"The risk of embarrassing yourself is huge."

With the new wine law, the VDP classification levels of Erste Gewächs and Großen Gewächs are opening up to all German wineries for the first time - in addition to the traditional single vineyard. VDP President Steffen Christmann explains the opportunities, risks and problems in an interview with Kristine Bäder: "We expect there to be changes."

For you, does the new wine law contain aspects that you consider positive?

Christmann: In my opinion, wine lovers basically have a hard time finding their way around. I feel the same way myself. In my private wine cellar, I sometimes have to write the prices of the wines of my fellow winegrowers on the bottles to know to which level a wine with a fancy name belongs. Regions like Burgundy have shown us how to do it more clearly. There, from the simple Bourgogne to the Village wines to the Grands Crus, you know what to expect. In the old wine law with the predicate levels, this was conceived in the same way, until you could buy Spätlese wines for 1.49 euros and for 499 euros. The new wine law certainly offers consumers the chance to orient themselves.