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Botrytis cinerea

Botrytis cinerea is a fungus that can express itself as a ‘noble rot’ or ‘gray rot’. The positive variant, noble rot, arises when the mornings are moist (morning mist) and the grapes are able to dry in the afternoon sun. The Botrytis cinerea fungus makes the skin of the grapes porous resulting in dried out shrivelled grapes. These grapes have concentrated sugars, acids and aromas, which contributes to the rich wine flavours and aromas. The negative variant, gray rot, arises when the grapes do not dry up and remain moist. The gray mold fluff is characteristic of this variant.


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