4 ms·

The main thing causing off flavors is not the fact that the grapes are grown naturally and organically, it is that they are being fermented by wild yeast. That

The main thing causing off flavors is not the fact that the grapes are grown naturally and organically, it is that they are being fermented by wild yeast. That is the part that is kinda lost in this article. Fermentation with wild yeast can produce unpredictable results and what we would consider bad flavors. Over time yeast strains have been colonized and maintained that make for a clean and fast fermentation. I mean think wild wine and beer is cool, but we have yeast now you don't have to worry about your wine tasting like a stinky sock, or lit matches. There's nothing inherently more organic by doing that, and the possibility that you are going to have a funky tasting wine is high. The discussion about pesticides and mechanization is another issue.

emodendroket 8y ago
Well, yeah, but the funky and weird flavors are the whole point of the exercise, aren't they?
- foobar1962 8y ago
  Using cheese as an example, it's the difference between camembert and gorgonzola: same basic ingredient, different yeast. Different colour and massively different flavour. Same with yeast for wine: fruity citrus with overtones of vomit.
  - emodendroket 8y ago
    I mean I am a lot more familiar with sour beers, but I love the funky flavors they give bizarre names like "sweaty horse blanket."
    - foobar1962 8y ago
      As a brewer you want to have a consistent product. Once you'd got a brew with just the right amount of "horse blanket" you'd cultivate that yeast culture and use it again. To do that you need to make sure there are no other yeast strains in the raw ingredients. Louis Pasteur was working on beer brewing when he discovered the microbes, and invented the heating process to kill them.
      - emodendroket 8y ago
        When you buy a beer made with wild fermentation that's obviously not what's going on
phyzome 8y ago
Aha! I don't know a whole lot about winemaking, but I was suspicious of that thread in the article—it reminded me of beer and bread made with wild yeasts. They absolutely should not have conflated that with the processing issues. -.-

emodendroket 8y ago

Well, yeah, but the funky and weird flavors are the whole point of the exercise, aren't they?

foobar1962 8y ago
Using cheese as an example, it's the difference between camembert and gorgonzola: same basic ingredient, different yeast. Different colour and massively different flavour. Same with yeast for wine: fruity citrus with overtones of vomit.
- emodendroket 8y ago
  I mean I am a lot more familiar with sour beers, but I love the funky flavors they give bizarre names like "sweaty horse blanket."
  - foobar1962 8y ago
    As a brewer you want to have a consistent product. Once you'd got a brew with just the right amount of "horse blanket" you'd cultivate that yeast culture and use it again. To do that you need to make sure there are no other yeast strains in the raw ingredients. Louis Pasteur was working on beer brewing when he discovered the microbes, and invented the heating process to kill them.
    - emodendroket 8y ago
      When you buy a beer made with wild fermentation that's obviously not what's going on

phyzome 8y ago

Aha! I don't know a whole lot about winemaking, but I was suspicious of that thread in the article—it reminded me of beer and bread made with wild yeasts. They absolutely should not have conflated that with the processing issues. -.-