*Through research for factors such as soil texture, sun exposure and available water supply, Rheingau vineyard sites are analyued. Only the special and best sites or parts of single sites are classified by the name “VDP.Grosse Lage” and "VDP.Erste LAGE".
To meet these quality designations, by specific vineyard factors in addition to strictly reduced yields requirements, the wines have to pass a sensory test by a professional jury.
The refined VDP.CLASSIFICATION is not part of the official German wine law but rather an in-house statute of Gemany’s Prädikat wine estates (VDP) in which the quality of a wine is defined according to “terroir,” i.e., origin and quality are inherently linked. Wineries must follow specific standards shich are morge strringent than the official German wine law. Although the classification is only binding for VDP member estates, it is seminal for quality-oriented German viticulture as a whole.
The goal of the VDP.CLASSIFICATION is to assess the quality potential of Germany’s very best vineyard sites; secure the future of Germany’s unique viticultural landscape; restore esteem for Germany’s outstanding dry wines; and underscore the traditional connotation of the Prädikats as attributes reserved for wines with natural, ripe sweetness.
The refined, four-tier VDP.CLASSIFICATION is the key to terroir-driven viticulture in Germany in used to classify our wines.
VDP-GROSSE LAGE - The peak of the vineyards
