Liebfraumilch
Liebfraumilch or Liebfrauenmilch is a style of semi-sweet white German wine which may be produced, mostly for export, in the regions Rheinhessen, Palatinate, Rheingau and Nahe. 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 eighteenth century. The spelling Liebfraumilch is more common on labels of exported wine.
The generic label 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 with very similar characteristics but made from higher quality grapes can be labeled as Spätlese or Auslese. 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 Liebfraumilch is associated with low quality wine, German wine classification requires it to be at the Qualitätswein bestimmter Anbaugebiete level—the second rank of four. It must also be from Rheinhessen, Pfalz, Nahe or Rheingau, the grapes used must be at least 70% Riesling, Silvaner or Müller-Thurgau, and it must have residual sugar.
