This classification is based on a private law statute of the VDP (Verband Deutscher Prädikatsweingüter) and has no legislative function. Its declared aim is to restore the value of Germany's best sites (single vineyard sites), to ensure the preservation of a unique cultural landscape, to regain the status of great dry wines from Germany and to emphasise the importance of the traditional fruit-sweet Prädikat wines. The statute defines the quality of a wine according to the internationally recognised term "terroir", i.e. the origin in connection with the quality. The principle of "the narrower (smaller) the origin, the higher the quality" applies. Vineyard quality is defined by the soil with topographical location and the prevailing climate or microclimate (see also under wine-growing quality).
The knowledge of the best sites and the grape varieties that are best suited to them due to their specific characteristics is the result of centuries of experience by countless winegrowers. The classification of the sites is carried out by the individual VDP regional associations in close consultation with their members. Old site classifications, such as the Prussian site classification from 1868 and 1897, are also used as a reference. The classification of sites and wines in the VDP has a very long history. It began in 1984 with the founding of the Charta Rheingau, which then merged into the VDP Rheingau in 1999. Between 1992 and 1998, classification initiatives were launched in the Pfalz and Rheinhessen wine-growing regions.
The VDP classification model describes the general framework conditions of the federal association. However, these are partly different or more narrowly defined in the individual growing regions. For all wines, the VDP grape eagle guarantees cultivation using organically (ecologically) orientated viticulture, vinification exclusively using traditional methods, regular company audits, sensory quality controls and certain marketing guidelines.
In 1997, the Nahe wine-growing region adopted a Riesling statute, which was later incorporated into the VDP classification model. In July 1998, the VDP created standardised principles for classified wines of German origin of the highest quality as internationally comparable Grands Crus. In 2001, the VDP introduced a three-level model: Level 1 - Grosses Gewächs from the best parts of Erste Lagen (which very often led to confusion due to the contradiction in nomenclature), Level 2 - classified single vineyards from "Erste Lagen", Level 3 - Gutsweine and Ortsweine. This model was valid for 11 years.
Four-level quality pyramid
In January 2012, it was decided to further develop the VDP site classification with a four-level quality pyramid in the following descending order, with this regulation becoming valid from the 2012 vintage:
- VDP.GROSSE LAGE® = Grosses Gewächs
- VDP.Erste Lage® (optional)
- VDP.ORTSWEIN
- VDP.GUTSWEIN
The previous "Erste Lagen", which applied to dry and residual sweet top wines, will be renamed "Grosse Lagen". This removes the contradiction between "Erste Lagen" and "Grosse Gewächsen" and emphasises the equal status of...
