I wrote in depth about the German classifications of distinction here. This is just an at a glance sheet if you stumble across one of the words in my articles and wonder what the heck that is. Key for the system is the sugar in the grapes (determined by must weight according to the Oechsle scale). Please remember that the level of distinction does not say anything about them being sweet, off-dry or dry!
1) QbA (Qualitätswein bestimmter Anbaugebiete – quality wine from one specified region)
Grapes have to come from one of the 13 German wine regions
Minimum must weight 51 to 72 degree Oechsle depending on region and grape
Minimum ABV 7%
Usually lighter bodied, easy drinking wines
2) Kabinett
Fully ripened grapes from one district
Minimum must weight 67 to 82 degree Oechsle depending on region and grape
Minimum ABV 7%
Light wines with low alcohol content
3) Spätlese (Late Harvest)
Made from riper grapes, not necessarily later in the harvest
Minimum must weight 76 to 90 degree Oechsle depending on region and grape
Minimum ABV 7%
More intense in flavor and concentration – tend to be my favorite wines
4) Auslese (Select Harvest)
Made from selected very ripe grapes or bunches
Minimum must weight 83 to 100 degree Oechsle depending on region and grape
Minimum ABV 7%
Already very concentrated, intense flavors
5) Beerenauslese – BA (Select Berry Harvest)
Made from individually selected, overripe berries that are often infected with noble rot (botrytis)
Minimum must weight 110 to 128 degree Oechsle depending on region and grape
Minimum ABV 5.5%
Rarity wine with low yields, age for decades, always sweet
6) Eiswein (Ice Wine)
Requirements as BA, but no noble rot
Grapes have to be frozen on the vine at -7 C
Myth surrounding them makes them special, more here
7) Trockenbeerenauslese – TBA (Select Dry Berry Harvest)
Made from select overripe shrivelled berries that are often infected with noble rot
Minimum must weight 150 to 154 degree Oechsle depending on region and grape
Minimum ABV 5.5.%
The rarest of rare German wines, intensely concentrated and syrupy, can age for centuries
the winegetter 
There are more people in this wrold confused by this system than those who get the idea of the German wine classification system. Thank you for this post! :)
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This is a very limited analysis. For a comprehensive discission go to “Approaches to Classifying German Wine: The Standard Approach (the Law of 1971), the VDP Approach and the Zero Classification Approach” http://schiller-wine.blogspot.com/2012/05/approaches-to-classifying-german-wine.html schiller-wine
I would not even call this an analysis at all. It is an at a glance sheet, to provide quick info for people who don’t have an idea what the word stands for. Thanks for your link.
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