OK, here goes. The grapes in the first picture look pretty beat-up, but they are actually very prized ones to make a special wine. And the second picture shows where, around 1800, this was first discovered.

oops - I didn't mean to post this as the next question! The grapes are Riesling, and they are affected by Botrytis, also called "Noble Rot". The second picture is of Schloss Johannisburg, where modern sweeter/higher alcohol wines was discovered by accident. The story goes as follows:

The legend of sweet Riesling is generally accredited to Schloss Johannisberg in the Rheingau who 'accidentally' created their first 'Spatlese' or late harvest in 1775. The legend goes that the messenger bringing the official order to start picking was robbed on the way. By the time he arrived the grapes had rotted, been infected with Botrytis and were given to the peasants. The peasants brewed their own wonderful wines and the rest is history. It's the Riesling grapes ability to develop high sugar levels while maintaining acidity that produces white wines that age very well. Riesling is produced from dry to very sweet. The sweet, botrytis affected wines are rated in ascending order of sweetness as: Auslese, Beerenauslese and Trockenbeerenauslese.