German wine the best vineyards in Germany are steep vineyards overlooking rivers, where mechanisation is impossible and a lot of manual labour is needed to produce the wine. Since it can be difficult to get ripe grapes in such a northernly location as Germany, the sugar maturity of grapes (must weight) as measured by the Oechsle scale have played a great role in Germany. German vintners on average crop their vineyards quite high, with yields averaging around 64-99 hl/ha, a high figure in international comparison. "New" crossings used for low-quality white wine commonly yield 150-200 hl/ha, while quality-conscious producers who strive to
Straw wine scale. Grapes should originate in a single wine sub-region and reach at least 6% of alcohol. De Trafford created the first Vin de Paille to be released under the new appellation "Wine from Naturally Dried Grapes" in 1997. They use 100% Chenin blanc. A number of wineries produce straw wine, known in Spanish as "vino de pasas", including Bodegas Oliveros and Bodegas Gonzalez Palacios. Most involve a blend of two grapes, the first one usually a Muscat. Pedro Ximénez grapes are dried in the sun before being vinified, fortified and matured in a solera system like other sherries. Another straw