Wine · Terminology

Landwein

Germany's country-wine tier — the PGI level, from broad regions, usually dry or off-dry.

Landwein — "country wine" — is Germany's PGI tier, sitting between basic Deutscher Wein and Qualitätswein. The grapes must come from one of 26 broad Landwein areas, and the wine must be labelled trocken or halbtrocken — dry or off-dry.

It is the German equivalent of France's IGP (formerly Vin de Pays), Italy's IGT and Spain's Vino de la Tierra — a looser category giving producers more freedom over grape variety and blending than the PDO tiers allow.

In practice

  • Larger geographic areas than the 13 Qualitätswein Anbaugebiete.
  • Chaptalisation is permitted, as at Qualitätswein level.
  • Must be dry or off-dry by law — one of the few places where the German system legislates style rather than ripeness.
  • Volume-wise it is a small category; Germany's structure pushes most wine into Qualitätswein.

Where you'll meet it

  • Occasionally on export shelves; more often within Germany.
  • Used deliberately by ambitious producers whose wines fall outside PDO rules — an unapproved variety, an unusual blend, or a stylistic choice the regional panel wouldn't pass.
  • The Germany country guide.

The PGI tier across Europe

Country PGI term Note
Germany Landwein 26 areas; must be dry or off-dry
Austria Landwein Same principle
France IGP Replaced Vin de Pays in 2009
Italy IGT Home of the Super Tuscans
Spain Vino de la Tierra Above Vino de Mesa
Portugal Vinho Regional e.g. Alentejano, Lisboa

Why the "lower" tier isn't always lesser

The PGI categories exist to give producers room, and some of Europe's most celebrated wines sit in them by choice — the Super Tuscans under IGT being the famous case. In Germany the effect is milder, but the logic is the same: a grower planting Syrah in the Pfalz, or blending across regions, takes the Landwein label rather than change the wine.

Browse the full wine terminology A–Z →