Deciphering a German label

"Salil" wrote in news:1149511188.371931.16030 @g10g2000cwb.googlegroups.com:

Well the region is "Pfalz", the vineyard is Königsbacher Idig, the maker is Weingut Steigelmann (Rudolf Steigelmann):

From their pricelist, the 2004 Kabinett trocken sells for 4.60 euros, USD would be about $6.00.

Can't seem to find any reviews, online... d.

In addition to the other information it is a dry wine, 12% alcohol by volume and has won a gold medal in a regional wine tasting.

sibeer wrote on Mon, 5 Jun 2006 09:39:48 -0400:

??>>> Got a German Riesling from a friend some time ago; have ??>>> absolutely no idea how to decipher the label. A pic of it ??>>> is up here ??>>> -

??>>> Other than the "2003" and the "Riesling" bit, I can't ??>>> figure out a thing. I'd like to know just what part of ??>>> the label refers to the region, winery and the ??>>> growth/quality of the wine - any help? ??>>>

??>> Well the region is "Pfalz", the vineyard is Königsbacher ??>> Idig, the maker is Weingut Steigelmann (Rudolf ??>> Steigelmann):

??>> From their pricelist, the 2004 Kabinett trocken sells for ??>> 4.60 euros, USD would be about $6.00.

I'm sure the majority of readers here are familiar with German wine terms but may I add something I lifted from:-

Weingut Zach. Burgweiler-Prum Erben 2003Wehlener Sonnenuhr Riesling Spatlese Qualitatswein mit Pradikat

The word Weingut (Winegrower) is always followed by the name of the producer. Than we have the vintage, followed by the name of the town, Wehlen, with an “er” added to the end, the single vineyard the grapes came from, Sonnenuhr, the grape variety, Riesling, and the “Pradikat”, Spatlese. The “Pradikat” tells us the level of sweetness in the wine. A label will say either “Qualitatswein” or Qba (quality wine), or Qualitatswein mit Pradikat (quality wine with special attributes). A Qba can have added sugar before fermentation, a “mit Pradikat” cannot. Qba’s are slightly sweet, unless labeled trocken (dry) or halbtrocken (half dry). In Qualitatswein mit Pradikat the driest is Kabinett, with just a touch of sweetness followed by Spatlese, sweet, than Auslese, very sweet. These designations refer to how ripe the grapes were at harvest. There are three other designations of very sweet wine. Beerenauslese is a very sweet wine made by the hand selection of raisined bunches. Trockenbeerenauslese is an individual selection of specific grapes. These wines are about 30% sugar. Icewein is made by picking frozen grapes. These are all rare and expensive dessert wines, most of us stick to the Kabinett and Spatlese wines. Now when you see a German wine on the shelf, you will know what the label is telling you!

James Silverton.

"sibeer" wrote in news:jcudnUemQdmGqRnZnZ2dnUVZ snipped-for-privacy@comcast.com:

Surely a silver medal? ;) am "trying" to teach myself German :) (I didn't know I could enlarge the photo by clicking, need more coffee) ;) d.

"James Silverton" skrev i melding news:5IydnbSax8S_qxnZnZ2dnUVZ snipped-for-privacy@comcast.com...

Quite right, but note that the levels Kabinett, Spätlese and Auslese also may come in drier versions, i.e. trocken, halb-trocken and also feinherb, a rather novel indication for an off-dry wine. Furthermore, the grape juice for an Eiswein must at the least be of Beerenauslese level. :-) Anders

To be absolutely precise, it is also a Gutsabfüllung, which means that it has been bottled on the estate. This says nothing about the quality, really. Kabinett, however, is a quality indicator - though not necessarily a good one - it refers to the sugar content in the must _before_ fermentation. This level varies according to region of origin - a cooler region, like Nahe, will accept a lower sugar content than a warmer, like Baden. Trocken refers to the level of sugar _after_ fermentation (9 g/L or less).

Cheers

Nils Gustaf

You all missed the words in indelible ink---BURMA SHAVE- You now know why Blue Nun, Moselblumchin, Liefraumilch & Zeller Schwartz Katz sold well---the average consumer, waiter and store clerk knew what they were getting even though it was low level plonk---every three or four years a large exporter tries to introduce simplified labeling(with the proper name less prominent on the label) but wine geeks equate the wine to the groisser

"Joe "Beppe"Rosenberg" skrev i melding news:-JWdnUa-V6-22xnZnZ2dnUVZ snipped-for-privacy@comcast.com...

Your 4 don't mention Riesling on the label..., they are also QbA's and so may contain added sugar and even 15% foreign wine. Müller-Thurgau and Rieslaner grapes are, as you note, trivial grapes.

The real Riesling stuff is in no way trivial, it being a low-yelding grape you better put your best efforts in to make good wine from that to compensate with a higher price, if you are a German vintner. No goose-stepping possible :-) Anders

This is all correct for recent wines, but it has not always been the same. There were major changes in how a wine can be labeled starting with the 1971 vintage. Before that you could have words that mean "better", "best", etc in English that denote quality in the eyes of the maker of the wine, and some lesser makers were very free with their descriptions.

Since 1971 there have been a few more changes, not all minor. For instance, the 1971 laws allowed Kabinett to Trockenbeerenauslese to be used along with eiswein on the label. There were actually some who releases Kabinett Eiswein, which often might be best described as essence of green grapes. Because of the abuse, the laws were changed to require an Eiswein to be of BA or TBA concentration, but BA or TBA can not be included on the label in addition to Eiswein. How about a Graacher Himmelreich Kabinett Eiswein 1972, von Schorlemer. But then the Ockfener Bockstein Trockenbeerenauslese Riesling Eiswein 1973 from the state could not include TBA if it were made today, which is a pity, since a TBA Eiswein is likely to be richer than a BA Eiswein.The Bernkasteler Doctor Auslese Eiswein Christwein 1970 from Thanish would have not been allowed to include Christwein starting with the 1971 vintage, because this tells the day when the grapes were picked. Under present laws, the Auslese would not be allowed either, because it is associated with Eiswein.

Modern Austrian labeling is much like the German, but there are some additional terms and some of the laws tend to be stricter than the German ones.

In the US we have two kinds of consumers of German wine---those who know & care nothing about the wine other than they like the grape and those who know all the grapes even Huxelrebe and what Trocken & Halbtrocken mean.

When I represented Franz Reh. they tried real modern labels and the word Riesling & Kabinett(blue label) or Spatlese(green label) on the label. Wine positioned to sell for $ 6 & $8 retail, just a few bucks higher then the QBA's & Tafelwein---The wholesaler had lots of resistance from Restaurants who weren't making enough at $25 & $30 a bottle and the 5 stores in Maryland who tried to sell QMPs mit Pradikat. One palate each (56 cases) took about

Among white wines, Riesling's my favourite varietal. I've heard a lot about the German ones, but never tasted any. I'm particularly fond of the New Zealand Rieslings, especially those from Marlborough.

You got some great info from the crew here!

You might also look at Peter Ruhrberg's German Wine Page

Some good explanations there. Now let's talk about Auslese* & Auslese **, Goldkap vs LGK, etc. :)