German wine label

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Sample German Wine Label for a Kloster Eberbach Spätlese
Sample German Wine Label for a Kloster Eberbach Spätlese

A German wine label can offer a wealth of information for the consumer, despite the reputation they traditionally have of confusing laymen. Jon Bonné, MSNBC Life Style editor describes German wine labels as a "thicket of exotic words and abbreviations" that require "the vinous equivalent of Cliff notes to parse."

[edit] Required Information

German wine law regulates that at least six items of information be present on the label.

German "châteaux" are titled as "Kloster", "Schloss", "Burg", "Domaine" or "Weingut" followed by the vineyard name.

  • A.P.Nr Amtliche Prüfnummer Quality control number (image ex: 33050 031 04)

The first number (1-9) relates to the German wine region where the wine was produced and tested (image example 3-Rheingau). The second 2 or 3 digit number indicates the village of the vineyard (image example 30-Rauenthal)). The next two digits represents the particular wine estate (image example 50-Kloster Eberbach). The following 2 to 3 digit number is the sequential order that the wine was submitted by that producer for testing (image example 031-this was the 31st wine submitted by Kloster Eberbach for testing). The final two digits is the year of the testing, which is normally the year following the vintage (image example 04 - the wine was tested in 2004).

  • Volume of the wine (image ex: 750ml)
  • Location of the producer/bottler (image ex: Rauenthaler Baiken)

The village name normally identified by the "-er" suffix and is sometimed followed by the vineyard name ("Baiken").

  • Alcohol level (image ex: 9.0% vol)

[edit] Additional Information

Though not required, German wine labels may also include

  • Grape variety (in the image, Riesling)
  • Prädikat level of ripeness (in the image, Spätlese)
  • Vintage year (in the image, 2003)
  • Taste, such as dry (trocken) or off-dry (halbtrocken)
  • If the wine is estate-bottled (Erzeugerabfüllung or Gutsabfüllung), bottled by a co-op (Winzergenossenschaft), or by a third party bottler (Abfüller).
  • Address of the winery
  • The logo of the Association of German Predicates (Verband Deutscher Prädikatsweingüter, or VDP) which is awarded to the top 200 producers, as voted among themselves. The logo is a black eagle with a cluster of grapes in the center. The winery in the image example has the VDP logo. While not an absolute guarantee, the presence of the VDP logo is a helpful insight into the quality of the wine.
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