How? Why? Have you ever...?

Happy Holidays forumites as the day following Thanksgiving marks the official beginning of the Holiday Season. (At least, I think it does. Doesn't it? Anyway...) For me, todays post marks the end of quite an extended drought since my last post which should be quite regrettable yet I find myself justified by using the venerable excuse-- "I've been very busy", the last few months with work, personal life, etc. Which, actually, kind of creates a little bit of a "homecoming" feel to todays commentary.

But, down to business!

Today I'm sharing an experience that I had this weekend that I've never had or seen. Perhaps it's one of those-- "I-don't-get-out-much" kind of things, but I won't know until I scan the "forum" landscape for answers.

As you will see with the winelabel pics that I've posted, there are two each of two of the same bottles of wine. Or are they?? Although they were in the same rack, the same price, the same producer, there are two major differences that have me puzzled. The alcahol content is different (one at 8.0 and the other at 9.5) and the serial-looking numbers are different (one is 2602 029 010 05 and the other is 2602 029 021 05. What are these?).

I'm just getting more familiar with German Riesling (which I absolutely SAVOR, by the way!) and I'm wondering if any of the forumites have experienced something like this before or if this is a, "goes-with-the-territory", kind of thing as far as German Riesling is concerned?

Looking forward to any and all ForumiteFeedback.













P.S.
There was no perceivable taste difference between the two wines to me and it was absolutely STELLAR! Great acidity/sweetness balance with great mouthfeel and finish. Riesling STARPOWER at it's finest.

The alcahol content is different (one at 8.0 and the other at 9.5) and the serial-looking numbers are different (one is 2602 029 010 05 and the other is 2602 029 021 05. What are these?)..

Those serial numbers are "AP numbers" (search in the archives here or on the internet for more on that) and as you correctly identified, they mean that you had two different wines. The last two digits are a reference to the year the wine was bottled, and the two digits before that are used to designate different cuvees.

However, I don't know details about Monchof or these wines in particular, but I imagine they would have tasted somewhat different?

Aaron,
"Same" wine but different bottlings. I' m not an expert on German AP# (The serial number thingy), but the 021 05 indicates the 21st bottling lot test in 2005. The 010 05 number indicates the 10th bottling lot test in 2005.
I hope others will post something beyond this very basic, and possibly inccorect, assessment.
Welcome back.
Wm

The last two digits are a reference to the year the wine was bottled. . .

I believe they refer to the year the wine was tasted by the powers that be.

Aaron, I found this to be a useful quick introduction to the Amtliche Prüfnummer.

And, could someone confirm for me that the reason wine drinkers are poring over AP numbers and counting the numbers of asteriks and consulting the color of foil capsules is due to German labeling laws that were intended to better protect the consumer (hence prohibiting differentiation on the label a la 'Uncle Rupert's Cask' or 'Abend Blend')?

The last two digits are a reference to the year the wine was bottled. . .

I believe they refer to the year the wine was tasted by the powers that be.

Yes, my mistake. And I suppose some discrepancies between the two could emerge.

[David M. Bueker]

And, could someone confirm for me that the reason wine drinkers are poring over AP numbers and counting the numbers of asteriks and consulting the color of foil capsules is due to German labeling laws that were intended to better protect the consumer (hence prohibiting differentiation on the label a la 'Uncle Rupert's Cask' or 'Abend Blend')?

Keith,

Indeed AP numbers are there to "guarnatee" that faulty wines do not get released. But all the stuff about foil capsules (gold or otherwise) and stars is quasi-legal and not in the German wine law. So despite the myriad problems with German wine law, capsule color and stars are not among them.

Now onto the question at hand - the wine in question appears to be Monchof's Mosel Slate bottling (actually an Erdener Treppchen Spatlese). The Mosel Slate is made in somewhat larger quantities than is the norm for German Riesling, and as such appears to have multiple bottlings. Each bottling must be presented to the authorities, and hence there are different AP numbers. I'm not surprised the wine tasted the same.

Also, as to the alcohol percentage, keep in mind that there is a 1.5% leeway on stated alcohol on US wine labels, so the two wines may have had exactly the same percentage despite the different labels.

But all the stuff about foil capsules (gold or otherwise) and stars is quasi-legal and not in the German wine law. So despite the myriad problems with German wine law, capsule color and stars are not among them.

Back to the question not at hand . . . I understand that the coterie of mysterious markings on German wine (capsule colors, asteriks) do not have any particular legal status or meaning. I just wondered if they (along with consumers pondering the coded language of AP numbers) have been resorted to as German wine law has cut off other avenues of clearly identifying different cuvees and bottlings for consumers.

Great feedback so far fellas!
It's seems apparent that to say German wine laws are complex and confusing is quite an understatement.