An Introduction to Wine in Germany
While German wine was once widely associated with sweetness, dry (trocken) wines now dominate production across nearly all regions. Only the Mosel produces more off-dry and sweet wine than dry, though Württemberg can sometimes sneakily produce good volumes of off-dry wine.
Württemberg Producers
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Württemberg: Oh, those industrious Swabians! →
Württemberg: Oh, those Industrious Swabians!
Württemberg Facts
Hectares under vine10,694 (2025)
Climatemild, with the Black Forest and the Swabian Jura giving natural shelter and
Sachsen Producers
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Sachsen: Beauty Awakened →
Sachsen: Beauty Awakened
Even today, 96% of Sachsen’s vineyards are tended by Kleinwinzern, each with less than 200 m2 of vines.
Saale-Unstrut: Viticulture on the Edge
Saale-Unstrut lies at the 51st parallel and is the northernmost wine region in Germany. Like its East German neighbor Sachsen, the peak of viticulture in Saale-Unstrut occurred in the 16th century, with 10,000 hectares under vine before the Thirty Years' War.
Saale-Unstrut Producers
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Saale-Unstrut: Viticulture on the Edge →
Rheinhessen: Red Slopes, Limestone Hills
“Nackenheimer Rothenberg is one of the very best vineyards in all of Germany.” — Tim Gaiser, MS, Court of Master Sommeliers Advanced Course, 2006.
