Auslese

Wine Style:
A Riesling Auslese is a late harvest Riesling wine, made from individually selected grape bunches. This method of harvesting leads to intensely flavored, very sweet, and more pricey wines.

Flavors:

Origin:
Germany

Found:
Austria and Germany

Auslese is a German wine term for a late harvest wine and is a riper category than Spätlese in the QmP category of the Austrian and German wine classification.

The grapes are picked from selected very ripe bunches in the autumn (late November-early December), and have to be hand picked. Generally Auslese wine can be made in only the best harvest years that have been sufficiently warm. A small proportion of the grapes may be affected by noble rot in some regions although this never dominates the character of the wine. Rheingau winemaker Schloss Johannisberg is generally credited with discovering Auslese wine in 1787.

Top winemakers often make several Auslese from different selections based on botrytis levels. In this case, the wines are distinguished by AP Number, by gold and long gold capsules or by stars after the Vineyard name, depending on the winemaker’s preference.

Auslesen can be enjoyed by themselves (aperitif - an “afternoon wine”) but are usually best accompanied with food, particularly Foe Gras, which remains a favorite with many Asian wine drinkers and diners.

Further Reading:
Wikipedia
Epicurious
Wine Geeks
MiMiHu