Reserve wine system, most DACs have an additional "Reserve" designation for a wine which has slightly more strict requirements. Before the 1971 German wine law, a term corresponding to reserve wine existed in "kabinett", sometimes written as "Kabinettwein". In 1971, the similar-sounding term "Kabinett" was instead introduced as the lowest level of the "Prädikatswein" category, i.e., with a completely different meaning. Therefore, in the present German wine classification no legally defined term corresponding to reserve wine exists. Reserve wine Reserve wine is wine of a higher quality than usual, or a wine that has been aged before being sold, or both. Traditionally,
German wine classification indicated by the following designations for Qualitätswein and Prädikatswein. For sparkling wines (Sekt), many of the same designations are used, but have a different meaning. There are also color designations that can be used on the label: Some producers also use additional propriate designations to denote quality or ripeness level within a Prädikat. These are out of the scope of the German wine law. Especially for Auslese, which can cover a wide range of sweetness levels, the presence of any of these designations tends to indicate a sweet dessert wine rather than a semi-sweet wine. These designations are all unregulated.