Wine Styles | Dry to sweet, L to M acidity, M to F body, M to H alcohol with pronounced aromas of rose, peach, lychee, spices (ginger), developing honey and nutty notes as ageing |
Key Regions | France: Alsace Italy: Trentino |
Viticulture | • Early budding (prone to spring frosts) • Early ripening • Can accumulate sugar rapidly • Alsace: picked late to achieve fully ripe skins to maximise aromas and avoid unripe tannins • Vigorous (need careful canopy management) • Only moderately productive (due to coulure) • Prone to coulure, chlorosis, desiccation of stems • Alsace: grape vine moth, powdery mildew, grey rot |
Winemaking | • Pre-fermentation maceration to extract flavour molecules • Fermented in inert vessels at moderate temperature (up to 20dC) to ensure that yeast can ferment effectively to high alcohol levels • Low fermentation temperature is avoided as banana aroma is not desired • MLF blocked • Aged on fine lees at large, neutral containers without lees stirring to retain primary flavours |