Quality levels in wine: overview and explanation

Almost all wine bottles are adorned with an impressive label. However, very few understand the meaning of the specified quality levels. The German Winegrowers' Association now wants to bring light into the dark and is striving to reform the wine quality levels.

Wine: confusing quality levels

In addition to the country and table wines, there are the predicate wines in Germany, in which a distinction is made between different quality levels. What they all have in common is that the wine has to undergo an examination before it receives an official number.

1. The lowest quality level is the quality wine of certain growing areas, abbreviated Qba. The abbreviation only means that the wine comes from a recognized German wine-growing region.
2. A bit better than a quality wine from certain growing areas is the wine with the Kabinett rating. An important difference to the Qba is that no sugar can be added to the cabinet wine before fermentation. Depending on the growing area, the minimum must weight starts at 73 degrees Oechsle.
3. The late harvest follows the cabinet: the grapes, whose wines would like to be awarded the late harvest, may only be harvested when fully ripe after the main harvest. In the late harvest, the minimum must weight is 76 to 90 degrees Öchsle, depending on the growing region.
4. The wines labeled Auslese are already very high up in the quality pyramid. Only grapes that are healthy and undamaged may be used for these wines. The must weight for wines labeled Auslese must be at least 83 degrees Öchsle and can go up to 95 degrees Öchsle.
5. At the top of the wine quality scale is the berry selection. These are exquisite grapes with an outstanding noble rot. Special forms of berry selection are the wines of the Trockenbeerenauslese and the Eiswein.
6. The terms Classic and Selection are somewhat rarer, which have to meet special criteria typical of the area.

Wine: These are the planned new quality levels

In order to make the wine names clearer for the consumer, the Association of German Quality Wine Producers wants to introduce a new classification. This classification should only contain four clear levels.

1. Level 1 is the estate wine: it is a good everyday wine, in which the grapes come from a winery, but come from different locations.
2. Level 2 is the local wine: the grapes come only from the locations of a district. If you are looking for a good wine to eat, a local wine would be perfect.
3. Level 3 is the first layer: If the grapes come from a single layer, the wine fulfills the highest quality level and would therefore be something for cozy hours.
4. Level 4 is the Grosse Lage / Grosses Gewächs: These wines are basically dry and are made exclusively from certain grape varieties. The vineyard sites are ripened by the VDP. The white wine is aged for at least one year and the red wine for at least two years.