The German Way of Classifying Wine

October 15th, 2009 | Author: Mark

On the heels of my first ever “Germans are the Best” taste challenge. I thought it would be interesting to take a closer look at how Germany actually classifies its white wines.

In Germany, a single wine estate will in most cases, make several different individual wines – mainly utilizing the native Riesling grape. These wines can run the spectrum of being off-dry to tasting rich and very sweet. For this reason, German wines are classified by law based upon the ripeness or “sweetness” level during a given harvest. All German white wines can be broken down into three categories:

Light and Off-Dry – These wines will have low alcohol content, be light in body with some degree of residual sugar to give it a clean and refreshing taste.
Dry and Full-Bodied – These wines produce higher alcohol content (somewhere between 11 and 13%), the body of the wine will begin to get heavier and the wine will also be more assertive and aromatic.
Rich & Sweet – These German wines will display the highest alcohol content because the berries are left to wither on the vine to the point of becoming raisins. These raisin–like berries are then individually selected and hand-picked to produce some of Germany’s finest dessert style wines.

Taking this ripeness level concept one step further, Germany designed a wine classification system which would further break down its white wines into specific categories of ripeness.

When shopping for a German white wine – which in most cases will be a Riesling wine, you’ll see one of these German wine terms listed below on the bottle label. These terms are meant to be a road map to help guide you towards a German wine that will either be light and somewhat dry or to a wine that is super rich and sweet. Here are the options you’ll encounter when considering the purchase of a German white wine:

“Tafelwein” or Landwein” – This just means “German table wine”.
“QBA” – When a German label lists “QBA”, its telling you that this particular wine is a basic level “quality wine”. It will possess a degree of sweetness, but look for this wine to be more on the drier and lighter side.
“QmP” – this German wine term literally means, “Quality wines with distinction”. This classification is meant to tell shoppers that this German wine is of “superior quality”. These superior quality wines are broken down into 6 “Prädikats” or wine classifications to provide consumers clues as to what style of wine a particular German wine might taste like.
1. “Kabinett” When a German wine labels lists the word “ Kabinett”, it’s trying to tell you that this particular wine will be light bodied with some degree of residual sugar to give it a touch of sweetness. “Kabinetts” are best drunk alone or with light seafood and shellfish.
2. “Spatlese” When you see this term on a German wine label, it means that this particular wine may be either dry or sweet (Consult your wine retailer to ask if they’ve tried the “Spatlese” you’re considering to find out if its on the drier or sweeter side). Good food choices for the sweeter ones are spicy dishes.
3. “Auslese” This means that the grapes used to make these wines were very ripe and a fraction of them were almost “raisin-like” before they were hand-picked off of the vine. Again, a German wine label that indicates “Auslese” may be either dry or sweet. I would recommend talking to the wine clerk to ask if they’ve tasted the wine that you’re considering. “Auslese” will however be a richer, more complex style of German white wine.
4. “BA” or “Beerenauslese” This wine term is meant to tell you that the particular wine that you’re looking at is a rich, sweet, dessert-style of wine where there hand-picked berries (“Beeren”) were left on the vine until they achieved a rainsin like state.
5. “TBA” or “Trockenbeerenauslese” This German wine term means “very rich and sweet”. Just think of honey when you see this on a German wine label.
6. “Eiswein” This German wine term literally means “Ice wine”. German Eiswein is a super sweet and rich dessert – style wine made from grapes that have been left on the vine until they have shriveled up like raisins. These berries are hand-picked in the winter and pressed into wine while still frozen. Many Eisweins will even tell you when they were harvested. Look for “St. Nikolauswein” which means harvested on December 6^th or “Christwein” which means harvested on December 24^th or “Dreikonigswein” which means harvested on January 6^th.

As a final word of caution, all German white wines classified from “Table wine” to “Auslese” can be dry to bordering on sweet. Try asking the wine clerk for assistance if you’re not sure whether or not the German white wine that you’re considering leans towards one or the other.

For more information about the German Prädikat System and other interesting stuff about the Riesling grape, visit the Riesling Rules website and request a free copy of the Riesling Rules book. This paperback book is chock full of terrific Riesling information and helpful information.

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