The New German Wine Law of 2021 - Tasting and Presentation at the American Wine Society, NoLoCo Chapter, by Annette Schiller, ombiasy WineTours, May 2023

On April 14, 2023, Annette Schiller provided a very educational and entertaining introduction to the new German Wine law of 2021 at the NoLoCo Chapter of the American Wine Society. 

The NoLoCo Chapter meets at the home of a member. Following an hour of "social wines", there is a wine tasting led by a member of the chapter. The evening ends with a pot-luck dinner. 

Annette's tasting included 12 wines, ranging from basic "Deutscher Wein" to 4 single vineyard wines. The dominant wine producers were Weingut Dr. Loosen in the Mosel, Weingut Robert Weil in the Rheingau and Weingut Thoerle in Rheinhessen. 

Jeniffer Crafts, AWS, NoLoCo Chapter: Annette Schiller is our Northern Virginia expert on wines from Germany, France, and Austria, as well as the Owner of Ombiasy Public Relations & Wine Tours. For the April meeting, she will present on the theme of the New German wine laws, which took effect in January of 2021. 

She will guide us through tasting wines representing the four primary geographic levels (Area, Region, Village, and Vineyard). 

If you’ve been stumped when reading German wine labels and tasting German wines, prepare to become extremely knowledgeable.  

The New German Wine Law of 2021

On November 26, 2020, the German parliament passed a new wine law, which took effect January 27, 2021. 

Importantly, the new German wine law introduces a new hierarchy to determine the quality of wine - the Romanesque model of origin. The emphasis shifts from the sugar level to the wine’s geographic origin. The bottom line is the quality promise: the narrower the geographical indication, the higher the quality. This concept follows the “terroir” principle, well-known from the classification in Burgundy and elsewhere. 

From the bottom to the top of the terroir quality ladder, the winemaking requirements are getting more demanding, in terms of grape varieties allowed, maximum yield, minimum must concentration, harvesting methods (hand versus machine) and sensory characteristics.

At the same time, the Prädikate system, based on the sugar level in the grapes at harvest - Kabinett, Spätlese, Auslese, ... - remains in place but has been adjusted and shifted to the backburner. 

As under the old law, the Prädikatsystem is only applicable to Qualitätswein. 

Unlike under the old law, wines with a Prädikat are sweet under the new law. Previously, wines with a Prädikat could be dry (with the adjective "trocken" added, for example, Kabinett trocken) or sweet. 

Also, the Prädikat system has lost its significance in terms of being a quality indicator. Under the new law the quality is determined by the terroir principle and at each level of quality, you can have Kabinett, Spätlese, Auslese,..... Thus the Prädikat wines range from entry-level wines to ultra-premium wines. In a way, disregarding the noble-sweet Eiswein, Beerenauslese and Trockenbeerenauslese wines, the Prädikat system has shifted from a quality indicator to a sweetness scale.