late harvest, a general term used to describe grapes that have been harvested later than is normal for dry wines in order to make a sweet wine, generally without the aid of noble rot. They are generally left on the vine so that the berries are rich in sugar (see must weight), or even longer so that the fruit starts to desiccate, resulting in dried-grape wines. See vendange tardive for a highly regulated French example of a late-harvest wine.
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