The Pfalz, together with the Mosel, is one of the German regions whose many modern wines now challenge the historic supremacy of the Rheingau.
Only Rheinhessen carries more vineyard area, and the Pfalz is centred on the Deutsche Weinstrasse, where a warm, dry climate ripens riesling fully and supports a notable share of red grapes, above all spatburgunder (pinot noir).
Germany as a whole is considered one of the world's top producers of elegant white wines, its top rieslings having ravishing purity and concentration, and its vineyards lie at the northernmost extreme of where grapes can dependably ripen.
The majority of fine German wines are dry or just a touch off-dry, the exceptions being the expensive late-harvest dessert wines — beerenauslesen, trockenbeerenauslesen and eisweins — which are crafted to be sweet.
More than any other country Germany has benefited from climate change: in the 1960s and 1970s only two or three vintages a decade yielded ripe grapes, whereas virtually every vintage now does.
Ripeness still proceeds incrementally, with few heat waves, which is an advantage because slowly ripened grapes develop more complex flavours.
If anything has been a German constant it is acidity: where most Champagnes carry 5 to 6 grams per litre, German wines usually possess 6 to 8.
