Area

region, area (GB)

Designation for the second largest wine-growing unit in Germany after the cultivation area, followed by Großlage, single vineyard and Katasterlage (Gewann). This designation was created with the land consolidation in 1971 to give larger producers the opportunity to market their wines produced in large quantities under a uniform name. However, the area is controversial (as is Großlage ). Critics even speak of consumer deception, as the names are often very similar or even identical to those of single vineyards. An extreme example of this is the single Johannisberg area in the Rheingau, which bears the same name as the most famous single vineyard. Many quality-conscious winemakers therefore do not list Bereich or Großlage on the bottle label at all.

The designation applies to several individual vineyards from whose yields wines of similar taste are produced and which are located in close proximity to each other in a wine-growing region. Since the year 1989, the word "area" has only had to be prefixed to the area name if the area name is identical or confusable with another geographical designation. Currently, 40 areas are registered in the 13 wine-growing regions. With nine areas, the Baden wine-growing region is the largest in terms of number; the Ahr, Nahe and Rheingau have only one area. See also under Origin and a list of all vineyard-relevant keywords under Vineyard area.

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Area

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