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First crop

First introduced with the 1999 vintage and exclusively permitted in the German wine-growing region of Rheingau, this is a designation for dry wines from classified top vineyards, the "Erste Lagen". The Rheingau was the only wine-growing region to have created a legally legitimised quality label regulation in 1999, before the VDP classification was introduced in 2002. In addition, "Erstes Gewächs" is a quality mark registered by the state of Hesse. As of the 2012 vintage, the Rheingau VDP members use the VDP's own (mutatis mutandis equivalent) designation "VDP Grosses Gewächs", just like the members from the other growing regions. Only the varieties Riesling and Spätburgunder (Pinot Noir) are permitted, which come from particularly high-quality vineyards. These are sharply defined plots (Herzstücke) of the classified sites. This classification was developed according to scientific criteria with the Geisenheim Institute. Parts of 79 of the total of 123 Rheingau vineyards were classified. However, due to the cultivation and production criteria as well as sensory testing, only about 3% of the total harvest is classified as Erstes Gewächs.

General conditions are wines from producer bottling or estate bottling in the dry taste range, low yield per hectare (maximum 6 eyes per m², maximum 50 hl/ha), hand harvesting and at least must weight suitable for late harvesting. Riesling wines must have at least 12% alcohol by volume and a maximum of 13 g/l residual sugar. For joint presentations of Erster Gewächse (Rheingau requirement) and Grosser Gewächse (VDP requirement), 9 g/l apply, so that every Rheingau VDP winery is free to choose one of the two variants with regard to residual sugar. For Spätburgunder wines, this is at least 13% vol. total alcohol content and a maximum of 6 g/l residual sugar. The wines are specially sensory tested on 1 May of the following year at the earliest. Marketing is permitted from 1 September of the following year at the earliest. Wines already on the market can be tested again and if the result is negative, further marketing can be prohibited. The wines bottled in the Rheingau Schlegel bottles with the VDP capsule bear the text "Erstes Gewächs" with three Romanesque double arches on a black background on the bottle label (see also under Charta Rheingau).

In February 2012, the Rheingau Winegrowers' Association submitted an application to the Hessian state government to amend § 10 of the Hessian executive order on wine law and phylloxera control (HAVO) regarding the "awarding of quality marks". The aim was to rename the previous designation "Erstes Gewächs" (First Growth) to "Grosses Gewächs" (Great Growth), which had been used exclusively by the VDP until then. In March 2013, the decision was made. The approximately 50 VDP members in the Rheingau can now also call their dry top wines from the "VDP Grossen Lagen" "VDP Grosses Gewächs". The other Rheingau winegrowers will continue to use the name "Erstes Gewächs". See also under VDP Classification.

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Roman Horvath MW

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Roman Horvath MW
Domäne Wachau (Wachau)

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