How to Read a German Wine Label

If you aren’t entirely certain how to navigate all the terminology on German wine labels, you’re not alone. Like many global regions, German wine classifications are governmentally regulated and geospecific. In Germany, winemakers use words like Prädikatswein, Trocken, Auslese, and more to denote quality as well as characteristics like dryness and ripeness. 

Those stylistic designations are at the heart of “Just a Touch,” Betsy Andrews’ feature story on the diversity of off-dry German wines in Imbibe’s May/June 2025 issue. “The last time I was in Germany, in 2016, I focused on dry Rieslings,” Andrews writes. On a more recent journey through the Mosel region, she was drawn to lusher late-harvest wines. “The Riesling’s acidity … goes down so much more enjoyably with a counterbalancing dose of residual sugar,” she writes.

To learn how to find those slightly sweeter Rieslings stateside, it helps to have a working knowledge of German wine classifications. Here’s everything you need to know.

Quality Rankings

All German wine is categorized by quality, and winemakers are legally required to include that ranking on their labels. Entry-level table wine is called Deutscher. Few of these bottles are made, however, and they’re rarely exported.  

Categories you’re more likely to see in the U.S. include Landwein, Qualitätswein, and Prädikatswein. Landwein means the wine has a protected geographical indication. If a bottle reads “Mosel Landwein,” for instance, at least 85% of its grapes came from Germany’s Mosel region.

Bottles labeled Qualitätswein and Prädikatswein are made entirely from grapes grown in one of Germany’s 13 designated viticultural regions. All follow governmentally regulated winemaking requirements for each variety and region, spanning ripeness and alcohol levels. Of the two categories, Prädikatswein bottles are considered the best of the bunch.

Dryness Categories

German wines are further classified by dryness and ripeness, which sound synonymous. However, in this context, they relate to different parts of the harvest and winemaking processes. In German wine, dryness refers to how sweet winemakers vinify their juice, while ripeness refers to how ripe the grapes were at harvest.

Most German wines you’ll find in the U.S. fall into one of two dryness categories: Trocken, which means dry; and Halbtrocken, or off-dry. Trocken wines contain up to 9 grams per liter of residual sugar. Halbtrocken have up to 15 grams per liter. 

Some German winemakers also use the term Feinherb on the labels of off-dry wines that are usually a touch sweeter-tasting than Halbtrockens but offset by bright acidity. Curious to taste it for yourself? In “Just a Touch,” Andrews describes one such bottle, Fritz Haag Riesling Feinherb 2023, as “light, floral, and slightly sweet.” 

Ripeness Classifications

Germany’s ripeness scale spans six categories. The starting point is Kabinett, or wines made from fruit that was harvested upon ripening. These wines will generally taste crisp, not sweet, and might also include the word “Trocken” on their labels. 

Kabinett Rieslings to try include Dr. Thanich’s Bernkasteler Badstube Riesling Kabinett 2023, which Andrews says  “starts off heady with peaches and finishes in lemon-lime acidity.” It has just 9 percent ABV. “That’s a bonus of these sweeter wines: As the yeast hasn’t fully fermented all the sugar in them, they’re lower in alcohol,” she writes.

Ageability is another attribute to many sweeter wines, including the Ürziger Würzgarten Kabinett 2020. “As it ages, it will mellow, gaining new layers of flavor,” Andrews writes.

The next level of ripeness is Spätlese, which translates to “late harvest.” These bottles feature grapes that were on the vine longer, and thus developed more sugars before they were picked. 

That’s not to say all Spätlese wines will taste sweet, though. If a winemaker uses this type of fruit to make a dry wine, they may put the words “Spatlese Trocken” on the label. The 2023 Dr H Thanish Bernkasteler Doctor Riesling Spatlese, for example, has an almost spicy quality with balanced brightness. 

Auslese means “select harvest,” and refers to wines made from carefully selected, very ripe fruit. These include Schloss Lieser’s Riesling Auslese Goldkapsel, which combines macerated strawberry flavors with brisk minerally flavors, and Markus Molitor Zeltinger Schlossberg Auslese 2022, an off-dry Riesling that Andrews describes as “all flowers and lychees.” 

If you see the words “Auslese Trocken” on a German wine label, that means the winemaker used these grapes to make a dry expression.

Next up is Beerenauslese, a category whose name translates to “berry select harvest.” Only made in certain years—pending the right weather conditions—these wines feature hand-picked grapes that usually are infected with noble rot. The poetic-sounding phrase used by winemakers refers to the fungus, Botrytis cinerea. It creates some of the world’s most revered dessert wines, like Sauternes and Tokaji. 

Wines labeled Trockenbeerenauslese, or “dry berry select harvest,” are also only made in certain years and with grapes infected with noble rot. Overripe on the vine, the fruit is so dry that it almost resembles raisins when it’s picked by hand.

The final category is Eiswein, or “ice wine.” The fruit used to make these wines froze on the vine after reaching Beerenauslese-level ripeness and was pressed while frozen. Only harvested when weather permits, Eiswein is a rarified, ultra-ripe expression of Riesling—and a sweet reminder of all the places German wine can take you.