Victorwine wrote:Thanks David and Michael.
How does one translate the seal under the wing of the “German eagle” in Michael’s wine label that he posted? Does this indicate that the estate or vineyard is designated a “German Grand Cru”? I thought this was something new or added during the early 2000’s to the German wine laws and regulations to make them more in line with the French wine laws and EU wine laws.
Here is a complete translation of the label:
Joh. Jos. Pruem: Johann Joseph Pruem, the producer
Erzeugerabfuellung: estate-bottled; the wine was made from grapes grown, vinified, and aged by the producer
Weingut: winery
D-54470 Wehlen/Mosel: the estate's street address
VDP and logo: Indicates that the producer is a member of the Verband Deutscher Praedikats--the trade association of German producers of QmP wines. The association sets standards for viticulture and vinification for its members, beyond the German legal standards.
Riesling: The grape variety used to make the wine. I'm not sure what percentage the law requires to be riesling in order to get the varietal labeling. In the case of JJ Pruem, I think it's 100%, or very close to that.
Mosel-Saar-Ruwer: The major wine region that the grapes came from.
Qualitaetswein mit Praedikat: Quality wine with special attributes. David described what this means.
Produce of Germany: This is required by US wine-labeling regulations for imported wines.
Wehlener Sonnenuhr: The grapes came from the Sonnenuhr vineyard in the town of Wehlen.
Spaetlese: "late harvest", the "special attribute" (Praedikat) of this wine; as David described, this indicates the minimum must weight of the unfermented grape juice used to make the wine.
A few points and pitfalls to note:
This label doesn't designate a vintage year. Presumably that is on a neck label. I don't know if the law allows non-vintage QmP wines. I've never seen one.
The other missing item is the Amtliche Pruefnummer (AP number), a serial number issued by the German government to all QbA and QmP wines when they're submitted to the government tasting panel. Again, this must be on the neck label or somewhere else on the bottle. The AP number is kind of like the ISBN number for a book.
Although the Spaetlese designation sets a minimum must weight (initial sugar) level, it says nothing about the residual sugar of the final wine. Spaetlesen usually will have a moderate amount of residual sugar, but the wine could be fermented completely or nearly completely dry (these are usually called Spaetlese Trocken or Spaetlese Halbtrocken). Or, as David pointed out, this could be "declassified Auslese" and much riper or sweeter than might be expected. You need to know the producer's style, and sometimes the characteristics of the year in question.
Wehlener Sonnenuhr happens to be a single vineyard. But there is no way to know that just from the syntax of the name. One of the problems with German wine law is that large regional groups of vineyards (Grosslagen) have the same two-part name syntax. The Wehlener Sonnenuhr vineyard is part of the Muenzlay Grosslage of the general Bernkastel wine-growing area (Bereich) in the Mosel-Saar-Ruwer wine region, and so this wine could also have been legally called Bernkasteler Muezlay. It's similar to the confusing situation with wine names in Burgundy. Gevrey-Chambertin is a villages wine while Charmes-Chambertin is a Grand Cru single vineyard in that village, but there's no telling that by looking at the name. Similarly, Bernkasteler Doctor is a highly regarded single vineyard while Bernkasteler Badstube is a Grosslage incorporating a bunch of vineyards in the area (including the Doctor vineyard), not all in prime locations. Just as Burgundy producers usually use a Grand Cru name in preference to the villages name if the wine's entitled to it, so German producers will usually use the single vineyard name rather than the Grosslage if they legally can. So, as in Burgundy, you have to learn the names--you can't tell just from their format.
Germany does classify its vineyards in a scheme similar to Burgundy's Grand Cru/Premier Cru/Villages ranking, but that classification is for tax purposes only and isn't allowed to be used on the wine labels, and the maps of which are which aren't public.
The situation's a lot like Burgundy--confusing for the beginner or casual consumer, and the most important thing of all is the producer.
-Paul W.