[Sca-cooks] Eiswein

[Lorenz Wieland]

Huette von Ahrens wrote:

>However, just to clarify things.  Lorenz has the
>order of German wines mixed up.  
>  
>
Indeed I did.  For some reason, "auslese" and "kabinett" got turned 
around in my head.  Thanks for the correction.  I was also incorrect in 
that officially eisweins can only be made from grapes of beerenauslese 
or trockenbeerenauslese ripeness, although apparently some producers 
still make eiswein from grapes of lesser ripeness (they just can't call 
it "eiswein" in Germany; anyone know what term they use instead?). 

I'll also return the favor and expand a bit on your list, as you missed 
qualitatswein (QbA), which should have been between tafelwein and 
kabinett.  The wines from kabinett onwards are categorized as 
"qualitatswein mit pradikat" (QmP).

Another weird twist with German wines is that the ripeness over 
over-ripeness of the grape isn't always a reliable guide to how sweet 
the resulting wine is, unlike vintages from French or American 
wineries.  Kabinett, spatlese, and auslese wines can all be made dry 
(trocken or classic) or off-dry (halbtrocken or selection), so it's 
possible to find auslese wines that are dryer than kabinett wines.

-Lorenz