German wine laws

German wine classification is sometimes the source of confusion. However, to those familiar with the terms used, a German wine label reveals much information about the wine’s origin, minimum ripeness of the grapes used for the wine as well as the dryness/sweetness of the wine.

Ripeness Classifications of German wines (any grape variety): In general, the ripeness classifications of German wines reflect minimum sugar content in the grape (also known as “potential alcohol” = the amount of alcohol resulting from fermenting all sugar in the juice) at the point of harvest of the grape. They have nothing to do with the sweetness of the wine after fermentation, which is one of the most common misperceptions about German wines.

Deutscher Tafelwein (German table wine) is mostly consumed in the country and not exported. Generally used for blended wines that cannot be Qualitätswein.

Deutscher Landwein (German country wine) comes from a larger designation and again doesn’t play an important role in the export market.

Qualitätswein bestimmter Anbaugebiete (QbA) wines from a defined appellation, with the exception of Liebfraumilch, which can be blended from several regions and still be classified as Qualitätswein.

The largest geographical unit for German quality wine is one of the 13 QbA which are subdivided into smaller appellations, e.g. Bereich (district), Grosslage (collective vineyard site) and Einzellage (individual vineyard site). Unlike in France, however, there is no officially recognised vineyard classification in Germany.

The alcohol content of these wines must be at least 7% but may be strengthened prior to fermentation by chaptalisation.

Prädikatswein, wines made from grapes of higher ripeness. As ripeness increases, the fruit characteristics change, yields decrease which causes the price to increase.

The wine must pass the quality testing of three levels as follows in order to acquire and to label the official approval number called A.P.Nr. (Amtliche Prüfungsnummer).

The First Level: Test of ripeness at the harvest.

The Second Level: Chemical Analysis Test, after fermentation alcohol, residual sugar, density, extract, total acidity, sulfites etc. are measured.

The Third Level: Organoleptic Test, the wine is tasted to confirm appropriate quality. 

Once completed, the wine is issued a lot number, certification number and label