Anbaugebiet: Any of the thirteen specific wine producing regions recognized under
German wine law. See Qualitätswein bestimmter Anbaugebiete.
Auslese: The third highest category of the Qualitätswein mit Prädikat
category of German white wines, as described by German wine law. Its
name means "selected harvest", and the grape bunches are
harvested at a later stage of ripeness than those for the less ripe
Spätlese wines. See also Beerenauslese and Trockenbeerenauslese.
Beerenauslese: The second highest level of the Qualitätswein mit Prädikat
category of German white wines, as described by German wine law. Beeren
means "berries" and auslese means "selected harvest".
Individual grapes are harvested very late in the season at their perfect
level of ripeness and the resulting wine is rich and deep gold in
colour. See also Auslese and Trockenbeerenauslese.
German Wine Glossary- Dallas Bartenders
Bereich: A wine-producing district in Germany, larger than an Einzellage "specific
site" or a Grosslage "general site" and smaller than
an Anbaugebiet "region".
Doppelstück: A large barrel used in German wine production.
Edelfäule: The common name in Germany for Botrytis cinerea.
Einzellage: Translating to "individual site", this is the smallest parcel
of land officially recognized under German wine law with a minimum
size of 5 hectares (12.5 acres). It equates very roughly to château
in Bordeaux and domaine in Burgundy, and as a general rule, wine labelled
by its Einzellage will be of higher quality than one labelled from
a broader geographic region.
Eiswein: Ice wine. Eiswein has only been widely produced in Germany since the
early 1960s and has only been a category of Qualitätswein mit
Prädikat since 1982.
German Wine Terms- Dallas Bartenders
Erzeugerabfüllung: Producer bottled. This term on a German wine label equates roughly
with the phrase mise en bouteilles au château used in Bordeaux.
Grosslage: Translating literally to "large site"; this term refers
collectively to a group of individual German wine-producing sites,
called Einzellagen. Intended to unite wines sharing specific regional
characteristics, this designation has brought about misleading labelling,
leading to calls for a more strict definition.
Halbtrocken: "Half dry" or semi-sweet.
Kabinett: Meaning "cabinet", the basic category of
German Qualitätswein mit Prädikat wines, below the level
of Spätlese.
Landwein: A subcategory of Deutscher Tafelwein roughly equating to the French
vin de pays, though not nearly as prevalent. Landwein is a somewhat
more important category among Austrian wines.
German Wine Glossary- Dallas Bartenders
Oechsle
scale: System used in Germany to measure the sugar
in unfermented grape juice.
Perlwein: Slightly sparkling wine.
Prädikat: Meaning "predication" or "distinction".
Qualitätswein: Meaning "quality wine" this designation
actually covers the vast majority of German wines leaving only the
relatively insignificant Tafelwein (including Landwein). The Qualitätswein
category is divided into Qualitätswein bestimmter Anbaugebiete,
or QbA, and Qualitätswein mit Prädikat, or QmP. In Austria
it is the category between Landwein and Prädikatswein and includes
Austrian Kabinett.
Qualitätswein
bestimmter Anbaugebiete: Means"quality wine from
a specific region". This designation is for Qualitätswein
below the level of Qualitätswein mit Prädikat according
to German wine law, though such wines must still conform to rules
regarding must weights and grape varieties. One of the differences
is that QbA wines can be legally enriched to increase their alcohol
content while QmP wines cannot.
German Wine Terms- Dallas Bartenders
Qualitätswein
mit Prädikat: Meaning "quality wine with
distinction", this denotes the upper level of Qualitätswein,
above Qualitätswein bestimmter Anbaugebiete. QmP wines are further
classified according to minimum requirements for the sugar content,
or ripeness, of the grapes that are used to make them. In order of
increasing minimum must weight (and, generally, sweetness and cost)
they are: Kabinett, Spätlese, Auslese, Beerenauslese (and Eiswein),
and Trockenbeerenauslese. Another requirement for QmP wines, unlike
QbA wines, is that they may not have their alcohol content increased
by means of enrichment.
Rotwein: Red wine.
Schaumwein: Sparkling wine.
Sekt: Sparkling wine. The bulk of Sekt produced in Germany
is uncomplicated and relatively sweet, made from cheap imported wines
by means of the Charmat method. Wine labelled "Deutscher Sekt",
however, must contain only wine from grapes grown in Germany and very
often is made using the superior méthode champenoise.
Spätlese: A Qualitätswein mit Prädikat category of German white wines,
as described by German wine law. Its name means "late harvest",
and the grapes must be picked later than the grapes for Kabinett,
though they need not have as high a sugar content as the grapes for
Auslese and above.
Spritzig: Semi-sparkling. Equal to the French word pétillant and the
Italian frizzante.
Stück: A large barrel used in the Rhine region of Germany.
Süssreserve: Sweet reserve. This practice of back-blending used to be more common
in Germany before drier wines became the fashion.
Germany Wine Glossary- Dallas Bartenders
Tafelwein: Table wine. The basic official classification of wine quality under
German Wine law, however, the vast majority of German wines fall into
the higher Qualitätswein category. Wine simply labelled Tafelwein
can be made from imported grapes or blended from imported wine, while
Deutscher Tafelwein (including Landwein) must originate entirely in
Germany.
Trocken: Dry.
Trockenbeerenauslese: In the Qualitätswein mit Prädikat category of German white
wines, as described by German wine law, this wine is made from the
ripest grapes and so is the most rare, rich and expensive. It is made
from the selected harvest (auslese) of individually picked grapes
(beeren) that have been dried up (trocken) by noble rot, resulting
in a wine that is richly sweet and deep gold in colour. The difficulty
and risk of producing these wines, along with their exceptional quality,
make them among the most expensive and highly prized wines in the
world.
German Wine Terms- Dallas Bartenders
Wein: Wine or vine.
Weinberg: Vineyard.
Weinbrand: Brandy.
Weingut: A wine estate; specifically one that bottles its own
wine from grapes grown on the property.
Weingut-Weinkellerei: Found on German wine labels, this means "wine estate-winecellar"
and refers to a wine estate that grows its own grapes and also buys
grapes.
Weinkellerei: A wine cellar. The designation on wine labels refers to a winery that
makes wine from grapes that it buys rather than grows on it own property.
