A wine-like beverage within the meaning of German federal law is a beverage containing alcohol (at least 5% alcohol by volume) that can be enjoyed like wine and is similar to it in terms of its obvious characteristics (such as appearance, flavour or smell). According to German food law, these are drinks produced by alcoholic fermentation, but not from grapes, such as fruit wines(apple wine, pear wine, redcurrant wine, etc.), honey wine (mead) and rice wine. In Austria, fruit wines are not categorised as wine-like beverages, but are regulated by the Wine Act. See also under wine-based drinks and mixed wine drinks as well as speciality wines (from Alcopop wine to Zwölfapostelwein).
Serious sources on the internet are rare - and Wine lexicon from wein.plus is one such source. When researching for my articles, I regularly consult the wein.plus encyclopaedia. There I get reliable and detailed information.
Thomas Götz
Weinberater, Weinblogger und Journalist; Schwendi