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Late Autumn Harvest Wines made from grapes picked toward the end of the harvest (usually late fall), preferably those with botrytis cinerea, a fungus that shrivels the grape thereby concentrating its sugar.
Botrytis cinerea, or noble rot, is a mold that causes grapes to lose nearly all of their water content. The fungus responds to the humidity and warmth in the climate and attacks the grapes. As the mold penetrates the skin its spores begin to germinate, causing the water inside to evaporate and the grape to dehydrate. With the absence of water, the sugar becomes more concentrated and the botrytis begins to alter the acidity within the grape. Typically botrytis infection begins to take place in late September and can last till late October.
The infection rate of botrytis is sporadic with vines and bunches achieving full rottenness at different times. This requires harvest workers to have to go through the vineyards several times between October and November to hand-pick the full rotted grapes. In some occasions, the usable grapes from a single vine may only produce enough juice for a single glass.
"Wine and wenches empty men's purses." - English Proverb "Drink wine, and you will sleep well. Sleep, and you will not sin. Avoid sin, and you will be saved. Ergo, drink wine and be saved." - Medieval German saying Logo Trademarked.
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