Opening remarks by Hugh Johnson

On the occasion of the VDP-Frühjahrs-Weinbörse 2000 in Mainz

Hugh Johnson, a British author and expert on wine. He is considered the world's best-selling wine writer.

"Ladies and gentlemen

I am devastated that at the very last minute personal reasons prevent me from being at the opening of the Mainzer Weinbörse.

There are many things that I wanted to say at this most important event in the German wine calendar. The first is to state my confidence that what I have always considered the greatest white wines in the world, top German wines, are finding a new status in the 21st century.

To end the 20th century with a decade of fine vintages was already a great achievement - rounded off with the great vintage of 1999. It is a good omen -. And it gives wine-lovers confidence in what Germany can produce.

In the past I have been a severe (and sometimes rather noisy) critic of some aspects of German wine law. And truthfully there are still aspects which I believe hinder German wines from fully expressing their potential in the market.

Since 1971 growers have become accustomed to a system which lets the lazy get away with it, but does not give proper credit to conscientious and perfectionist growers. I have always believed that such label-terms as Bereich are intended to make life easy for the grower and difficult for the consumer. But I am delighted that producers will soon be able to express themselves more accurately and freely on their labels.

But if there is one first essential step in establishing great German regions in the eyes of the world it is the classification of the best sites - whether they have been recognised for centuries and are famous national treasures, or whether they have been discovered and developed in recent years. The process is nearly complete. But it needs official backing and blessing.

While it is profitable for writers like me that consumers need complex reference books, the wine laws ought to be simple enough to make them redundant. The label should clearly state where a wine comes from, and the status of that site.

Equally important - perhaps even more important - is the banning of non-classic grape varieties from top sites To give the simplest example, the names of such classic Riesling sites as Bernkastel or Rüdesheim or Piesport must be limited by law totally and utterly to Riesling. The Chablis principle should be universal: the identification of a great site, or indeed region, whit its noblest grape. Do it and the world recognises a clear-cut identity. Allow Müller-Thurgau to share the name and the public will punish you.

I have other thoughts I hoped to discuss here today and will certainly discuss in the future whit anyone who wants to listen! For example, I believe the convention of Prädikat selection is too firmly entrenched. A century ago there was nothing like such a fragmented market - and nor is there in any other country in the world. Sometimes the best wine to make may be neither a Kabinett nor a Spätlese nor even an Auslese, but the produce of the 3whole vineyard fermented together. As a consumer I should love to see such wines.

But my main thought for this first Weinbörse of the third millennium is happiness, that German wine is now being gradually freed from negative laws to express the greatness of its terroirs and its traditions.That deserves celebration.

Every wine-lover wants to see the process move on as first as possible. I hope this event is indeed a celebration of a hopeful and positive future."

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