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Translated as "quality wine with distinction", QmP wines mark the pinnacle of German wine making. A QmP wine must be approved by German wine authorities and does not allow any additives or chaptalization. Starting with the 2007 vintage, the German QmP designation has been simplified to the term "Prädikatswein" and you will find this term on German wine labels going forward. The scale for German QmP wines is based on six ascending degrees of ripeness. They start with Kabinett, then Spätlese, Auslese, and finally the dessert wines: Beerenauslese, Trockenbeerenauslese and Eiswein. In 2005, 2.8 million hl (German Wine Institute) of German QmP wines were produced.
As Mosel Direct Wine, we deal almost exclusively with German QmP wines. QmP wines produced by top estates are the best the German wine experience has to offer.
Qualitätswein mit Prädikat (quality wine with special attributes, abbreviated QmP) must fulfill the following conditions:
• be produced exclusively from German produce from the legally recognized roster of grapes permitted in Gemany,
grown in one district within one of the 13 specified wine-growing regions (Mosel, Ahr, Baden, Franken, Hessische
Bergstrasse, Mittelrhein, Nahe, Pfalz, Rheingau, Rheinhessen, Saale-Unstrut, Sachsen, Württemberg). The region
must be declared on the label.
• must reach a natural alcohol content as legally prescribed for the region, grape variety and special attribute (level of
ripeness at harvest) of the wine.
• must reach an existing alcohol content of at least 7% by volume (the minimum for Beerenauslese,
Trockenbeerenauslese and Eiswein is 5.5% by volume).
Chaptalization is never permitted for these wines.
Furthermore, one of the following six special attributes must be identified on the label and the wines are subject to additional regulations concerning ripeness level, and in some cases, method of harvesting.
In ascending order of ripeness at harvest the attributes are:
• Kabinett Wines
• Spätlese Wines
• Auslese Wines
• Beerenauslese Wines
• Trockenbeerenauslese Wines
• Eiswein
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