Germany
A common misperception among American wine drinkers is that all German wines are sweet. This, of course, is not true, but because German wine labels are so difficult to understand, this misperception is understandable.
The only thing more confounding than the German wine label is the fact that grapes can grow there at all. The northernmost German wine regions are situated north of Champagne. Needless to say, it's cold there, but some grapes, including the great Riesling, have flourished.
In the German quality rating system, the highest quality wines are labeled QmP (Qualitätswein mit Prädikat), meaning “quality wine with distinction.” QmP wines (the ones primarily exported) are categorized by the ripeness of the grapes at harvest. Because Germany's vineyards are so far north, It's often difficult to grow ripe grapes. Hence, grape sugars are highly prized. The riper the grape, the higher the sugar content, and the higher the wine's potential alcohol. From the least ripe to the ripest are:
Kabinett
Spätlese
Auslese
Beerenauslese
Trockenbeerenauslese
Eiswein
The quality of a Kabinett wine is not higher than that of an Auslese wine. These terms simply have to do with the grapes' ripeness level at harvest. If the bottle has the QmP designation, or Qualitätswein mit Prädikat, you know it is a quality wine.
At the Kabinett, Spatlese, and Auslese levels, the grapes can be fermented to produce a completely dry wine. So, a rule of thumb for choosing a dry German wine is to look for Kabinett on the label. Other terms to look for are “Trocken” (German for dry), “Classic,” or “Selection.” At the highest ripeness levels, the grapes have so much sugar at harvest that the wines almost can't help but be sweet.
Why do German wines come in different colored bottles?
The color of the tall, slender bottles tells you what region the wine comes from. Brown bottles come from the Rhine region. Green bottles come from the Mosel area or from Alsace. The shape is used elsewhere around the world for wines made from grape varieties associated with Germany — like Riesling and Gewürztraminer.
Despite the prevalence of dry German wines, Germany's sweet wines have achieved the most international acclaim. The most notable are Trockenbeerenauslese wines made from grapes affected by the noble rot, Botrytis cinerea; the late harvest Beerenauslese wines which may or may not have been affected by Bortrytis; and the thick, intensely sweet ice wines, made from frozen grapes.
Germany's Wine Regions
With the exception of a couple of regions in the east, most of Germany's wine regions are concentrated in the south and southwestern part of the country. ermany's most famous winemaking areas are the Mosel-Saar-Ruwer region (along the Mosel River and its two tributaries) and the three contiguous regions along the Rhine River — Rheingau, Rheinhessen, and Pfalz.
With Germany's climate, 85 percent of the country's wines are white and relatively low in alcohol. Riesling is Germany's signature grape. Another popular grape is Müller-Thurgau, a cross between Riesling and Sylvaner, which ripens more reliably. However, wines made from Müller-Thurgau have failed to reach the otherworldly greatness of Riesling.
Recently, German producers have found success with Pinot Noir in the Baden region, which also happens to be Germany's largest in terms of physical size. Pinot Noir wines are known as Spätburgunders in Germany.
