VDP.GUTSWEINE are entry-level wines in the VDP’s terroir-based quality pyramid. They are the winemaker’s ‘calling card’, originating from an estate’s holdings and meeting the VDP’s stringent criteria.
VDP.Ortswein
VDP.ORTSWEINE are the equivalent of Burgundian village wines and ambassadors of their respective terroir. Typical local grape varieties along with low yields are the prerequisites for this category. VDP.ORTSWEINE occupy the middle ground between VDP.GUTSWEINE at the bottom and single-vineyard wines at the top of the quality pyramid.
VDP.Erste Lage®
VDP. ERSTE LAGE® refers to Germany’s ‘premier cru’ vineyards. Offering their own distinct profile as well as optimum growing conditions, these sites are planted with grape varieties ideally suited to the terroir in which they grow. Yields are strictly limited to enhance quality. It has been well documented that wines of exceptional quality are produced from grapes grown in VDP.ERSTE LAGEN®.
VDP.Grosse Lage®
VDP.GROSSE LAGE® refers to Germany’s ‘grand cru’ vineyards, which have been narrowly demarcated to encompass the finest plots of land. Wines grown here have tremendous ageing potential. These sites are planted exclusively with superior grape varieties that are ideally suited to the terroir in which they grow. Extremely strict quality criteria apply to this, the pinnacle of the VDP’s classification pyramid. VDP.GROSSES GEWÄCHS® (GG) refers to a dry wine made from a VDP.GROSSE LAGE®
