Kabinett

Kabinett (literal meaning: cabinet), or sometimes Kabinettwein (literal meaning: a wine set aside in a cabinet), is a German language wine term for a wine which is made from fully ripened grapes of the main harvest, typically picked in September, and are usually made in a light style. In the German wine classification system, Kabinett is the lowest level of Prädikatswein, lower in ripeness than Spätlese.

In Austria, Kabinett is subcategory of Qualitätswein rather than a Prädikatswein, and the term always designates a dry wine.

In the Czech Republic, Kabinet is a category of Quality Wine with Predicate (Czech: Jakostní víno s přívlastkem). Wines of this style are usually light and dry.

The term Kabinett, also known as Cabinet, originally implied a wine of superior quality, set aside for later sale. It is essentially the German version of the wine term Reserve. The term originated with the cistercian monks at Eberbach Abbey in Rheingau, where the first recorded use of the term Cabinet occurred in 1712. The abbey's best wines were set aside to be stored in a special cellar built in 1245, and it was later known as the Cabinet cellar, or Cabinet-Keller.

Before 1971, the term Cabinet or Kabinett often followed the name of the grape varietal, for example, a wine might be a "Trockenbeerenauslese Cabinet". The term is superfluous under current German wine law, although it can still be found on older bottles.

In 1971, the term Kabinett was officially noted in German wine law, and it was given its current definition which applies to wines which are light and non-chaptalized. Kabinett's current definition differs greatly from its etymological implications of it being a reserve wine. Before 1971, the terms Naturwein (natural wine) or Natuerrein (naturally pure) were used in place of Kabinett. These terms designated non-chaptalized wine, where no other designations, such as Spätlese or Auslese, applied.

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