Hi. This is a really great question so I'm gonna pin it, in the hopes that more people see it. "Gemeinde" is the German word for the smallest type of political entity that has the power of self-government -- basically a commune, municipality or village (and the like). They're not formally part of the wine scheme nor do they contain or define vineyard land the way that Grosslagen and Einzelagen do BUT Einzelagen and Grosslagen can attach the name of a local Gemeinde to their name to (ostensibly) reduce confusion since many Einzelagen have the same or similar names, as do some Grosslagen. So, for example, both the Grosslage of Piesporter Michelsberg and the Einzelage of Piesporter Goldtröpfchen use the name of the Gemeinde of Piesport in their name to avoid confusion with other Michelsbergs and Goldtröpfschens. In the phrase Piesporter Goldtröpfschen, for example, "Goldtröpfschen" refers to the area under vine and "Piesporter" refers to the nearby village that the Einzelage of Goldtröpfschen uses to distinguish itself and that doesn't have to have any grapes grown within its municipal boundaries. So, it really isn't county lines vs. AVAs, but it would be more like a hypothetical case where a lot of AVAs had similar names say there were a Red Mountain in Washington AND one in near San Francisco and they distinguished themselves with local town names, so a Prosser Red Mountain vs. an Oakland Red Mountain. I hope that's more helpful than confusing. Thanks again for the question. Cheers!

Thank you! I appreciate that feedback. Good luck on your exam! Cheers!

Ha! Now that's high praise (the Uncle Jay part, at least). Thanks for the compliment. I took German in college and, while I have a feeling that my accent is grating to native ears, I think I got most of the vowels and consonants right. Thanks again and cheers!

Thanks! I'm glad it's helpful. I love Rieslings from Germany, so enjoy your journey with them. Cheers!

Thank you! I"m glad it was helpful. I'm rather proud of my Germany casts. Cheers!

I'm glad it was helpful. There was a lot to get my head around when I first started learning about German classification, but once I had it down it made a huge different in my comfort level with German wine, so I hope this cast helps others feel more comfortable with them, too. Cheers!

Thanks for watching and taking the time to comment! Cheers!

Hello and thanks for the questions. The labeling for the first wine you describe would be VDP Trocken GG Qualitätswein. No need to add Grosse Lage as that's assumed in the GG designation. GG is used only for dry wines which are always designated as Qualitätswein and not by a Prädikat. In theory (again, as far as I can discern) the Prädikat system can be used for reds (unless you're a member of the VDP -- they don't allow this for their members) but there's no tradition of doing this, partly because until recently red grapes in Germany had difficulty getting ripe enough to qualify. The grapes for the Becker Landgraff Spätburgunder that I pictured in the cast were doubtless ripe enough to qualify for a Spâtlese designation, but, despite the fact that it's possible to vinify a Spätlese dry, traditionally, most Spätlesen are off-dry, and a red wine designated as a Spätlese (or by another Prädikat) would be confusing for most consumers who would expect it to be sweet. So, as I mentioned in the cast, while red wines can be shoe-horned into the Prädikat system, it really wasn't designed with them in mind. I hope that's helpful and I'm glad you're enjoying the casts. Thanks again for the questions. Cheers!

Thanks!

That's correct. Cheers!