(Atlasobscura) - Scientists compared how different fungi affect a wine’s bouquet.

Whether a wine is organic or not, wine producers invest a lot of time and money combating pests and blights that can destroy their precious crops of grapes. But vineyards have an interesting relationship with one fungus in particular, known as bunch rot or gray mold. Bunch rot can hurt yields and, in wet conditions, flavors. But when conditions are just right, when the vineyard is dry just after infection, the fungus is referred to by a much more reverential name: noble rot. Grapes affected by noble rot tend to produce sweet wines, such as Sauternes and late-harvest Rieslings, because the fungus causes grapes to lose water, concentrating the fruit’s sugar.