Rheinhessen is Germany's largest region for producing the quality wines of the Qualitätswein bestimmter Anbaugebiete (QbA) and Prädikatswein designations, with roughly 26,500 hectares (65,000 acres) of Vineyard">Vineyards as of 2014. Many of its most significant viticultural areas are favorably influenced by the Rhine river, which runs aLong its North and eastern borders. The Rhine, along with the Nahe river to the west and the Haardt mountains to its South, form a natural border. Rheinhessen covers an area south of Rheingau, north of Pfalz and east of Nahe, and is located within the Rhineland-Palatinate federal state.
The region has been cultivating Grapes for wine production at least since ancient Roman occupation. It's also the home to the oldest surviving records of a German vineyard. Named Glöck, the vineyard was included in a deed for a church and vineyards gifted by Carloman – a duke of the Franks of the Carolingian family and the uncle of the first Holy Roman Emperor, Charlemagne – to the diocese of Würzburg in 742. Within a century, dozens of villages were cultivating grapes throughout Rheinhessen.
An early documentation of Riesling as a distinct grape variety, identified as Rüssling, was also found in records from the city Worms dating back to 1402. The Size of the region, and its location on the Rhine, has given it a significant role in Germany's wine industry history. Its largest city, Mainz, has been an unofficial Center for wine trade, being home to several national wine organizations including the German Wine Institute and the Association of German Prädikat Wine Estates (Verband Deutscher Prädikats-und Qualitätsweingüter e. V.
The ‘Freedom Blend’blend uses a combination of indigenous grape varieties from Ukraine, Georgia and Moldova to symbolise and celebrate freedom in those countries. Purcari is located just 15 miles from the Ukrainian border. It has turned its luxury suites, tasting rooms and conferences rooms into emergency accommodation, housing more than 5,000 people that have fled war-torn Ukraine in the wake of the Russian invasion. The award-winning winery – which claimed best-in-show, platinum an ...
Château Lafleur 2021 was released in the Bordeaux en primeur campaign this morning (27 May) at the equivalent of £6,508 (12x75cl in bond), according to Liv-ex. This sought-after Pomerol label, produced from a vineyard of just 4.5 hectares, is often sold in smaller quantities and sometimes only on allocation. UK merchant Justerini & Brooks was offering three-bottle cases of Lafleur 2021 for £1,627 in bond at the time of writing. Decanter’s Georgie Hindle gave Lafleur 2021 97 points, naming it ...
It had been possible to produce sparkling wines in Rioja, certified as DO Cava, since the creation of Spain’s main sparkling wine entity. But this fact was often unknown to consumers given that 95% of Cava is produced in the Catalunya region. The area for production of Cava in Rioja is however limited to only 18 of the nearly 150 municipalities within the entire DO zone. In a bid to better show point of origin, the new subzone labelling of Cava that was approved in 2021 now refers to the p ...
