Back on March 18, 2023, I talked about France’s use of the term cru for identifying wines. In France the label is used to identify geographic terrain, specifically the soil type, climate and altitude where the grapes are grown.  The term cru is also used in Germany and Italy but there are additional variations in how the name is applied, as well as its meaning.

In Germany, the Verband Deutscher Prädikatsweingüter (VDP), an association of elite German wine estates, has its own vineyard classification system, similar to the one used in Burgundy, France. In Germany the top tier is VDP.Grosse Lage (grand cru). This is followed by VDP.Erste Lage (premier cru), then by VDP.Ortswein (village) and finally VDP.Gutswein (regional).

In Italy, cru is used in several regions, but the application between regions is not exactly the same. Piedmont and Sicily are probably the best known regions using it. In Piedmont, Barolo and Barbaresco have mapped out their grand crus by geographic area, and those vineyard explanations are part of the bylaws of their Denominazione di Origine Controllata e Garantita (DOCGs).

Wine producers in Sicily’s Etna DOC are identifying crus that follow old lava flows and the soil and elevation changes along Mount Etna. At this point there is no formal classification system but it is anticipated to be ratified in the future.

So, if there is one thing that can be concluded regarding the use of the term cru in the labeling and description of wine, it’s that there is no consistency in its use within a country let alone between nations.

Sláinte mhaith