Late Harvest Wine
The large and delicious late harvest wines are produced from grapes, which have been left on the vine much longer than those intended to become table wines. They create a normally greater than normal sugar level, hence the resulting wine might possibly be much higher in alcohol, frequently around 14 %. More often, on the other hand, they're much higher in sugar considering that the fermentation routine is arrested before all the sugar is converted. It is done by either placing the wine through a sift fine enough to get rid of the yeast or lowering the ambient temperature of the wine to virtually freezing (34 degrees F). It causes the yeast to stop working and tumble to the bottom of the tank where it can be gotten rid of effortlessly.
Late harvest Zinfandels were in demand in the late '60s and very early '70s, but have just about vanished because of loss of purchaser passion and competition from Port.
White wines in the late harvest style are normally created out of the Riesling grape, as is normal in Germany the place where they first evolved. In France, a very close type of wine is dubbed "Sauternes." This wine is created from a fusion of Sauvignon Blanc along with Semillon.
Late harvest Rieslings are made in numerous diverse sweetness levels much the same in style to those discovered in Germany where they're designated as Spätlese (late picked), Auslese (extremely late picked), Beerenauslese (separately selected ripe clusters) and Trockenbeerenauslese (individually picked ripe grapes). In California, these terms are against the law to use; for that reason, Late Harvest is typically the only name applied to the wines in this style.
One of the leading terms in late harvest wines is "Botrytis". It refers to a particular, beneficial mold labeled Botrytis cinerea. It mold causes the grapes to shrivel and dehydrate, whilst concurrently concentrating their essential flavors and sugars. The result is a rather unique wine, incredibly sweet, having the flavor of honey and apricots. They are very hard and incredibly costly to make and, as a result, very valuable. For illustration an acre vineyard planted with Chardonnay would likely supply about 200 to 250 cases of first-class table wine. That same winery may only give 50 cases of a late harvest wine.
About the Author
Ed Masciana, author of Shortcut On Wine and newsletter editor to the Original Wine of the Month Club has engaged us with great articles on food and wine pairing. Ed has been the start-up Chef of many restaurants in Southern Califiornia. His approach to wine is "no-nonsense" and believes one of the best ways to acquaint oneself with wine and food is join a wine club and recommends: http://www.wineofthemonthclub.com
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