Botrytis Cinerea

Botrytis Cinerea is a mold that can be beneficial to grapes and thus is also called the *noble rot*. It causes the water to evaporate from grapes and the grapes to shrivel, thus leaving behind a higher percentage of sugars and acids in the grapes and creating a highly concentrated wine. Since both the acid and sugar levels augment, the resulting wine is neither acrid nor cloying, but elegant, balanced, flavorful and intense.

Wines produced with grapes that have been transformed by the noble rot are called *Late Harvest* wines in the US. In France, Botrytis Cinerea is known as *pourriture noble* and helps create the white wine Sauternes. In Germany, Botrytis Cinerea is called Edelfäule and is an integral part of many of the great wines of Germany, including the Beerenauslese (BA) and Trockenbeerenauslese (TBA) wines. In Italy, Botrytis Cinerea is called *muffa nobile*.

Grapes that typically benefit from the noble rot include, but are not limited to, the Riesling, Gewurztraiminer, Sauvignon Blanc and Semillon.

There are instances, however, when the Botrytis Cinerea negatively affects the grapes. Specifically, if the fungus attacks before the grapes are ready to be harvested or if the climate is overly wet, the grapes will be spoiled and unusable. In these cases, the mold is stripped of its noble title and is considered a *grey rot*.