The BerlinGutsrieslingCup 2014 took place in May 2014 in Berlin, Germany, orchestrated by Martin Zwick. 34 wines were included in the tasting. They were blind-tasted by a group of sommeliers, wine writers and wine retailers.
“Gutsriesling” is a combination of Gutswein (Estate Wine) and Riesling: Rated were wines that fulfilled the two criteria – being a Gutswein and a Riesling (from Germany).
This was the third BerlinGutsrieslingCup. See here for the previous years’s results:
BerlinGutsrieslingCup 2013– Rating Entry-level Rieslings from Germany
Berlin Gutsriesling Cup 2012, Germany
Gutswein
What is a Gutswein – Estate Wine? Gutswein is a term introduced and used by the members of the VDP association, Germany’s elite winemakers. A Gutswein is an entry level wine of a VDP member.
In sharp contrast with the standard classification system of the Law of 1971, the VDP classification system is based on the terroir principle. The pyramid of ripeness of the grapes at harvest (which dominates the standard German wine classification of 1971) has moved to the backburner in the VDP system. Instead, following Bourgogne, the terroir principle has taken center stage. Effective with the 2012 harvest, the VDP classification system consists of 4 layers. (In brackets, the equivalent quality classes in the classification system of the Bourgogne):
• VDP.Grosse Lage (Grand Cru in Burgundy)
• VDP.Erste Lage (Premier Cru in Burgundy)
• VDP.Ortswein (Village level in Burgundy)
• VDP.Gutswein (Bourgogne régional in Burgundy)
Note that for some legal reasons, the VDP has started to use the terms Grosse Lage, Erste Lage, Ortswein and Gutswein with the pre-fix VDP.
For more background information, see:
Steffen Christmann (Weingut A. Christmann) and Wilhelm Weil (Weingut Robert Weil) Presented the New Wine Classification of the VDP, Germany
German Wine Basics: Grosse Lage and Grosslage (and Grosses Gewaechs)
VDP.Grosses Gewaechs, Erstes Gewaechs, Spaetlese/Auslese Trocken, … Labeling Dry Ultra-Premium Wines in Germany
Approaches to Classifying German Wine: The Standard Approach (the Law of 1971), the VDP Approach and the Zero Classification Approach
Riesling
There are about 47000 hectares planted with Riesling worldwide. Germany – with 22500 hectares – accounts for about half of the total. The second and third largest Riesling producer are the US (mainly Washington State and Finger Lakes Region) with 4800 hectares and Australia with 4100 hectares. But this is only about 1/10 of the total. Alsace follows with 3500 hectares. Alsace, Ukraine and Austria follow with 3500 hectares, 2700 hectares and 1900 hectares, respectively.
Overall, Riesling is really a niche wine, accounting for less than 1 percent of total wine production in the world - but a very special niche wine. In terms of quality wines, Riesling is usually included in the top three white wine varieties, with Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc. Riesling is highly terroir-expressive, meaning that the character of Riesling wines is clearly influenced by the wine’s place of origin.
Martin Zwick and his Berlin Cups
Martin Zwick was initially known for organizing the BerlinRieslingCup every year. The BerlinRieslingCup is about Germany’s ultra-premium dry grand cru (Grosses Gewaechs) Rieslings from Grosse Lage vineyards. It typically takes place in the second half of September, following the release of the Grosses Gewaechs wines of the previous year. He then added the BerlinGutsrieslingCup, which reviews and rates entry-level Rieslings of VDP Estates. Last year, Martin Zwick also organized for the first time (in June) a BerlinKabinettCup: A ranking of off-dry, light Rieslings that carry the Kabinett predicate. Finally, last year, he organized a BerlinSpätburgunderCup, a ranking of German Pinot Noirs.
Thus, there are now 4 BerlinCups: BerlinRieslingCup, BerlinGutsRieslingCup, BerlinKabinettCup and BerlinSpätburgunderCup. See more below.
Ranking of the 2014 BerlinGutsRieslingCup
1 Weingut Wechsler (Rheinhessen) 88
2 Weingut Emrich-Schönleber (Nahe) 88
3 Weingut Max Pfannebecker (Rheinhessen) 88
4 Weingut Eller, Juliane Eller (Rheinhessen) 87
5 Weingut Wittmann (Rheinhessen) 87
6 Weingut Keller (Rheinhessen) 86
7 Weingut Wagner-Stempel (Rheinhessen) 86
8 Weingut Schäfer-Fröhlich (Nahe) 86
9 Weingut Weedeborn (Rheinhessen) 2012 Vintage – not in the competition
10 Weingut Uwe Spies (Rheinhessen) 86
11 Weingut F.E. Huff (Rheinhessen) 86
12 Kühling-Gillot
13 Battenfeld-Spanier
14 Lisa Bunn
15 Bürklin-Wolf
16 Krebs
17 A.J. Adam
18 Julian Haart
19 Reichsrat von Buhl
20 Knewitz
21 Lauer
22 Zilliken
23 St.Urbans Hof
24 Siener
25 Rings
26 Karl Schaefer
27 K.H. Schneider
28 von Winning
29 Albrecht Engel
30 A. Christmann
31 Bietighöfer
32 Dreissigacker
33 P.J. Kühn
34 Prinz
Martin Zwick: Surprise of the evening: Juliane Eller from Rheinhessen. Katharina Wechsler, Juliane Eller, Christine Huff and Gesine Roll (Weedeborn) learnt winemaking at Weingut Klaus Peter Keller.
schiller-wine: Related Postings (Berlin Cups)
Germany’s Best Ultra-premium Dry Riesling Wines - BerlinRieslingCup 2013, Germany
Germany’s Ultra Premium Dry Riesling Wines – The Berlin Riesling Cup 2012
Germany’s Top Wines – The Berlin Riesling Cup 2011 Ranking
Martin Zwick’s BerlinGutsweinrieslingCup 2014 - Rating Entry-level Rieslings from Germany's Best Producers
BerlinGutsrieslingCup 2013– Rating Entry-level Rieslings from Germany
Berlin Gutsriesling Cup 2012, Germany
BerlinKabinettCup 2013 - Kabinett 2012, Germany
BerlinSpaetburgunderCup 2011/2013, Germany
Schiller-wine - Related Postings
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German Spaetlese Wines Can Come in Different Versions. I Have Counted Five.
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German Wine Basics: Grosse Lage and Grosslage (and Grosses Gewaechs)
VDP.Grosses Gewaechs, Erstes Gewaechs, Spaetlese/Auslese Trocken, … Labeling Dry Ultra-Premium Wines in Germany
Approaches to Classifying German Wine: The Standard Approach (the Law of 1971), the VDP Approach and the Zero Classification Approach
Steffen Christmann (Weingut A. Christmann) and Wilhelm Weil (Weingut Robert Weil) Presented the New Wine Classification of the VDP, Germany
Video: How to Pronounce German Wine - Simon Woods' Enhanced Version
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