Level 7 · Lesson 1
Germany I: Reading Ripeness, Dryness and Origin
10:57C73
Glossary
Terms that have earned their place
- Grape variety
- The cultivated vine variety contributing fruit; its traits interact with site, harvest and winemaking.
- Vintage
- The harvest year. A document for one vintage does not automatically describe another.
- Origin
- The declared geographic source of a wine, interpreted through the applicable designation and evidence.
- Inference
- An explanation drawn from evidence, distinct from a direct observation or measurement.
Keep digging
Sources and further reading
- DWI — Prädikat categories and must-weight context.
- DRY — Regulated dry designation and acidity-dependent limits.
- LAW — 2021 reform and mandatory application from 2026 vintage.
- VDP — Current association classification is private law; legal terminology remains distinct.
- GR1 — Grape traits and context; sensory tendencies, not compulsory bottle results.
- WA — Leitz EINS-ZWEI-DRY — 2025; Dry Riesling origin and grape label
- WB — Leitz Dragonstone — 2025; Producer describes fruit sweetness; not an exact residual-sugar analysis
- WC — Gerhard Karle Winklerberg Kabinett trocken — 2024; Producer lists Kabinett and trocken together, 5.5 g/L residual sugar
- WD — Dr. Loosen Erdener Treppchen GG Alte Reben — Undated range reference; Producer describes dry single-site Rieslings and used oak; no current bottle analysis
Sources support the teaching model; they do not make promotional regional descriptions universal bottle guarantees.