Germany: Riesling, Slate and Cool-Climate Wine

Germany is a cool-climate wine country of moderate size and unusually detailed law. The German Wine Act (Weingesetz) fixes 13 specified growing regions for Qualitätswein, Prädikatswein, Qualitätslikörwein b.A., Qualitätsperlwein b.A. and Sekt b.A.: Ahr, Baden, Franken, Hessische Bergstraße, Mittelrhein, Mosel, Nahe, Pfalz, Rheingau, Rheinhessen, Saale-Unstrut, Sachsen and Württemberg. In 2025 the country used 101,965 hectares for wine cultivation, of which 70,884 hectares were planted to white grape varieties and 31,081 hectares to red, according to the Federal Statistical Office (Destatis). The vineyard is concentrated along rivers, and the regions differ enormously in scale: Rheinhessen worked 27,657 hectares in 2025 and the Pfalz 23,640, while the Ahr worked 535 hectares and the Mittelrhein 439. Riesling has been the leading variety by area, at 24,388 hectares or 23.5 percent of the vineyard in 2023, ahead of Spätburgunder (Pinot Noir) at 11,519 hectares. Structural change is steady: the Deutsches Weininstitut statistics report counts 14,150 holdings of at least 0.5 hectares working 102,500 hectares in 2023, down from 20,290 holdings in 2010.

• 13 specified growing regions are set by §3 of the German Wine Act
• 101,965 hectares under wine cultivation in 2025 (Destatis)
• Vineyard area fell by 1,330 hectares between 2024 and 2025
• 14,150 holdings of 0.5 hectares or more worked 102,500 hectares in 2023

German viticulture sits at the northern edge of commercial grape growing, and the regions compensate with rivers, slopes and aspect. The Rheingau lies along the 50th parallel on the northern bank of the Rhine, sheltered from cold winds by the Taunus hills and warmed by the heat-reflecting surface of the river. On the Mosel, half the vineyards are on steep and terraced sites with a slope of over 30 degrees, some planted at a 70-degree gradient, and the steep slate slopes store the sun's heat during the day and release it at night. The Mittelrhein occupies the 65-kilometre stretch of the Rhine Gorge between Bonn and Bingen, where the valley sides shelter the vines and the river again reflects heat. Soils are as varied as the topography. The Mosel runs from clayish slate and greywacke in the north through Devonian slate in its middle section to shell limestone on the upper river. The Ahr combines deep loess in its lower valley with slate, volcanic stone and rocky soils further west. The Nahe contains the entire rock cycle, with igneous, sedimentary and metamorphic rocks side by side. Baden is the only German growing region assigned to EU Wine Zone B, which requires higher must weights than elsewhere in Germany, and the Kaiserstuhl district is Germany's warmest area. Franken is continental, with warm dry summers and cold winters, while the Pfalz records an average temperature of 11 degrees Celsius.

• The Rheingau lies along the 50th parallel on the Rhine's northern bank
• Half the Mosel's vineyards exceed a 30-degree slope, some reaching 70 degrees
• The Nahe contains igneous, sedimentary and metamorphic rocks within one region
• Baden is the only German region in EU Wine Zone B, with higher must weight requirements

German wine law sorts wine by origin and by ripeness at harvest. The Wine Act defines Landwein as wine with a protected geographical indication that meets legally set minimum requirements for production method and grape ripeness, with at least 85 percent of the grapes from the named Landwein area. Qualitätswein is wine with a protected designation of origin that has passed an official analytical and sensory quality examination. Prädikatswein is also a protected designation of origin wine, examined officially, but held to minimum requirements above those for Qualitätswein. The Deutsches Weininstitut describes the pyramid as German wine at the base, then regional wines with a protected geographical indication, then quality and Prädikat wines with a protected designation of origin above them. There are six Prädikat categories, each with a defined minimum must weight that varies by grape variety and growing region: Kabinett, Spätlese, Auslese, Beerenauslese, Eiswein and Trockenbeerenauslese. Must weight is measured in degrees Oechsle, named after the Württemberg pharmacist and mechanic Ferdinand Oechsle. Auslese requires 83 to 100 degrees Oechsle, and Eiswein 110 to 128 degrees Oechsle depending on the growing region; Eiswein grapes must be harvested at minus 7 degrees Celsius or colder and pressed while frozen. Qualitätswein and Prädikatswein must come entirely from one of the 13 German growing regions; Qualitätswein may be enriched with a legally limited amount of sugar before fermentation, while Prädikat wines may not. Since 1971 every Qualität and Prädikat wine has been chemically analysed by an approved laboratory and sensory tested by an official body before receiving the approval number that must appear on the label. The 10th Act amending the Wine Act came into force on 27 January 2021 and shifted the system further toward origin, with the new rules binding from the 2026 vintage. Within the protected designation of origin tier it builds a four-level pyramid running from wines of a whole growing region, through Region wines, to village wines (Ortsweine), to single-vineyard wines. At the top of the single-vineyard level sit Großes Gewächs and Erstes Gewächs. Großes Gewächs must be a single dry variety matching the regional profile, hand-picked, capped at 50 hectolitres per hectare, with a natural minimum alcohol content of at least 12 percent by volume. Erstes Gewächs is capped at 60 hectolitres per hectare on flat sites and 70 on steep slopes, with a natural minimum alcohol content of at least 11 percent by volume.

• Landwein is PGI wine with at least 85 percent of grapes from the named area
• Qualitätswein and Prädikatswein are PDO wines that pass an official quality examination
• Prädikat order: Kabinett, Spätlese, Auslese, Beerenauslese, Eiswein, Trockenbeerenauslese
• Großes Gewächs is capped at 50 hectolitres per hectare with at least 12% vol natural alcohol
• Official testing of every Qualität and Prädikat wine has been required since 1971

Ten of Germany's 13 growing regions are covered in depth on WineWiki. Ahr is one of the smallest and most northerly, with 535 hectares in 2025 and 79 percent of its vineyards planted to red varieties, around 347 hectares of them Spätburgunder, alongside the local Frühburgunder. Baden stretches roughly 400 kilometres north to south, holds 15,142 hectares across nine districts, and is the only German region in EU Wine Zone B. Franken works 6,040 hectares on the south-facing slopes of the Main and its tributaries, with Silvaner, Müller-Thurgau and Bacchus leading and the Bocksbeutel as its trademark bottle. Mittelrhein is small at 439 hectares, 84 percent white, set in the Rhine Gorge between Bonn and Bingen. Mosel covers 8,287 hectares in 2025 across 125 wine towns along the Mosel, Saar and Ruwer, with 5,156 hectares of Riesling and 524 individual vineyard sites. Nahe holds 4,166 hectares in the Hunsrück hills between the Rhine and Mosel valleys, on soils spanning the entire rock cycle. Pfalz works 23,640 hectares between the Haardt Mountains and the Rhine plain, home to the Deutsche Weinstraße and to Riesling, Dornfelder and Grauburgunder. Rheingau covers 3,117 hectares on the right bank of the Rhine from Wiesbaden to Lorch, 85 percent white and led by Riesling with some Spätburgunder. Rheinhessen is the largest German growing region at 27,657 hectares, across three districts and more than 400 individual sites. Württemberg ranks fourth among the major regions with 10,694 hectares, and red varieties account for 63 percent of its plantings.

• Rheinhessen: 27,657 ha in 2025, the largest German growing region
• Pfalz: 23,640 ha in 2025, home of the Deutsche Weinstraße
• Mosel: 8,287 ha in 2025, including 5,156 ha of Riesling
• Ahr: 535 ha in 2025, with 79 percent of vineyards planted to red varieties

White varieties held 71,378 hectares in 2023, or 68.8 percent of the German vineyard, and red varieties 32,310 hectares, or 31.2 percent, from a total of 103,687 hectares. Riesling led at 24,388 hectares (23.5 percent), followed by Müller-Thurgau at 10,738 hectares (10.4 percent), Grauburgunder at 8,372 hectares (8.1 percent), Weißburgunder at 6,318 hectares (6.1 percent) and Silvaner at 4,330 hectares (4.2 percent). Among reds, Spätburgunder led at 11,519 hectares (11.1 percent), then Dornfelder at 6,618 hectares (6.4 percent), Portugieser at 2,196 hectares (2.1 percent) and Trollinger at 1,917 hectares (1.8 percent). The mix has shifted sharply since 1995. Müller-Thurgau has lost 12,751 hectares, Silvaner 3,216 hectares and Scheurebe 2,107 hectares, while Grauburgunder has gained 5,837 hectares, Weißburgunder 4,496 hectares, Dornfelder 4,735 hectares, Spätburgunder 4,320 hectares and Chardonnay 2,641 hectares. Measured as a share of the vineyard, red varieties rose from 14.7 percent in 1970 to 36.8 percent in 2005, then eased back to 31.2 percent in 2023.

• Riesling: 24,388 ha in 2023, 23.5 percent of the German vineyard
• Spätburgunder: 11,519 ha in 2023, the leading red variety
• Müller-Thurgau has lost 12,751 ha since 1995
• Red varieties held 31.2 percent of the vineyard in 2023, against 14.7 percent in 1970

According to the Federal Statistical Office (Destatis), German winegrowers harvested 7.7 million hectolitres of wine must in 2025, a decline of 2.3 percent year on year, and the country used 101,965 hectares for wine cultivation that year, 1,330 hectares less than in 2024. Destatis also recorded 12.1 million hectolitres of wine held in the cellars of producers and resellers on 31 July 2025, 331,000 hectolitres or 2.7 percent below the previous year. The International Organisation of Vine and Wine puts German wine production at 7.8 million hectolitres in 2024, 3.4 percent of the world total, on a vineyard of 103 thousand hectares. On the demand side, the OIV estimates German consumption at 17.8 million hectolitres in 2024, the third-largest market in the European Union, and reports that Germany remained the world's largest wine importer by volume in 2024 at 12.7 million hectolitres, down 6.9 percent from 2023, ranking third in import value at 2.5 billion euros.

• 7.7 million hectolitres of wine must harvested in 2025 (Destatis)
• German wine stocks stood at 12.1 million hectolitres on 31 July 2025
• OIV: 7.8 million hectolitres produced in 2024, 3.4 percent of the world total
• OIV: Germany was the largest wine importer by volume in 2024 at 12.7 million hectolitres

Primary sources used for this article: Deutsches Weininstitut, Deutscher Wein Statistik 2024/2025: https://www.winesofgermany.com/fileadmin/DWI/News_Medien/PDF/Statistik_2024-2025.pdf Deutsches Weininstitut, Prädikat Categories: https://www.winesofgermany.com/our-wine/quality-standards/quality-standard/449/pr%C3%A4dikat-categories Deutsches Weininstitut, New Origin Pyramid for Qualität and Prädikat Wines: https://www.winesofgermany.com/our-wine/quality-standards/quality-standard/462/new-origin-pyramid-for-qualit%C3%A4t-and-pr%C3%A4dikat-wines Deutsches Weininstitut, Must Weights: https://www.winesofgermany.com/our-wine/quality-standards/quality-standard/182/must-weights Deutsches Weininstitut, Proven Quality: https://www.winesofgermany.com/our-wine/quality-standards/quality-standard/180/proven-qualitiy Deutsches Weininstitut, Wine law and regulations: https://www.winesofgermany.com/wine-industry/wine-law-and-regulations Deutsches Weininstitut, growing area pages for Ahr, Baden, Franken, Mittelrhein, Mosel, Nahe, Pfalz, Rheingau, Rheinhessen and Württemberg: https://www.winesofgermany.com/our-regions Weingesetz (German Wine Act), Bundesministerium der Justiz: https://www.gesetze-im-internet.de/weing_1994/BJNR146710994.html Statistisches Bundesamt (Destatis), Wine: https://www.destatis.de/EN/Themes/Economic-Sectors-Enterprises/Agriculture-Forestry-Fisheries/Wine/_node.html International Organisation of Vine and Wine, State of the World Vine and Wine Sector in 2024: https://www.oiv.int/sites/default/files/documents/OIV-State_of_the_World_Vine-and-Wine-Sector-in-2024.pdf Last verified 2026-09-16