 beneficial Botrytis cinerea mold is one of nature’s most splendid gifts. With its help, we are able to produce some of the most stunning dessert wines in the world.
Brought on by the misty mornings along the Mosel, the botrytis mold draws water out of the affected grapes, leaving an ultra-concentrated nectar behind. We painstakingly separate these moldy grapes into three quality categories:
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Auslese Gold Capsule:
A luscious wine made from very ripe, late-harvested grapes that have just begun to be shriveled by botrytis.
Beerenauslese:
A rich, dense dessert wine made from fully botrytis-affected grapes that have shriveled about half way.
Trockenbeerenauslese:
The pinnacle of dessert wines, TBA is an extraordinarily intense and complex wine made from grapes that have completely shriveled down to raisins.
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These wines are quite rare. They are dependent on weather conditions, which determine whether botrytis wines will even be possible in a given year. And, because the grapes have been dried by botrytis, they yield very little juice. Producing these dessert wines is an expensive, labor-intensive process, but they are special gifts, worth every bit of the effort.
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These brown, partially shriveled grapes will become Auslese Goldkapsel. |
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The moldy, nearly shriveled grapes here will be pressed for Beerenauslese (BA). |
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These completely shriveled grapes are hand-selected to produce Trockenbeerenauslese (TBA). |
