Dirty rotten scoundrels.

This time last week there were some rotten little scoundrels hanging around, up to no good, in the Pinot grigio block.
The above photograph of a cluster of grapes infected with Botrytis cinerea isn't that great (I could have fetched a better lens from the house, but I didn't).  However, the proficiency of the dessicating ability of this dastardly, necrotrophic organism is evident in the way in which it has sucked the living daylights out of the lower half of this cluster (the top half of the cluster looked perfectly normal).
Most of the infected clusters were discarded, but it's possible that some made it into the mix.  No biggie.

Good old mould.

These Semillon grapes are looking good, or rather bad - which is a good thing when they are destined to become a late harvest wine.  This Coombsville vineyard is the source of Semillon grapes for Far Niente's Dolce, a delicious late harvest blend of the aforementioned grape and Sauvignon blanc. 
It hasn't been the greatest growing season for late harvest wines.  It has actually been too warm and dry - there has been no rainfall in October.  Last week there was heavy ground fog nearly every day, which is a more desirable climatic condition for Noble Rot, but it may be too little, too late.  Last Tuesday, whilst driving to work, I did espy a vineyard crew working their way through the vineyard with 5 gallon buckets, no doubt making one of many picking passes, selecting only clusters that were showing a good dose of Botrytis cinerea.  I hear the Dolce harvest can last up to 6 weeks.  It's not a cheap wine, but it is a great tipple.

English mummies.

Oh no! Mummies have been spotted skulking around in the English countryside by Thud. The undead are seemingly everywhere.

I visited this vineyard myself when I was home last May. Enquiring in the local farm shop as to who owned the vineyard, and which grape variety was planted there, was an almost surreal experience. Actually, it was like being in a scene from a Hammer horror film. You know, the scene in which all the villagers give each other furtive looks when an unwitting visitor in their midst starts asking awkward questions. Denying all knowledge of the nearby vineyard, the girl in the farm shop cafe promptly served me my lunch and disappeared into the kitchen. I ate my quiche, drank my latte and quickly left...whilst it was still daylight.

Mummies.

Do not be afraid, Vinoland has not been overrun by marauding, undead creatures with names like Kharis, Imhotep and suchlike. Having said that, there are indeed mummies ominously lurking amongst the vines.
My New Year's Day walk through the vineyard was delayed due to rain. Today was sunny, an almost balmy 57 degrees, and was the perfect day to get out in my wellies with the Vinodogs and have a look-see in the vineyard in order to evaluate the pruning to be done. Everything looked good, but now that all the grape leaves are on the vineyard floor the mummies hanging about, in the tangle of last year's wood, could be clearly seen. Oh no...the curse of the bunch rot!
The primary pathogen causing bunch rot is the fungus Botrytis cinerea. Botrytis overwinters in the vineyard in a structure called a sclerotium which is associated with mummified clusters of grapes left over from the previous harvest, and thus can be an important source of inoculum in the spring. In a well-managed vineyard (mine), these mummies are completely removed from the vines at pruning time. The mummies fall to the vineyard floor where soil microorganisms attack the sclerotia and kill them. Yikes, that actually does sound a little scary!
I saw perhaps a dozen such clusters in the Cabernet sauvignon...no big deal. The best control of Botrytis is achieved through good vineyard sanitation and the disposal of grape mummy clusters in the winter dormant period...which is now.
Mummies! Spooky!

True Wine Lover 5.

It is hard for me to give the French credit for much of anything. However I must doff my cap to, the one and only, Louis XIV. If not for his penchant for an obscure Hungarian dessert wine, the rest of us would not be able to readily enjoy a snifter of fine amber coloured Tokaji. Thank goodness he made a point of pouring it at his court, thus initiating a fashion for this varietal that Vinogirl would eventually benefit from.
Last night brother Thud cooked a fabulous goulash for family OTW, Vinomaker and me. We paired it with several truly wonderful Napa Cabernet sauvignons. For dessert we had a wonderful Tokaji Aszu 5 Puttonoyos, (accompanied by a Key Lime pie).  It was delicious.
I am not going to review this varietal, just recommend that you drink it from time to time.  It would be worth your while.  Even Pope Pius IV quipped: "Summum pontificem talia vina decent!"  Worthy indeed.
So, vive le Roi Soliel...or at least his taste buds.