Digging Grapes - Grape Expectations - page 86

little earlier and had been monitoring progress every half-hour, joined us to savour the mo-
ment. The girls were safely asleep. Once the pressing was finished we took in the silence
of the winery, enjoying the delicious smells of fermentation and the call of the barn owl.
The cleaning of the press and the vats could wait.
On Lucille's visit the following day I toured the Saussignac vineyard with her. We tasted
and collected sample grapes as we walked.
'Collecting samples is not something oenologists do but today it is pratique ,' said our seri-
ous oenologist, underlining the clear delineation of roles so essential to French life. 'I think
you could do your first pick at the end of next week.'
'I don't know how we will do that with Sean one-handed. His parents leave tomorrow. I
couldn't do it alone.'
' C'est vrai . But it would be a pity to lose it. C'est très joli .'
The botrytis noble rot was not what the average person would call pretty. The grapes were
shrivelled and mottled; grey, yellow and black; many were furry… but they tasted heav-
enly. The Botrytis cinerea attacks the grape skins, creating little perforations that allow the
grape to shrivel and concentrate its juices without losing its freshness. In the process the
'noble rot' imparts delectable honey, almond and apricot flavours and creates a wine that is
deliciously concentrated.
'What press will we use?' I asked, as much to myself as to Lucille.
We had planned to borrow a manual press from a neighbouring winemaker but Sean
needed to collect it with the tractor - which remained out of the question given the state of
his hand. To use our electric press we needed a minimum load. Saussignac has to be hand-
picked selectively over a minimum of three picks. Because the botrytis develops at differ-
ent rates on different bunches you pick only the grapes that are at the level of development
you want - this means picking selectively multiple times through the same vineyard. For
most winegrowers it is three to five picks spread over several weeks from late September
to early November. I had no idea how much yield we would get from our selected rows at
each pick.
'You should ask one of the other Saussignac producers. Someone experienced. I am not
a specialist in liquoreux ,' said Lucille. Liquoreux is the French word for a botrytis-style
dessert wine like Saussignac or Sauternes.
'We want to do a light Saussignac, something around eighteen to twenty,' I said, surprising
her with my knowledge on the subject. We wanted to make our wine slightly less sweet
than the average Saussignac, which was around 21 or 22 potential alcohol (also known as