RELATIONSHIPS
Read about sweet wines divided into raw material and fermentation.
Which stage is being influenced?
Ingredient stage
Late harvest, noble rot, drying, etc. Affect the condition of the fruit.
Stage of fermentation
Mutage and similar methods halt the consumption of sugar.
This is a summary of the relationships explained in the main text. For details on grape composition and production conditions, please refer to the main text and official sources. Sources and reference materials
FIELD NOTE 01
Changing the fruit before and after harvest
Late harvest refers to the timing of harvest, drying concerns the process of removing water from the fruit. Under appropriate conditions, noble rot also alters water and components in the berries. These are all information for understanding the raw material before fermentation.
Using concentrated fruit and the amount of residual sugar in the final product should be considered separately. The amount of sugar consumed during fermentation also affects the result.
FIELD NOTE 02
Mutage during fermentation
For Roussillon VDN, alcohol is added during fermentation to stop it and leave residual grape sugar. Explaining it as 'sweetened by adding sugar' does not convey the mechanism correctly.
Do not lump together all Loire sweet wines and Jura dried-grape wines as if they all use this same fortification method.
FIELD NOTE 03
Differences that remain after sweetness
Even with the same sweetness indication, acidity, alcohol, grape variety, and maturation method differ. Between oxidative aging in Roussillon and a style that retains fruit characteristics, the basis for aroma comparison also changes.
When comparing Italy’s appassimento with mutage, first note the clear difference: drying grapes is a pre-fermentation treatment, while mutage is an intervention during fermentation.
Drying is a raw material process that concentrates sugars, taking place before fermentation. Mutage is the addition of alcohol to intervene during fermentation. Even with sweet wines, the steps are not the same.
PAUSE & REFLECT
Check your understanding.
Do drying and mutage act on the same stage of the process?
Read the explanation ＋
Drying is a raw material process that concentrates sugars, taking place before fermentation. Mutage is the addition of alcohol to intervene during fermentation. Even with sweet wines, the steps are not the same.
Write in your own words
Write what you have learned, your reasoning, and what you still need to confirm.
Maximum 5,000 characters. This is stored within this browser. Press "Save" to record your note. Saving a blank will delete this note.
View saved notes →Courses related to this question
Sémillon: Comparing dry bottle-aged styles and botrytised sweet wines →
Gewürztraminer: aroma, residual sugar & harvest conditions →
Domaine des Baumard: multiple-pass harvest and whole cluster pressing →
Château d’Yquem: Sweet Wine Sugar and Acidity →
Domaine Huet: The Three Vineyards and Sweetness/Dryness Indications →
Sources and reference materials
These are the reference materials for the main text. For details of production regulations, consult the current documents. For individual wine specifications, refer to materials for the relevant vintage.
- Roussillon Wine Council | Winemaking and Aging (PDF) ↗
- Loire Wine Bureau: Varieties ↗
- Jura Wine Committee｜Regions and wines (PDF) ↗