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).
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Markus J. Eser
Weinakademiker und Herausgeber „Der Weinkalender“