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German wine for CMS Level 1: what to know for the exam

The German wine a Level 1 sommelier needs: quality levels, Prädikat names, the key regions and grapes, the Riesling producers to know, and a short quiz.

Updated October 2026

Rewritten by Alper Billik, Advanced Sommelier

7 min read

The short answer: for the Court of Master Sommeliers Introductory (Level 1) exam, Germany comes down to three things: read the label (quality level, Prädikat, sweetness word), know the main regions (Mosel, Rheingau, Pfalz, Rheinhessen, Nahe) and know Riesling, the country's most planted grape. Learn those well and most German questions answer themselves.

The Introductory exam is a multiple-choice theory paper plus a short service test, and among its stated goals is to "interpret wine label terms" and understand classification systems. Germany tests both. Here is what to learn, in the order I would learn it.

1. Why Germany tastes the way it does

  • A cool, northern climate. Grapes ripen slowly over a long season, so the wines keep high acidity and often low alcohol.
  • Rivers do the work. Most quality vineyards sit on the Rhine and its tributaries: the Mosel, Nahe and Main. The water reflects light and softens the cold.
  • Steep, south-facing slopes catch every bit of sun. On the Mosel, the dark slate soils hold heat.
  • The result: wines from bone-dry to very sweet, always with that bright acidity. That balance of sugar and acid is the German signature.

2. The quality levels

Deutscher Wein
What it meansSimple wine from Germany, no smaller origin
Landwein
What it meansCountry wine with a protected geographical indication
Qualitätswein
What it meansQuality wine from one of the 13 wine-growing areas
Prädikatswein
What it meansQuality wine from riper grapes, with a Prädikat name; no added sugar (no chaptalisation)

Know that there are 13 Anbaugebiete (wine-growing areas), and that every Qualitätswein and Prädikatswein label names one. Each quality wine also carries an A.P. Nr., the official test number.

3. The Prädikat ladder: ripeness, not sweetness

This is the most tested German topic. The six Prädikat levels measure how ripe the grapes were at harvest. The wine can still be dry or sweet. From least to most ripe:

  • Kabinett: the lightest, most delicate.
  • Spätlese: "late harvest". Riper and fuller.
  • Auslese: "selection". Very ripe bunches, picked by hand selection.
  • Beerenauslese (BA): selected overripe berries, usually with noble rot. Sweet.
  • Trockenbeerenauslese (TBA): berries shrivelled by noble rot almost to raisins. The sweetest and rarest.
  • Eiswein: grapes frozen on the vine, picked and pressed while frozen. Sweet, with piercing acidity. Eiswein is about the freezing, not the rot.

Then read the sweetness word: trocken (dry), halbtrocken (off-dry), feinherb (a traditional off-dry term with no legal definition), lieblich (medium-sweet), süss (sweet). A *Spätlese trocken* is dry. All the label words, with legal limits, are in German wine terms.

4. The VDP and GG

The VDP (Verband Deutscher Prädikatsweingüter) is an association of leading estates; you spot a member by the eagle on the capsule. Its four levels run from Gutswein (estate wine) to Ortswein (village), Erste Lage (first-class vineyard) and Grosse Lage (the best sites). A dry wine from a Grosse Lage is a Grosses Gewächs (GG). Germany's 2021 wine law adopted a similar origin pyramid: the smaller the place, the higher the level.

5. The grapes to know

  • Riesling: the star and Germany's most planted grape. High acid; citrus, green apple, peach and flowers; from dry to lusciously sweet; ages for decades. With age it can show a petrol note. Full guide: Riesling: the grape, the styles and the aromas.
  • Spätburgunder: Pinot Noir, and Germany's leading red grape. Elegant, red-fruited, especially in Baden, the Ahr and the Pfalz.
  • Müller-Thurgau (also called Rivaner): a Riesling crossing, soft and floral, for easy everyday wine.
  • Silvaner: earthy and herbal, at its best in Franken, where it comes in the flat, round Bocksbeutel bottle.
  • German names for familiar grapes: Grauburgunder (Pinot Gris), Weissburgunder (Pinot Blanc), Lemberger (Blaufränkisch). Dornfelder is a deep-coloured red crossing.

6. The regions, the Level 1 way

Mosel
Remember it forSteep slate slopes along a winding river; light, low-alcohol Riesling, from dry to sweet; tributaries Saar and Ruwer
Rheingau
Remember it forA stretch where the Rhine flows east to west, so the slopes face south; fuller, often dry Riesling; historic estates such as Schloss Johannisberg
Nahe
Remember it forA smaller region with very varied soils; precise Riesling
Rheinhessen
Remember it forGermany's largest wine region; a big range, with top dry Riesling from the best villages
Pfalz
Remember it forWarmer and drier, sheltered by the Haardt mountains; riper dry Riesling, plus Spätburgunder and Dornfelder
Franken
Remember it forSilvaner in the Bocksbeutel bottle
Baden
Remember it forThe warmest, most southerly region; Spätburgunder and the Pinot family
Ahr
Remember it forA small, northern region famous for red Spätburgunder

The other five areas complete the 13: Hessische Bergstrasse, Mittelrhein, Saale-Unstrut, Sachsen and Württemberg (mostly red wine, such as Trollinger and Lemberger).

7. German Riesling producers: the wine brands to know

At Level 1 you won't be asked for many producers, but knowing a few names helps you on the floor, and the Certified exam goes further. Every estate below is a member of the VDP. Names only, by region:

Mosel (with Saar and Ruwer)
ProducersJoh. Jos. Prüm, Egon Müller (Scharzhof), Dr. Loosen, Fritz Haag, Forstmeister Geltz-Zilliken
Rheingau
ProducersRobert Weil, Schloss Johannisberg, Leitz, Künstler
Nahe
ProducersDönnhoff, Emrich-Schönleber
Rheinhessen
ProducersKeller, Wittmann
Pfalz
ProducersDr. Bürklin-Wolf, A. Christmann, Ökonomierat Rebholz

A good way to study them: pick one producer per region and learn what their basic Riesling tastes like next to the others. Mosel lightness against Pfalz ripeness teaches you more than any map.

How I would study Germany for Level 1

  • Learn the Prädikat ladder until you can say it without thinking, and remember that it measures ripeness.
  • Read real labels. In a shop, pick up five German bottles and decode them: region, Prädikat, sweetness, village and vineyard.
  • Taste a dry and a sweet Riesling side by side. Same grape, two worlds, and the acidity holds both together.
  • Draw the Rhine and its tributaries from memory. If you can place Mosel, Nahe, Rheingau, Rheinhessen and Pfalz, the map questions are easy.
  • Test yourself: the quiz below, then the full Level 1 sommelier practice test.

Quiz: German wine for Level 1

Question 1

What do the Prädikat levels (Kabinett, Spätlese, Auslese…) measure?

  1. a)The sweetness of the finished wine
  2. b)The ripeness of the grapes at harvest
  3. c)The age of the vines
  4. d)The quality of the vineyard
Show answer

b) The ripeness of the grapes at harvest. Prädikat levels measure ripeness at harvest. The finished wine can be dry or sweet.

Question 2

Which of these Prädikat levels is made from grapes frozen on the vine?

  1. a)Auslese
  2. b)Trockenbeerenauslese
  3. c)Eiswein
  4. d)Spätlese
Show answer

c) Eiswein. Eiswein grapes are picked and pressed while frozen, which concentrates sugar and acidity.

Question 3

What does "trocken" mean on a German label?

  1. a)Sweet
  2. b)Off-dry
  3. c)Dry
  4. d)Sparkling
Show answer

c) Dry. Trocken means dry. Halbtrocken is off-dry; süss is sweet.

Question 4

Which grape is Spätburgunder?

  1. a)Pinot Gris
  2. b)Pinot Noir
  3. c)Pinot Blanc
  4. d)Blaufränkisch
Show answer

b) Pinot Noir. Spätburgunder is Pinot Noir, Germany's leading red grape.

Question 5

Which region is known for steep slate slopes and light, low-alcohol Riesling?

  1. a)Pfalz
  2. b)Baden
  3. c)Mosel
  4. d)Franken
Show answer

c) Mosel. The Mosel's steep slate slopes give delicate Riesling, from dry to sweet.

Question 6

The flat, round Bocksbeutel bottle belongs to which region?

  1. a)Franken
  2. b)Rheingau
  3. c)Nahe
  4. d)Ahr
Show answer

a) Franken. Franken wines, above all Silvaner, are traditionally bottled in the Bocksbeutel.

Question 7

How many wine-growing areas (Anbaugebiete) does Germany have for quality wine?

  1. a)9
  2. b)11
  3. c)13
  4. d)17
Show answer

c) 13. Germany has 13 Anbaugebiete, from the Ahr to Württemberg.

Question 8

On a VDP wine, what does GG (Grosses Gewächs) mean?

  1. a)A sweet wine from noble rot
  2. b)A dry wine from a top single vineyard
  3. c)A sparkling wine aged on the lees
  4. d)A blend of several vineyards
Show answer

b) A dry wine from a top single vineyard. GG is the dry wine from a VDP.Grosse Lage, the top classified vineyards.

Level 1 practice testQuiz me with SOMM DIGI AI

Questions people ask

How much German wine is on the CMS Level 1 exam?

The Court doesn't publish a topic breakdown. The Introductory course covers the principal wines of the world, their classifications and label terms, so expect questions on German quality levels, Prädikat names, key regions and Riesling.

What is the most important German grape for sommeliers?

Riesling. It is Germany's most planted grape and is made in every style, from dry to very sweet.

What are the best-known German Riesling producers?

Among the most famous VDP estates: Joh. Jos. Prüm, Egon Müller, Dr. Loosen and Fritz Haag in the Mosel; Robert Weil and Schloss Johannisberg in the Rheingau; Dönnhoff in the Nahe; Keller and Wittmann in Rheinhessen; Dr. Bürklin-Wolf in the Pfalz.

Is Spätlese always sweet?

No. Spätlese is a ripeness level. A Spätlese trocken is dry; without a sweetness word it usually has some sweetness.

What is the difference between Beerenauslese and Trockenbeerenauslese?

Both are sweet wines from selected berries, usually with noble rot. For Trockenbeerenauslese the berries have shrivelled almost to raisins, so the wine is even richer and rarer.

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