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Taking Advantage of a Situation

The wines of Germany have long had an image problem in the UK. Some mature wine drinkers that I know, including at least one wine merchant, who are familiar with many of the fine wines of the world, shun the wonderful wines of the Mosel and the Rhine because of previous unpleasant experiences (often as students in the 1970s, it has to be said). Yet during the late 19th and early 20th centuries, the quality of German wines was in the ascendant. In many regions Grower's Associations appeared, with the aim of improving quality, culminating in the formation of the German Wine-Grower's Association in 1874. The state also played it's part, with the creation of several new viticultural colleges in the important wine-producing regions, and a sequence of new laws controlling the addition of sugar (a very tempting practice in such a cool, northerly clime), the blending of wines and outlawing the sale of wine produced from low quality hybrid vines. So what went wrong?

For obvious reasons the early and mid 20th century was a traumatic time across all Europe, and this had an effect on the German wine industry. Germany's domestic economy was in decline and the area of land planted with vines decreased dramatically. Following both World Wars much of Germany's prime wine producing land was under occupation by the French, with the Saar not returning to German control until 1956. The wine industry was in recession, and these grim times led some merchants to develop some of the better known brands, such as Liebfraumilch, in an attempt to improve sales. The grapes that make this wine can originate from anywhere in the Nahe, Rheinhessen, Rheingau or Pfalz. It is usually dominated by Müller-Thurgau, a variety produced by German oenologist Dr Hermann Müller when he crossed Riesling with what was thought at the time to be Sylvaner. These wines were very different from the pure Rieslings derived from small, legally defined, vertiginous vineyards on the slopes of the Mosel. The name of the game was plainly the production of large amounts of wine from reliable, early-ripening, disease-resistant, high-yielding grapes, with least expenditure. The wines were sweet, marketed using easily recognisable brands such as Blue Nun, and as such were often responsible for weaning many newcomers to wine off sugary, similarly branded soft drinks.

Unfortunately the quantity-directed approach did nothing for the quality of the wine, and this fact is just as apparent today as it was in 1930. Germany now seems to me to have two separate wine industries (or at least two faces to the one industry). The quantity-orientated producers, marketing wines under easily pronounceable names such as Piesporter and Niersteiner, or brands such as Blue Nun and Black Tower, provide the public face of German wines. Widely available off the supermarket shelf, these wines do nothing to enamour new wine drinkers, who are much more likely to cut their teeth on New World produce such as Jacob's Creek and Rosemount. Then there are the quality-orientated producers, names that deserve much wider fame than they have experienced for a long time. I've tasted wines from many such producers, such as J J Prüm, Fritz Haag, Dr Loosen, Maximin Grünhaüser, Karthäuserhof from the Mosel, and the likes of Gunderloch and Dönnhoff from the Rheinhessen and Nahe - all wines from small, conscientious, often family-owned estates.

Reflecting upon the German wines I have drank in the past, it reads rather like a "Who's Who" of German winemaking. These are wines from the absolute cream of the growers of the region, and some have been superb. These wines, and the awful generic labels that grace the supermarket shelves, are worlds apart. And yet the vast majority of these wines were purchased for a very reasonable price, with most coming in at well under £20, and many available for less than £10. Even the most expensive, a fine Riesling from J J Prüm with over ten years of bottle age, only came in at £25. It is the reputation earned for German wine by the supermarket bottles that keeps the prices so low. Compare these prices with wines from other long established regions of Europe, France in particular, and they seem ridiculously inexpensive. How many of Bordeaux's top châteaux produce fine, worthy wines for less than £10? Quite simply, none. Even in a weaker vintage, such as 1997, second wines from the top-flight châteaux still come in at above this price barrier.

The German wine industry, however, is making moves to improve the image (and sales) of its wines in target export markets, especially the UK. If these moves are successful, we should expect to see increased sales and eventually, as demand really picks up, prices will rise. There is no need to panic just yet, however, as their actions seem to be poorly thought out, and do not appear to have made any significant impact on sales of German wine. Indeed, sales continue to fall, with German wine exports (over 40% of which go to the UK) down by 1.7% in 2001, to a mere 213.4 million litres. One scheme designed to improve quality includes classification of the top German vineyards in a Burgundian 'cru' fashion, which seems to me unnecessary, and various prominent family-owned domaines agree with me. Other producers have eschewed the tall, slender bottles and Germanic labels (part of the image problem, although German labels are probably some of the most informative in the world) for high shouldered bottles with English-language labels bearing evocative names. But is disguising your produce as something more Antipodean really the way to promote German wine?

Although I have sympathy for the winemakers struggling to grow their grapes in difficult conditions for minimal reward, I do think it important that wine consumers with a mind for quality take advantage of this situation. Some lovely German wines are available dirt-cheap, wines which would easily triple in price if they had a reputation as exalted as wines from Burgundy or Bordeaux. And yet these wines are equally fine, and many wine drinkers regard them as the finest white wines of all. All available for prices similar to those of middling domaines elsewhere in Europe. Can I recommend you try some? There's no need to get on at the bottom of the ladder - start with these two producers, who I consider to make the finest wines in all Germany. (17/5/02)

Note: although available at the time of writing, these wines will most likely have long sold out by now. Nevertheless, I leave their details in place to illustrate my points about price and availability.

From Fritz Haag:

Brauneberger Juffer Sonnenuhr Riesling Auslese 1992 (£13.99) - mature, should be drinking well now, great value at this price.
Brauneberger Juffer Sonnenuhr Riesling Auslese Goldkapsel 1996 (£24.99) - should be stunning. Wines of this quality level would be £50-£75 (or easily more) from other Old World regions.
Both available, at the time of writing, from Raeburn Fine Wines.

From J J Prüm:

Ürziger Würzgarten Riesling Spätlese 1996 (£10.95) - outstanding producer, great vineyard, excellent vintage. An all round superb package. It's a bargain.
Available, at the time of writing, from Berry Bros & Rudd.
Wehlener Sonnenuhr Riesling Spätlese 1994 (£13.99) - not just an excellent vintage, but one of the best years for Mosel wines in the past decade. Ready to drink.
Available, at the time of writing, from Waitrose Direct.