Crinella Wines
2005 Pinot Noir
2005 Sauvignon Blanc
3 Silver Medals!
2005 Glissando
2 Gold Medals!
2004 Glissando
|
Botrytis Wines - Noble Rot
In order to produce the rich, sweet wines known as botrytis wines, we must rely on nature to deliver the perfect conditions to produce the fungus Botrytis Cinerea, resulting in Noble Rot.
Noble Rot gives the wine a very aromatic, honey like flavor, but
also causes fermentation of the wines to be complex.
Because one of the byproducts of Botrytis kills yeast, the fermentation process requires careful care and monitoring.
How botrytis cinerea works: the majority of the water in the grape is dried up by the fungus and the grapes shrivel (like raisins).
The full sugar remains while acidity decreases, resulting in a sweet and concentrated grape juice. These wines are very complex and turn
from pale gold to very dark gold during maturation. Fermentation of these
wines can be very slow and they must be racked¹ much more frequently than dry wines.
Because poor weather conditions are what causes the Botrytis cinerea to infect the grapes, they are typically harvested late in the season.
Harvesting is very complicated. The grapes have higher Brix² numbers and are very sticky. These wines are referred to by some as
"stickies". Workers harvest Botrytised grapes by hand. This requires time, patience and expertise.
Wine made with Botrytis cinerea infected grapes is made naturally.
Other sweet wines such as Port, are fortified which means they have liquor added, most often Brandy, to stop the conversion of sugar to alcohol. This results in a sweet wine with higher
alcohol. Botrytised wines don't require fortification, and so are a sweet wine produced using a natural wine making process.
Botrytis wines are a prized product because the grapes may or may not develop the Noble Rot.
Some years it simply won't be possible to produce this fabulous wine.
¹Racking wine is the process of removing the liquid from residual solids which have settled to the bottom of the fermentation unit.
²Brix is the measurement of total soluble solids in the must or grapes, measured by a hydrometer or refractometer. Each degree of Brix is equal to 1 gram of sucrose per 100 grams of solution.
|
|
