Your Free Pass to the World of Wine

Noble Rot

January 30th, 2008 Posted in Noble Rot, Uncategorized, Viticulture

noble-rot.jpeg

Noble Rot is a form of the botrytis cinerea fungus that can form some of the greatest sweet dessert wines in the world. For this to happen, the exact right conditions must develop, and there are only a few places in the world where this happens, most notably in Bourdeaux (Sauternes) and Germany. It requires damp mornings and dry afternoons. When this happens, the rot attacks the ripe grapes, and eats the water inside the grapes without breaking the skin. By sucking out the water, the sugar in the grape becomes concentrated, allowing a wine to be produced that is both high in alcohol and sugar. In addition, the fungus flavors the wine in it’s own special way, adding notes of honey and marmalade. This process is tricky, and requires a great deal of hand-picking. Pickers must go through the vineyard several times, each time picking only those grapes that are affected by the rot in just the right way. Some years the fungus just isn’t created, and entire crops are lost. Because of the unpredictability, and extreme level of care required to produce these wines, they are always very expensive. And they are amazing!

Post a Comment

Wine Scholarship is a wine blog that educates wine lovers, wine enthusiasts, wine scholars, and anyone else who wants to learn about wine. Wine studies usually cost money. Here, you can study wine for free. Free wine studies is a great thing, isn't it? Here you'll find information about wine making, vinification, grape varieties, vitis vinifera, malolactic fermentation, oak aging, Chardonnay, Riesling, Cabernet-Sauvignon, Merlot, Shiraz, Sauvignon Blanc, Napa, Eden Valley, Clare Valley, Malrborough, Bourdeaux, Burgundy, French wines, Italian wines, Spanish wines, and more. Wine tasting is something that can be hard to do if you don't have a professor teaching you how to drink and how to taste. While this website will be helpful in your studying, you should always seek the advice of a professional if you really want to get serious about a career in wine.