Making the Wolseley "Sticky" Dessert Wine
Tuesday, 28 July 2009 10:00
Not many wineries in our region make a “sticky”. This is the Botrytised (a natural mould) Semillon grape that becomes the most mellow and flavoursome of late-harvest dessert wines.
Not many wineries in our region make a “sticky”. This is the Botrytised (a natural mould) Semillon grape that becomes the most mellow and flavoursome of late-harvest dessert wines.
Botrytis cinerea, roughly translated as "noble rot," is a fungus that infects the grapes. It eats its way below the skin, attacking the fruit inside, turning the bunch into horrible looking, mouldy clusters, but at the same time concentrating the sugars and solids.
One of the most famous dessert wines in the world (Château d'Yquem) is made from these rotted grapes and hails from Bordeaux in France. Such Sauterne wines are produced from Semillon and Sauvignon Blanc grapes, and new vintages can easily command $200 and $300 price tags. Well-preserved vintage bottles have been known to sell for tens of thousands of dollars. Few know that the same style of botrytis-affected wine is produced in Australia and in fact all over the world.
Like liquid amber, the tiniest drop of this amazing Wolseley wine, has such intense flavour that it can remain on your pallet for hours. Everyone has a different flavour experience but for me its honeysuckle, melon, creamy and nutty.
The bunch maturing process is interesting, as the grapes are left on the vine long after all the other varieties have been harvested and are safely in tanks. For seemingly months, the Semillon is left under nets to accumulate the Botrytis mould until the bunch appears rather horribly shrivelled and …well rotten! The sugar levels are intense. At this time the weather is already turning cold and a constant war is carried on against the birds that are grateful for this last juicy crop on the land. Sammy the bird dog (Jack Russell) is very busy tearing up and down the rows to scare off parrots and crows and finches who manage to chew holes in the nets and partake of the harvest.
Back to the grapes…
When at last Will Wolseley is satisfied with the condition of some of the bunches, he will start the picking process in the most pain-staking way. Often individual berries are picked off the bunch and other berries are left for another day. In this way it may take 6 to 8 passes to completely harvest the whole bunch. Clearly this is a very expensive but essential part of getting the condition of the berries just right for a good sticky.
The pictures will give you some idea of the optimum condition of an ideal bunch at harvest.
Once harvested the grapes are crushed and wine is produced in the usual way.
Luckily ….you do not have to stump up exotic French prices for this wonderful sticky. $40 buys you a taste experience that you will remember for a long time.
