German Wine Law

Chaptalization (Anreicherung)

The French chemist and Jean-Antoine-Claude Chaptal invented the practice of enriching the grape must before or during fermentation in 1801. After a string of poor vintages in the Mosel during the 1840s, a German chemist named Ludwig Gall suggested Chaptal’s method of “Verbesserung” (improving) the must, which probably meant the difference between having something to sell or not in those days. Of course, enriching without oversight, led to thin and acidic wines, damaging the reputation of German wine in the process. 

Ever since Germany’s first National Wine Law was enacted in 1892, German lawmakers have been grappling with the issue of Chaptalization. The first wine law allowed for chaptalization, but, according to Hugh Johnson’s The Story of Wine, “made it mandatory to say whether a wine was natural (i.e. without added sugar) or not.”  

The revised Second German Wine Law (1909) attempted to restrict the amount of chaptalization that could occur to a maximum of 20% of the undiluted wine, but in a total head scratcher, Anne Krebiehl MW writes in her book, The Wines of Germany, "[the law] restricted the use of all quality- and purity- denoting terms, including Prädikate, Cabinet, to Naturwein.”

With the Fifth (and current) Wine Law, sugaring of the must before or during fermentation is permitted for Deutscher Wein, Landwein, and Qualitätswein in Germany. Enrichment is prohibited for Prädikatswein. Since 1985, the so-called “Nassverbesserung” (water+sugar) introduced by the earlier mentioned Ludwig Gall, has been prohibited. Since 1989, Anreicherung can be done with sucrose in the form of refined sugar, or with rektifiziertem Traubenmostkonzentrat (RTK). Since vintage 2002, must concentration via reverse osmosis is also permitted. 

The enrichment margins are set to the following alcohol volumes:  

-Winegrowing Zone A: 3.0% Vol. 

-Winegrowing Zone B: 2.0% Vol. 

-An upper limit for enrichment is set for Qualitätswein at 15% Vol. max.

Since I’m not sure where else to put this, I’m dropping the following right here: 

Since the 2009 vintage, Member States can also allow acidification in wine-growing zones A and B in years with exceptional weather conditions. – Who would have thought this twenty years ago, unreal!

As I’m reviewing Das Weinrecht (The German Wine Law) booklet issued by Germany’s Bundesanstalt für Landwirtschaft und Ernährung (Federal Agency for Agriculture and Food), I will take the opportunity to post what I feel is the most pertinent information for the US wine trade and consumer (my main audience), stripped of most of the gobbledygook. The present edition of the booklet describes the state of affairs in January 2018. I’ll also summarize the amendments announced on 27 January 2021 (to be put into full effect with the 2026 harvest). Once finished, I’ll organize everything into a searchable Table of Contents. 

Category Types

Weißwein (white wine) – obtained from white grapes

Rotwein (red wine) – obtained from the pressed must of red wine grapes

Roséwein (rosé wine) – obtained from red grapes produced in a pale to light red color

-- Weißherbst (lit. “white autumn” but from Blauer Arbst syn. For Pinot Nor) – rosé obtained from the pale must of red grapes from a single grape variety. Originating in Baden, Weißherbst can be produced anywhere in Germany

Rotling - a pale to light red colored wine obtained from a blend of white and red wine grapes 

-- Schillerwein–is a traditional Rotling from Württemberg obtained by blending any variety of white and red grapes. “Schiller” likely refers to the shimmering color rather than Friedrich Schiller, the poet from Württemberg

-- Badisch Rotgold–is a Rotling from Baden made exclusively from Pinot Gris and Pinot Noir. The Pinot Gris must be a higher proportion in the blend

-- Schieler–appears to be an alternate spelling for Schiller, used for Rotling Sachsen 

Landwein

Landwein may be produced from one of Germany's 26 Landwein regions, similar to the French Vin de Pays. Landwein is a Protected Geographical Indication (PGI in English or g.g.A. in German) registered in the database of the European Union and can carry the PGI seal on the label. Village and vineyard names may not appear on the label. 85% of grapes must have been harvested in the defined area. Some Landwein regions stipulate that 100% of the grapes must come from that region. Landwein Rhein, Upper Rhein, Rhein-Neckar, and Neckar wine regions may be sweet. Otherwise, the wines must be dry or semi-dry. The 26 Landwein regions are Ahrtaler, Badischer, Bayerischer Bodensee, Brandenburger, Main, der Mosel, Neckar, Oberrhein, Rhein, Rhein-Neckar, der Ruwer, der Saar, Mecklenburger, Mitteldeutscher, Nahegauer, Pfälzer, Regensburger, Rheinburgen, Rheingauer, Rheinischer Saarländischer, Sächsischer, Schleswig-Holsteiner, Schwäbischer, Starkenburger, and Taubertäler.

Perlwein/Secco

Perlwein (sometimes called Secco in Germany) is a semi-sparkling wine with a pressure of 1 to 2.5 bars and an alcohol content of at least 7%, which can be made as Wein or Qualitätswein. Wines labeled “Perlwein” must be produced with the wine's own carbon dioxide (i.e., the tank method). “Perlwein mit zugesetzter Kohlensäure” indicates a Perlwein with added carbon dioxide (via the impregnation method). The resulting wine is semi-sparkling and is the equivalent of frizzante in Italy or pétillant in France.

Flavor profiles for Perlwein:

-Trocken: up to 35 g/L residual sugar

-Halbtrocken: 33 - 50 g/L residual sugar

-Mild: >50 g/L residual sugar

Schaumwein

Schaumwein (lit. foam wine) is the generic term for fully-sparkling wines, with a minimum pressure of 3 bars. It’s the equivalent of Vin Mousseaux in France and can made by any method: traditional method, Charmant method, or by adding carbon dioxide. The distinction between Schaumwein and Sekt is that “Sekt” refers specifically to sparkling wine whose CO2 is produced as a byproduct of secondary fermentation and reaches a minimum of 3.5 bars of pressure.

Süssreserve 

Süssreserve is unfermented grape must, preserved most commonly through sterile filtration. It is then added to wine that has already finished fermentation to adjust the residual sweetness of and soften the wine’s acidity. While it’s allowed for all quality levels, Süssreserve can comprise no more than 15% of the wine’s volume, and in the case of Prädikatswein, the unfermented grape must is required to come from the same Weinanbaugebiet as the fermented wine. The practice of adding Süssreserve in German wine making is in decline.