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Franconia (German: Franken) is a German wine region, [1] mostly in north west Franconia. It is the only wine region in the federal state of Bavaria. In 2014, vines were grown on 6,176 hectares (15,260 acres) of land in the region. [2]
The greater part of the wine region is in Lower Franconia around its capital Würzburg along the Main River. There are a few areas in Middle Franconia, mainly in the Steigerwald; and a very small part in the area of Upper Franconia around Bamberg. The bends of the River Main have been used to define the region's three districts, two of which take their names from their respective geometric shape. [3]
The Mainviereck ("Main square") is the westernmost district of Franconia, on the lower slopes of the Spessart hills and is one of the warmest spots in Bavaria. The special soil is mainly red sandstone which is especially suitable for growing grape vines for red wine. Franconian vine plantings for red wine started to expand in the 1970s. [4]
The Pinot noirs and the rare but high quality grape Frühburgunder are grown. The "Bürgstadter Centgrafenberg" and the "Schlossberg" in Klingenberg am Main are said to be the best vineyards.[ by whom? ] Some of the wines made from vines grown there have won national and international wine trophies. The most important villages are Bürgstadt, Großheubach and Klingenberg am Main.
The main red wine areas of Franconia have been connected by the long-distance hiking trail Fränkischer Rotweinwanderweg (Franconian red wine footpath) since 1990.
The Maindreieck ("Main triangle") is the middle portion of Franconia. On the sometimes very steep hills alongside the Main river, the soil mainly consists of Muschelkalk. Mostly Silvaner and Müller-Thurgau grapes are grown. As in many wine regions in Germany, a wide variety of grapes are cultivated. Riesling, Bacchus, Pinot noir, Domina, and Dornfelder are the most important grapes besides Silvaner and Müller-Thurgau. Some wine journalists say that Franconia is the only place in the world where the wines made from Silvaner can be better than those made there from Riesling. [5]
The best-known vineyard site is the Würzburger Stein , a hill north of central Würzburg. The wines from there are known as Steinwein. Along the Maindreieck, nearly every town produces some wine. The earliest evidence of the Silvaner grape is found in the archive of Castell in a document from 10 April 1659.
The most important cities and towns are Würzburg, Randersacker, Thüngersheim,Sommerhausen, Frickenhausen am Main, Sulzfeld am Main, Sommerach, Escherndorf, Nordheim, and Volkach.
The soil of the Mittelgebirge Steigerwald consists mainly of gypsum. The wines of this region often have a very strong mineral taste. The most important villages are Iphofen, Rödelsee and Castell
There is evidence that wine has been produced in Franconia for over 1,000 years. In an old document from the year 777 there is a note of a winery in the town of Hammelburg being given by Charlemagne to Fulda Abbey. In medieval times the area under cultivation grew strongly, up to 40,000 ha. In the 20th century it decreased at one stage to just over 2,000 ha.
Today about 6,100 ha of land is used for growing wine. The area stretches from Bamberg to Aschaffenburg. The climate is called continental with Mediterranean influence. Quite often there are strong winters and temperatures under 0 degrees Celsius in the spring. Therefore, wine is grown mainly in especially protected places usually along the hills of the River Main and the Steigerwald.
Because of the special soil[ clarify ] and the mild climate along the Main river, wines with a very high mineralisation[ clarify ] can be harvested. The amount of minerals in the wine is a factor in the quality testing every Franconian wine is subjected to. This is unique in Germany. The majority of the wines are made from one grape variety at a time. Cuvées – special blends or selected vats of higher quality – are rare. It is said that the wines of the typical Silvaner are the best wines from this grape in the world.
Most Franconian wines are dry. Although in German law dry wines are allowed 9 grams of residual sugar, many German wineries are still using the term Fränkisch trocken (Franconian dry) for wines with 5 grams of residual sugar or less. About 12,000 to 14,000 wines from Franconia[ clarify ] pass the official testing.
As in most German wine regions, the exact vineyard site (Lage) where the wine comes from is nearly as important as the winery. Apart from the Steinwein, very few people outside Franconia – and nearly no one outside Germany – is familiar with the site names, mainly because the German Lagen are tiny compared to some of the well-known appellations of France, Italy, and Spain. Today many wineries have tried to introduce their own brands without the vineyard designation, and with cuvées a brand name rather than a single grape varietal.
Franconian wines vary in how long they can be kept. The basic wines, which are called Qualitätswein or Kabinett are made to be drunk one to three years after production. If they are kept too long, the wines lose their typical fruitiness and freshness. The best wines are mainly the dry Spätlesen which are full-bodied and can mature for up to six, sometimes ten years. The rare sweet wines often with noble rot, and Eisweins, can sometimes mature for 50 years or more. Oak matured red wines should be drunk three to ten years after production if kept in a good wine cellar.
Originally the Silvaner was the most important grape. In the 20th century the Müller-Thurgau, a simple grape, has been planted in large areas. Although the amount of Müller Thurgau has been decreasing for the last ten years, it is still the most widely cultivated grape in Franconia.
Red grape varieties cover 20% of the region's vineyard area. [2]
The most cultivated grape varieties, by area in 2022, were: [6]
| white | area (share) | red | area (share) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Silvaner | 1,560 ha (24.9%) | Domina | 299 ha (4.8%) |
| Müller-Thurgau | 1,414 ha (22.5%) | Spätburgunder | 293 ha (4.7%) |
| Bacchus | 744 ha (11.9%) | Dornfelder | 131 ha (2.1%) |
| Riesling | 346 ha (5.5%) | Regent | 125 ha (2.0%) |
| Weißer Burgunder | 230 ha (3.7%) | Schwarzriesling | 63 ha (1.0%) |
| Scheurebe | 203 ha (3.2%) | Schwarzriesling | 79 ha (1.3%) |
| Kerner | 157 ha (2.5%) | Acolon | 47 ha (0.7%) |
| Pinot gris | 106 ha (1.7%) | Portugieser | 44 ha (0.7%) |
The rounded and flattened Bocksbeutel is the typical and well known bottle originally used only for the best Franconian wines. Since 1989 the use of the Bocksbeutel has been protected by European Union regulations, but some other regions beside Franconia are also allowed to use this bottle shape.
Unlike many other German wine regions, a large amount of Franconian wine is drunk in the area where it is produced.[ citation needed ] Nearly every town has its own Weinfest, a festival that lasts a weekend, or sometimes just one day, where wine is drunk instead of beer. The so-called Heckenwirtschaften are very popular small outlets where wineries sell their own wine, usually at reasonable prices.
Riesling is a white grape variety that originated in the Rhine region. Riesling is an aromatic grape variety displaying flowery, almost perfumed, aromas as well as high acidity. It is used to make dry, semi-sweet, sweet, and sparkling white wines. Riesling wines are usually varietally pure and are seldom oaked. As of 2004, Riesling was estimated to be the world's 20th most grown variety at 48,700 hectares, but in terms of importance for quality wines, it is usually included in the "top three" white wine varieties together with Chardonnay and Sauvignon blanc. Riesling is a variety that is highly "terroir-expressive", meaning that the character of Riesling wines is greatly influenced by the wine's place of origin.
Mosel is one of 13 German wine regions (Weinbaugebiete) for quality wines , and takes its name from the Mosel River. Before 1 August 2007 the region was called Mosel-Saar-Ruwer, but changed to a name that was considered more consumer-friendly. The wine region is Germany's third largest in terms of production but some consider it the leading region in terms of international prestige.
German wine is primarily produced in the west of Germany, along the river Rhine and its tributaries, with the oldest plantations going back to the Roman era. Approximately 60 percent of German wine is produced in the state of Rhineland-Palatinate, where 6 of the 13 regions (Anbaugebiete) for quality wine are situated. Germany has about 103,000 hectares of vineyard, which is around one tenth of the vineyard surface in Spain, France or Italy. The total wine production is usually around 10 million hectoliters annually, corresponding to 1.3 billion bottles, which places Germany as the eighth-largest wine-producing country in the world. White wine accounts for almost two thirds of the total production.
The German wine classification system puts a strong emphasis on standardization and factual completeness, and was first implemented by the German Wine Law of 1971. Nearly all of Germany's vineyards are delineated and registered as one of approximately 2,600 Einzellagen, and the produce from any vineyard can be used to make German wine at any quality level, as long as the must weight of the grapes reaches the designated minimum level. As the current German system does not classify vineyards by quality, the measure of wine ’quality’ is the ripeness of the grapes alone.
Müller-Thurgau is a white grape variety which was created by Hermann Müller from the Swiss Canton of Thurgau in 1882 at the Geisenheim Grape Breeding Institute in Germany. It is a crossing of Riesling with Madeleine Royale. It is used to make white wine in Germany, Austria, Northern Italy, Hungary, England, Australia, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Slovenia, New Zealand, Canada, the United States, Belgium and Japan. There are around 22,201 hectares ) cultivated worldwide, which makes Müller-Thurgau the most widely planted of the so-called "new breeds" of grape varieties created since the late 19th century. Although plantings have decreased significantly since the 1980s, as of 2019 it was still Germany's second most planted variety at 11,400 hectares and 11.4% of the total vineyard surface. In 2007, the 125th anniversary was celebrated at the Geisenheim Grape Breeding Institute. Müller-Thurgau is also known as Rivaner, Riesling x Sylvaner, Riesling-Sylvaner, Rizvanec (Slovenia) and Rizlingszilváni (Hungary).
Silvaner or Sylvaner is a variety of white wine grape grown primarily in Alsace and Germany, where its official name is Grüner Silvaner. While the Alsatian versions have primarily been considered simpler wines, it was included among the varieties that can be used to produce Alsace Grand Cru wine in 2006, together with the four 'noble grapes' of Alsace, although only in one vineyard, Zotzenberg.
Hermann Müller, was a Swiss botanist, plant physiologist, oenologist and grape breeder. He called himself Müller-Thurgau, taking the name of his home canton.
Washington wine is a wine produced from grape varieties grown in the U.S. state of Washington. Washington ranks second in the United States in the production of wine. By 2017, the state had over 55,000 acres (220 km2) of vineyards, a harvest of 229,000 short tons (208,000 t) of grapes, and exports going to over 40 countries around the world from the 940+ wineries located in the state. While there are some viticultural activities in the cooler, wetter western half of the state, the majority (99.9%) of wine grape production takes place in the shrub-steppe eastern half. The rain shadow of the Cascade Range leaves the Columbia River Basin with around 8 inches (200 mm) of annual rain fall, making irrigation and water rights of paramount interest to the Washington wine industry. Viticulture in the state is also influenced by long sunlight hours and consistent temperatures.
Rheinhessen is the largest of 13 German wine regions (Weinanbaugebiete) for quality wines with 26,758 hectares under cultivation in 2018. Named for the traditional region of Rhenish Hesse, it lies on the left bank of the Rhine between Worms and Bingen in the federal state of Rhineland-Palatinate. Despite its historic name it is currently no longer part of the federal-state of Hesse, this being the case since the end of World War II. There have been several unsuccessful attempts to legally reunite the former wine growing districts of Mainz on the Hessian side during the post-war area. Rheinhessen produces mostly white wine from a variety of grapes, particularly Riesling, Müller-Thurgau and Silvaner, and is best known as the home of Liebfraumilch, although some previously underrated Rieslings are also made, increasingly in a powerful dry style.
Rheingau is one of 13 designated German wine regions (Weinbaugebiete) producing quality wines . It was named after the traditional region of Rheingau, the wine region is situated in the state of Hesse, where it constitutes part of the Rheingau-Taunus-Kreis administrative district. Although, making up only 3 percent of the total German vineyard area, Rheingau has been the source of many historically important innovations in German wine making, and contains many wine producers of international reputation, such as Schloss Johannisberg. Rheingau, with 3,125 hectares of vineyards in 2016, also boasts a higher proportion of Riesling (77.7%) than any other German wine-growing region, with Spätburgunder making up most of the rest (12.2%), followed by Müller-Thurgau.
Saxony (Sachsen) is a region for quality wine in Germany located in the German federal state of Saxony. The region is sometimes referred to colloquially as the Elbtal. The wine region covers 462 hectares, which makes it Germany's third smallest region, just ahead of Mittelrhein and Hessische Bergstraße in size. It is situated along the Elbe river from the Pillnitz section of Dresden to the village of Diesbar-Seußlitz located north of Meissen. Together with the Saale-Unstrut wine region, Saxony is one of the northernmost wine regions in Europe and are the only two of Germany's 13 wine regions that are located in the former East Germany. After German reunification in 1990, the vineyard surface was expanded from 200 to 450 hectares with European Union subsidies, but in recent years the vineyard area has decreased.
Baden is a region (Anbaugebiet) for quality wine in Germany, and is located in the historical region of Baden in southwestern Germany, which today forms part of the federal state of Baden-Württemberg. Under German wine legislation, Baden and Württemberg are separate wine regions.
The Bocksbeutel is a type of wine bottle with the form of a flattened ellipsoid. It is commonly used for wines from Franconia in Germany, but is also used for some Portuguese wines, in particular rosés, where the bottle is called cantil, and in rare cases for Italian wine and Greek wine.
Nahe is a region (Anbaugebiet) for quality wine in Germany, along the River Nahe in the state of Rhineland-Palatinate. On the region's 4,155 hectares of vineyards in 2008, white wine grapes dominate with 75% and Riesling is the most common variety with 27.2%. A characteristic of the Nahe region is that the soils are very varied owing to the region's volcanic origins.
Ahr is a wine region (Anbaugebiet) for quality wine in Germany, and is located in the valley of the river Ahr, a tributary of Rhine, and is situated in the federal state of Rhineland-Palatinate. With only 558 hectares of vines as of 2008, it is one of smaller of Germany's 13 regions. Despite its northern location it primarily produces red wines, and red grape varieties account for 86% of the vineyard area, which is more than in any other German wine region.
South Tyrol is an autonomous province located in northeast Italy producing wine. This Austro-Italian wine region is noted for the distinct Austrian influences on the wine industry, due to the region's long history under the rule of Austria-Hungary and Holy Roman Empires.
Trentino is the southern part of the Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol autonomous region of Italy. Wine is produced in Trentino from several grape varieties, including the native Nosiola, Teroldego, and Marzemino varieties. There are six wine DOC in Trentino.
Würzburger Stein is a vineyard in the German wine region of Franconia that has been producing a style of wine, known as Steinwein since at least the 8th century. Located on a hill overlooking the Main river outside the city of Würzburg, the vineyard is responsible for what may have been the oldest wine ever tasted. In addition to being one of Germany's oldest winemaking sites, at 85 hectares, the vineyard is also one of Germany's largest individual plots.
Franconian cuisine is an umbrella term for all dishes with a specific regional identity belonging to the region of Franconia. It is a subtype of German cuisine with many similarities to Bavarian cuisine and Swabian cuisine. It is often included in the Bavarian cuisine, since most parts of Franconia belong to Bavaria today. There are several Franconian food items that are also famous beyond the borders of Franconia, such as Nürnberger Lebkuchen, Bratwurst and the wines of Franconia. Franconia is also famous for its beer and harbours the highest density of breweries in the world.
Weingut Schmitt's Kinder is one of the most traditional family wineries in Franconia. Viticulture in the family dates back to 1712, while the name ″Schmitt's Kinder″ dates back to the division of the estate in 1910. Located in Randersacker, Schmitt's Kinder is noted for their Silvaner (37%), Riesling (14%) and pinot noir (10%). Its 35-acre (140,000 m2) estate in the Maindreieck district is the middle portion of Franconia and comprising the sites Pfülben, Marsberg, Sonnenstuhl and Teufelskeller. Weingut Schmitt’s Kinder is a member of the Verband Deutscher Prädikatsweingüter (VDP).
Franken is unusual in that it makes greater wines from Silvaner than Riesling, and has long specialized in dry wines.
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