Instead of the name Apfelwein, restaurants and smaller manufacturers may instead call the beverage Schoppen or Schoppe, which actually refers to the measure of the glass.

In the Frankfurt area, berries from the service tree (Sorbus domestica) may be added in small quantities to increase astringency,[5] in which case the specific type of Apfelwein is called Speierling.

In modern times, the term Speierling is often also used to refer to any more sour variety of Apfelwein, even if it lacks any juice of the service tree.

It can be made with the addition of the unprocessed juice from the fruit of a small, indigenous tree known as Speierling (Sorbus domestica) or Speyerling, an endangered species that is easily confused with the wild apple.

Apfelwein is served in a Geripptes [de], a glass with a lozenge cut that refracts light and improves grip—a holdover from the past, when some meals were traditionally eaten without cutlery.

In the Eifel region, near Hunsrück, around Moseltal, along the lower Saar and in Trier, the drinking container is called Viezporz and consists of white porcelain or stoneware.