Germany or the Federal Republic of Germany is a European nation state, the EU’s biggest member. Germany comprises 16 sovereign states (Länder, listed below) which retain a measure of independence. On 3rd October 1990 the German Democratic Republic (GDR) in the east reunited with the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) in the west.  Henry Kissinger once described Germany as “a country too big for Europe and too small for the world,” (‘Europe’s reluctant hegemon’, by Zanny Minton Beddoes in The Economist – Special Report Germany, 15th July 2013, p.4).

Climate change: Germany’s first climate change law was passed and decreed that by 2030 carbon emissions must be cut by 55% from the level in 1990 (Source: ‘Red in Robe, green in thought’, The Economist 8th May 2021, p.22).

Organic & Biodynamic wine production data: See here.

Vineyard area & wine productionData on Germany’s vineyard surface area, its main grape varieties, and overall wine production are here.

Prädikat or Quälitatswein mit Prädikat or QmP is Germany’s term for the highest category of the country’s quality wines, classified in ascending order according to the must weight of the grapes used to make them: Kabinett. | Spätlese. | Auslese. | Beerenauslese. | Trockenbeerenauslese. | Eiswein.

Wine terms: Einzellage. | Grosslage. | Prädikat or Qualitatswein mit Prädikat.

Wine regionsAhr. | Baden. | Franken. | Mittelrhein. | Mosel. | Nahe. | Pfalz. | Rheingau. | Rheinhessen. | Ruwer (Ruhr). | Saale-Unstrut. | Saar. | Sachsen. | Württemberg.

Federal states (Länder)Baden-Württemberg. | Bayern (Bavaria). | Berlin. | Brandenburg. | Bremen. | Hamburg. | Hesse (Hessen). | Mecklenburg-Vorpommern or Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania. | Niedersachsen (Lower Saxony). | Nordrhein-Westfalen or North Rhine-Westphalia. | Rhineland-Palatinate, Pfalz region. | Saarland (Saar region). | Sachsen (Saxony). | Sachsen-Anhalt (Saxony-Anhalt). | Schleswig-Holstein. | Thüringen (Thuringia).

See alsoAsparagus. | Economy. | Ethnic Germans. | Football. | Henry Kissinger on Germany. | Home ownership. | Immigration. | Ostpolitik. | Population. | Religion. | Solar power. | Wine consumption.