Perhaps you are aware that German wine classifications can be quite complicated. To a large extent a wine's classification is based on its sugar content. We are not going to retell the wine classification story here. Suffice it to say that the lowest level German wine is table wine (actually an even lower level is described in our article I Love German Wine and Food - Launching a Series, but we promised not to mention it again and we intend to keep our word.) Deutscher Tafelwein (German table wine) comes in slightly better than table wine. Originally we had no intention of reviewing these plebian wines, but when we saw one for sale in a local wine store we figured why not give it a chance. What could we lose? In the world of wine, as elsewhere, sometimes there are pleasant surprises. So we decided to buy one, probably only one, Deutscher Tafelwein. Before reviewing this wine let's recall some details of German wine classification and then talk a bit about Deutscher Tafelwein in general.

Landwein is a Deutscher Tafelwein from a specific area. Qualitätswein Bestimmter Anbaugebiet (QbA) means a quality wine from one of the thirteen specified German wine regions. About one third of German wine is QbA wine, a percentage that is rapidly declining. The grapes in QbA wines usually have not fully ripened and so their producers are allowed to add sugar during fermentation; the process is known as chaptalization. Qualitätswein mit Prädikat (QmP) means assured quality wine. About two thirds of German wine is QmP wine, a percentage that is rapidly increasing. QmP wines may not be chaptalized and must come from a well-defined area. These supposedly medium or high quality wines are divided into six subcategories, as described in our Launching... article. Of the thirteen German wine regions only the two biggest, Rheinhessen and Pfalz, devote more than 10% of their wine production to table wine. Of course, when you talk about German table wine, you're talking about Germany and not a specific region. That takes care of the general comments; it's time to see how the Deutscher Tafelwein actually turned out.

OUR WINE REVIEW POLICY All wines that we taste and review are purchased at the full retail price.

Wine Reviewed Schmitt Winzertanz 9% alcohol about $8 (1 liter bottle) No vintage year

Let's start with the marketing materials, which are a lot shorter than usual. Light straw color; apple, pear, and citrus aroma, off-dry peach flavor, medium body and finish. Serving suggestion, serve lightly chilled with pork chops and apple sauce. And now for the review.

I'm not really pleased that the label mentions no vintage year. But when you think about it, most Champagne doesn't have a vintage. Furthermore, I'm not as much into vintages as some people I know. On the other hand, the bottle size does upset me. I'm just not happy when I see such a large bottle. Yes, I know that Champagne often comes in magnums (one and a half liters in case you didn't know). Anyway, this bottle has a cute label with peasants dancing near wine barrels. What about the contents?

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