German wine classification

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German wine is officially classified by the ripeness of the grapes, rather than an attempt to classify terroirs as in the French Appellation d'Origine Contrôlée system, vinification methods and grape varieties as in Italy, or region as in American Viticultural Area. This is not always helpful for the consumer, especially as the labels can be confusing for non-German speakers.

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.

List of grosslagen

Piesporter Michelsberg
Niersteiner Gutes Domtal

For a list of regions, see German wine.

Ripeness levels

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

Deutscher Tafelwein (German table wine)
Deutscher Landwein (German country wine)
Qualitätswein bestimmter Anbaugebiete (QbA)
Qualitätswein mit Prädikat (QmP)
*Kabinett
*Spätlese
*Auslese
*Beerenauslese
*Trockenbeerenauslese
*Eiswein (ice wine)

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