Labels
Alkoholfrei: what the German label means
Alkoholfrei is a German label word, not a measured 0.0%. On wine it may sit beside entalkoholisierter Wein and can reach 0.5% vol.
The short answer
Alkoholfrei means alcohol-free in German. For wine it may supplement the legal name entalkoholisierter Wein; from 0.05% vol the label also states (< 0,5 % vol). It is not automatically a stated 0.0% residual. This cellar still only lists drinks at or below 0.5% ABV.
- Alkoholfrei is a label claim. The sourced ABV on each review is a separate fact.
- On German wine it can reach 0.5% vol; it does not upgrade a bottle to 0.0%.
- The legal wine name is still entalkoholisierter Wein. Production type stays on the review.
Alkoholfrei is German for alcohol-free. Shoppers type it when they want the German shelf. In this cellar it finds drinks at or below 0.5% ABV. It does not change a sourced residual, and it does not classify how the drink was made.
What the word is allowed to mean
On German wine, alkoholfrei may be added to the legal name entalkoholisierter Wein. From 0.05% vol the label also prints (< 0,5 % vol). That is Weinverordnung § 37(4), checked 21 October 2026. The line can therefore sit at half a percent. It is not a measured zero.
Beer labels often print 0,0% or <0,5% next to the word. Those numbers remain the fact. This page does not invent a single German legal beer threshold.
What it does not prove
- A stated 0.0% residual. Use the ABV filter for that, or read 0.0% vs under 0.5%.
- A production method. Dealcoholized, alternative, naturally low alcohol, and unclassified stay separate. Dealcoholized is not the same as nonalcoholic.
- That every result is German. A search for alkoholfrei is category language in this English cellar.
From 19 September 2027, EU wine rules are expected to fold alkoholfrei into the designation. Until that date this page keeps the current ordinance.
Related words
- Entalkoholisierter Wein — the legal wine name.
- Alcohol-free — the English claim, which US guidance treats more strictly.
- Sans alcool — the French companion word.
- Sin alcohol — the Spanish companion word.
The longer map is What nonalcoholic labels mean around the world.
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