10/22/07 How Wine Is Made

Welcome to Vine to Wine this is your host Linda Moran. With harvest going on it's always fun to hear about how wine is made. Let's take a look at one particular technique in winemaking - the use of Wild Yeast to ferment grape juices to wine. Wild yeast occurs naturally in the vineyard. So even if winemakers didn't add yeast to the grape juice it would eventually begin to ferment. The more common practice is for winemakers to control fermentation by adding a commercial yeast. These yeasts have been carefully developed in the laboratory and are based somewhat upon a need for consistency. However, for the past decade or so there has been a growing movement to produce wines made with Natural or Wild yeasts. The idea is that commercial yeasts make all wines taste pretty much the same whereas wild yeasts allow more unique and interesting flavors to come through. However, keep in mind we are not talking about just one strain of yeast in the vineyard  chances are there will be many. And those opposed to wild yeast fermentation claim the wild yeasts are unpredictable even a little dangerous. Perhaps this view comes from that fact that with more than one yeast it may contribute to multiple levels and lengths of fermentations. To some winemakers this seems interesting rather than annoying. Of the wild yeast fermented wines that I have tasted I do admit I find them quite interesting with many layers of flavors. Although I would never say they are better than their commercial yeast counterparts I do think it is worth checking them out. Remember to send your wine questions to Linda at Vine to Wine dot net and thank you for joining me on today's Vine to Wine.