View source for Liebfraumilch

{{Short description|Type of German white wine}}
{{more citations needed|date=March 2013}}
[[File:Liebfrauenkirche-Worms-07.JPG|thumb|Liebfrauenkirche in Worms with surrounding grapevines]]
[[File:Rebe2.jpg|right|thumb|Müller-Thurgau is often used in the production of Liebfraumilch.]]
'''''Liebfraumilch''''' or '''''Liebfrauenmilch''''' ({{IPA|de|liːpˈfʁaʊ̯ənˌmɪlç|lang|audio=De-Liebfrauenmilch.ogg}}, German for 'Our Lady's Milk',  in reference to the [[Virgin Mary]]) is a style of semi-sweet white [[German wine]] which may be produced, mostly for export, in the [[wine region|region]]s [[Rheinhessen (wine region)|Rheinhessen]], [[Palatinate (wine region)|Palatinate]], [[Rheingau (wine region)|Rheingau]], and [[Nahe (wine region)|Nahe]]. The original [[German language|German]] spelling of the word is {{lang|de|Liebfrauenmilch}}, given to the wine produced from the vineyards of the ''[[Liebfrauenkirche, Worms|Liebfrauenkirche]]'' or "Church of Our Lady" in the [[Rhineland-Palatinate]] city of [[Worms, Germany|Worms]]<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2012/10/13/dining/13iht-wine13.html |url-access=subscription |title=After the Debacle Called Liebfraumilch |author=Eric Pfanner |newspaper=The New York Times |date=October 12, 2012 |access-date=August 21, 2016}}</ref> since the eighteenth century. The spelling ''Liebfraumilch'' is more common on labels of exported wine.<ref>[http://www.wein-plus.eu/en/Liebfrauenmilch_3.0.10110.html Wein-Plus Glossar: ''Liebfrauenmilch'']. Retrieved January 24, 2013 {{Subscription required}}.</ref>{{Unreliable source?|date=April 2015}}

==Classification==
Back in the eighteenth century, it was said that the term "Liebfraumilch" should only be used if the grapes grew in the area “as far as the tower of the Liebfrauenkirche casts its shadow” but this rule was not anchored in law. This “genuine” Liebfraumilch is available as “Wormser Liebfrauenstift-Kirchenstück” from the winegrowers Gutzler, Schembs, Spohr and Valckenberg. 

The genuine Wormser Liebfrauenmilch and today's “Wormser Liebfrauenstift-Kirchenstück” have a smoky taste that originates from the wooden house debris from the [[Nine Years' War]] (1688-1697). In those days, the debris from the town was deposited around the Liebfrauenkirche and vineyards were planted on it.  

The generic label {{lang|de|Liebfraumilch}} is typically used to market vintages from anywhere in most of the major wine growing areas of Germany, the notable exception being [[Mosel (wine region)|Mosel]]. Wine with very similar characteristics but made from higher quality grapes can be labeled as [[Spätlese]] or [[Auslese]]. In the US and the UK, perhaps the best known example has been [[Blue Nun]], which no longer uses the {{lang|de|Liebfraumilch}} designation.

The term ''Liebfraumilch'' is associated with [[Plonk (wine)|low quality wine]], and, consequently, the [[German wine classification]] requires it only to be at the ''Qualitätswein bestimmter Anbaugebiete'' (QbA) level—the third rank out of ten. However, it must also be from Rheinhessen, Pfalz, Nahe, or Rheingau, and the grapes must be at least 70% [[Riesling]], [[Silvaner]], or [[Müller-Thurgau]], and it must have {{convert|18-40|g/L}} [[Sweetness of wine|residual sugar]].

German wine is classified roughly into ten categories:
''Tafelwein'' (dining wine), ''Landwein'', QbA (as mentioned above), followed by QbP (with predicate), followed by ''Kabinett'', ''Spätlese'' (late harvest), ''Auslese'' (special selection), ''Beerenauslese'' (lit. berry selection), and ''Trockenbeerenauslese'' (dry berry selection). Somewhat apart sits the ''Eiswein'' (ice wine), which is generally understood to be at least on par with the ''Beerenauslese'', but helped with both Botryitis (as is the ''Beerenauslese'') in conjunction with natural cryo extraction (icewine grapes have to be processed at -7&nbsp;°C). Overall, these quality levels are following extract per litre measures (density levels) as these are indicative of sugar levels. Blue Nun, as a result, sits at level 1 out of 8 and, despite its international success, is rarely considered in the domestic market.

==In popular culture==
When a rack of wine topples over in the 1932 Hollywood film ''[[Downstairs (film)|Downstairs]]'', the wine cellar caretaker Otto ([[Otto Hoffman]]) laments a broken bottle of {{lang|de|Liebfrauenmilch}}, very likely to be a subtle joke.

In ''The Unpleasantness at the Bellona Club'', in the chapter "The Curse if Scotland", Lord Peter has a bottle of Liebfraumilch with his lunch.

In the book ''Desert Solitaire'', by [[Edward Abbey]], the author stops at a liquor store to purchase a bottle of liebfraumilch on his way to [[Mount Tukuhnikivatz]].

In the episode of ''[[Only Fools and Horses]]'', "Dates", Del Boy mentions to the matchmaker that he would like a "refined" woman that can tell the difference between "Liebfraumilch and a can of [[Tizer]]".

"...Soon she did return, in her hand was a bottle of liebfraumilch..." in the 1970 live in [[Bremen]] video version of "[[Spill the Wine]]" by [[War (band)|Eric Burdon and War]] (Note that various words throughout the live video version of the song differ from the original recorded version).

In the book ''[[Confessions of Felix Krull]]'' by [[Thomas Mann]], the priest of the main character which described as a man who loves life, drinks Liebfraumilch with a portion of [[Fines herbes|Fines Herbs]] omelet for breakfast.

[[Roy Orbison]] had a "one bottle Black-Label Liebfrauenmilch" on his tour [[Rider (theater)|rider]] in the 1980s.

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
* [http://www.valckenberg.com/en/historie/historie.htm Valckenberg company history] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20041026033335/http://www.valckenberg.com/en/historie/historie.htm |date=2004-10-26 }}
{{German wine}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:German wine]]
[[Category:German words and phrases]]