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Palatinate (Wine Region)

Years of wine industry:	Since 1st century AD
Country:	Germany
Part of:	Rhineland-Palatinate
Size of planted vineyards:	233.4 km ²
No. of vineyards:	350
Comments:	2.5 million hl produced annually

Palatinate (German: Pfalz) is a German wine-growing region (Weinbaugebiet) in the area of Bad Dürkheim, Neustadt an der Weinstraße, and Landau in Rhineland-Palatinate. Before 1993, it was known as Rhine Palatinate (Rheinpfalz). With 230 km² under cultivation, the region is the second largest wine region in Germany after Rheinhessen. There are about 6,800 vintners producing around 2.5 million hectolitres of wine annually.

Contents 1 History 2 Climate and geography 3 Wine regions 4 Grapes and wine 5 Culture 6 References 7 External links 8 See also

Like the neighboring Rheinhessen region, the Palatinate was associated for most of the 20th century with cheap, easy quaffing wines. The flurbereinigung restructuring of the 1980s dramatically improved the quality of the areas vineyards and towards the end of the 20th century Palatinate wines were garner international notice for their quality.^[1]

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 region is a 80-km stretch situated under the lee of the Palatinate Forest on the Haardt Mountains, a continuation of Alsace's Vosges Mountains. Its climate is much like that of Alsace and it is the sunniest and driest of German wine regions. The vineyards are planting on a mixture of sandstone and volcanic soil.^[1]

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 vineyard are located north of Neustadt an der Weinstraße in a region often listed on wine labels as Mittelhaardt and includes the villages of-^[1]

• Bad Dürkheim
• Deidesheim
• Forst an der Weinstraße
• Freinsheim
• Kallstadt
• Ruppertsberg
• Wachenheim
• Ungstein

The Southern region 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 region includes the villages of-^[1]

• Birkweiler
• Burrweiler
• Siebeldingen

There are 45 white and 22 red grape varieties permitted to grow in the Palatinate. Overall the production is approximately split between 60% white wine and 40% red wine. For many years the dominate grapes of the region was the Müller-Thurgau, Kerner and Morio Muscat with Riesling always having a strong foothold in the Mittelhaardt. Towards 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.^[1]

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.^[1]

Unlike with other German wine regions, wine is served in 50cl glasses called "Schoppen" (meaning 1/2 litre) as well as in the typical 25cl ones called "Viertel" (meaning 1/4 litre). They are of a special shape specific to the region and are known as the Dubbeglas, widening from bottom to top and featuring indentations or large dimples (Dubbe) that give the glass its name. The undimpled cylindrical half-litre Schoppenglas is also frequently seen in the region. The German Wine Route (Deutsche Weinstraße) traverses this wine region. The region also produces spirits, sparkling wines, wine vinegar, and grape seed oil.

• Pfalzwein official site (English)

• German Wine Route

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Ahr Baden Franconia Hessische Bergstrasse Mittelrhein Mosel Nahe Palatinate Rheingau Rheinhessen Saale-Unstrut Sächsische Weinstrasse Württemberg