Which Prädikatswein level is commonly used for late-harvest dessert wines?

• A. Beerenauslese or Trockenbeerenauslese
• B. Kabinett
• C. Spätlese
• D. Auslese

Answer: (A)

In Prädikatswein, how ripe the grapes are at harvest determines the wine’s sweetness level, and dessert-style wines come from the very ripest, often botrytized grapes. Beerenauslese and Trockenbeerenauslese are the levels most closely associated with late-harvest dessert wines. Beerenauslese is made from individually selected berries, usually affected by noble rot, giving a richly sweet wine with bright acidity. Trockenbeerenauslese uses individually selected shriveled berries, delivering extraordinary sweetness and intensity. These two levels are the quintessential late-harvest dessert classifications. The other levels—Kabinett, Spätlese, and Auslese—are progressively riper than Kabinett but are not as consistently tied to the ultra-sweet, botrytis-rich profile that BA and TBA represent.