Qualitätswein mit Prädikat

Qualitätswein mit Prädikat usually abbreviated to QmP is the level in the German wine classification to which almost all quality German wines belong. The wines must be produced from recognised grape varieties grown within one district, which must be declared on the label, and the grapes must reach a prescribed level of ripeness depending on the region and variety. Chaptalization is not permitted.

QmP wines must be further labelled into categories that are determined officially by their ripeness, but in practice are a rough indicator of quality (and price). They are ranked by ripeness as:

Kabinett

fully ripened light wines

Spätlese

a late harvest wine, may or may not be sweeter than kabinett

Auslese

made from selected very ripe grapes, usually sweet

Beerenauslese

made from individually selected overripe grapes often affected by noble rot, making rich sweet dessert wine

Trockenbeerenauslese

made from selected overripe shrivelled grapes often affected by noble rot making extremely rich sweet wines.

In addition there is the category

Eiswein (ice wine)

made from grapes that have been naturally frozen on the vine, making a very concentrated wine. The finest examples usually are not affected by noble rot