Strohwein
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Strohwein or Schilfwein is an Austrian wine term in the Prädikatswein category which designates a straw wine, a sweet dessert wine made from raisin-like dried grapes.[1][2] Stroh is German for straw, while Schilf means reed.
The minimum must weight requirements for Strohwein or Schilfwein is 25 degrees KMW, the same as for Austrian Beerenauslese, and these regulations are part of the Austrian wine law.[2] The grapes are furthermore required to be dried for a minimum of three months, either by laying the grape bunches on mats of straw or reed, or by hanging the bunches up for drying by suspending them from pieces of string. However, if the grapes have reached a must weight of at least 30 ºKMW (same must weight as a Trockenbeerenauslese) after a minimum of two months, the grapes are allowed to be pressed at this earlier time.[2]
Strohwein and Schilfwein are treated as synonyms by the wine law, and the choice between them therefore depends on local naming tradition rather than the specific material used for the drying mats for a specific batch of wine.
The Strohwein Prädikat exists only in Austria, not in Germany.
[edit] References
- ^ Wines from Austria: Quality Designations in Detail, accessed on May 22, 2008
- ^ a b c Bundesgesetz über den Verkehr mit Wein und Obstwein (Weingesetz 1999) - The Austrian Wine Law - updated until BGBl. I Nr. 87/2005, § 11. Prädikatswein
