🍷 Lieblich
A German label term meaning medium-sweet wine.
Lieblich is a German label term for medium-sweet wine. Literally it means 'lovely' or 'pleasant'. It is used in Germany and Austria.
Under European Union rules, a medium-sweet wine has more sugar than an off-dry one but no more than 45 grams per litre. The lower limit is 12 to 18 grams per litre, depending on the wine's acidity. The sweetness is noticeable but not cloying. Above 45 grams the wine is called sweet, in German süß.
Lieblich often appears on inexpensive German wines, but good Rieslings with gentle sweetness and lively acidity can carry it too. Lieblich wine is usually fairly low in alcohol, since part of the sugar was not turned into alcohol. It is served chilled, often with spicy dishes that pair well with light sweetness.
How it connects to Wine
🍷 Lieblich → kind of → 🍷 Medium-sweet wine → kind of → 🍷 Types of wine → kind of → 🍷 Wine
Links
- Part of
- 🍷 Medium-sweet wine
- Where it is made
- 🗺️ German wine, 🗺️ Austrian wine
- Similar and different
- 🍷 Medium-sweet wine, 🍷 Süß
Frequently asked questions
What does lieblich mean on a wine label?
It means the wine is medium-sweet. Under EU rules it has no more than 45 g of sugar per litre.
How is lieblich different from trocken and süß?
Trocken is dry, lieblich is medium-sweet, and süß is sweet, with more than 45 g of sugar per litre.
Where is the word lieblich used?
Mainly on German and Austrian wines.
What to read next
- 🗺️ Austrian wine — The country's wine and winemaking: regions, grapes and appellations.
- 🍷 Süß — German label term meaning sweet wine.
Similar
🍷 Moelleux · 🍷 Amabile · 🍷 Süß · 🍷 Perlwein · 🍷 Trocken · 🍷 Halbtrocken
⚠️ Wine contains alcohol: adults only, drink in moderation. Wine usually contains sulphites; egg white or milk proteins are sometimes used for fining — important for allergies and for vegans.
Sources
- Wikipedia (en)
- EU Delegated Regulation 2019/33 (labelling, sugar terms)
- Encyclopaedia Britannica: Wine
- Deutsches Weininstitut
- Austrian Wine Marketing Board