wine sooth

From CNN.com's Political Ticker

Ever get the feeling some people have no perspective?

Ever get the sense that some journalists get a little shrill in their pursuit of sensationalism (and, in the process, get a little sloppy with facts and too generous with opinion or fail to see how they interject their biases into the story)?

Apparently, that is the case with the folks who run CNN’s “Political Ticker”. Now they are decrying the choice of Shafer Cabernet “Hillside Select” 2003 to be poured for “leaders of the U.K., France, Russia, China, India, Brazil, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Turkey and 11 developing economies” who are in Washington D.C. to address the current economic turmoil. (more…)

Yeast gone wild.

Complexity and Terroir.

The major contention of the proponents of uninoculated fermentation is that this route bestows a greater complexity to the wine. Some have suggested that certain, “regional” strains or cultures can also impart a regional distinction. S. Cerevisiae is subject to great variation (vineyard to vineyard and even tank to tank). Mortimer’s work indicated that there were multiple distinct strains within individual wineries. So it is not unreasonable to implicate yeasts as contributory factors in a wine’s distinctiveness. (more…)

Yeast gone wild.

This is the second post in a series of three that look at the idea of wild yeasts. (See the first post here).

Wild-Domesticated-Feral.

One of my original questions (when I set out to put this piece together) was: “are those S. cerevisiae yeasts found on the grapes prior to inoculation still “wild” or just “feral”?” If S. cerevisiae thrives primarily in close proximity of human populations (as mentioned in Robert K. Mortimer’s article - in the section discussing a theory of yeast evolution offered by Naumov), the interaction between man and yeast must have some impact on the genetic make up of the yeasts. (more…)

Yeast gone wild.

“There are no wild yeasts, only feral ones” Bruno D’Alfonso once told me bluntly. I had been probing the winemaker about notions in the wine loving and wine writing spheres about what is and is not excessive intervention and manipulation in modern winemaking.

Recalling my undergraduate and medical school microbiology, I had some understanding of yeasts and concepts of their utility in winemaking. Bruno’s argument made sense to me, and it affected my thinking about wine yeasts going forward.

After a recent increase in blog chatter about natural wines and the aversion some writers and critics have to cultured yeasts, I wanted to revisit this topic. Obviously, there is a disconnect between what the winemakers know and what some writers and critics believe. It seems to me, though that getting hung up over the use of inoculated yeasts as an inherently bad thing is misguided.

This is the first in a series of three posts that look at the idea of wild yeasts. (more…)

Incidence of TCA taint.

Over a month ago, I wrote about a small experiment aimed to determine the incidence of TCA taint in a real-world setting. I created a survey on FreeOnlineSurveys.com to gather data from volunteer contributors. The aim of the survey was to gather real-life data of the incidence of TCA taint in wines finished with natural closures. The survey was prompted by discussion of the true incidence of cork taint on the OpenWine Consortium (OWC), initiated by Remy Charest.

The participant cohort was comprised of 12 individuals (including myself): at least two winemakers and other wine professionals who describe themselves as writers, public relations professionals, wine education professionals and wine importers. (more…)

Science Conference. From www.usf.edu

The general public is not science savvy and there is some truth to the notion that there is an anti-intellectual trend in our country. Too often, this is exploited for public relations purposes and for personal gain. Still, developments and advancements need to be brought to the attention and understanding of the average American.

The wine industry and wine blogging see announcements of health benefits of wine and other wine-related “studies” published and shot across the news wires almost daily.

I have been critical of how these publications are presented, interpreted, handled and served up for public consumption. My gripes have been that this is often done in a sensationalistic manner, with disregard for all sides and implications of an issue and with a sucking void where critical thinking should be. (more…)

(Introducing: Wine Surveys) 

Wine Surveys logo.

Depending who you ask, the incidence of TCA tainted wines is somewhere in the 3% to 10% range.

Remy Charest started a discussion at OWC to explore this very topic. Several members brought some opinionated perspectives to the table and at one point, wine maker Nathan R. Carlson proposed that we conduct an on-going poll or survey to get a real-world sense of the incidence of TCA taint.

Serendipitously, I had created Wine Surveys just a few days earlier, intending it index wine-related surveys. (more…)