Every bottle of German quality wine, whether QBA or QMP, has the AP Number (or ‘Amtliche Prüfungsnummer’ in German). This 10-to-12-digit number indicates that the wine has passed the famous Germany’s official testing procedure, which includes submitting wine samples for analysis and a blind tasting test in which the wine is checked for flaws by a rotating panel of fellow winemakers and other tasters. The test is far from rigorous; the pass rate is well above 90%.
The purpose behing the AP Number
A given German winemaker can sometimes produce several wines in the same category (let say for instance that he produces 3 different Kabinett and 2 Auslese). There may be some important variances of quality accross wines from the same category. As a result, it can really be misleading for the customer.
This is the reason for the introduction of the AP Number. It enables the client (and everyone else) to find the exact same wine from a specific producer, without regard for marketing words or labeling ambiguity.
The first 2 digits
The first digit indicates which of Germany’s testing stations awarded for the AP Number:
- 1 = Koblenz (Mosel)
- 2 = Bernkastel (Mosel)
- 3 = Trier (Mosel)
- 4 = Alzey (Rheinhessen)
- 5 = Neustadt (Pfalz)
- 6 & 7 = Bad Kreuznach (Nahe)
The following code (usually 6 digits)
The next code serves to indicate the location of the vineyard
The next 2 digits
The penultimate pair of digit is the bottler’s own code, which supplies a unique identification of the particular lot. If a vintner has bottled two or more wines of otherwise identical labelling (same site, Prädikat, and degrees of dryness) this number is often used to distinguish them.
The last 2 digits
The final two digits signify the year in which the wine was tested.
Be careful regarding the last two digits given that some vintages of a given producer can be tested several years after the harvest.
Follow me on my Social Media
Wine is a gourmet treasure, do not abuse alcohol!
None of this content has been sponsored
I did not receive any gifts or free samples that could be related to this article
EN 
FR 
IT 
ES 
PT 
DE 
JA 
ZH 
KO 
HI 
TH 
VI 
PL 
NL 
EL 
RO 
HU 
CS 
SK 
UK 
SV 
FI 
NB 
DA 
LT 
ET 
LV 
BG 
SL 
TR 
ID 
TL 
MS 
KM