Bereich; pl Bereiche [beh-RIKH]
German for “region.” Under the German wine laws established in 1971, a Bereich is a district or subregion within an Anbaugebiet (quality-wine growing region). There are forty-three Bereiche throughout the thirteen Anbaugebiete. Within a Bereich, there are grosslagen (general sites) and einzellagen (individual sites or vineyards). If a wine label carries a Bereich name (instead of a Grosslage or Einzellage), it’s considered to be of satisfactory quality (much like a French regional wine from Anjou, Bordeaux, Burgundy, or côtes-du-rhône). However, the higher-quality wines will generally carry the name of an individual vineyard (Einzellage) from one of the better Bereiche.
The New Wine Lovers Companion, 2nd Edition, by Ron Herbst and Sharon Tyler Herbst. Copyright © (1) 2003, 1995 by Ron Herbst and Sharon Tyler Herbst. Reprinted by arrangement with Barron's Educational Series, Inc.