Something may be rotten in Denmark that makes people a little crazy and prone to extreme acts. However, when we talk about a good rotten that's a different story.
I am not speaking of soul searching Danes here; rather, the rot of grapes know as "noble rot." This may be a tough concept for some folks, but hang in there. (Get it? Hang in there? Late harvest grapes hanging on the vines?) Anyway, if you are still reading, a magical process occurs under special circumstances that is oft-times responsible for some great sweet wines, what some would call dessert wines. More on that idea in the next column.
When grapes stay on vines longer than usual and certain weather patterns occur, there is a possibility of having Nature make a wonderful wine possible. The fungus, Botrytis Cinerea, attaches itself to the grape skins in the fall when moisture, generally in the form of ground fog or river mist, covers the vines. If the sun emerges later in the morning and drys the moisture on the grape, what's a fungus to do? We go inside the grape and get our water there. The fungus is interested in water: no sugar, no flavoring compounds, no dissolved grape solids. Water.
The fungus extracts the water, thereby concentrating everything else in the grape. And remember, the acid level in the grape is not affected by all this fungal drinking. With a skilled winemaker, it is now possible to make botrytised wines: grapes shriveled with all their flavoring elements concentrated are individually picked and gently pressed and crushed into luscious sweet wines. Some of the wines can last for a century or more in the bottle.
What makes these wines so special is that, despite the richness, of which sweetness is only one component, they are not cloying. Because the acid remains the wines retain a balanced flavor and texture profile. Sweet? Yes. Viscous? Yes. Lots of acid to make a body salivate? Yes.
Next posting I will speak of "dessert wine" and types of late harvest wines that you can serve as dessert.
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