noble rot

noun

, Winemaking.

1. the fungus Botrytis cinerea, which is cultivated in some winemaking processes, especially in the making of French Sauternes, where the ripened grapes become shriveled as a result of its introduction, thereby concentrating the juice and increasing the sugar content.

noble rot

noun

1. winemaking a condition in which grapes are deliberately affected by Botrytis cinerea, resulting in the shrivelling of the ripened grapes, which in turn leads to an increased sugar content

Word History and Origins

Origin of noble rot¹

First recorded in 1920–25

Word History and Origins

Origin of noble rot¹

C20: translation of French pourriture noble

Example Sentences

Noble rot, which, in person, looks like gray fur clinging to otherwise healthy grape clusters, pierces the skins of the grapes and allows the water within to evaporate, tiny drop by tiny drop, concentrating the flavors and sugars inside the fruit and eventually turning the grapes into little brown raisins.

From Seattle Times

The lion’s share of Tokaji is made with Furmint grapes, on which the noble rot is encouraged to grow.

From Seattle Times

Tokaji is not the only Botryized wine in the world; wines affected by noble rot also are produced in France, Germany, Romania, and even California and Australia.

From Seattle Times

Tokaji is born in a harsh climate that veers from bitter winter to blazing summer, a climate that makes the grapes suffer beautifully for their art and also perfectly suits the growth of a gray fungus called Botrytis cinerea, usually known as “noble rot.”

From Seattle Times

The climate in question is the border of Hungary near the Carpathian Mountains — aka the ancestral home of Dracula — and while infection of ripe grapes by noble rot can destroy a crop, the moist mornings and sunny afternoons of the Tokaji region create the perfect conditions for the raisining process necessary for the production of Hungary’s storied and aristocratic wine.

From Seattle Times