A designation used in some European countries for an upmarket category that counts towards the highest quality level of quality wine(PDO) for the countries of the European Union. These are Germany, Croatia, Austria, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, the Czech Republic and Hungary. Some designations (such as Spätlese, Trockenbeerenauslese, Eiswein) also exist in other countries. In Germany, the designation QmP (Qualitätswein mit Prädikat) was used until 2007, since then Prädikatswein has also been used.
These wines are subject to even higher requirements in terms of must weight and production, and certain techniques are prohibited. Different requirements apply to each type of Prädikat wine with regard to the condition of the grapes (fully ripe or partially noble sweet) and the grape harvest (mechanical harvesting is prohibited for Beerenauslese and Trockenbeerenauslese wines). Enrichment for the purpose of increasing alcohol is generally prohibited. Sweetening to increase residual sugar is permitted in Germany by means of a sweet reserve, but is generally prohibited in Austria.
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