In the US Market, we don't see as many of the variations of Dryness and Sweetness you see in the German market. There are also designations we don't see, like Süße (sweet). From that there is also Restsüße and Edelsüße. Edel being more sweet like Auslese, Beerenauslese and some Spätlese. Rest would be Kabinetts and some dryer Spätlese. Below is a Guide of Dryness and Sweetness with the average alcohol content, which is a good indication of dryness/sweetness level, however as the wine becomes more dense, so can the alcohol level increase, while maintaining the sweetness. You know Germans have a better high school basis of chemistry than we do !
Average Alcohol Content
| Designation | Dry - Trocken | Med Dry - Halbtrocken | Fruity - Süße |
| Estate | 11.8% | 11.35% | 10% |
| Kabinett | 9.4% | 8.8% | 7.9% |
| Spätlese | 11.1% | 10.6% | 8.7% |
| Auslese | 12.2% | 11.7% | 9.4% |
The Dry Spätlese and Dry Auslese are harvested without Botrytis.
You may or may not see the below terms on a bottle, but they do exist and it refers to the amount of residual sugar that is in the wine. Feinherb is not a legal term (used for Mosel wines) to describe a wine and there is some controversey about it, it may be found on both half dry and medium sweet wines. I haven't had a bad Feinherb, but you didn't ask did you ;-) ? It would be nice if bottles showed this Residual sugar measure.
Residual Sugar