In 1971 German law established specifications (which were modified in the 1980s) for calling a wine Liebfraumilch. Over time, the word Liebfraumilch began to be used for any wine made in the Rhine region. The word Liebfraumilch, which means "milk of Our Lady," was originally used only for wines produced from the vineyards of the Liebfrauenkirche ("Church of Our Lady"), a church in the city of Worms in Germany's Rheinhessen region. This wine's origins go back to the sixteenth or seventeenth century. Liebfraumilch Liebfrauenmilch - Germany's most exported wine, which is sweet, inexpensive, and generally looked down upon by connoisseurs. ![]() However, the name was used - and abused - as a brand for extremely cheap, sweet and completely bland and characterless wine exported in huge volumes around the world, which achieves nothing but to confirm the consumer's poor opinion of German wine in general. This wine was originally quite a good quality blended wine, produced by the Liebfrauenstift in Worms. There are three terms that have - unfortunately - made Rheinhessen world-famous.As we move further south, upstream, the soils become more dominated by loess and loam. This slope is the famed Roter Hang, (meaning red slope) which is reputed to be largely responsible for the high quality of the wines produced here. To the north the vineyards have soils of red sandstone and slate, and this is true of many of the vineyards in the upper part of this stretch. The hills to the west shelter them from wind and rain, and the effect of the Rhine is to moderate the local temperature, protecting the vines from frost. The vineyards of the Rheinterrasse, which is in itself larger than the Rheingau to the north, have a favoured mesoclimate in comparison with others in the region. The Rheinfront or Rheinterrasse are names given to the vineyards on gentle slopes directly facing the Rhein near the town of Nierstein.The Portugieser grape is the most important red variety, and the area around Ingelheim is known for its noble fullbodied Spätburgunder (Pinot noir) wine. Due to the varying soil types and microclimates, many grape varieties are planted, including the three traditional white varieties - Müller-Thurgau, Sylvaner and Riesling - as well as new crossings. ![]() This 20 by 30 mile area between the wine-growing communities of Worms, Alzey, Mainz and Bingen is the largest of the German winegrowing regions and its production is second only to that of the Pfalz. Rheinhessen lies in a valley of rolling hills, bordered on the west by the Nahe River and on the north and east by the Rhine. The region is home the original Liebfraulich and, more recently, to the (in)famous dry Silvaner marketed under the 'Rheinhessen-Silvaner' label. The best vineyards are those close to the Rhine where the soil imparts more complexity and interest to the wines. Enormous 65,000 acre region (the largest wine growing region in Germany) producing often underrated wines especially from Riesling. ![]() Traditionally known for high quality wines but expansion into flatter, higher yielding areas changed the perception.
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