Palatinate (; ) is a German wine-growing

region In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as areas, zones, lands or territories, are portions of the Earth's surface that are broadly divided by physical characteristics (physical geography), human impact characteristics (human geography), and ...

(''Weinbaugebiet'') in the area of

Bad Dürkheim Bad Dürkheim () is a spa town in the Rhine-Neckar urban agglomeration. It is the seat of the Bad Dürkheim (district), Bad Dürkheim district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany, and the site of the discovery of the element caesium, in 1860. Geogra ...

, Neustadt an der Weinstraße, and Landau in

Rhineland-Palatinate Rhineland-Palatinate ( , ; ; ; ) is a western state of Germany. It covers and has about 4.05 million residents. It is the ninth largest and sixth most populous of the sixteen states. Mainz is the capital and largest city. Other cities are ...

. Before 1993, it was known as Rhine Palatinate (''Rheinpfalz''). With under cultivation in 2022, the region is the second largest wine region in

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

after Rheinhessen. There are about 6,800 vintners producing around 2.3 million hectolitres of wine annually.

History

Although wild varieties of the vine were most probably native in the Palatinate region, the Romans brought the cultivated vine and winegrowing techniques around 1 A.D. Several Roman landhouses () were found in the Palatinate region, for example near Wachenheim and Ungstein. The restructuring of the 1980s raised the quality of the area's vineyards to modern standards and by the end of the 20th century, Palatinate wines were garnering international notice for their quality.

Climate and geography

The Palatinate wine region overlaps with, but is not coextensive with, the traditional German region of Palatinate, making up only 5% of its area. The

wine Wine is an alcoholic drink made from Fermentation in winemaking, fermented fruit. Yeast in winemaking, Yeast consumes the sugar in the fruit and converts it to ethanol and carbon dioxide, releasing heat in the process. Wine is most often made f ...

region is an stretch situated under the lee of the

Palatinate Forest The Palatinate Forest (; ), sometimes also called the Palatine Forest, is a List of landscapes in Rhineland-Palatinate, low-mountain region in southwestern Germany, located in the Palatinate (region), Palatinate in the state of Rhineland-Palatina ...

on the Haardt Mountains, a continuation of

Alsace Alsace (, ; ) is a cultural region and a territorial collectivity in the Grand Est administrative region of northeastern France, on the west bank of the upper Rhine, next to Germany and Switzerland. In January 2021, it had a population of 1,9 ...

Vosges Mountains The Vosges ( , ; ; Franconian (linguistics), Franconian and ) is a range of medium mountains in Eastern France, near its France–Germany border, border with Germany. Together with the Palatine Forest to the north on the German side of the bor ...

. Its climate is much like that of Alsace (France) in the south or Baden (Germany) in the east; and it is one of the warmest, sunniest and driest of German wine regions, with only parts of Baden (the only Zone B region in Germany), such as the Kaiserstuhl, being warmer. The vineyards are planted on a mixture of

sandstone Sandstone is a Clastic rock#Sedimentary clastic rocks, clastic sedimentary rock composed mainly of grain size, sand-sized (0.0625 to 2 mm) silicate mineral, silicate grains, Cementation (geology), cemented together by another mineral. Sand ...

and volcanic soil.

Subregions

The region is divided into two districts (''Bereich''), '' Südliche Weinstraße'' (Southern Wine Route) in the south and '' Mittelhaardt-Deutsche Weinstraße'' (Central Haardt-German Wine Route) in the north. The Northern vineyards are located north of Neustadt an der Weinstraße in a region often listed on wine labels as ''Mittelhaardt'' and includes the following towns and villages: *

* Deidesheim * Forst an der Weinstraße * Freinsheim * Kallstadt * Ruppertsberg * Wachenheim * Ungstein * Lambsheim * Kirchheim * Bockenheim The Southern subregion located south of Neustadt an der Weinstraße has significant plantings of the varieties Grauburgunder (Pinot gris) and Weissburgunder (Pinot blanc) but also produces some Riesling. The soil here ranges from sandstone to slate. The subregion includes the following villages: * Birkweiler * Burrweiler * Frankweiler * Siebeldingen * Rhodt

Grapes and wine

There are 45 white and 22 red grape varieties permitted to be cultivated in the Palatinate. Overall the production is split between 61% white wine and 39% red wine. For many years the dominant grapes of the region were the Müller-Thurgau, Kerner and Morio Muscat with Riesling always having a strong foothold in the Mittelhaardt. Toward the end of the 20th century, plantings of Riesling began to increase in the south as well as an increase in plantings of red wine varieties such as Spätburgunder (Pinot noir), Portugieser and Dornfelder. The wines of the Palatinate are traditionally dry ('' trocken'') with a full body, though some examples of sweet Portugieser still exist. The red wines often reach alcohol levels of 13% and go through malolactic fermentation and spend some time in oak. Since the 1990s there has been increased production in the sparkling wine ( Sekt) made from Riesling. The most cultivated grape varieties, by area in 2022, were:

Culture

Unlike most other German wine regions, wine is not only served straight, but is also mixed with sparkling water to make up a popular refreshing drink called , a term that also describes juice, mixed with water. Every wine making city or village has its own (wine festival) once a year, dedicated to drinking the local wines. On such occasions, wine is normally consumed as . It is traditionally served in 50 cl glasses called (meaning litre) as well as in the typical 25 cl ones called ("quarter", for litre). They are of a special shape specific to the region and are known as the , widening from bottom to top and featuring indentations or large dimples () that give the glass its name. The older, undimpled cylindrical half-litre is also frequently seen in the region. The German Wine Route () traverses this wine region. The region also produces spirits, sparkling wines, wine vinegar, and grape seed oil.

References

External links

Pfalzwein
official site {{DEFAULTSORT:Palatinate (wine region) Wine regions of Germany Geography of Rhineland-Palatinate