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Many people are confused or put off by the amount of information on German labels. There is a lot that German label tell the consumer.

1. The Vintage The year when the grapes were grown - not necessarily when they were harvested - is indicated. Eiswein is sometimes harvested as late as in January of the following year. Again, only 85% must actually be from the vintage, creating a loophole for abuse.
    
2.  Winery/Estate The name of the estate should be prominent on the label, as the producer is the most crucial factor for the quality of the product. Also, look for the term "Erzeugerabfüllung", or the new, more strictly defined "Gutsabfüllung", which indicates a wine bottled by the producer/estate.
    
3. Grape Variety This should be indicated, but not always is so in the lower qualities. If it is not the variety will be inferior, possibly a blend of them (Müller Thurgau and worse). Legally a wine needs only to contain 85% of the declared variety, and the remaing 15% are a matter of trust unfortunately.
    
4. Quality/Ripeness Level There is an ascending hierarchy of ripeness levels, which are determined mainly (though not exclusively) by the sugar content of the grapes before fermentation. It is thus somewhat confusing to call them "quality levels" as more sugar alone does not make a better wine but only a sweeter or a more alcoholic one.
    
5. Village & Vineyard This notes the vineyard in which the grapes used to make the wine were grown. The name of the vineyard is produced with the name of the village, i.e. Piesporter from the village of Piesport.
    
6. Growing Region or District. There are many growing regions, however the most popular in America are probably the Mosel-Saar-Ruwer, Rheingau, Pfalz, Rheinhessen, and Nahe.
    
7. Alcohol Alcohol levels tend to be low in Germany, and can be an indicator of residual sugar levels, when the ripeness level is taken into account. Dry Auslesen tend to have the highest alcohol levels, up to 15% vol. in some cases, while Kabinetts, and even TBAs, can come at under 8%.
    
8. Sweetness/Dryness if this is not indicated the wine will be slightly sweet to extremely sweet, in rough correspondence with the ripeness level. Mainly on the domestic market you find wines labeled "trocken" (dry) or "halbtrocken" (semi-dry), indicating a low content of residual sugar. Wines up to Auslese level can come in dry style. The sweetness is adjusted either by stopping the fermentation before all sugar is converted to alcohol, or by adding unfermented sterile Süssreserve (sweet reserve") to a fully fermented wine. The latter method is popular for lower predicates especially among less quality conscious producers. Sweet reserve can raise the residual sugar level, but not the original sugar weight of QmP wines. It is relatively easy to abuse sweet reserve, by using stored Süssreserve from other vintages and different grape varieties without having to declare it.
    
9. AP-Number The "amtliche Prüfungsnummer" is the ID of the wine. The final two digits give the year in which the wine was approved (not the vintage), and the two digits before that give the running number of wines to be approved from the producer in question. Producer and region are coded in the remaining initial digits.
    
10. VDP Logo Verband Deutscher Prädikatsweingüter is the German wine association that helps ensure that wines bearing the names of Germany’s finest vineyard sites are distinguished by a clear profile. Members must meet strict standards in Grape varieties, Yields, Harvest procedures, Ripeness level, Production procedures, Inspections / Examinations, Marketing, Packaging, & Style. This is as close as we can get to a "quality assurance" logo. This eagle represents membership in the V.D.P., an elite group of about 180 of wine makers in our of Germany’s 50,000 + wineries.