🏷️ Beerenauslese
Sweet wine from overripe berries picked one by one, often with noble rot.
Beerenauslese is a sweet German wine made from overripe berries picked one by one. Beerenauslese, or BA, is a sweet wine made from very ripe grapes. The German name means "berry selection": berries are picked by hand one by one, only the overripe ones. Often they are touched by noble rot, a mould that concentrates the juice.
It is the second sweetest level in the Prädikatswein system, the wines of special quality. It ranks above Auslese and below TBA. The must has to be very sugary: from 110 to 128 degrees Oechsle, the scale used to measure sugar in juice.
Beerenauslese is made in Germany and Austria. Because the harvest is small and the work is manual, the wine is expensive. It is thick, with notes of honey, apricot and dried fruit, but acidity keeps it from tasting cloying. Such wine can age for decades.
In style it is close to icewine, but icewine is made from frozen berries, while here the key is overripeness and noble rot.
Links
- Part of
- 🏷️ Prädikatswein
- Where it applies
- 🗺️ German wine, 🗺️ Austrian wine
- Similar and different
- 🏷️ Prädikatswein, 🏷️ Auslese, 🏷️ Trockenbeerenauslese, 🍷 Noble rot, 🏷️ Eiswein
Frequently asked questions
What does Beerenauslese mean?
It is a sweet wine made from overripe berries picked one by one. The German name means "berry selection".
How is BA different from Auslese?
BA is made from riper berries with more sugar, so it is sweeter and thicker.
How is BA different from icewine?
Icewine is made from berries frozen on the vine, while Beerenauslese uses overripe berries, often with noble rot.
Similar
🏷️ Trockenbeerenauslese · 🏷️ Spätlese · 🏷️ Eiswein · 🏷️ Kabinett · 🏷️ Auslese · 🏷️ Prädikatswein
⚠️ 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.