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What does botrytis look like?

Sonoma County did not see a lot of botrytis on Chardonnay during the 2013 harvest, but there was a little bit. Here, Fred Scherrer shows us what Botrytis looks like on a cluster of Chardonnay. Botrytis or “noble rot” affects wine grapes at harvest time and can add interesting flavors to dry and sweet wines. Too much botrytis is a bad thing though, and Winemaker Fred Scherrer talks about what he likes to see in the fruit that comes into his California winery. Ask a Winemaker sat down with Fred on location in the Russian River Valley during the 2013 harvest.