Dry wines remain a growing trend in Germany

Source：German Wine Institute (DWI) Release Date：2012-03-26 256

Food & Beverage

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GERMANS increasingly prefer dry wines. Since the year 2000, the proportion of dry Qualit?tswein (quality wine) and Pr?dikatswein (quality wine with special attributes) has risen from 34 to 41 per cent. Semi-dry wines have increased slightly from 21 to 23 per cent during the same period.

This was announced by the German Wine Institute (DWI) based on data collected by the quality control authorities from the 13 German growing regions. Overall, 133,000 different wines with a total volume of 7.5 million hectolitres have been examined in Germany last year. These are divided into 89% Qualit?tswein (quality wine from a specific region) and 11% Pr?dikatswein (superior quality wine from a specific region). The proportion of white wine amounted to 59% in 2011, while red wines accounted for 31% of the production of Qualit?tswein and Pr?dikatswein. The remaining 10% entered the market as rosé wine.

At a long-term average 8.1 million hectolitres of wine are subject to quality examination every year. This corresponds to about 1.1 billion 0.75 litre bottles of wine per year or 84% of the annual wine production. The remaining 16% of the average wine production of a year are not subjected to quality control. They are, for example, marketed as table wine or used in the production of sparkling wine.

Compared with the previous year, the volume of wine which underwent quality control decreased by 0.5 million hectolitres which was due to the below average harvest amount of the 2010 vintage. At seven million hectolitres the 2010 wine harvest in Germany was at its lowest since 1980. The amount of wine which was subject to quality control did not shrink any more significantly last year because, on the one hand, the producers made use of the previous year’s stock of wine and, on the other hand, an exceptionally large number of wines from the new vintage already underwent quality control in 2011 in order to best satisfy the stable demand for domestic wines," DWI managing director Monika Reule explained.

In Germany, Qualit?tswein and Pr?dikatswein undergo a sensory, analytical and designation examination prior to marketing. Only if all required conditions are fulfilled will a wine be granted the official control number and may officially be placed on the market as Qualit?tswein or Pr?dikatswein. The so-called AP number is stated on the label. The last two digits provide information on the year in which a wine was subject to quality control.Jordan Extra Fly

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