Sauternes

1. a) Botrytis can play an important role during the production of this wine. What is botrytis?

A fungus that spreads under damp conditions and usually affects grapes.

b) What are the ideal conditions for the development of noble rot?

 Healthy grapes at the time of contamination, humid morning (due to mist from rivers or lakes) and warm, sunny afternoons to avoid the development of grey rot.

c) What is the role of botrytis in the production of this wine and how does it affect the style, quality and price?

 Noble rot concentrates the sugars and acidity of the grapes and creates new flavors, such as orange marmalade, which increase the complexity of the wine. It is this concentration of sugars that makes Sauternes a sweet wine. The yeasts are killed by the alcohol before all the sugars can be transformed into alcohol. The spread of noble rot is never uniform. So, the best producers harvest by hand over a period of several weeks, which considerably increases production costs.