WINE PRODUCING REGIONS OF GERMANY

1. Ahr - a small region along the river Ahr, a tributary of Rhine, that despite its northernly location primarily produces red wine from Spätburgunder.

2. Baden - in Germany's southwestern corner, across river Rhine from Alsace, and the only German wine region situated in European Union wine growing zone B rather than A, which results in higher minimum required maturity of grapes and less chaptalisation allowed. Noted for its pinot wines - both red and white. Although the Kaiserstuhl region in the wine growing region of Baden is Germany's warmest location, the average temperature in the whole wine region is a little bit lower than in Palatinate (zone A). One of two wine regions in the federal state of Baden-Württemberg.

GERMAN WINE LAWS

Kabinett

fully ripened light wines from the main harvest, typically semi-sweet with crisp acidity, but can be dry if designated so.

Spätlese - meaning "late harvest"

typically semi-sweet, often (but not always) sweeter and fruitier than Kabinett. Spätlese can be a relatively full-bodied dry wine if designated so. While Spätlese means late harvest the wine is not as sweet as a dessert wine.

Auslese - meaning "select harvest"

made from selected very ripe bunches or grapes, typically semi-sweet or sweet, sometimes with some noble rot character. Sometimes Auslese is also made into a powerful dry wine, but the designation Auslese trocken has been discouraged after the introduction of Grosses Gewächs. Auslese is the Prädikat which covers the widest range of wine styles, and can be a dessert wine.

Beerenauslese - meaning "select berry harvest"

made from individually selected overripe grapes often affected by noble rot, making rich sweet dessert wine.

Eiswein (ice wine)

made from grapes that have been naturally frozen on the vine, making a very concentrated wine. Must reach at least the same level of sugar content in the must as a Beerenauslese. The most classic Eiswein style is to use only grapes that are not affected by noble rot. Until the 1980s, the Eiswein designation was used in conjunction with another Prädikat (which indicated the ripeness level of the grapes before they had frozen), but is now considered a Prädikat of its own.

Trockenbeerenauslese - meaning "select dry berry harvest" or "dry berry selection"

made from selected overripe shrivelled grapes often affected by noble rot making extremely rich sweet wines.

GERMAN WINE LAWS

Prädikat designations

The Prädikatswein (formerly QmP) category of the classification contains most high-quality German wines, with the exception of some top-quality dry wines. The different Prädikat designations differ in terms of the required must weight, the sugar content of the grape juice, and the level required is dependent on grape variety and wine-growing region and is defined in terms of the Oechsle scale. In fact the must weight is seen as a rough indicator of quality (and price). The Prädikat system has its origin at Schloss Johannisberg in Rheingau, where the first Spätlese was produced in 1775 where wines received different colour seals based on their must weight.

The different Prädikat designations used are as followed, in order of increasing sugar levels in the must: 

GERMAN WINE LAWS

Prädikatswein, recently (August 1, 2007) renamed from Qualitätswein mit Prädikat (QmP) : 

The top level of the classification system. These prominently display a Prädikat from Kabinett to Trockenbeerenauslese on the label and may not be chaptalized. Prädikatswein range from dry to intensely sweet, but unless it is specifically indicated that the wine is dry or off-dry, these wines always contain a noticeable amount of residual sugar. Prädikatswein must be produced from allowed varieties in one of the 39 subregions (Bereich) of one of the 13 wine-growing regions, although it is the region rather than the subregion which is mandatory information on the label. (Some of the smaller regions, such as Rheingau, consist of only one subregion.) The required must weight is defined by the Prädikat, and the alcohol content of the wine must be at least 7% by volume for Kabinett to Auslese, and 5.5% by volume for Beerenauslese, Eiswein and Trockenbeerenauslese.

GERMAN WINE LAWS

3. Qualitatswein bestinnter Anbaugebiete (QbA): These wines must be produced exclusively from allowed varieties in one of the 13 wine-growing regions (Anbaugebiete), and the region must be shown on the label. The grapes must reach a must weight of 51°Oe to 72°Oe depending on region and grape variety. The alcohol content of the wine must be at least 7% by volume, and chaptalization is allowed. QbA range from dry to semi-sweet, and the style is often indicated on the label. There are some special wine types which are considered as special forms of QbA. Some top-level dry wines are officially QbA although they would qualify as Prädikatswein. It should be noted that only Qualitätswein plus the name of the region, rather than the full term Qualitätswein bestimmter Anbaugebiete is found on the label.

GERMAN WINE LAWS

2. Deutscher Landwien: This category is equivalent to French Vin de pays. There are 19 different areas from where the German Country wine can be produced. The wine must be dry or semi dry with 0.5% more alcohol that tablewines. These are also known as German Fruit wine.

GERMAN WINE LAWS

1. Deutscher Tafelwein: This category is equivalent to the French Table Wines. The alcohol content must be at least 8.5% by volume. Sugar can be added to reach at this level. Acidity must be 4.5 g/lt. Tafelwein (without Deutscher) is a table wine blended with other European wines, also known as Euroblend.