Regionally Important Labeling Terms

Question 1

Burgundy, France, labels (in order of quality)

Answer 1

Bourgogne AOC - broadest regional appellation
Village (vee-lage) - many regional appellations divided into villages with their own appellations) 
Premier Cru (pray-may-A cru)
Grand Cru (grawn cru)

Question 2

Bordeaux, France, labels (in order of quality)

Answer 2

Bordeaux AOC
Bordeaux Supérieur (su-pairy-ur) AOC - grown anywhere in Bordeaux, but stricter rules on yields, agingand minimum alcohol levels over Boreaux AOC
Cru Bourgeois (boo-shwa) - wines from Médoc not classified as Grand Cru Classé (grawn cru class-a); not as expensive as below, but some quality wines
Grand Cru Classé/Cru Classé - best Château-classified wines; strong indication of quality

Question 3

Alsace, France, labels

Answer 3

Grand Cru

Question 4

What Château label means in France

Answer 4

Refers to an estate or producer; indicates that wine has been made from grapes grown on the producer’s land rather than being brought in

Question 5

Six Prädikat categories in Germany (in order of sweetness, least to most)

Answer 5

Kabinett (cab-in-et) - lightest and most delicate
Spätlese (shpate-lay-sa) - late harvest
Auslese (ows-lay-sa) - selected harvest
Eiswein (ice-vine) - icewine
Beerenauslese (barren-ows-lay-sa) (BA) - selected berry harvest
Trokenbeerenauslese (tocken-barren-ows-lay-sa) (TBA) - selected dried berry harvest

Question 6

What’s the difference between trocken and halbtrocken wine in Germany?

Answer 6

Trocken (tocken) - dry wine

Halbtrocken (halb-tocken) - wine with some sweetness

Question 7

What is Germany’s labeling primary based on?

Answer 7

Degree of ripeness in grapes at time of harvest, measured in terms of sugar levels

Question 8

What are the three main label categories in Germany and describe them?

Answer 8

Landwein (land-vine) - PGI; typically light body and dry to off-dry in style
Qualitätswein (quali-tates-vine) - PDO; come from one of 13 wine regions and must achieve more ripeness than Landwein
Prädikatswein (pray-dee-kats-vine) - higher level of sugar required; grapes must come from single region; 6 categories based on sugar levels at harvest