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| Franken Wine Region |
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| Location |
| The Franken wine region is located in the German state of Bavaria (Bayern). It extends between the cities of Aschaffenburg and Schweinfurt and runs along the Main River. |
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| Size |
| 15,320 acres (6,200 hectares) |
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| 14,793,632 gallons (560,000 hectoliters) of wine are produced annually in Franken. This accounts for 6% of the German wine production. |
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| Climate & Geography |
The Franken wine region experiences warm, dry summers and long cold winters. Because of this, late ripening grapes, such as the Riesling, play only a small role here due to the risk of frost damage.
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| Soil types vary throughout the region and include weathered rock, colored sandstone, shell-limestone, and keuper (colored and/or gypsum marl). |
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| Grape Varieties |
| 93% of the acreage here is dedicated to white grapes and only 7% is dedicated to red grapes. The most important grape varieties in the Franken wine region include: |
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| Characteristics of Franken Wine |
| Franken wines are generally dry, earthy, and spicy. They are drier than other German wines. A dry wine is defined by a residual sugar level of no more than 9 grams per liter. Franken dry wines generally have less than 4 grams per liter. |
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| The ripeness (ready for drinking) of Franken wines varies. Simple estate wines (Qualitätswein bestimmter Anbaugebiete) and Kabinett wines should be enjoyed shortly after bottling. Dry Spätlese wines, sweet wines, and high quality red wines should not be opened until one to two years after bottling. These can also be stored for up to ten years. |
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| Unique to Franken Wine |
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43% of the Franken wines are bottled in a uniquely shaped bottle, called a Bocksbeutel. The bottle is shaped with a round, flat body and a short neck (as shown to the left). It holds 750ml of wine. For over 250 years, the Bocksbeutel has been used to bottle top quality wines from Franken. Since 1989, the bottle has been patented at the EU and is only allowed to be used for Franken wines. |
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| History |
| The Franken wine tradition began in the 4th century. By the Middle Ages, 247,000 acres (100,000 hectares) were cultivated with grape vines, making Franken the largest wine region in the germanic empire. |
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| Franken |
| Vintage Ratings |
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| The following ratings are only a general guideline. Individual wines can certainly be better or worse than these ratings. Also, a wine ready to be enjoyed from a "bad" year can be better than a wine that is still too young from a "good" year. |
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| 1990 - |
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| 1992 - |
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| 2004 - |
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| = Fair Vintage |
| = Decent Vintage |
| = Good Vintage |
| = Excellent Vintage |
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| (Ratings from www.wein.de) |
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