More Riesling and Pinot Blanc

German Vintners bet on Riesling and Pinot Blanc
Total vineyard area in Germany remains stable at 102,000 hectares. White wine varieties increase slightly.
 
Pinot Blanc (Weissburgunder) was the wine grape variety with the greatest vineyard area increase in Germany this last year. It increased by 240 hectares or 5.6% over last year to achieve 3,914 hectares. Pinot Blanc was followed by Riesling which experienced an increase of 146 hectares to reach a total of 22,580 vineyard hectares. The German Wine Institute (GWI) announced that Riesling continued to reinforce itself as Germany's most important grape variety based on results from the Federal Bureau for Statistics. Riesling now covers 22.1% of the total vineyard area with a total of 102,186 hectares. Over 60% of the Riesling world-wide is found in the German wine regions.
Sauvignon Blanc achieved around a 19% increase, marking the greatest percent increase of varieties in their respective vineyard areas. The expansion to a total of 516 hectares does though, remain modest. This is equally true for other international varieties like Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon which are often mentioned in discussions about future plantings in respect to climate change. The vineyard area of Merlot increased in 2009 by 19 hectares to reach a total of 469 hectares. Cabernet Sauvignon increased by 7 hectares and now covers 295 hectares.
Cultivation of black grape varieties showed a slight decrease. At a share of exactly 36% of the German vineyard area it is at the same level as in 2004.
From around one hundred different grape varieties that are found in Germany, there are only a few of economic significance. The ten most important grape varieties cover approximately 80 percent of the total vineyard area in Germany.
 
Overview of the ten most important Grape Varieties in Germany

Grape Variety
Vineyard Area 2009 in Hectares
Share of the Total Vineyard Area in %
Difference 2008/2009
in Hectare
Riesling
22,580
22,1
146
M�ller-Thurgau (Rivaner)
13,628
13,3
-93
Sp�tburgunder (Pinot Noir)
11,733
11,5
-67
Dornfelder
8,000
7,8
-101
Silvaner
5,187
5,1
-49
Grauburgunder (Pinot Gris)
4,517
4,4
36
Portugieser
4,202
4,1
-152
Wei�burgunder (Pinot Blanc)
3,941
3,9
210
Kerner
3,584
3,5
-128
Trollinger
2,431
2,2
-41
Total White Wine Varieties.
65,361
64,0
247
Total Red Wine Varieties
36,825
36,0
-402
Total Vineyard Area
102,186
100,0
-154
Source: Federal Bureau for Statistics