Ruster Ausbruch: Austria's Dessert Wine

In the town of Rust (pronounced roost) located in Austria's Burgenland region, a delicious sweet wine for beginners and novices alike is produced from the Furmint and Muscateller grapes. Come late harvest, these grapes are "broken out" (translated from the Austrian word Ausbruch) from frozen clusters, having been affected by Botrytis cinerea or Noble Rot to make the class of sweet dessert wine known as "Noble Wine".

Ruster Ausbruch ranges in sweetness from Spätlese to Beerenauslese, a Pradikatswein designation; however, Ausbruch is solely an Austrian designation. Tradionally made from Furmint and Muscateller blends, the wines produced today are made from cuvees (blends) of Chardonnay, Traminer, Pinot Blanc, Pinot Gris and Welschriesling. Nonetheless high in quality, these are among the best sweet wines in the world!

The process of grape selection is meticulous and involves several hand-picked passes through the vineyard to ensure the highest quality of Ruster Ausbruch produced. Usually these passes occur over several days and only the most perfectly botrytised grapes will make the cut. Others are left to reach their potential and only then are they picked.

The grapes then go through maceration (steeping of wine must to extract color, tannin and aroma) for up to two days depending on the quality level of Botrytis. The grapes are then pressed and fermented to around 12% alcohol, a process taking as long as four months to complete, and finally barreled and left to age for as long as the vintner decides necessary.

In the cellar Ruster Ausbruch can age well up to 50 years where it will evolve into a more rounded, complex, fruity yet dry sweet wine as the sugar levels drop and create a crisp, acidic dessert wine, if such can be imagined.

To get an idea of what these wines are comparable to, think of the Hungarian Tokay or France's Sauternes. While Ruster Ausbruch makes a great dessert wine alongside any number of desserts it can also be treated like Sauternes and be served with Foie Gras, blue-veined cheeses or any buttery, salty or fatty foods for a delicious food experience. Keep the desserts at a moderate sweetness though. You don't want anything that will out-sweet the wine. And as with any dessert wine Ruster Ausbruch can also be served as the dessert itself. Add this one to your list of sweet wines as it is a delectable sweet dessert wine for beginners.