German wine history

Many vineyards were still planted with several grape varieties side by side as late as the 19th century, and at the end of the century, viticulture practically came to a standstill when the vine louse phylloxera wreaked havoc throughout the vineyard area. As a result, many indigenous grape varieties disappeared.

Viticulture revived at the turn of the century with the introduction of grafting vines on phylloxera-resistant American rootstocks – a practice that was later made mandatory. Only a small area remained untouched because of its slate soil that the louse is unable to survive in. Replanting and vine selection led to the standard grape varieties that are predominant in modern German viticulture. There was a brief resurgence of viticulture before Germany instigated WW1 which was followed by recession and WW2. By the end of the war in 1945, Germany was in a perilous state. Wine making and viticulture had struggled on but now lacked the knowledge and resources to develop trade. Soon after, brands like Mateus and Lieberstein would explode onto a market of changing tastes. Sweeter wines were popular, but Germany missed the boat. By the time German wines had improved, tastes were once again shifting back to drier styles. Unfortunately, Germany couldn’t change quickly enough and gained a reputation for sweet and cheap wines during the 1970’s and 80’s.

In recent years, wines have become drier. In the last 50 years, wines classified as dry have gone from around 20% of production to over 65% of production. While this still leaves many sweet styles in production, they remain integral to the market and are often a result of Germany’s unique cool climate. The last decade has seen German wine fortunes improve with exports doubling to key markets such as USA and UK. The wine has improved but this growth can also be attributed in part to sommeliers and wine experts understanding the category and promoting German wines as both food friendly and aperitifs. German wines are finally getting the recognition they deserve.