The winegrowers' association in the German winegrowing region of Rheingau was founded in 1984 by Bernhard Breuer (1947-2004) with the aim of protecting the classic Rheingau Riesling. At last count, about 50 wineries were members. Subsequently, there was an increasing overlap in membership and objectives with the VDP Rheingau, as a result of which Charta Rheingau was absorbed into it in March 1999. However, the Charta wines continue to be produced by around a dozen wineries according to almost the same specifications. The dry to semi-dry wines must be made 100% from Riesling the best Rheingau vineyards. Within the four-level VDP quality pyramid, this corresponds to the Erste Lage or Grosse Lage. However, the site may not be listed on the front label, but only on the back label. Compared to the legal requirements, the wines must have a must weight eight °Oe higher.
![]()
For my many years of work as an editor with a wine and culinary focus, I always like to inform myself about special questions at Wine lexicon. Spontaneous reading and following links often leads to exciting discoveries in the wide world of wine.
Dr. Christa Hanten
Fachjournalistin, Lektorin und Verkosterin, Wien