They pinned their hopes on the commercially successfully semi-sweet style epitomized by Liebframilch. This mediocre, mass-produced Riesling poured onto the world market and become synonymous with German wine. In France, the classification system is based on the characteristics and quality of the vineyards and the wines they produce. In Germany, the system is based on the ripeness of the grapes used to produce the wine. The riper the grapes, the higher the rank.
German producers are well aware of their image problem.
Top estates distance themselves from the plonk by making well-balanced, intensely flavored Riesling at all levels of ripeness. Like Cabernet, Riesling is capable of revealing the personality of an individual vineyard site. In some examples, a mineral quality will predominate, in others it will be flowers or honey, or some intriguing combination of flavors and aroma. Qualifying wines can be identified by the Charta symbol of three arches. Botrytis is the so-called noble rot that infects grapes used for some of the most noted dessert wines.