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| Vineyard |
| The city and name of the vineyard in which the grapes were grown. In our example, "Piesporter Goldtröpfchen" indicates the Goldtröpfchen vineyard in the town of Piesport. |
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| Wine Region |
| The growing region from which the wine originates. 100% of the wine must originate from the specified region. Germany has 13 wine regions: |
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| Bottler |
| Wines bottled and produced by the grower are labeled Erzeugerabfüllung. Estates can use Gutsabfüllung on their label. If bottling is done by a different business than the grower, the label shows Abfüller. |
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| Bottler Address |
| The address where the wine was bottled. If the wine was bottled at the winery, than this address belongs both to the winery and the bottling location. |
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| Quality Category |
| Quality categories of German wine are determined by the ripeness (sweetness) of the grapes at harvest. The riper the grapes, the sweeter they are and thus the higher amount of natural sugar in their juice. The more sugar in the juice, the greater the amount of natural alcohol in the wine. It is the natural alcohol level in the wine, prior to fermentation and prior to performing cellar techniques, that determines the wine's quality category. |
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| Government Approval Number (AP) |
| This is a quality control number, which indicates that the wine passed several tests required of all quality German wines. The AP number contains the following information. The first digit identifies the town in which the wine was tested. The next 3 digits identify the location of the estate/winery. The third set of numbers are the grower's identification number. The second to last number represents the order in which winery presented its wines to the testing panel. The final 2 numbers identify the year in which the wine was tested. |
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| Liquid Content of the Bottle |
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| Alcohol Content of the Wine |
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| Additional Quality Assurance Logos |
| The Government Approval Number (See Item 11 above) indicates that the wine meets the qualtiy requirements of the German government. Above and beyond this quality level, wineries can submit their wines to additional wine testing organizations that have even stricter standards. Wines that meet their requirements are allowed to display the organization's "approval logo" on their labels, signifying top quality wines. Two examples of these "approval logos" are: |
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Verband Deutscher Prädikats- und Qualitätsweingüter (VDP) |
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The Association of German Wine Estates (Verband Deutscher Prädikats- und Qualitätsweingüter or VDP) is made up of about 200 member estates. To become a member, the estates must exceed the legal standards set for all German wines. All equipment, procedures, personnel, and facilities must also meet VDP standards. Additionally, at least 70% of the estate's acreage must be planted with the traditional grape varieties (such as the Riesling). Wines with the VDP logo must be characteristic of their origin and grape variety and the name of the variety must appear on the label. |
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| Deutsches Güteband |
| Monitored by the German Agricultural Association (Deutsche Landwirtschafts-Gesellschaft), a wine goes through a strict test in the following areas. (1) Environmentally friendly vineyard; (2) Highest quality (ripe and healthy) grapes; (3) Meticulous wine production procedures; (4) Optimal storage; (5) Wine taste, aroma, and appearance. Only those wines that meet all the strict requirements are allowed to carry the DLG logo. Currently, only around 190 German wines meet the DLG qualifications. |
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