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Underlying the official quality levels is the idea that the riper the grapes the better the wine. This is partly a reflection of the difficulty of ripening grapes at all in this climate, partly a search for rarity and thus enhanced value. The tradition, enshrined in law, is, where possible, to leave grapes on the vine well into the autumn so that they achieve maximum ripeness. The harvest may take two months, as some vineyards are picked early for Kabinett wine, while others linger on in the hope that noble rot will occur and an Auslese or above can be made.

Tradition is being questioned in many areas as growers turn away from naturally sweet wines towards the drier ones that consumers demand. This tred is encouraging growers to produce wines from lower yields with more extract, giving the balance that residual sugar would otherwise provide.