Dear Team Potluck,
Below is my submission for the definition assignment.
This assignment requires students to write a parenthetical, sentence and expanded definition of a complex term. This will teach students how to best define terms in different professional and/or social settings.
Reading situation: I am working at a winery that specializes in sweet wines. A customer approaches me and asks about the how wine is made. I have to explain the winemaking process in a concise and clear manner.
Parenthetical Definition
Botrytis cinerea(a fungus that grows on grapes; used for sweet wines)
Sentence Definition
Botrytis cinerea is a fungus that sucks water of out grapes while enhancing their acids, sugars and flavour. Botrytis effected grapes are used in the production of sweet wine.
Expanded Definition
Botrytis cinerea is a fungus that can grow on ripe grapes causing noble rot. It makes tiny holes in the skin of the grape, which causes the water inside the grape to evaporate. This concentrates the acids, sugars and flavours of the grape. The right conditions are needed for Botrytis to be beneficial as the fungus can easily destroy the grapes.
First, the fungus must grow on ripe grapes. Second the vineyard must have damp mornings and warm afternoons. This will limit the growth of fungus and prevent it from destroying the grapes. Grapes affected by noble rot are nearly always used to make sweet wines. These wines have the flavours of honey, beeswax and ginger.
Examples of wines that use botrytis infected grapes are Trockenbeerenause and Beerenauslese Riesling from Germany, Tokaji Aszú from Hungary and Saunterns from Bordeaux France.
The history of winemaking using botrytized grapes dates back to the sixteenth century. Both Germany and Hungary have popular myths and legends surrounding the use of botrytized grapes.
According to a German myth, in 1775 the Riesling producers at Schloss Johannisberg waited for the estate owner to approve the harvest. Unfortunately the messenger was robbed enroute to delivering the order to harvest and thus botrytis developed on the grapes due to the delay.
Outside of winemaking Botrytis cinerea also contributes to grey rot in fruits. Grey rot can create brown lesions on underdeveloped fruit. Grey rot ruins and spoils various fruits and plants. It is not like noble rot found in grapes where botrytis is beneficial for the creation of sweet wine.
Botrytis infected grapes.
Bibliography
“Botrytis Cinerea in Winemaking.” Midwest Grape and Wine Industry Institute, https://www.extension.iastate.edu/wine/botrytis-cinerea-winemaking.
“They Call It ‘Noble Rot’ Wine (Botrytis).” Wine Folly, 1 Apr. 2020, https://winefolly.com/deep-dive/they-call-it-noble-rot-botrytis/.
Wines: Looking behind the Label: An Accompaniment to the WSET Level 2 Award in Wines. Wine & Spirit Education Trust, 2019.
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