Wine Bloggers Tour 2013

Indigenous yeast and spontaneous fermentation unveiled: the WestSicily Wine Blogger's Tour in Menfi and Marsala

I love wine bloggers, and this is not a news.
I love them because they are curious, informal, overwhelming. They love what they do, drink much wine, and smile a lot.

A small group of bloggers visited the winery today, thanks to the perfect organization of Giampiero Nadali, Elisabetta Tosi and Valeria Carastro with full support and finance from the Regione Siciliana - Istituto Regionale Vini e Oli.

We mainly focused on understanding the influence of yeast strains on wine fermentation.

I prepared three samples of Petit Verdot, which was harvested last Tuesday. The first sample was plain juice, kept in the fridge to avoid oxidation and minimize color change. The second sample was must fermenting with selected yeast, while the third was fermenting with indigenous yeast.

Two questions were asked: is there any difference between selected and indigenous yeast? And: which one respects the grape’s character better?

Even after only a short fermentation, the two samples appeared to be very different, both in color and taste. We all found much more structure and lively acidity in the wild ferment, while the selected yeast had produced softer flavors. Some bitterness was perceivable in the indigenous sample, due to huge tannic extraction from the grape’s seeds, while the selected showed a final rounder character.
Not focusing on individual preference for one or the other, it was evident that the wine changes enormously, and that all difference depends on the yeast used for fermentation.

Now, my personal question: is there a real need for another round soft easy wine in the market?