Pfalz
One of Germany's leading regions alongside the Mosel and Rheingau, and a source of many of the country's modern, dry wines.
About the region
The Pfalz is named by The Wine Bible, together with the Mosel, as one of the regions whose many modern wines now challenge the historic supremacy of the Rheingau. 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.
Grapes grown here
Riesling, Silvaner
