Mosel gets name change

If you love German wine but stumble over the long and unpronounceable names, then you may be pleased to hear that one appellation is going to get easier to say. The laborious Mosel-Saar-Ruwer is going to become simply ‘Mosel’ from the 2007 vintage. The change comes after years of lobbying by the region’s growers’ organisation. They complained that the name was too complicated for the average consumer and also that some people thought it meant that the wines were a three-region blend. They claimed that the precedent was set by the Rheinpfalz and Sudliche Weinstrasse, which was shortened to Pfalz 14 years ago. However, nothing in German wine law is straightforward. So while Saar producers can continue to use ‘Saar Riesling’ on their labels – and retain ‘Mosel’ in smaller type, Ruwer producers must use ‘Ruwertal’ (meaning Ruwer Valley), because ‘Ruwer’ is the name of a suburb of the regional capital of Trier.