Regions

Baden

Key German Wine Terms

Germany's third-largest wine region and its only EU Wine Zone B region, running from the Tauber Valley to Lake Constance with the Pinot family at its heart.

Baden is Germany's third-largest wine region and, according to the Badischer Weinbauverband, its southernmost, with 15,142 hectares of vineyards in 2025 per the German Wine Institute (DWI). It is the only German wine-growing region assigned to EU Wine Zone B, which the DWI says requires higher must weights than elsewhere in Germany. The DWI calls Baden "true Pinot country" and puts the Pinot family at 61 percent of the vineyard area on its Baden page, which gives vineyard figures for 2025.

Region profile

RegionWarm climateMediterranean

Altitude: 150 to 560 m
Soils: granite, limestone, clay, keuper, loam

Grape mix

Pinot Noir 32% Pinot Gris 14% Müller-Thurgau 14%

Signature: Pinot Noir

Body

Tannin

Alcohol

Compare Baden with another region

Read from this article's own text only. Signature values sit on a 1 to 5 scale across all wines; tap a bar for the sentence behind it.

Geography and Climate

The DWI describes Baden as stretching about 400 kilometers from the Tauber Valley in the north to Lake Constance (Bodensee) in the south, taking in the upper Rhine Valley adjacent to the Black Forest from Heidelberg to the Swiss border; VDP.Baden puts the length at more than 320 kilometers along the Black Forest. The Badischer Weinbauverband places the region along the Upper Rhine Graben. The Badischer Weinbauverband gives vineyard elevations of 120 to 250 meters on the Badische Bergstraße and 120 to 330 meters in the Kraichgau, rising to 560 meters in the Hegau near Lake Constance, which it says are the highest vines in Germany. The DWI sums up the climate as sunny and warm, with the Kaiserstuhl as Germany's warmest area; the Badischer Weinbauverband cites well over 2,000 hours of sunshine a year on average, an annual average temperature of almost 11 degrees Celsius and 600 to 1,200 mm of rain. VDP.Baden says Mediterranean air flows into the Rhine Valley through the Burgundian Gate between the Vosges and the Jura. Baden is the only German wine-growing region assigned to EU Wine Zone B, which the DWI says requires higher must weights than elsewhere in Germany; the Badischer Weinbauverband groups it in that zone with Champagne, Alsace and the Loire.

Nine districts, per the DWI: Tauberfranken, Badische Bergstraße, Kraichgau, Ortenau, Breisgau, Kaiserstuhl, Tuniberg, Markgräflerland and Lake Constance (Bodensee)
The Kaiserstuhl, a volcanic massif northwest of Freiburg rising to 556 meters, has about 4,200 hectares of vines and more than 2,700 hours of sunshine a year, according to the Badischer Weinbauverband
The Badischer Weinbauverband says Freiburg is the wine town with the highest annual temperatures in Germany
At Lake Constance, the Badischer Weinbauverband says the lake acts as a heat store that evens out temperature swings between day and night and between summer and winter

Key Facts

Third-largest German wine region: 15,142 ha of vineyards in 2025 (DWI)
About 400 km north to south, from the Tauber Valley to Lake Constance (DWI); VDP.Baden gives more than 320 km
The only German wine-growing region assigned to EU Wine Zone B (DWI)
Spätburgunder (Pinot Noir) led plantings in 2023 with 5,029 ha, 32.1% of the area (DWI statistics)
Nine districts, from Tauberfranken in the north to Lake Constance (Bodensee) in the south (DWI)
About 100 cooperatives produce and market about 85% of the region's wine (DWI)
VDP.Baden founded in 1986 in Angelbachtal-Michelfeld; its origins go back to 1907 (VDP)

Soils

The DWI lists shell-limestone in Tauberfranken and, elsewhere, a wide variety including keuper, loam, loess, granite, clay, limestone and sand; the Kaiserstuhl is an extinct volcano, and glacial deposits (moraine) are typical of the Bodensee district. VDP.Baden describes subsoils ranging from limestone, volcanic rock, gneiss and granite to gypsum keuper, covered in many places by loess. In Tauberfranken the Badischer Weinbauverband names heat-storing Buntsandstein and Muschelkalk soils, and in the best Ortenau sites granite, gneiss, Buntsandstein and weathered granite. On the Kaiserstuhl's leeward sides the volcanic tuff is overlain by loess up to 40 meters deep, while the neighbouring Tuniberg sits on hard limestone covered by a thick layer of loess.

Kaiserstuhl: on the south and southwest sides the volcanic rock can heat up to 70 degrees Celsius during the day, according to the Badischer Weinbauverband
Tauberfranken: Qualitätswein and Prädikatswein from here may be bottled in the Franconian Bocksbeutel, the only wines outside Bavaria allowed to, apart from four Ortslagen in the Ortenau (Badischer Weinbauverband)
Ortenau: steep slopes make up about 60 percent of its roughly 2,700 hectares of vines (Badischer Weinbauverband)
Lake Constance: vines on the shore stand on moraine gravel from ice-age glaciers, which the Badischer Weinbauverband says gives the wines a filigree elegance and fruitiness

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Grape Varieties and Wine Styles

Baden is "true Pinot country" in the DWI's words: its Baden page, which gives vineyard figures for 2025, puts the Pinot family at 9,162 hectares, 61 percent of the vineyard area, and ranks Baden first in Germany for Pinot Noir (4,765 ha) and Pinot Blanc (1,640 ha). In the DWI's 2023 statistics, Spätburgunder led with 5,029 ha (32.1 percent of 15,727 ha), followed by Grauburgunder at 2,398 ha (15.3 percent), Müller-Thurgau at 2,160 ha (13.8 percent), Weißburgunder at 1,660 ha (10.6 percent), Gutedel at 1,021 ha (6.5 percent) and Riesling at 875 ha (5.6 percent), with a white-to-red ratio of 62 to 38. The DWI's Baden page gives Gutedel 971 ha in the Markgräflerland and notes that Souvignier Gris, bred in Freiburg, now covers 188 hectares in Baden, more than anywhere else in Germany. The mix shifts along the region: the DWI says Rivaner, Riesling and Pinot Meunier (Schwarzriesling) dominate in Tauberfranken, the Badische Bergstraße and the Kraichgau; Riesling and Pinot Noir lead in the Ortenau; red and white Burgundy varieties prevail in the Breisgau, Kaiserstuhl and Tuniberg; and Lake Constance is known above all for Pinot Noir and Müller-Thurgau. Baden's Zone B status requires higher must weights than elsewhere in Germany, the DWI says, and the Badischer Weinbauverband says its geological and climatic conditions yield fruity, mineral whites and full-bodied reds. Under the Weinverordnung, a Qualitätswein or Prädikatswein Rotling made only from grapes harvested in Baden may be labelled Badisch Rotgold with the addition "Grauburgunder und Spätburgunder".

Spätburgunder: 5,029 ha, 32.1 percent of plantings in 2023 (DWI statistics); the Badischer Weinbauverband says Charles III (Karl III.) planted the first Spätburgunder vines at Lake Constance in 884
Gutedel (Chasselas): the Badischer Weinbauverband says Germany grows it almost exclusively in the Markgräflerland, where it was introduced in 1780 on the order of the Margrave of Baden
Riesling is known in the Ortenau as Klingelberger, after the Klingelberg site below Schloss Staufenberg in Durbach, where the Margrave of Baden had the first Riesling vines planted around 250 years ago (Badischer Weinbauverband)
Badisch Rotgold: under § 32 of the Weinverordnung, a Qualitätswein or Prädikatswein Rotling (a pale to light red wine made by blending white and red grapes) may carry this name, with the addition "Grauburgunder und Spätburgunder", only if its grapes were harvested exclusively in Baden

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History and Structure

The DWI says Ihringen was already a notable wine-growing centre by 962 and that the Romans likely planted the first vines there, on the Kaiserstuhl. On Reichenau, an island in Lake Constance, the DWI records that abbot Heito I planted the first vines in 818; the island was named a UNESCO World Heritage site in 2000. At the Winklerberg in Ihringen, the DWI credits Georg Ernst Lythin as the first grower, in 1813, to plant noble varieties such as Pinot, Traminer and Muskateller. The Badischer Weinbauverband says Baden wine introduced the slogan "Von der Sonne verwöhnt" in 1960. VDP.Baden traces its origins to 1907, when four natural wine growing associations were founded; after the Second World War the organisation was reactivated in Offenburg in 1950, and VDP.Baden was founded in Angelbachtal-Michelfeld in 1986. The DWI's Baden page counts 16 collective vineyard sites and more than 300 individual sites. It says most growers belong to the ca. 100 cooperatives that produce and market about 85% of the region's wine, and that the regional cooperative cellars in Breisach are the largest in Europe and the fourth-largest in the world. Baden is one of the 13 specified wine regions (bestimmte Anbaugebiete) set out in § 3 of the Weingesetz, listed separately from Württemberg.

Reichenau: the Winzerverein Reichenau, founded in 1896, is today the smallest independent cooperative in Baden, with members farming 18 hectares on the island (DWI)
VDP.Baden: founded in 1986; introduced the four-level VDP classification system in 2012 (VDP)
About 100 cooperatives produce and market about 85% of Baden's wine (DWI)
Exports play a minor role; the DWI says nearly half of production is sold in supermarkets

Sources and last verified

Primary sources (German Wine Institute, the Weingesetz and Weinverordnung, the Badischer Weinbauverband, VDP, and producers' own sites for their own wines): https://www.winesofgermany.com/our-regions/growing-area/65/baden, https://www.winesofgermany.com/fileadmin/DWI/News_Medien/PDF/Statistik_2024-2025.pdf, https://www.gesetze-im-internet.de/weing_1994/__3.html, https://www.winesofgermany.com/our-regions/highlight-of-wine-culture/148/volcanic-rock-garden-winklerberg, https://www.winesofgermany.com/our-regions/highlight-of-wine-culture/261/the-wine-island-of-reichenau, https://www.badischerwein.de/unsere-herkunft, https://www.badischerwein.de/unsere-herkunft/geschuetzter-ursprung, https://www.badischerwein.de/unsere-herkunft/klima-witterung, https://www.badischerwein.de/unsere-herkunft/terroir, https://www.badischerwein.de/ueber-uns/was-uns-ausmacht, https://www.badischerwein.de/unsere-herkunft/weinregionen/kaiserstuhl, https://www.badischerwein.de/unsere-herkunft/weinregionen/markgraeflerland, https://www.badischerwein.de/unsere-herkunft/weinregionen/tauberfranken, https://www.badischerwein.de/unsere-herkunft/weinregionen/bodensee, https://www.badischerwein.de/unsere-herkunft/weinregionen/ortenau, https://www.badischerwein.de/unsere-herkunft/weinregionen/tuniberg, https://www.badischerwein.de/unsere-herkunft/weinregionen/kraichgau, https://www.badischerwein.de/unsere-herkunft/weinregionen/badische-bergstrasse, https://www.badischerwein.de/unsere-weine/rebsorten/rote-rebsorten, https://www.vdp.de/en/the-wines/the-vdpregions/baden, https://weingut-stigler.de/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/VDP_Weingut_Stigler_Weinliste_Privat_April-2026-2.pdf, https://www.heger-weine.de/de/shop/weingut-dr-heger.html, https://weingut-ziereisen.de/?page_id=565, https://www.gesetze-im-internet.de/weinv_1995/__32.html. Last verified 2026-09-28

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Classification

Classification ladders

Ripeness scale

German Prädikat

Germany Full article 6 tiers, lowest to highest

6 Trockenbeerenauslese

Trockenbeerenauslese (TBA), the pinnacle, requires a minimum of 150°Oe from individually selected, botrytis-shrivelled, raisin-like berries.

min 150 Oe150-154°Oe

Trockenbeerenauslese (TBA), the pinnacle, requires a minimum of 150°Oe from individually selected, botrytis-shrivelled, raisin-like berries.

From German Prädikatswein Classification
5 Eiswein

Eiswein, at the same ripeness level as Beerenauslese (minimum 110-128°Oe), requires only healthy, botrytis-free grapes frozen naturally on the vine to at least -7 degrees Celsius and pressed while frozen.

min 110 Oeharvested at minus 7 degrees Celsius or colder

Eiswein, at the same ripeness level as Beerenauslese (minimum 110-128°Oe), is unique in that it requires only healthy, botrytis-free grapes frozen naturally on the vine to at least -7 degrees Celsius; the ice concentrates sugars and acids to produce wines of extraordinary purity and freshness.

From German Prädikatswein Classification
4 Beerenauslese

Beerenauslese (BA) requires 110-128°Oe by region and grapes must be individually hand-selected overripe berries typically affected by noble rot (Botrytis cinerea).

min 110 Oe110-128°Oe by region

Beerenauslese (BA) requires 110-128°Oe by region; grapes must be individually hand-selected overripe berries typically affected by noble rot (Botrytis cinerea), producing intensely sweet, honey-laced wines that age for decades.

From German Prädikatswein Classification
3 Auslese

Auslese ('selected harvest') requires 83-100°Oe, with grapes hand-selected from very ripe bunches, sometimes touched by botrytis.

min 83 Oe83 to 100 degrees Oechsle

Auslese ('selected harvest') requires 83-100°Oe; grapes are hand-selected from very ripe bunches, sometimes touched by botrytis, and can range from off-dry to lusciously sweet.

From German Prädikatswein Classification
2 Spätlese

Spätlese, meaning 'late harvest,' requires a minimum of 76-90°Oe, with the grapes picked after the main harvest.

min 76 Oe

Spätlese, meaning 'late harvest,' requires a minimum of 76-90°Oe; the grapes are picked after the main harvest and tend to show richer, more concentrated flavors, though they too can be vinified dry.

From German Prädikatswein Classification
1 Kabinett

Kabinett is the entry level of Prädikatswein, made from fully ripened grapes at 67-82°Oe depending on region.

min 67 Oe67-82°Oe depending on region

Kabinett is the entry level of Prädikatswein, made from fully ripened grapes at 67-82°Oe depending on region.

From German Prädikatswein Classification

A Prädikat indicates the ripeness of grapes at harvest, not the sugar remaining in the wine; Kabinett, Spätlese and Auslese can all be vinified fully dry.
Eiswein was used in conjunction with other Prädikate before 1982, when it became its own independent category.
There are no upper ripeness limits for any Prädikat level, so a producer may harvest at Spätlese ripeness but label the wine as Kabinett.

Tiers, criteria and figures come only from German Prädikatswein Classification own text. Tap a rung for its criteria and the sentence behind it.

Geographic tiers

German Wine Quality Categories

Germany Full article 4 tiers, lowest to highest

4 Prädikatswein

Prädikatswein, the top tier, cannot be chaptalized and must meet specific minimum Oechsle readings depending on region and grape variety.

100% from named areaKabinett 70 - 85, Spätlese 76 - 95, Auslese 83 - 105, Beerenauslese and Eiswein 110 - 128, Trockenbeerenauslese 150 - 154 Oechsle

Prädikatswein, the top tier, cannot be chaptalized and must meet specific minimum Oechsle readings depending on region and grape variety.

From German Wine Classification
3 Qualitätswein

Qualitätswein must originate entirely from one of Germany's 13 designated regions and is wine with a protected designation of origin that has passed an official analytical and sensory quality examination, with chaptalization permitted.

100% from named area

Qualitätswein must originate entirely from one of Germany's 13 designated regions and accounts for the vast majority of German production.

From German Wine Classification, read from two or more sentences
2 Landwein

Landwein, equivalent to a protected geographical indication, requires at least 85 percent of grapes from the named region.

85% from named area

Landwein, equivalent to a protected geographical indication, requires at least 85 percent of grapes from the named region.

From German Wine Classification
1 Deutscher Wein

Deutscher Wein is the basic table wine category requiring only that grapes be grown in Germany, with a minimum of 8.5% alcohol and total acidity of at least 3.5 g/l and no geographic designation required on the label.

minimum 8.5% alcohol and total acidity of at least 3.5 g/l

At the base sits Deutscher Wein, the basic table wine category requiring only that grapes be grown in Germany.

From German Wine Classification, read from two or more sentences

The Prädikat describes ripeness at harvest, not sweetness in the finished wine; wines up to and including Auslese can be vinified dry, off-dry, or sweet.
The top category was known as Qualitätswein mit Prädikat (QmP) until officially renamed Prädikatswein on August 1, 2007.
The 2021 Wine Law, in force from 27 January 2021 and binding from the 2026 vintage, added a parallel geographic pyramid of Anbaugebiet, Region, Ortswein and Lagenwein.

Tiers, criteria and figures come only from German Wine Classification own text. Tap a rung for its criteria and the sentence behind it.

Geographic tiers

VDP Classification

Germany Full article 5 tiers, lowest to highest

5 Grosses Gewächs Grosses Gewächs (GG)

The article names this tier without stating its criteria.

Grosses Gewächs must contain no more than 9 g/L residual sugar and are released no earlier than September 1 of the year following harvest for whites, and a year later for reds

From VDP Classification, read from two or more sentences
4 Grosse Lage

Grosse Lage (grand cru equivalent) represents Germany's finest sites: yields are limited to 50 hl/ha, harvesting must be done selectively by hand, and dry wines from these sites carry the Grosses Gewächs (GG) designation.

yields limited to 50 hl/ha

Examples Erbach

Grosse Lage (grand cru equivalent) represents Germany's finest sites: yields are limited to 50 hl/ha, harvesting must be done selectively by hand, and dry wines from these sites carry the Grosses Gewächs (GG) designation.

From VDP Classification
3 Erste Lage

Erste Lage (premier cru equivalent) requires optimal growing conditions, hand harvesting, and a yield ceiling of 60 hl/ha.

yield ceiling of 60 hl/ha

Erste Lage (premier cru equivalent) requires optimal growing conditions, hand harvesting, and a yield ceiling of 60 hl/ha.

From VDP Classification
2 Ortswein

Ortswein (village wine) must originate from a single village using regionally defined varieties.

same yield ceiling as Gutswein (75 hl/ha)

Ortswein (village wine) must originate from a single village using regionally defined varieties.

From VDP Classification
1 Gutswein

Gutswein (estate wine) forms the base, with grapes from estate-owned vineyards and a maximum yield of 75 hl/ha.

maximum yield of 75 hl/ha

Gutswein (estate wine) forms the base, with grapes from estate-owned vineyards and a maximum yield of 75 hl/ha.

From VDP Classification

The four-tier classification was unanimously adopted at an extraordinary general meeting in 2012, building on the Grosses Gewächs concept first defined in 2002.
The tiers are based purely on vineyard origin, paralleling the Burgundian approach of Premier Cru and Grand Cru.
VDP standards consistently exceed German wine law, mandating lower yields, hand harvesting at top tiers, and strict tasting panel approval.

Tiers, criteria and figures come only from VDP Classification own text. Tap a rung for its criteria and the sentence behind it.

Sweetness levels

German Sweetness Designations

Germany Full article 4 tiers, lowest to highest

4 Süß

Süß is the German label term for any wine whose residual sugar exceeds the Halbtrocken threshold of 18 g/L, with no legal ceiling imposed on sweetness.

above 18 g/L RS with no upper legal limit

Süß is the German label term for any wine whose residual sugar exceeds the Halbtrocken threshold of 18 g/L, with no legal ceiling imposed on sweetness.

From Süß (Sweet — No Legal Maximum RS)
3 Lieblich lieblich

The article names this tier without stating its criteria.

An informal intermediate term, lieblich, sometimes describes wines in the 18 to 45 g/L RS range, while süß in the strictest EU sense refers to wines above 45 g/L.

From Süß (Sweet — No Legal Maximum RS), read from two or more sentences
2 Halbtrocken

Halbtrocken (off-dry) is the legally defined sweetness category with a maximum of 18 g/L residual sugar.

maximum 18 g/L RS

German wine law establishes three legally defined sweetness categories based on residual sugar in the finished wine: Trocken (dry, maximum 9 g/L RS), Halbtrocken (off-dry, maximum 18 g/L RS), and Süß (sweet, above 18 g/L RS with no upper legal limit).

From Süß (Sweet — No Legal Maximum RS)
1 Trocken

Trocken (dry) is a legally defined sweetness category with a maximum of 9 g/L residual sugar (up to 4 g/L strictly, with an acidity-based allowance to 9 g/L).

maximum 9 g/L RS

Trocken: maximum 9 g/L RS (up to 4 g/L strictly, with acidity-based allowance to 9 g/L); Halbtrocken: maximum 18 g/L RS; Süß: above 18 g/L RS with no ceiling

From Süß (Sweet — No Legal Maximum RS)

The sweetness designations operate on an entirely separate axis from the Prädikat ripeness system, which measures must weight at harvest.
Lieblich is an informal term, not a legally defined category; EU regulation formally defines süß as above 45 g/L RS, though German labeling practice uses Süß for the entire above-Halbtrocken range.
The Weingesetz of 14 July 1971 codified the Trocken/Halbtrocken/Süß framework that still governs German labeling.

Tiers, criteria and figures come only from Süß (Sweet — No Legal Maximum RS) own text. Tap a rung for its criteria and the sentence behind it.

Flavor Profile

Fuller-bodied reds and whites with higher alcohol than most German regions. Spätburgunder shows dark cherry, earthiness, and structure. Grauburgunder and Weißburgunder are dry, mineral, and textured. Riesling here is riper and rounder than in the Mosel. Gutedel from Markgräflerland is light, soft, and approachable.

Food Pairings

Roast duck or goose with SpätburgunderGrilled salmon or trout with GrauburgunderSoft cheeses and charcuterie with GutedelWild mushroom risotto with aged SpätburgunderRoast pork with WeißburgunderOnion tart (Zwiebelkuchen) with dry Müller-Thurgau

Wines to Try

Weingut Stigler Ihringer Winklerberg Grauburgunder€21.50 (estate price list, April 2026, 2024 vintage)
A Grauburgunder from the Ihringer Winklerberg on the Kaiserstuhl; the DWI says the Winklerberg's terraces of weathered volcanic soil with limestone inclusions bring forth full-bodied, mineral-rich wines.
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Dr. Heger Ihringer Winklerberg Spätburgunder GG€57.00 (estate shop, 2011 vintage)
A VDP.Grosse Lage Spätburgunder from the Winklerberg in Ihringen, labelled by the estate as Barrique and trocken (dry); the DWI describes the Winklerberg as the sloping remains of an extinct volcano.
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Ziereisen Jaspis Spätburgunder
Jaspis is the name the Efringen-Kirchen estate reserves for its very best wines, from its best terroir, oldest vines and best barrels; it says these wines may not be made in every vintage.
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How to Say It

BadenBAH-den

AnbaugebietAN-bow-geh-beet

SpätburgunderSHPAYT-boor-gun-der

GrauburgunderGROW-boor-gun-der

WeißburgunderVICE-boor-gun-der

KaiserstuhlKY-zer-shtool

GutedelGOO-teh-del

Badisch RotgoldBAH-dish ROHT-golt

Exam Study NotesWSET / CMS

Baden is the only German wine-growing region assigned to EU Wine Zone B, which requires higher must weights than elsewhere in Germany (DWI)
Spätburgunder led Baden's plantings in 2023 with 5,029 ha (32.1%); the DWI's Baden page puts the Pinot family at 61% of the vineyard area
Baden has nine districts; the DWI calls the Kaiserstuhl, an extinct volcano, Germany's warmest area
About 100 cooperatives produce and market about 85% of Baden's wine (DWI)
Third-largest German region at 15,142 ha (2025, DWI), stretching about 400 km from the Tauber Valley to Lake Constance

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