I remember someone asking why their Amarone seemed sweeter than they
had expected. This might be a reason why? This is taken from Wikipedia!
Noble rot (French: pourriture noble; German: Edelfäule) is the benevolent form of a grey fungus, Botrytis cinerea, affecting wine grapes. Infestation by Botrytis
requires moist conditions, and if the weather stays wet, the malevolent
form, "grey rot", can destroy crops of grapes. Grapes typically become
infected with Botrytis when they are ripe, but when then
exposed to drier conditions become partially raisined and the form of
infection brought about by the partial drying process is known as noble
rot. Grapes when picked at a certain point during infestation can
produce particularly fine and concentrated sweet wine. Some of the
finest Botrytized wines are literally picked berry by berry in
successive tris (French for "sortings").
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Noble rot on Riesling grapes
The best known fine wines made from noble rot infested grapes are Aszú (Hungary), Sauternes (France) and Beerenauslese or Trockenbeerenauslese (Germany). Others include the Italian Amarone, Romanian Grasă de Cotnari, French Monbazillac and Austrian Ausbruch. Depending on conditions the grapes may be only minimally botrytized. Botrytis has also been imported for use by winemakers in California and Australia.
In some cases inoculation occurs when spores are sprayed over the
grapes, while some vineyards depend on natural inoculation from spores
present in the environment.
had expected. This might be a reason why? This is taken from Wikipedia!
Noble rot (French: pourriture noble; German: Edelfäule) is the benevolent form of a grey fungus, Botrytis cinerea, affecting wine grapes. Infestation by Botrytis
requires moist conditions, and if the weather stays wet, the malevolent
form, "grey rot", can destroy crops of grapes. Grapes typically become
infected with Botrytis when they are ripe, but when then
exposed to drier conditions become partially raisined and the form of
infection brought about by the partial drying process is known as noble
rot. Grapes when picked at a certain point during infestation can
produce particularly fine and concentrated sweet wine. Some of the
finest Botrytized wines are literally picked berry by berry in
successive tris (French for "sortings").
<div ="thumb tright">
<div ="thumbinner" style="width: 352px;">
<div ="thumbcaption">
<div ="magnify" style=": right;">
Noble rot on Riesling grapes
The best known fine wines made from noble rot infested grapes are Aszú (Hungary), Sauternes (France) and Beerenauslese or Trockenbeerenauslese (Germany). Others include the Italian Amarone, Romanian Grasă de Cotnari, French Monbazillac and Austrian Ausbruch. Depending on conditions the grapes may be only minimally botrytized. Botrytis has also been imported for use by winemakers in California and Australia.
In some cases inoculation occurs when spores are sprayed over the
grapes, while some vineyards depend on natural inoculation from spores
present in the environment.