Kracher - Eiswein 2009
Kracher is a wine producer located in the Burgenland region of Austria. The estate was founded by Alois Kracher in the mid-20th Century, and taken over by his son Luis in 1991. Luis Kracher became an important figure in the Austrian wine industry, but sadly died in 2007. His son, Gerhard Kracher, took over and has run the estate since.
The terroir here is perfect for the spread of botrytis or 'noble rot', and Kracher make a wide range of wines, including Auslese, Eiswein, sparkling and dry white and red wines.
Eiswein refers to the process of allowing the grapes to freeze on the vine during a frost. The grapes are then picked and pressed quickly so that the frozen water content is separated from the now concentrated grape juice. The production of Eiswein is risky because of the risk that a frost will not come soon enough or the grapes rot beforehand. This means that Eiswein is more expensive and certainly rarer than conventional sweet wines, and the quality is astounding.