Takes a bit of jiggery pokery, but for me:
QBA - 1%
Kabinett - 14%
Spatlese - 43%
Spatlese GK - 0.6%
Auslese - 27%
Auslese GK - 10%
Auslese LGK - 1%
Beerenauslese - 3%
Eiswein - 0.4%
TBA - one half bottle
Things are a little off as this is number of bottles, halves = 1, magnums = 1.
Surprised myself that 14% of those are auction wines.
No GGs? Over 30% of my Germans are GGs! Hard to figure out some of the rest, but, broadly, spats are ca. 30%, Auslese, Auslese GK and LGK together ca. 13%, BA GK and TBA GK just over 1%. The rest trocken, kabs and various.
Not a single dry bottle. I drink a few but none in the cellar.
Spatlese 51%
GG 16%
Auslese Gold Kapsule 6%
Auslese 6%
Eiswein 1.5%
Other assorted pradikat including QBA and Kabinett 19.5%
In Germany, this question seems nicely old-fashioned already now and probably will not even be understood by younger German winedrinkers in 10-15 years (“Häh, was sind Prädikate?”). Except at the Mosel and a tiny bit at the Nahe, in the Rheingau and on the Mittelrhein, younger producers don’t put the Prädikate on the label anymore. All their wines are simply labelled QbA (as are all GGs, all VDP “Ortsweine” and all VDP “Gutsweine”) and use fantasy names or the name of the vineyard.
Except in the Mosel…
I drink little else!
the more obscure the CT thread, the better!
Kabinett 28%
Auslese 26%
Spatlese 17%
Gold Kap 10%
No G.G. or Gold Kap. Two bottles of Eiswein
Kab - 21.2%
Spat - 51.5%
Aus - 27.3%
Kabinett 5%
Spatlese 47%
Auslese 14%
GKA, ***Auslese, LGKA, 31%
Eiswein 1%
BA 1%
TBA 1%
I consider 34% of my German wines to be in the dessert category (GKA+), and I would certainly buy more Eiswein, BA, and TBA, if price weren’t usually an issue.
The category that I’ve been buying the least, in recent years, is Auslese.
Non-Pradikat 0%
GG 0%
Kabinett 0%
Auslese 48%
Spatlese 50%
Gold Kapsule 0%
Eiswein 0%
BA 2%
TBA 0%
My German Riesling composition began with acquiring Riesling Spatleses. I loved their sweetness, finesse, acidity, and low alcohol volumes when I first started. I then began veering off towards Ausleses due to their higher richness and ripeness.
Initially, I avoided Kabinetts as I preferred the riper flavors of Spatlese and Auslese. However, I have started coming around to them as my palate has changed and I prefer more body to my Rieslings now. This has likely been influenced by my exposure to Alsacian Rieslings.
I also posted in a previous thread series comparing the Rieslings of the world how I went absolutely gaga over a very high quality GG and am keeping my eye on getting a few of them in due time.
Eiswein is not only an impossibility to get here in Ontario, there is also little point in doing so given the very high quality and large availability of locally made icewine.
I have some TBAs but they are all from Austria. I have a few affordable BAs from Germany but I think that’s as comfortable as I feel going in terms of price point.
As Steven points out, the use of a Prädikat for many German wines is disappearing, even in the Mosel region. In fact, the VDP (Prädikat Wine Estates) only wants to keep the predicates for sweet wines. Their focus is on the GG category, which, oddly enough, can be chaptalized.
Over the years, there was too much plonk sold as Spätlese, Auslese, and so on at discounters.
Apropos Prädikat wines, Koehler-Ruprecht leaves the VDP.
43 bottles of grosses gewachs
5 bottles of trocken (no pradikat or GG designation)
46 bottles of “estate riesling”/aka QbA
211 bottles of kabinett (including 24 bottles of trocken & 7 bottles of halbtrocken)
642 bottles of spatlese (inc. GK, as well as 11 bottles of trocken and 21 bottles of feinherb)
357 bottles of auslese (inc. GK)
27 bottles of BA
2 bottles of TBA
14 bottles of eiswein
holy jesus… would be nice if you were local, and I got to know your cellar more intimately 
I think you have more Spatlese than i have wine… ![[worship.gif]](/uploads/db3686/original/2X/9/99a8907a1d5b3c023582052741dc72dc9823c044.gif "worship"){kind=small}
Lars, do you know of anyone who has chaptalized GG wines? Is it common?
As to the original question, the vast majority of my German bottles are QbA, and most of those are Trocken. I have some Kabinett/Spatlese/Auslese, but very little by comparison.
If they chaptalized the GG would they tell anyone?
Secrets…secrets.
Doug, I know of an influential VDP producer who wants to keep this option open. But I don’t really know how common it is for VDP producers to chaptalize their GGs. It shouldn’t be necessary in past vintages.
19 QBA
14 GG
76 Kab
180 Spat (incl 19 GK, various stars and designated parcels and specific fuders, trocken, feinherb, and 1 feinste)
215 Aus (incl 22 GK, 2 LGK, various stars and designated parcels and specific fuders)
12 BA
6 Eis
1 TBA (trust me, you wouldn’t want to drink it)
Charles
Of course, David is correct, and “wanting to keep my options open” probably translates to “I have added sugar to my musts but don’t want to say so”. We may never know. I agree that it shouldn’t have been necessary in any recent vintages, as long as the GG designation has existed, at least, and probably for several years before that.