Ausbruch (literal meaning: "break-out") or sometimes Ausbruchwein is an Austrian
wine term
The glossary of wine terms lists the definitions of many general terms used within the wine industry. For terms specific to viticulture, winemaking, grape varieties, and wine tasting, see the topic specific list in the "''See also''" section below. ...
for a quality level in the '' Prädikatswein'' category.Wines from Austria: Quality Designations in Detail , accessed on May 21, 2008 It is situated between
Beerenauslese
''Beerenauslese'' (literally: "selection of berries") is a German language wine term for a late harvest wine with noble rot. Beerenauslese is a category in the '' Prädikatswein'' category of the Austrian and German wine classifications, and ...
and
Trockenbeerenauslese
''Trockenbeerenauslese'' (literal meaning: 'dried berry selection') is a German language wine term for a medium to full body dessert wine.
''Trockenbeerenauslese'' is the highest in sugar content in the ''Prädikatswein'' category of the Austri ...
in requirements, which makes it a sweet
dessert wine
Dessert wines, sometimes called pudding wines in the United Kingdom, are sweet wines typically served with dessert.
There is no simple definition of a dessert wine. In the UK, a dessert wine is considered to be any sweet wine drunk with a meal ...
typically made from grapes affected by
noble rot
Noble rot (french: pourriture noble; german: Edelfäule; it, Muffa nobile; hu, Aszúsodás) is the beneficial form of a grey fungus, '' Botrytis cinerea'', affecting wine grapes. Infestation by ''Botrytis'' requires moist conditions. If the w ...
. The minimum
must weight
Must weight is a measure of the amount of sugar in grape juice (must) and, hence, indicates the amount of alcohol that could be produced if it is all fermented to alcohol, rather than left as residual sugar.degrees KMW. The Ausbruch Prädikat exists only in Austria and Hungary, not in
Germany
Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG),, is a country in Central Europe. It is the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany lies between the Baltic and North Sea to the north and the Alps to the sou ...
. The category was introduced into Austrian wine legislation in 1970, as a legalization of the production method allegedly already used in the area of
Rust
Rust is an iron oxide, a usually reddish-brown oxide formed by the reaction of iron and oxygen in the catalytic presence of water or air moisture. Rust consists of hydrous iron(III) oxides (Fe2O3·nH2O) and iron(III) oxide-hydroxide (FeO(OH), ...
. ''Ruster Ausbruch'' are still the most common Ausbruch wines to encounter; in many other Austrian regions, producers classify their wines as Beerenauslese if they fall short of the Trockenbeerenauslese requirements. Since October 2020, the Ruster Ausbruch is legally protected by the Austrian DAC system of origins as "Ruster Ausbruch DAC".
Wine production
The term Ausbruch initially designated a wine made from mixing grapes strongly affected by noble rot with
must
Must (from the Latin ''vinum mustum'', "young wine") is freshly crushed fruit juice (usually grape juice) that contains the skins, seeds, and stems of the fruit. The solid portion of the must is called pomace and typically makes up 7–23% of ...
from less concentrated grapes, in the
Spätlese
Spätlese (literal meaning: "late harvest"; plural form is ''Spätlesen'') is a German wine term for a wine from fully ripe grapes, the lightest of the late harvest wines. Spätlese is a riper category than Kabinett in the '' Prädikatswein'' ca ...
to Beerenauslese range. This filled the purpose of dissolving crystallized sugars in the grapes in order to speed up the fermentation and make it more efficient. This has also been called to "break out" the sugar, which is how the term was coined.Wein-Plus Glossar: Ausbruch accessed on January 24, 2013 This is the same as ''Aszú'' method of the
Tokaji
Tokaji ( hu, of Tokaj ) or Tokay is the name of the wines from the Tokaj wine region (also ''Tokaj-Hegyalja wine region'' or ''Tokaj-Hegyalja'') in Hungary or the adjoining Tokaj wine region in Slovakia. This region is noted for its sweet wines ...
Aszú and Tokajský výber wines are produced in Austria's neighbouring countries
Hungary
Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croa ...
and
Slovakia
Slovakia (; sk, Slovensko ), officially the Slovak Republic ( sk, Slovenská republika, links=no ), is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east, Hungary to the south, Austria to the ...
, although a classification system with several levels is used there. However, in difference from the ''Aszú'' and "výber" methods, Ausbruch wines are not required to be made by mixing the two components, and in reality almost all present-day Austrian Ausbruch wines are produced in the same way as a Trockenbeerenauslese, but subject to a 27 ºKMW rather than 30 ºKMW requirement.
Grape varieties
Historically the Hungarian grape
Furmint
Furmint (also known as Mainak) is a white Hungarian wine grape variety that is most noted widely grown in the Tokaj-Hegyalja wine region where it is used to produce single-varietal dry wines as well as being the principal grape in the better ...
was used in Ausbruch production but today it is rarely found in Austria. Most producers use a mix of grape varieties with
Chardonnay
Chardonnay (, , ) is a green-skinned grape variety used in the production of white wine. The variety originated in the Burgundy wine region of eastern France, but is now grown wherever wine is produced, from England to New Zealand. For new ...
,
Pinot blanc
Pinot blanc is a white wine grape. It is a point genetic mutation of Pinot noir. Pinot noir is genetically unstable and will occasionally experience a point mutation in which a vine bears all black fruit except for one cane which produces ...
,
Traminer
Savagnin or Savagnin blanc (not to be confused with Sauvignon blanc) is a variety of white wine grape with green-skinned berries. It is mostly grown in the Jura region of France, where it is made into Savagnin wine or the famous vin jaune and v ...
and Welschriesling being the most popular. J. Robinson (ed) ''"The Oxford Companion to Wine"'' Third Edition pg 41 Oxford University Press 2006