German wine classification

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It has been suggested that Qualitätswein mit Prädikat, Beerenauslese and Trockenbeerenauslese be merged into this article or section. (Discuss)

German wine is officially classified into a number of quality categories. These control several factors, including region of origin, whether 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 detailed way which specifies the Einzellage (a small region of origin, see Einzellage) the wine is from, thus providing some information about the terroir. In Germany there are more than 2600 Einzellagen. The so-called Großlagen (of which there are about 170) in most cases consist of dozens of Einzellagen.

[edit] Wine regions and vineyards

Vineyard names can be used, as well as Einzellagen, Großlagen, Bereiche or generic names for large areas. Especially for non-German speakers it can be difficult to distinguish these.

[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)