Sweet wine: Grape growing and Winemaking

Question 1

Sweet winemaking, of which, much with botrytis affect fruit, starts in the vineyard.

Yields must be _________
to ensure grapes have __________

How is this achieved?

Answer 1

Kept low
very high sugar levels

by pruning to a low number of buds and then the removal of any fruit that shows any signs of disease or damage as these would be highly prone to grey
mould at the end of the season.

Question 2

Often Yields in the vineyard are 1/3 of the yield for still wines.

The maximum yield of __hL/ha for sweet wines is rarely a problem.

for top appellations _____ & _____ common yields do not exceed __hl/ha

What does this do to the production costs?

Answer 2

25hL/ha

10hL/ha

Sauternes & Barsac

Greatly increases them!

Question 3

Harvesters must be well trained and capable of identifying ___ __ in contrast to ___ or ___ ___, which are entirely negative.

Answer 3

noble rot

grey or black rot

Question 4

For wines of high botrytis concentration, teams of pickers must go through the vineyards more than once.
Thus, vital decisions affecting quality are made in the vineyard.

Why must they go through so many times?
How long does this take?

Answer 4

To select properly botrytised and ripe bunches or berries.
The harvest can last from September to November.
Thus, vital decisions affecting quality are made in the vineyard.

Question 5

Level of Botrytis in the final wine depends on:

Answer 5

• whether the conditions are correct for the spread of noble rot, which varies from year to year.
• the position of estates (proximity to areas where mist forms most regularly versus other locations)
• the willingness of estates to wait for the best times to harvest and risk losing all or part of the crop due to adverse weather
• the willingness of estates to pay for multiple passes through the vineyard to select botrytis-affected fruit.

Question 6

Regarding average approachable priced/quality sweet wines.

Once picked, the grapes are handled as for a dry white wine, being fermented in stainless steel, concrete or barriques.

How long are they aged for and in what containers?

Answer 6

varying period of time

any vessel, varying from stainless steel to concrete to barriques.

Question 7

Regarding Top quality sweet wines:

What ferment vessels are used?
How much new oak is used?
How long does barrel ageing last and why?

Answer 7

Typically barrel-fermented (for the best integration of oak and fruit flavours) with a high proportion of new oak and barrel-aged (for 18–36 months for top wines) to encourage a gentle oxidation that will add complexity.
The amount of new oak ranges from 30 to 50 per cent but can be up to 100 per cent, for example at Ch. d’Yquem.
This adds significantly to production costs.