German wine classification

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German wine is officially classified into a number of quality categories. These control several factors, including region of origin, whther sugar has been added, and the ripeness of the grapes. The system is quite different from the French Appellation d'Origine Contrôlée system, or the systems in most other countries. This is not always helpful for the consumer, especially as the labels can be confusing for non-German speakers. Nevertheless the best qualities are classified on the labels in a very detailled way which provides detailed information about the terroir; the smallest region of origin is a so-called Einzellage. In Germany there are more than 2600 Einzellagen. The so-called Grosslagen in most cases consist of dozens of Einzellagen.

[edit] Wine regions and vineyards

Vineyard names (Einzellagen) can be used, as well as Grosslagen, generic names for large areas, which are difficult to distinguish from vineyard names.

[edit] List of grosslagen

• Piesporter Michelsberg
• Niersteiner Gutes Domtal

For a list of regions, see German wine.

[edit] Quality levels

The 1971 classification of German wines divides them into the following groups:

• Deutscher Tafelwein is the equivalent of table wine or vin de table in other countries. These wines may be chaptalized.
• Deutscher Landwein German country wine
• Qualitätswein bestimmter Anbaugebiete (QbA) Wine from a specific region
• Qualitätswein mit Prädikat (QmP) This highest level is subdivided according to the ripeness of the grapes:
  • Kabinett
  • Spätlese
  • Auslese
  • Beerenauslese
  • Trockenbeerenauslese
  • Eiswein (ice wine)