Botrytized wines

Abstract

Botrytized wines are natural sweet wines, produced from grapes that are affected by Botrytis cinerea under particular conditions. This rare and special form of fungal infection, called noble rot, includes complex enzymatic conversions and concurrent dehydration of the grape berry and results in a highly concentrated final product. The main characteristics of the noble rotted grapes involve high sugar, acid, glycerol and mineral contents, special polysaccharides, and particular aroma composition, which are thoroughly studied. The saprophytic microbiota of the grapes is also affected. Harvest and vinification of the noble rotted grapes are difficult, having special requirements. Microbiology and biochemistry of the alcoholic fermentation in these wines have been recently studied more deeply. Depending on the grape varieties as well as vinification and ageing technologies, botrytized wines show large diversity in style. Most of them are rich in polyphenols, possessing high antioxidant capacity. Biogenic amine and micotoxine contents of these wines are no public health concerns. This chapter presents the microbiological, biochemical, and technological aspects of noble rot and botrytized wines and discusses the recent findings on these fields.