Moselle wine is produced in three countries along the Moselle

Moselle River

The Moselle is a river flowing through France, Luxembourg, and Germany. It is a left tributary of the Rhine, joining the Rhine at Koblenz. A small part of Belgium is also drained by the Mosel through the Our....

 (or Mosel) river: France

France

The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

, Luxembourg

Luxembourg

Luxembourg , officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg , is a landlocked country in western Europe, bordered by Belgium, France, and Germany. It has two principal regions: the Oesling in the North as part of the Ardennes massif, and the Gutland in the south...

 and Germany

Germany

Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...

. Moselle wines are mainly white and are made in some of the coldest climates used for commercial winemaking.

France

In France, in Lorraine

Lorraine (région)

Lorraine is one of the 27 régions of France. The administrative region has two cities of equal importance, Metz and Nancy. Metz is considered to be the official capital since that is where the regional parliament is situated...

 around the city of Metz

Metz

Metz is a city in the northeast of France located at the confluence of the Moselle and the Seille rivers.Metz is the capital of the Lorraine region and prefecture of the Moselle department. Located near the tripoint along the junction of France, Germany, and Luxembourg, Metz forms a central place...

, about 1500 hectoliters of wine annually is produced as VDQS

VDQS

Vin Délimité de Qualité Supérieure , usually abbreviated as VDQS, is the second highest category of French wine, below Appellation d'Origine Contrôlée in rank, but above Vin de pays . VDQS is sometimes written as AOVDQS, with AO standing for Appellation d'Origine...

 Moselle. These wines together with Côtes de Toul

Côtes de Toul

Côtes de Toul is an Appellation d'Origine Contrôlée for French wine produced in the département of Meurthe-et-Moselle in the Lorraine région. The Côtes de Toul vineyards cover in an area close to Toul, to the west of the city of Nancy...

 make up the 200 hectares of "wines of the east" (vins de l'Est). The most commonly grown grape varieties are Auxerrois Blanc

Auxerrois Blanc

Auxerrois Blanc or Auxerrois Blanc de Laquenexy is a white wine grape that is important in Alsace, and is also grown in Germany and Luxembourg. It is a full sibling of Chardonnay that is often blended with the similar Pinot Blanc.-History:...

 and Müller-Thurgau

Müller-Thurgau

Müller-Thurgau is a variety of white grape which was created by Hermann Müller from the Swiss Canton of Thurgau in 1882. It is a crossing of Riesling with Madeleine Royale. It is used to make white wine in Germany, Austria, Northern Italy, Hungary, England, in Australia, Czech Republic, Slovakia,...

, and the other allowed varieties are Gamay

Gamay

Gamay is a purple-colored grape variety used to make red wines, most notably grown in Beaujolais and in the Loire Valley around Tours. Its full name is Gamay Noir à Jus Blanc. It is a very old cultivar, mentioned as long ago as the 15th century...

, Gewürztraminer

Gewürztraminer

Gewürztraminer is an aromatic wine grape variety that performs best in cooler climates. It is sometimes referred to colloquially as Gewürz, and in French it is written '...

, Meunier

Pinot meunier

Pinot Meunier, , also known as Meunier or Black Riesling, is a variety of black wine grape most noted for being one of the three main grapes used in the production of champagne...

, Pinot noir

Pinot Noir

Pinot noir is a black wine grape variety of the species Vitis vinifera. The name may also refer to wines created predominantly from Pinot noir grapes...

, Pinot blanc

Pinot Blanc

Pinot blanc is a white wine grape. It is a point genetic mutation of Pinot noir. Pinot noir is genetically unstable and will occasionally experience a point mutation in which a vine bears all black fruit except for one cane which produced white fruit....

, Pinot gris

Pinot gris

Pinot gris is a white wine grape variety of the species Vitis vinifera. Thought to be a mutant clone of the Pinot noir grape, it normally has a grayish-blue fruit, accounting for its name but the grape can have a brownish pink to black and even white appearance...

 and Riesling

Riesling

Riesling is a white grape variety which originated in the Rhine region of Germany. Riesling is an aromatic grape variety displaying flowery, almost perfumed, aromas as well as high acidity. It is used to make dry, semi-sweet, sweet and sparkling white wines. Riesling wines are usually varietally...

. Previously, the name "Vins de Moselle" was used, but since 1995 the official name is VDQS Moselle. As the area under vine is very small, these wines are seldom seen on the export market.

Luxembourg

In southeastern Luxembourg, along the country's 42 km river border with Germany, 1 290 hectares of vines are used to produce wine under the designation Appellation

Appellation

An appellation is a legally defined and protected geographical indication used to identify where the grapes for a wine were grown; other types of food often have appellations as well...

 Contrôlée Moselle Luxembourgeoise. Common varieties and their proportion of vineyard area in 2002 are Müller-Thurgau (usually under the name Rivaner) at 31.4%, Auxerrois blanc (13.1%), Riesling (12.9%), Pinot gris (12.7%), Elbling

Elbling

Elbling is a variety of white grape which today is primarily grown in the upstream parts of the Mosel region in Germany and in Luxembourg, the vineyards of which are also located along Moselle River...

 (10.9%), Pinot blanc (10.5%), Pinot noir (6.2%), Gewürztraminer (1.1%) and Chardonnay

Chardonnay

Chardonnay is a green-skinned grape variety used to make white wine. It is originated from the Burgundy wine region of eastern France but is now grown wherever wine is produced, from England to New Zealand...

 (0.9%). Rivaner and Elbling are on the decline, and while Riesling is usually considered the premier variety wherever it is grown, in Luxembourg Auxerrois tends to be considered as the most successful variety. Luxembourg wines in general have been described as lighter-style Alsace wine

Alsace wine

Alsace wine or Alsatian wine is produced in the Alsace region in France and is primarily white. These wines, which for historical reasons have a strong Germanic influence, are produced under three different Appellations d'Origine Contrôlées : Alsace AOC for white, rosé and red wines, Alsace Grand...

 but are not very often encountered outside Luxembourg and neighbouring Belgium

Belgium

Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...

.

Sparkling wine (Crémant de Luxembourg) make up a significant portion of the production, but is a designation within AC Moselle Luxembourgeoise rather than a separate appellation, which is usually the case with French Crémants.

Germany

Mosel is one of 13 German wine-growing

German wine

German wine is primarily produced in the west of Germany, along the river Rhine and its tributaries, with the oldest plantations going back to the Roman era. Approximately 60 percent of the German wine production is situated in the federal state of Rhineland-Palatinate, where 6 of the 13 regions ...

 regions (Anbaugebiete) for quality wines, with 9 080 hectares under vine in 2005, and one of the most well-known. The region also includes vineyards situated on the Saar and Ruwer rivers. The main varieties are Riesling (57.7% in 2005), Müller-Thurgau (15.0%), Elbling (6.6%) and Kerner

Kerner (grape)

The Kerner grape is an aromatic white grape variety. It was bred in 1929 by August Herold by crossing Trollinger and Riesling. Herold was working at a plant breeding station in Lauffen in the Württemberg region of Germany. This station belonged to a state breeding institute headquartered in...

 (4.9%). High-quality Mosel wine is synonomus with Riesling, and most of the Elbling ends up in non-varietally labelled Sekt (sparkling wine).