Sauterne wine

Classic Sauternes are made from botrytised Semillon and Sauvignon Blanc grapes. The juice is typically barrel fermented. Initial S.G. is in the area of 1.150 and could be quite a bit higher. Good luck on finding that kind of fruit!

Tom S

Well I did my own homework and found this:

Why _not_ let botrytis develop? It can be artificially induced if necessary - pretty much to the same effect as the natural occurence.

Tom S

Weez wrote: : Well I did my own homework and found this: :

Brehm vineyards was selling frozen 5gal pails for a great price last summer. Checking with them might be worth the time.

-Chris.

Yeah, no kidding. Most winemakers would _welcome_ the appearance of botrytis.

FWIW, botrytis affects other fruits as well. A few years ago, I was picking cherries (North Star tart), and came across a few with a peculiar-looking fungus. I was about to throw them away, when I thought, "hey, wait a minute, that looks just like the photos I've seen of botrytis on grapes!" So I ate one. Wow. _Very_ intense flavor, strongly reminiscent of a Tokay or a Trockenbeerenauslese. Looked gross, tasted great. Too bad there weren't enough botrytized ones to make wine from, although the wine I made from the rest of the cherries was pretty good anyway.