![]() ![]() The remaining contents – sugar, acidity and other extracts – are now very highly concentrated. ![]() The fungus penetrates the berries’ skins, feeds on the liquid within and water evaporates through the holes so that after a while, the majority of berries shrivel up like raisins. Initially, localised Botrytis cinerea nests form in still-healthy grapes, then spread out to infect an increasing number of berries. This occurs primarily in locations where, in autumn, early mists are followed by warm, dry days – in the Pannonian region, for example, where Lake Neusiedl’s great expanse of water has a temperature-balancing effect. The growth of the fungus must be supported by damp air and simultaneously, water should evaporate from the berries. When ripe white wine berries are afflicted under the right conditions by the Botrytis cinerea fungus, noble rot develops. Wines in the Beerenauslese ( BA) and Trockenbeerenauslese ( TBA) categories are produced from grapes that are partially or completely covered with mould at the time of harvest. What seems unbelievable at first glance is actually a small miracle upon closer inspection. It is therefore no surprise that nobly sweet wines from this region were awarded DAC protection of origin in 2020. The epicentre of production, especially for Beerenauslese and Trockenbeerenauslese, is Burgenland. Nobly sweet wines are produced in all winegrowing regions in Austria, including Niederösterreich (primarily Eiswein), Wien and Steiermark. Today, they are enjoying a refreshing renaissance in their modern form and have attracted devotees all over the world. The traditional sweet wines have found their way through the royal courts of Europe all the way to St. Today, winegrowers across Austria eagerly await cold winter nights when they can bottle the coveted rarity. It was a similar story for Eiswein: the first of its kind in Austria was harvested near Lake Neusiedl in 1971. ![]() Strohwein was produced for the first time again in Austria in the 19 th century, up until the 20 th century, but was only rediscovered by Burgenland winegrowers in the early 1980s. They were already being produced in Roman times but slipped into obscurity over time. ![]() Two relatively new varieties of nobly sweet wine are Eiswein (ice wine) and Schilfwein (reed wine) or Strohwein (straw wine). the enormous sum of 60,000 gulden and the entire year’s harvest of 500 pails (or 30,000 litres) of Ruster Ausbruch. For this honour, the citizens of Rust had to pay King Leopold I (1640–1705) in “real and liquid gold”, i.e. On 3 December 1681, the Hungarian Parliament of Ödenburg passed a decree endowing the market town of Rust with the rights of a royal free city. Ruster Ausbruch has an age-old heritage, with evidence of production dating back to the mid-16 th century. The last drops were consumed in 1852 at Forchtenstein Castle, which means that this legendary Prädikatswein delighted generations of connoisseurs for 326 years.Ī special form of Trockenbeerenauslese originates from the historic free town of Rust on the western shores of Lake Neusiedl. Whenever wine was drawn off to be drunk on festive occasions, the barrels were filled back up with boiled pebbles to avoid any oxidation. In 1653, Prince Paul Esterházy acquired his mansion together with the same wine and had it decanted into small barrels. A large quantity of shrivelled, raisin-like berries was harvested from the Baron of Leisser’s vineyard in Donnerskirchen and used to produce an excellent wine. The first Trockenbeerenauslese in the Pannonian region was produced as early as 1526. The history of nobly sweet wines in Austria dates back almost 500 years, but these wines are far from outdated. These sweet wines are truly distinct, characterised by their residual sweetness and highly concentrated acidity – often with the unmistakable flavour of Botrytis cinerea ( noble rot). Austria shows its sweet side with an outstanding quality of Prädikatswein: Beerenauslese, Trockenbeerenauslese, Strohwein, Schilfwein and Eiswein – the latter with its expressive, melting fruit – as well as the noble, refined Ruster Ausbruch which is steeped in centuries of tradition. ![]()
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