GERMAN WINES. The culture of the vine is almost southern and western Germany, and especially to the Rhine district. The northern limits of its growth extend from Bonn in a north-easterly direction, through Cassel to the southern foot of the Harz, crossing 52' n. lat. on the Elbe, running then e. some m. to the n. of that parallel, and finally turning shafply towards the s.w. on the Warthe. In the valley of the Scale and Elbe (near Dresden), and in Lower Silesia (between Guben and Grin'. berg) the number of vineyards is small, and the wines of inferior quality; but along the Rhine, from Basel to Coblentz, in Alsace, Baden, the Palatinate and Hesse, and above all, in the province of Nassau the lower slopes of the hills are literally covered with vines. Here are produced the celebrated Rudesheimer, Hochheimer, and Johannisber ger. The vines of the lower Main, particularly those of WiIrtzburg, are the best kinds; those of the upper Main and the valley of the Neckar are rather inferior. The Moselle wines are lighter and more acid than those of the Rhine. The total amount produced in Germany is estimated at 1000 million gallons—Alsace-Lorraine turning out 400 mil lions, Baden 175, Bavaria, Wurtemberg, and Hesse, together, 300, while the remainder, which, though smaller in quantity, is in quality the best, is produced by Prussia.
The wines of Alsatia are similar to those of the Palatinate; they are white and the principal vines are the Riessling, Traminer, Burger, or Elbing, and Grosser Rauschling. The Sylvaner and Rulander are also to be found, but peculiar to the district is the Kuipperle which fills the vineyards of Thann, Rickweiher, and Ribweiler. The vines produced are consumed in the district, and in the adjoining parts of Switzerland. They were formerly added to Rhenish products of the lower districts to make them milder, but now the reverse obtains. The vineyards of Gebweiler, Turckheim, Rickweiher, Ribweiler, Thann, Bergholtzell, Rafael', Pfaffenheim, and others yield dry white vines of very good quality, ranking in the second class. The best liqueur wines are made at
Colmar, Kaisersberg,.01weiler, Ammerschwihr, Kiensheim, and a few other places. The vinicultural districts of the Palatinate are situated at the foot of a mountain called the Haardt which is the continuation towards the n. of the Vosges. The 70,000 fuder (a fuder.---2461 gallons)of wine which are produced in this district, form about one-tenth of the total production of wine in the south of Germany, and it is celebrated for its medium good quality. the purity and freshness of its taste, and the extreme relative lowness of its price. The mode of training the vine here is that called the "double-chamber culti vation," and extends from Landau to Maikammer. The prevailing vines are the Gutedel, Traminer, Sylvaner, and the Riess] ing. The superior quality of wines are Rupertsberger, Deidesheimer, Wachenheimer, and Forster; Uugsteiner, DiIrkheimer,.and Konigsbach, belong to the second class. The wines and'vines of Rhenish Hesse are similar to those of the Palatinate. Liebfraumilch, a Riessling wine of fine bouquet, is produced in one of the vineyards of Worms. . The district of Oberingelbeim produces much red wine of the second md third class from Burgundy gripes, and furnishes considerable quantities for the production of snousseux, particularly to a celebrated manufactory at Rtidesheim. The district of Bingen is distingnished by the growths of Scharlachberg and Feuerberg. The wines of Laubenheim, Guntersblum, Nierstein, and Selzen possess individual repu tations, and are often substituted for wines of the Rheingau. The. country anciently called Franconia, which is.now comprehended under the name of the lower circle of the Main of Bavaria, contains about 70,000 Bavarian tagwerke of vineyards, equal to 58,912 acres. Only a small quantity is exported, and that is grown in the neighborhood of Wfirtzburg. The best vineyards are the Leiste, Stein, Middle Stein, the Harp and Schalksberg, and the wines in good years have a particular strength.