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Deciphering a German label sibeer wrote on Mon, 5 Jun 2006 09:39:48 -0400: I'm sure the majority of readers here are familiar with German wine terms but may I add something I lifted ******************************* A Note About German Wine Labels German wine labels seem more confusing to read and understand than labels from any other country when in fact they are the easiest. Let’s look at a wine name: Weingut Zach. Burgweiler-Prum Erben 2003Wehlener Sonnenuhr Riesling Spatlese Qualitatswein mit Pradikat The word Weingut (Winegrower) is always followed by the name of the producer. Than we have the vintage, followed by the name of the town, Wehlen, with an “er” added to the end, the single vineyard the grapes came from, Sonnenuhr, the grape variety, Riesling, and the “Pradikat”, Spatlese. The “Pradikat” tells us the level of sweetness in the wine. A label will say either “Qualitatswein” or Qba (quality wine), or Qualitatswein mit Pradikat (quality wine with special attributes). A Qba can have added sugar before fermentation, a “mit Pradikat” cannot. Qba’s are slightly sweet, unless labeled trocken (dry) or halbtrocken (half dry). In Qualitatswein mit Pradikat the driest is Kabinett, with just a touch of sweetness followed by Spatlese, sweet, than Auslese, very sweet. These designations refer to how ripe the grapes were at harvest. There are three other designations of very sweet wine. Beerenauslese is a very sweet wine made by the hand selection of raisined bunches. Trockenbeerenauslese is an individual selection of specific grapes. These wines are about 30% sugar. Icewein is made by picking frozen grapes. These are all rare and expensive dessert wines, most of us stick to the Kabinett and Spatlese wines. Now when you see a German wine on the shelf, you will know what the label is telling you! ***************************************** James Silverton.
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