Botrytis Cinerea

A beneficial fungus, also known as noble rot, which is necessary to produce many of the world’s great sweet wines, including Sauternes. In certain years, when the degree of humidity is just right, Botrytis cinerea will attack grapes, covering them with a gray mold. The mold lives by penetrating the grapes’ skins and using up the available water in the juice. This concentrates the sugar, flavor, and ACID so that a COMPLEX wine of exceptional sweetness can be made. Botrytis is unique in that, unlike other molds, it produces flavors that harmonize with the flavors of particular grapes.

What is diurnal range?

A. The speed at which yeasts convert the sugars in grapes to alcohol

B. The difference between the daily low temperature and the daily high temperature

C. The difference in elevation between two vineyards owned by the same estate

D. The extent to which a row of vines might shade the row beside it depending on the position of the sun

Diurnal range, or diurnal temperature range, is the difference between the daily high and low temperatures. It doesn’t sound all that sexy, but in fact the diurnal temperature range is crucial to producing great wine. In many of the best wine regions in the world, the diurnal shift can be as much as 30 to 50 degrees within a single day. That means that the vines rest during the cold night (preserving freshness and acidity) but then get to work ripening the grapes during the warm day (creating rich flavors).

Flying High

Consider the fruit fly. A model organism for the study of genetics, physiology, and evolution, fruit flies also tell us a lot about our relationship to alcohol. It’s not just that fruit flies—like hundreds of… Continue reading

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