Ah, life in the vineyard

Every season brings its share of discoveries! We have just discovered an unwelcome guest that seems to enjoy our fully ripe Sémillons... Without lab analysis, it is difficult to tell whether it is Aspergillus section Nigri or Aspergillus carbonarius. In both cases, it results in black mould. The problem is that without analysis, we cannot know if it is Aspergillus carbonarius. And in that case, it is not good news! This fungus is not a problem in itself, but it produces a mycotoxin: Ochratoxin A (OTA), which is toxic to humans. So, we are going to harvest tomorrow, sort the fruit, and settle the musts drastically to eliminate as many spores as possible. The batch will be fermented separately, and after fermentation we will run an OTA test to ensure everything is fine! Yet another possible consequence of global warming. We had never experienced this in Bordeaux!