Botrytis Cinerea - Viticulture

Viticulture

In the Botrytis infection known as "noble rot" (pourriture noble in French, or Edelfäule in German), the fungus removes water from the grapes, leaving behind a higher percent of solids, such as sugars, fruit acids and minerals. This results in a more intense, concentrated final product. The wine is often said to have an aroma of honeysuckle and a bitter finish on the palate.

Botrytis complicates winemaking by making fermentation more complex. Botrytis produces an anti-fungal that kills yeast and often results in fermentation stopping before the wine has accumulated sufficient levels of alcohol. Makers of fine German dessert wines have been known to take fermenting tubs of wine into their homes to nurture the yeast through the night to assure that the alcohol level reaches legal minimums for the product to be called wine.

Botrytis bunch rot is another condition of grapes caused by Botrytis cinerea that causes great losses for the wine industry. It is always present on the fruitset, however, it requires a wound to start a bunch rot infection. Wounds can come from insects, wind, accidental damage, etc. To control botrytis bunch rot there are a number of fungicides available on the market. Generally, these should be applied at bloom, bunch closure and veraison (the most important being the bloom application). Some winemakers are known to use the German method of fermentation and prefer having a 5% bunch rot rate in their grapes and will usually hold the grapes on the vine a week longer than normal.