Noble rot

This article is about the fungus. For the heavy metal music album, see The Noble Rot.
Noble rot on Riesling grapes (Rheingau, Germany, 2005)

Noble rot (French: pourriture noble; German: Edelfäule; Italian: Muffa nobile; Hungarian: Aszúsodás) is the beneficial form of a grey fungus, Botrytis cinerea, affecting wine grapes.[1] Infestation by Botrytis requires warm and humid conditions, typically around 20 degrees Celsius and above 80% humidity.[2] If the weather stays wet, the undesirable form, "bunch rot" or "grey rot", adversely affects winemaking by disrupting fermentation and changing the taste, aroma, and appearance of the final wine[1][2][3] Grapes typically become infected with Botrytis when they are ripe. If they are then exposed to drier conditions and become partially raisined, this form of infection is known as noble rot. Grapes picked at a certain point during infestation can produce particularly fine and concentrated sweet wine. Wines produced by this method are known as botrytized wines,[4] and are considered a distinct category of dessert wines.[3]

The primary distinction between botrytized wines and other naturally sweet, non-fortified sweet wines, such as late-harvest wines, ice wines, or straw / raisin wines, lies in the range and richness of aroma compounds generated by the Botrytis cinerea fungal infection of the grapes.[3] Significant differences are also evident in other components, like sugar alcohol and acid composition, due to microbial activity.[3] Descriptors frequently used for these wines highlight flavours of peach, apricot, pear, quince, raisin, and honey, along with unique "botrytis" or roti characteristics.[3][5] Additionally, a notable feature of botrytized wines is their high acid content, which prevents them from tasting cloying, even with sugar levels often exceeding 200 g/l[3]

  1. ^ a b Blanco-Ulate, B.; Amrine, K.; Collins, T. (December 2015). "Developmental and Metabolic Plasticity of White-Skinned Grape Berries in Response to Botrytis cinerea during Noble Rot". Plant Physiology. 169 (4): 2422–2443. Bibcode:1985QuRes..23...87O. doi:10.1104/pp.15.00852. hdl:11336/10951. PMC 4677888. PMID 26450706.
  2. ^ a b Clarke, Jim (4 September 2023). "The Science Behind Noble Rot Wines". SevenFiftyDaily. Retrieved 30 June 2024.
  3. ^ a b c d e f Magyar, I. (2011). "Chapter 6 - Botrytized Wines". Advances in Food and Nutrition Research. 63: 147–206. doi:10.1016/B978-0-12-384927-4.00006-3. ISBN 978-0-12-384927-4. PMID 21867895.
  4. ^ Labensky, Steven (1997). Webster's new world dictionary of culinary arts. Prentice-Hall. p. 28. ISBN 9780134757322.
  5. ^ "Botrytis Cinerea: The Noble Rot". vinoble.org. 4 September 2023. Retrieved 13 July 2024.