Spatburgunder Hungarian Red Ausbruch Wine an Interesting Choice

By Caterina Christakos

Spatburgunder may well be a name that you are unfamiliar with when it comes to wine, but fear not - you have most definitely heard of it, just not under its Germanic name. Spatburgunder is the German name for the wine the rest of the world calls Pinot Noir; a dark, rich red which is charactersided by flowing floral overtones and a palettable level of acidity. It remains one of the most popular wines in the world.

Although the name is Germanic in origin, this does not mean that Germany is the only country to produce pinot noir and call it Spatburgunder. One of the most popular varieties of Spatburgunder is grown in Hungary, where it is used to produce a stunning Hungarian red ausbrush wine.

Hungarian wines, like those in Germany, have specific classifications for the quality and growing process of each wine; ausbruch is one of these. The literal meaning of ausbruch is ”broken out”, which is part of the Austrian scale of wine terms. Ausbruch is a level in between the German quality scales of Beernauslese and Trockenbeernauslese, which are both used to describe very high quality wines where only the best berries are grown.

In particularly, Spatburgunder Hungarian red ausbruch wine is made from grapes that are particularly high in content of ”Noble Rot”. Another wine making terms which is synonmous with quality, noble rot is a type of harmless form of grey fungus which develops as grapes ripen - it is largely associated with produce fine, sweet wines of a unique taste. Ausbruch is famous for its use of grapes that have been effected by noble rot. Noble rot only tends to grow in cool, wet conditions and is best known for forming in wine growing regions such as Germany, Austria and Hungary, hence the separate classification scale for wines grown from these regions.

The distinction between Bernauslese and Trockenbeernauslese is the must weight requirements. For the highest quality grade of Trockenbeernauslese to be assigned to a wine, it must achieve a sugar level (must weight) of 30 KMW, which makes for very sweet wines - but is hard to reach. The level for Bernauslese is only 25 KMW, which is far easier to produce. Anything that falls in between is typically classed as ausbruch, which has a minimum must weight of 27 KMH. The berries are essentially harvested in the same way - berry by berry, taking on the best and those most effected by noble rot - and then the sugar must weight classification separates them into the three categories. In France and the United States, must weight is measured on the Oechsle scale, with the minimum requirement for Barnauslese at 120 Oechsle.

So essentially, a Spatburgunder Hungarian red ausbruch wine is a pinot noir that has been subjected to noble rot and has been grown in Hungary - if one were to strip back the meaning entirely.

The taste of Spatburgunder Hungarian red ausbruch wine would be noticeably different to usual pinot noir, due to the presence of the noble rot. The ausbruch version of pinot noir is said to be sweeter and finer in taste, with a little more aftertaste than is generally associated with pinot noir. They make excellent dessert wines, and are sold throughout the world.

About The Author

Caterina Christakos grew up in the hotel and restaurant industry and loves to share her knowledge of wines and gourmet food. To discover just a few ways to have exotic wines delivered to your door go to http://wineclubsworldwide.com