| The wine list, please | Die Weinkarte, bitte dee vynkar-te, bit-e |
| Can you recommend a good wine? | Können Sie mir einen guten Wein empfehlen? kur’nen zee meer yn-en gooten vyn empfehlen? |
| a bottle of house wine | eine Flasche Hauswein yn-e flash-e howsvyn |
| a glass of white wine/red wine | ein Glas Weißwein/Rotwein yn glahs vysvyn/rohtvyn |
| a bottle of red wine/white wine | eine Flasche Rotwein/Weißwein yn-e flash-e rohtvyn |
Wines
Wines are usually categorized according to three criteria: the growing area, the village or vineyard where they are produced, and the type of grape they are made from. Major grape varieties include Riesling, Silvaner, Gewürztraminer and Müller-Thurgau.
Important wine-growing areas in Germany and Austria include:
Ahr small valley north of the Moselle, producing mainly light red wines
Baden the region around Freiburg in the Upper Rhine valley, producing light, mainly white and rosé wines
Burgenland region in Austria, producing mainly sweet wines
Franken important wine-growing area in Northern Bavaria, producing dry, full-bodied wines
Mosel-Saar-Ruwer region along the rivers Moselle, Saar and Ruwer, producing white wines, many of them dry
Rheinhessen quality wine region along the banks of the Rhine
Rheinpfalz Palatinate region, producing mainly white wines
Wachau major wine-growing area in Austria, just west of Vienna
Other words to look out for are:
Eiswein a rich, naturally sweet, white wine made from grapes that are harvested after a period of frost
halbtrocken medium-dry
Landwein wine of similar quality to French ‘vin de pays’
Prädikatswein highest category of quality wines
QbA good-quality wine from a specified region
Tafelwein lowest-quality wine, similar to French ‘vin de table’
trocken dry
Other drinks
| What liqueurs do you have? | Was für Liköre haben Sie? vas fuer li-kur’-re hahben zee? |
Apfelkorn apple brandy
Danziger Goldwasser brandy with tiny bits of gold leaf
Himbeergeist strong, clear raspberry brandy
Kirschwasser cherry brandy
Schnaps strong spirit
Sliwowitz plum brandy (Austria)