The Federal Republic of Germany in Central Europe with its capital Berlin (seat of parliament and government since 1991) was formed in its current form through the reunification in 1990 with the German Democratic Republic (GDR), which was founded in 1949. Germany covers 357,588 square kilometres and is politically divided into 16 federal states. It borders Denmark, Poland, the Czech Republic, Austria, Switzerland, France, Luxembourg, Belgium and the Netherlands to the north and the North Sea and Baltic Sea to the north.

Almost two thirds of the vineyards are located in the south-west of the state in the valleys of the Rhine and Moselle rivers and their tributaries. The federal state of Rhineland-Palatinate is home to 6 of the 13 growing regions. The rest are in the south.
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