Term
Botrytis
bo-TRY-tis
The fungus with two faces
Botrytis cinerea is noble rot when mornings are misty and afternoons are dry, and grey rot when the rain does not stop.
Noble rot shrivels berries and writes the tasting note of Sauternes and Tokaji. Grey rot ruins a vintage. Same organism, different weather and vineyard work.
You cannot order it. You can only be ready when it comes, which is why these wines are irregular and why the good years cost.
If you taste saffron, ginger, and honey in a sweet wine, you are tasting botrytis metabolites, not oak.
