When you buy a German wine, it will most
likely be a "Qualitätsweine bestimmter
Anbaugebiete"
(quality wine from a specific wine-making region),
often abbreviated to Q.b.A. A Q.b.A. may
only be made in one of thirteen specific
wine-making regions in Germany -
and the Rhine-Nahe region
has two such regions to offer -
the Middle Rhine and the Nahe. The wine
must also have the typical characteristics
of its respective region and pass
the official quality test.

A "Qualitätswein mit Prädikat"
(special quality wine) is something only
to be found in Germany.
These special quality wines are subject to
the very highest standards of quality testing
in terms of the type of grapes, maturity,
harmony and elegance. The individual
"Prädikate" (qualities) require different natural
sugar content levels
- the so-called "Mostgewicht"
(specific gravity of the must). The six
"Prädikate" (qualities) are: Kabinett,
Spätlese, Auslese, Beerenauslese,
Trockenbeerenauslese, and very special
quality - "Eiswein" (ice wine).
This wine is made from grapes of at least
"Beerenauslese" standard. However they
may only be picked and pressed while
frozen at temperatures of less than
minus 5°C. This means that only
the sugar-containing, highly-flavored
concentrated juice is pressed.
These are unique wines with a
characteristic concentration of fruity
tartness and sweetness.



Sweet? Medium-dry? Dry? Desert wine?

Sweet and medium-dry wines have had
unfermented grape juice added to them
after fermentation as a "sweetener",
or their fermantation has been carefully
curbed.
Wines are dry if the grapes' natural sugar
content has been completely fermented or
if there are only very small amounts of
unfermented sugar remaining (to 10g/l).
Desert wines are wines for which
fermentation came to a standstill
due to the grapes' very high natural
sugar content.