Liebfraumilch

Liebfraumilch

Liebfraumilch or Liebfrauenmilch is a style of semi-sweet white German wine which may be produced in the regions Rheinhessen, Palatinate, Rheingau and Nahe. The name is a German word literally meaning "Beloved lady's milk". The original German spelling of the word is "Liebfrauenmilch", given to the wine produced from the vineyards of the "Liebfrauenkirche" or Church of Our Lady in the Rhineland-Palatinate city of Worms since the 18th century. The spelling "Liebfraumilch" is more common on labels of exported wine. [ [http://www.wein-plus.de/glossar/index.html?Suchwort=Liebfraumilch Wein-Plus Glossar: "Liebfrauenmilch"] , read on January 13, 2008]

Liebfrauenmilch originally was a high quality hock of very limited distribution. The Valckenberg wine company sells their wine produced in the original vineyard, "Liebfrauenstift-Kirchenstück", under the name "MADONNA Liebfraumilch", although ironically it is not legally a Liebfraumilch, but rather a QmP. The generic label Liebfraumilch is used to market vintages from anywhere in the Rheinhessen/Nahe area. In Germany this wine is sold as low-priced supermarket wine due to the perceived campiness of its label and because its characteristics do not make it a good companion to modern cuisine. Wine with very similar characteristics but made from higher quality grapes is labeled as Spätlese or Auslese from their appropriate regions.

Peter Josef Valckenberg, a Dutch immigrant started a wine export firm in Worms in 1786. In 1808, he acquired the monastery vineyards from the French occupation forces. His family then developed and dominated the German export market. It remains a major company.

In the U.S. and the UK, perhaps the best known example has been Blue Nun, which no longer uses the Liebfraumilch designation. While the term is associated with low quality wine, Liebfraumilch is defined by the German Wine Law as one step above the lowest category, Tafelwein (table wine). However, in Germany the Liebfraunmilch label is often seen as symbolic of a string of marketing failures and scandals that have damaged the public image of German wine in the past.

The MADONNA Liebfraumilch is featured in the Germany part of Disney's Epcot in the Vine Kellar (Wine Cellar).

ource

* [http://www.valckenberg.com/en/historie/historie.htm Valckenberg company history]

Further reading

*German wine classification


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Look at other dictionaries:

  • liebfraumilch — n. [From the liebfrauenstift, a convent in Worms where the wine was first made. RHUD] A white Rhenish type wine produced especially in Hesse in western Germany. [WordNet 1.5] …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Liebfraumilch — Liebfraumilch, fälschlich Liebfrauenmilch, edler rhein hess. Rieslingswein, um die Kirche des Liebfrauenstifts in Worms wachsend (35/8 ha) …   Kleines Konversations-Lexikon

  • Liebfraumilch — German white wine, 1833, from German, lit. milk of Our Lady …   Etymology dictionary

  • Liebfraumilch — [lēb′frou milk΄; ] Ger [ lēp′frou milH΄] n. [Ger contr. < Liebfrauenmilch, orig. jocular formation (after Liebfrauenstift, monastery of our dear lady, i.e., the Virgin Mary) < lieb, dear + frauen, obs. gen. of frau, lady + milch, MILK: the… …   English World dictionary

  • Liebfraumilch — Liebfraumlich o Liebfrau(e)nmlich es un tipo de vino blanco semidulce alemán que puede producirse en las regiones de Rheinhessen, Palatinado, Rheingau y Nahe. Su nombre es una palabra alemana, que literalmente significa “leche de la mujer amada” …   Wikipedia Español

  • liebfraumilch — noun Etymology: German, alteration of Liebfrauenmilch, from Liebfrauenstift, religious foundation in Worms, Germany + Milch milk Date: 1833 a fruity white Rhine wine …   New Collegiate Dictionary

  • Liebfraumilch — /leeb frow milk , leep /; Ger. /leep frddow milkh /, n. a white wine produced chiefly in the region of Hesse in Germany. [1825 35; < G, after Liebfrauenstift convent of the Virgin, religious establishment in Worms, where the wine was first made;… …   Universalium

  • Liebfraumilch — (ty): halvsød/sød tysk hvidvin, ofte af lav kvalitet …   Danske encyklopædi

  • Liebfraumilch — Lieb|frau|milch a sweet white wine from Germany …   Dictionary of contemporary English

  • Liebfraumilch —  White Rhine wine; in German it is Liebfrauenmilch …   Bryson’s dictionary for writers and editors

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