Zwischenerzeugnissteuer
Zwischenerzeugnissteuer is a tax that is applied to a range of drinks that do not fall into other categories.
Usually these are the products of wine, which has been further processed. This includes fortified wines, sherry, madeira, and port.
It does not, however, cover sparkling wines.
To hear a simple explanation and a short discussion in German, listen to the podcast:
(Press the “play” button to listen to the podcast)