Whole-bunch fermentation is a hot topic in winemaking these days. As anyone who walked passed a vine come harvest time has surely noticed, a grape bunch contains not only grapes but also stems. These stems only make up 3 to 4% of the total bunch, but they can have a […]
Wine is the result of a winemaker’s decisions with regards to viticulture and vinification. At the very least, he or she would need to ensure that grapes contain enough sugar for a successful alcoholic fermentation. Sugar alone however does not create quality wine. Grapes balancing all flavor components sought in […]
I applaud all efforts, experiments and innovations that lead to a more natural and more sustainable way of making wine. This does not however mean that all developments discussed over the past series of articles really add something to the wine. Natural yeasts I can follow up to a certain […]
As attentive readers will recall, our champagne is currently maturing “sur lie”. The alcoholic fermentation is done and if all goes well, autolysis, the interaction between the dead yeast cells and the wine is taking place. This is quite the complicated chemical process and as I am not a chemist […]