Why did monks drink wine rather than water?
For sanitary reasons: wine was safer than water.
History
What did Charlemagne introduce in the 8th century?
Laws letting citizens sell wine, and a first purity standard against wine fraud.
History
What happened to vineyard area in the High Middle Ages (10th to 12th century)?
It almost doubled within two centuries.
History
What hit German viticulture between the 14th and 17th centuries?
The Thirty Years' War (1618 to 1648), the little ice age and the black plague.
History
Give the three quality milestones of the 17th and 18th centuries.
1716: first mention of Cabinet (Schloss Vollrads)
1775: the Spätlese courier incident
1787: the Archbishop of Trier's "worthy grapes" decree, read as Riesling
History
What happened in the 18th and 19th centuries?
1824: first sparkling wine
1829: first documented ice wine harvest
1868: first cooperative, in the Ahr
Phylloxera spreading wildly
History
What was Riesling's standing in the 19th century?
The most desired and most expensive wine in the world. Hocks, Liebfraumilch and Niersteiner were prestige wines on the lists of the most famous hotels and merchants.
History
How did WWII and the Holocaust affect German wine?
They killed many of the people working in or running vineyards, and the trade routes those people ran were devastated or destroyed.
History
What characterised 1950 to 1980?
Sweet German wine was popular abroad but not associated with high quality. Liebfraumilch did very well in export, and producers focused on stable, high yields.
History
What happened between 1980 and 1990?
The new wine law judged quality by must weight alone, and German Unification added two wine regions.
History
What sparked the 1990s Riesling renaissance?
The Austrian diethylene glycol scandal ruined the reputation of sweet whites, so producers moved to dry wines.
History
What does the deck name as the biggest challenges now?
The difficult stance of alcohol in politics, and climate change.
Regions
Between which latitudes do the German wine regions lie?
Roughly 48° to 51° north.
Regions
Which is the largest German wine region, and how big is it?
Rheinhessen, 27,657 ha (75% white).
Regions
What is distinctive about farming in Rheinhessen?
It has a huge mix of agriculture alongside vines, and it varies a lot across the region.
Regions
Which two regions are mostly red?
Ahr (79% red, Spätburgunder) and Württemberg (63% red).
Regions
Which regions lead with something other than Riesling?
Baden and Ahr: Spätburgunder. Franken: Silvaner. Saale-Unstrut: Weissburgunder and Müller-Thurgau.
Regions
Name the five smallest regions with their sizes.
Saale-Unstrut 868 ha, Ahr 535 ha, Sachsen 531 ha, Hessische Bergstrasse 440 ha, Mittelrhein 439 ha (the smallest of the 13).