Weinregeln: Neue Qualitätspyramide für deutsche Weine
Der 2026er-Jahrgang gilt wegen des Hitzesommers als vielversprechend. Und die Winzer müssen sich an neue Regeln halten.
As of 2026, Germany will be required to follow a new quality pyramid for its wines. The German Wine Institute (DWI) spokesperson, Ernst Büscher, explained that the old system, which used "g.g.a." (Geografische Angabe) and "g.U." (geschützte Ursprungsbezeichnung), will be phased out by 2025. The new pyramid is based on the same principle as in countries like France, emphasizing the importance of the grape's origin. The closer the grape's origin to the wine's production region, the higher the expected quality.
The origin of the grapes can be traced to one of the 26 legally defined land wine regions, granted the status of "Region with Protected Geographical Indication" (g.g.a.). Alternatively, the wine can come from a Quality Wine-Agricultural Area, classified as "geschützte Ursprungsbezeichnung" (g.U.). These must be 100% from one of the 13 German wine-growing regions.
Within the g.U. wines, there is a four-tiered pyramid. At the base are wines whose grapes can come from the entire wine-growing region. The next level features "Region wines," such as those from a defined area like the Kaiserstuhl or an older Grand Cru. The third level consists of "Place wines," which can only use grapes from a single commune or village area.
At the top are the "Site wines," which particularly express the soil and microclimate characteristics of the specific vineyard site. The top tier of German wines will also allow the use of the terms "Great Harvest" and "First Harvest," which were previously restricted to members of the Prädikatsweingüter Association (VDP). The criteria for these will be developed by the VDP and the German Winegrowers' Association.
Current Prädikatsweines like Kabinett, Spätlese, and Auslese will remain as grades but will be integrated into the origin pyramid, allowing for both dry and sweet Auslese wines. The previous quality classification based on grape sugar content, which was the sole quality distinction before climate change, is no longer as effective.
Most wines, which comprise more than half of the quality-certified wines, are now dry, making the Prädikats pyramid less suitable.
Written by urgent.news from Handelsblatt's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
