How to Read a German Wine Label

The vast majority of German wines are Rieslings, and for good reason. Germany has been setting the traditional standard for the Riesling grape for centuries. The German wine label includes the basic information found on most other labels: producer, region, vintage, vineyard, varietal, and the like, but they throw a curve when the ripeness levels, sugar levels and quality classifications also grace the label. The quality classification starts off with the basic table wine, "Tafelwein" and proceeds to a level 5 designation of "Qualitätsweine mit Prädikat" (QmP) - translated to "Quality wine with attributes." This is the quality classification of the featured wine label above. At this level 5 quality classification, the ripeness classification system kicks in to further designate who's who in the world of German Riesling. The ripeness classification system communicates when the grape was picked, so it's an indicator of initial grape sugar levels not final bottled residual sugar levels. The wines in ascending ripeness level order are as follows: Kabinett (least ripe, lightest style), Spätlese, Auslese, Beerenauslese (BA), and Trockenbeerenauslese (TBA - a late harvest, Botrytis picking - most ripe, fullest body). There are also label residual sugar indicators to keep in mind: if the wine is dry, it is labeled as "Trocken"; "Halbtrocken" is off-dry and sweeter Rieslings are designated as "Beernauslese" (BA)and "Trockenbeerenauslese" (TBA).