German Reisling

[Bucko]

Being more specific, German wines are defined as Kabinett, Spätlese, Auslese, Beerenauslese, Trockenbeerenauslese and Eiswein. These are determined by the sugar levels in the grapes at harvest, not by the sugar levels in the final wines. Auslese can therefore be dry if the sugar has been fermented out and the label will also say ‘Trocken’ - dry or ‘Halbtrocken’ - half dry, although this is usually not the case.

Kabinett - Wines made from fully ripened grapes.

Spätlese - Literally the late harvest wines, harvested at least one week after the main harvest, producing a riper, more intense wine. May be produced in dry, medium dry or sweet styles, although usually slightly sweet.

Auslese - wines made from selected bunches of overripe grapes, even more intense in taste and aroma. Auslese wines are usually sweeter than Spätlese wines and are often considered sppropriate as dessert wines.

Beerenauslesse (BA) - a rich, sweet dessert wine made from individually picked, overripe grapes, often affected by botrytis cinerea, the mold that concentrates the grape must. BA’s are rare and expensive, and cannot be produced from every vintage.

Eiswein - a rich, concentrated wine made from fully-ripened grapes that were left on the vines long past the main harvest to be picked and pressed while frozed at 8 degrees Celsius or lower. Eiswein is characterized by unusually high amounts of sugar balanced by ripe acidity.

Trockenbeerenauslese (TBA) - the rarest of Germin wines, made from dried, raisined, botrytised grapes, individually hand-picked. TBA’s usually occur only once or twice in a decade, and are very expensive.

"In General" as you move up the list, the wines get sweeter, thus my original reply. If you want a lightly sweet wine, get a Kabinett or Spatlese without any qualifiers.