German wine regions are classified according to the quality category of the wine grown therein: Tafelwein, Landwein, Qualitätswein bestimmter Anbaugebiete (QbA) and Prädikatswein.
The wine regions allowed to produce QbA and Prädikatswein are further subdivided into four categories according to size: Anbaugebiet (a major wine region), Bereich (a district within the wine region), Großlage (a collection of vineyards within a district) and Einzellage (a single vineyard).
The 13 major wine regions (Anbaugebiete) are Ahr, Baden, Franconia, Hessische Bergstraße, Mittelrhein, Mosel, Nahe, Palatinate, Rheingau, Rheinhessen, Saale-Unstrut, Saxony, and Württemberg.
With the exceptions of Saxony and Saale-Unstrut, most of Germany's major wine regions are located in the western part of the country.
[4] There are 4 main wine regions that produce German Tafelwein and 8 sub-regions.