Yes okay yes we are starting so Um hello and welcome to the next in our Series Of uh webinars at wct school london uh Hopefully most of you know by now that We’ve been doing these throughout Uh lockdown or since it began and while We’ve not Quite got our tastings up and running Yet at the school we hope to be Continuing those soon In the meantime we have a very special Presentation for you tonight so i’m Very glad that you could join us um the Plan will be To go through the presentation if you Have any questions please do pop them in The chat And we’ll be addressing those later Um that’s as much as i’m going to say Um i will pass it over to you guys to Introduce yourselves Okay i’ll start i’ll just want to Welcome uh everyone it’s a pleasure to Be back On your screen i’ve done this before and There’s Even a bigger pleasure because i’m Working with uh Together with ann and sam harp one for Over 20 years he’s a great friend And a great professional and they agree To I i agree to to we all agree to be here
To to do this session for you and And i just to start with i want to put Everything in context And talk about the importance of Microbiology From from two perspectives from my job As a consultant in terms of Production in terms of communication be It writing or Speaking and also judging wines And also my job as a wine buyer And there is a common thread between Those stories and is a vitally Important point to consider Uh we always have to think about the Consumer What the consumer really wants In one level uh what all the consumer Wants is something fit for purpose And at the top uh the top end The consumer wants something to displace Just share Quality um but at all price points be it Entry or middle or top There is an importance of value it’s Absolutely Crucial so the consumer comes and Actually reached for for the second The second bottle of wine so as a Consultant and sam will speak more about It but as a consultant The projects i do it’s i have to ensure That the Process is is reliable the fermentations
Is safe It’s sound there’s no flaws there is no Wastage of wine i want to respect the The Integrity of the grapes um [Music] To protect what nature gave us but and Also to enhance their their potential Uh we have to protect the sense of place And sometimes this comes by avoiding any Flavor Uh deviation so as a As a buyer and that’s a very important i Was i was trying to reflect in how i can Explain the importance Of microbiology from a bias perspective And i’m going to use a comparison uh Which most of us Are familiar with most of us have heard Of Maslow pyramid of of needs it’s just Described of You are human um motivations In several levels be physiological in Terms of having food and And water and warmth or safety uh to be Protected Or sense of belonging this is us as Humans As a buyer i’m able to draw some Parallels First i want to ensure that the the Wines are safe there’s They are sound they’re stable i need to
Manage Risks as much as possible and All i want and is to avoid any problems Uh to avoid a product recall because if You are involved On something like that and i have in my In my professional career It’s very negative and it’s very time Consuming so probably that’s one of the Most important things for a buyer the Most basic thing is to avoid any fault I also need to avoid issues with shelf Life especially now that some Some products are moving very fast some Are moving quite slowly Oh and because of the of the pandemic But the ones that are moving slowly Uh there is a problem we don’t you want To make sure that the Shelf life is protected I think as a buyer the most important Thing is to provide Value and that could be either A wine that expresses the the grape Variety very well Or the site very well or Important you have to take into account That the the one is gonna Have to compare favorably against Your competitors i live in london And i work in london for many years and Possibly the most competitive market in One of the most competitive markets in The world
So i have to ensure that the salespeople That are working Uh for the same company that i am and When they put the wines in front of a Somalia or manager or buyer They won’t have to stand up in [Music] At the end of the day what we want is to Sell one of great quality but There’s some of those are some of the Most important points To take into account and and i said To to to you guys before i think the Microbiology can help But one of the most important thing you Can think is to Have the consumer always on the Forefront of your mind The consumer is different the consumer Could be just a Consumer entry-level wine and the Expectation is for something Uh food forward harmonious Pleasant to drink without any thought They don’t want to to know about great Varieties about Blends about vinification techniques All they want is to have a nice wine on The glass and Microbiology is important in this case Because we’re talking In most cases with big volume and From the production side or from the Buyer’s side or from the consumer side
We all in this case microbiology can Help because we To avoid risks in the mid Premium sector um we want wines that Have Uh a sense of place or have variety Typicity And microbiology is very important and Ann is going to speak about it On how Yeast in bacteria can help to accent Accentuate Quality uh as well as as a sense of Place And then the top end at the right at the Top of the tree What the consumer wants is a wine with Exceptional quality and a story to tell And i know some of the best wines in the World they do use microbiology Just to be safe um in general terms we Don’t want to be Adding anything to must Or to whine uh unnecessarily But also is unwise to leave things to Nature In most cases so to have the knowledge And the ability to apply science uh I think is pretty vital and i’m sure sam Is going to speak about Sympathetic winemaking uh when he when He drills down to more technical details Of winemaking So i’m really excited to hear now what
Ann is going to Tell us but from my perspective as a as A consultant And as a wi-fi especially uh Microbiology has a very very big part to Play And so over to ann Thank you junior sorry about that i’m Sharing my screen and I can get started okay so If there’s a problem with the screen uh Just let me know or let julia know she She’ll be able to send me a message uh Thank you junior for This uh for for putting the topic in Perspective Uh my name is andrew mont i’m a Microbiologist i work at lalma Who’s a yeast and bacteria Specialist um like i say i’m a Microbiologist but i also did my Enology degree in oregon who is sadly Now Uh burning like crazy some of my Favorite places are Going up in flame it’s really sad and Where i studied the impact of whinys on Riesling pinot noir and Chardonnay and that’s where i i fell in Love with Wine i think it’s a very good place to To fall in love with wine And i’ll be uh talking today about Um my favorite uh bug which
Are whinys and bacteria i’ll do a very Quick Wine making overview i don’t think i Need to teach you anything about wine Making but really just where Wine yeast and bacteria are important In the process and i will talk about Their role In winemaking and how they contribute to Wine style and i Also want to say uh hello to one of my Colleague who i just saw Is a part of the participant her name is Sibilia krieger And sibil is probably right now the top Wine bacteria specialists in the world Or experience Her studies and or she selected a lot of Wine bacteria So if any of the questions on wine Bacteria are very precise I might ping you sibel to To uh to say something about that and We’re really lucky to To have her with us so anyway let’s get Started And um i what i really like to do during Those presentation And that’s one of the problem with doing Them virtually is that I can’t see people and and i like people To To participate in the discussion and ask Questions and
Challenges and and you know this is a Place for For learning and unfortunately this Doesn’t allow us to do that so what i’ll Do um At the end of different section i’ll Stop and ask Answer a few questions that julia will Will send my way And uh then answer more questions at the End And if there’s some answer questions That i we didn’t have time to answer Uh you have my email address in the Presentation don’t hesitate to email Me sam uh junior and we’ll be more than Happy to to answer All your questions and like i said there There’s no Um there’s no stupid questions there’s No Bad question there’s only uh questions To learn And to progress into the information Related to white yeast and bacteria so Uh in the wine making process and here I’ve just put Red and white uh grapes because it could Get complicated Roseanne sparkling but we can use Wine yeast of course for the Fermentation Uh in the juice and the cap for red wine And uh of course we ferment at higher
Temperature compared to the fermentation Of the grape must in white wine and also At lower temperature And sam maybe can explain a little bit Why during during his presentation And of course it is followed by Malolactic fermentation In reds and at wine sometimes you do Mallow Other times you don’t do mallow and uh In the last 10 years and even more than That we Are now doing co-inoculation which And i’ll talk a little bit more at the End of the presentation That we do alcoholic fermentation and Malolactic fermentation together In both red and white wine and it Is a stylistic decision and it is Also a bio protection Situation to protect the wine from the Development of Spoilage microorganism but anyway i’ll Talk more about that when we get to the Wine bacteria section so let’s get Started Um there’s a very simple equation in in Wine in that in order to make wine you Need two things you need Grapes and you need yeast so if you Don’t have that You don’t have wine you have grape juice That is turning into vinegar or into Something that doesn’t taste like wine
And the wine is responsible for the Alcoholic fermentation Is saccharomyces cerevisiae so it will Use Uh the grape sugar glucose and fructose Which are the main sugar and transform Them into ethanol and co2 The other microorganism is responsible For malolactic fermentation It’s called enococcus uni but there’s Another one that we’re not We’re now using and that i’ll talk about Uh Later in the presentation that is called Lactobacillus plantarum and it will Convert The harsh acid malic acid into lactic Acid and co2 And all this is influenced by Manufacturing that’s going to determine The style of the wine which is of course A grape variety the grape precursors and The grape precursors Are the non-volatile aromatic Compound i call them potential aromatic Compounds that the yeast will transform Into volatile aromatic compound that You’ll be able to smell And that is through the action of wine Yeast And of course there’s the vineyard and The winery Condition the microflora the hygienic Condition the phyto-sanitary treatments
Of of the vineyard that will all Influence what’s What’s happening with the microorganism Uh of course the production of the yeast Metabolite it doesn’t only Produces aromatic compounds but also Other compounds i’ll talk a little bit More Later the wine making techniques if You’re doing Maceration fermentation temperature uh So all those are important in the Determination of the style of wine that You’ll be making And of course the aging of the wine so Those are all the factors That will determine uh the final product So yeast and bacteria let’s get into Let’s dive into the topic Uh yeast and bacteria are completely Different From one another the bacteria that and i Think i can do a pointy Thing here i don’t know if you see that The bacteria That we are interested in are Gram-positive bacteria And they are prokaryotes the wine yeast Are part of the eukaryotes family And they are in the fungi family And in more details the prokaryotes the Bacteria And the yeast uh which are eukaryotes Are quite different the bacteria don’t
Have a nucleus Inside their cells whereas the yeast do Uh The bacteria are a lot smaller than Yeast And of course the species that we’re Interested in Are enococcus uni lactobacillus Plantarum And for the yeast the saccharomyces Cerevisiae And many others that and i’ll be Mentioning some latin names to To confuse you a little bit during my Talk and the actions Of the wine bacteria in wine is via Growth And transformation and the action Of the wine yeast are growth respiration Fermentation and transpiration so They’re quite busy when there Are in a great must So where do microorganism for wine Fermentation Come from and this is where we’ll be Talking about some philosophical Uh um divide Between spontaneous and inoculated Fermentation that’s going to come A little bit later but let’s understand A little bit How the microbial population in wine is Very dynamic So during the wine making process
There’s a succession Of microorganism that are present In this environment some of it is good And others are not so good so for Example On the gray berry we have a lot of Microorganism And the size of the bubble indicates How in terms of number how present they Are and you can see on the great berry The most predominant species are Non-fermenting Mainly oxidative flora and You don’t want that in your mass to Ferment because it’s going to produce Faults in your wine and you have some Fermenting species but they’re not very Tolerant to ethanol and they’re quite Sensitive to so2 So they’re not going to be able to carry Out alcoholic fermentation and once you Press the the grapes and you disturb Them and You have uh must then there’s a switch Into the number of uh the predominance Species that Are present so you see the Non-fermenting species the oxidative Flora Is quite reduced uh there is more Uh fermenting species there’s likely one And there’s there’s an increase In the fermenting species this is where You’ll find saccharomyces cerevisiae
That are more tolerant to ethanol They’re less sensitive to So2 but they’re still sensitive to to The nutrient content And this is when we need to measure the Yam That assimilate assimilable Nitrogen in wine in order for the yeast To thrive And perform alcoholic fermentation And during fermentation this is where You see that the wine yeast Are taking over saccharomyces cerevisiae Is really Taken over the fermentation and it’s Going to carry through if everything Goes well Until you get the complete fermentation And when the fermentation is finished And the wine is Aging or maturing then you See you don’t see any of the Non-fermenting species Or the species that are intolerant to Ethanol and so2 but you see more Resistant species and this is where the Baddies Occur and i’m talking about retinomyces Which are Very tolerant to so2 to ethanol and also To Oxygen uh deficiencies And so this is where bad things can Happen and hopefully
They don’t but um this is the uh Illustration to show you that this is Not a static Uh environment but it really evolves Depending On the process and if i can just Jump in there very quickly and i think The sliders Provides a fantastic um illustration of Of obviously of the different yeasts Involved in the process but the point i Would just Raise reinforce if we go back to that Slide ma’am Could you go back to that slide yeah i’m There now Yeah the point i want to reinforce here Is the size of that green Green circle under great berry Okay now you’ve said it already but just To re-emphasize That the sacramento cerevisiae Is not um is There’s not a lot of it on the great Berry it’s it’s A small population it’s actually really Really hard to find on the vine And so when people talk about Spontaneous fermentations indigenous Fermentations Primarily they’re talking about this Um this section here the Non-saccharomyces At the must stage and the reality is is
That The vast majority of those ferments Don’t actually the the vast majority of Feminists don’t Actually allow for those non-sac Yeasts to get a chance to get a foothold In the fermentation And so what’s happening from start to Finish in the vast majority Of indigenous spontaneous fermentations I should say Is that the saccharomyces cerevisiae That predominantly lives in the winery Is doing the work so it’s not actually The vast majority of spontaneous Ferments are not indigenous Ferments and that’s a really important Point to raise Be careful what you you you believe from Passionate growers who are passionate About indigenous and spontaneous Fermentations It’s a great concept the vast majority Of spontaneous fermentations are not Indigenous Thank you sam and um like i was Uh that is very interesting and And in indeed very true and i’ll get Into a bit more detail about that And what sam is saying is really Interesting and i think i have a slide That’s going to illustrate that a little Bit uh Later on um and and i’ll go into more
Details about that and just to show you And uh i love to throw latin names of of Yeast around because it makes me sound Really smart Um the of course saccharomyces Cerevisiae Um saccharomyces uh it means uh Sugar mycs is for the fungi and Cerevisiae Is actually latin name for beer so and You’ll see why Uh later and uh other non-saccharomyces That we’ll find that we will find in Either the on either the gray berries in The vineyard or in the musk Are called candida stellata cluberomyces Thermosolarines Encinias Nephasians That everyone knows but there’s also Other non-saccharomyces that is very That are very good that i’ll talk about Uh later on the meshnikovia family and Also The lachancia so i’ll get to that into More details uh In a little while and uh Yeast saccharomyces cerevisiae is Probably my favorite microorganism Simply because it makes the best foods The most the best fermented foods In the world and of course there’s beer That’s where the cerevisiae comes Bread sake of course wine and but also
Uh the fermentation of chocolate and Coffee Uh some um they can be used for Probiotics some species of saccharomyces Are used as probiotics So basically the good things in lives uh Come from From saccharomyces cerevisiaes and i’ll Be talking about the notion of strains Uh because uh they’re all the same Species saccharomyces cerevisiae But when we talk about different strains It’s like uh We’re all human beings we’re all the Same species but each one of us Is different each one of us is a Different strain And so we’re all unique uh we All have different uh capacity different Uh uh physiological uh characteristic And that is based on where we come from This is our genetics but Also uh it comes from our environment And how we are shaped by what we eat And what kind of activities that we do And so on And so uh it’s the same thing for whiny So it’s all the same species the main Fermenting species saccharomyces Cerevisiae But they are so many different Strains of them lalma is one of the Largest private Uh wine east collection in the world and
We have over 10 000 different wine yeast in our Collection And in production so that means Commercially available We have over 200 different wine needs Just to tell you And they’re all different from one Another and they all do Different things and they can be used For different gray varietals For different technological Characteristics some of them are Better used in red or whites or rose and Some of them are used for sparkling Wines and um There’s also the floor yeast and and we Don’t produce any of that but there’s The floor yeast that are used for Uh example in the heches production So uh the biodiversity of saccharomyces Cerevisiae Is so rich and we’re still learning um So much more about them every day the More we study and Isolate them and understand what they Can do it’s a very Rich environment and What happens during uh the suggestion Of yeast during indigenous fermentation And that also happens When you inoculate a wine must With selected saccharomyces cerevisiae Is that at the beginning of fermentation
There’s a peak of non-saccharomyces uh Increasing and as the alcohol level Uh um Saccharomyces cerevisiae will take over Multiply and carry through alcoholic Fermentation And this is in the best case scenario This is what you want your fermentation To be doing you want saccharomyces Cerevisiae To kind of bully through the Fermentation And take over in order to let Well to finish the fermentation and then To bring it to dryness If that is your goal and uh you Also want to prevent the development of Bad Non-saccharomyces cerevisiae because uh Some of them will produce a faulty aroma Compound And that is the uh a big problem And just to uh illustrate what it means At the beginning of fermentation then You have A lot less saccharomyces cerevisiae And you have also non saccharomyces Cerevisiae And at the end of fermentation then you Have more saccharomyces cerevisiae and Non-saccharomyces cerevisiae in less Number and almost non-existent And what you want to do actually when You inoculate
Your wine must with a selected Saccharomyces cerevisiae Is that you don’t want the Non-saccharomyces Cerevisiae to um eat all the nutrients And don’t leave any for For the saccharomyces cerevisiae and you Want A rapid um population development Of this microorganism in order for the Fermentation To start really well and to finish Really well That way you decrease the risk of Volatile acidity And also sensory deviation And um i’m going to talk a little bit About Uh the indigenous fermentation and the Risk of spoilage and I i um and i will let sam debate about This Uh if there are some question on this Topic because there’s a big Uh philosophical divide about uh whether This should be an Indigenous fermentation and whether or Not it represents Uh more um the terroir And my take on this Is that first of all the notion That saccharomyces cerevisiae is found In the vineyard Is very sketchy because what does
Saccharomyces Like it likes sugar because that’s what It’s going to Eat in order to reproduce and multiply But also to do fermentation and in the Gray on the grape berry If the berry is not broken and it’s Healthy Then you don’t find sugar on that so for Them it’s not at advantages It’s not advantageous for them to be in Diet environment it wants to be in an Environment where it’s going to eat As much sugar as possible because this Is how it’s going to survive And so that’s why and sam correctly Mentioned that is that that’s where You’ll find them in an environment Where there’s a lot of sugar and that is In the winery And they will associate uh on winery Equipment Uh on bees and ins all sorts of insects Also they’ve been found on birds Uh they it is advantages for them to be Associated with human activities because We can bring them To that sugar so it’s really a human Friendly Maybe the first domesticated uh living Thing Uh working with humans to produce all Those fermented food but that’s That’s what it does so to me when i say
That when they say that it represents The terroir then i I’m always questioning this and Um they um you know It’s a question of preference whether You like wines that are Fermented spontaneously or that are Fermented with selected wine yeast And for me personally I i have some problem with some of the Faults that that we find In a spontaneous fermentation because Those funky wine aromas don’t represent Uh the grape varietal the origin the Recognition Of the great varietal but that is a Personal choice and other people Might might like that and and that is Fine but there is a Risk of spoilage and one of my Colleagues Was referring to spontaneous Fermentation as A as a roll of the dice and some wine Makers You know they i think when they do Spontaneous fermentation they really Are carefully monitoring sleeping beside The tank Kind of uh thing to make sure that that There’s no Serious uh deviation and kudos to them For for taking that that extra care And so it’s it’s really a question of
Preference But i don’t think uh that when you Use selected yeast uh you don’t have Uh a wine that is not Specific to the terroir and i would Argue the contrary that It does indeed uh respect a great Varietal because it Is it will really optimize um uh its Potential So um i think Uh sam you might wanna comment on this Yeah i can comment down i just want to Make one point and yeah because Um concerns just as Just something that happens to me and i Was i was i was quite surprised I was in border i’m not going to name The the winery but I’ll make you guys guess it is one of The top wines in the world And it’s made in the left bank of Bordeaux And i was uh walking through the Vineyard and the winery and i had a very Open conversation with the winemaker and I was I was talking we’re talking about Fermentation And he um very openly said no I i use i inoculate and i was surprised So I thought wines that uh they wouldn’t Many do but they’re not they don’t like
Talking about it but he was very open About this and i use it And i asked him what he uses and why he Said well he told me He uses and It is one of those uh microorganisms That hasn’t doesn’t detract from the Fermentation Doesn’t add anything it just it just Respects the terroir And and and converts sugar into alcohol And so i was quite uh you know even even At the top end Uh and i asked why why why not uh Said listen uh i’m talking our wines are Extremely expensive um And it’s too risky for me and i don’t as You say i don’t want to roll the dice So i’m going is one of one of one of the Five best wines from bordeaux you can Guess which one And maybe salmon also has a has another Point to make but It’s i thought was interesting yeah We could go on about that for some time But i’m just going to Go going back to that previous slide um And i’m going to raise a question tim Bond Has made which i think is a good one Do non sakes bring any positives at the Beginning of fermentation And and well my answer to that my view On that is
They can indeed bring a lot of positives Um at the beginning of fermentation We see some of these these non-set Yeasts can Provide more texture more weight Some of them can produce high levels of Esters aromatic compounds You’ve got that word they’re funky that Means different things to different People but um it’s all about balance Right And um where non-sac yeast can actually Work well It’s adding to another layer another Layer of complexity another layer of Intensity But it’s all about balance and and so You know you can actually inoculate with Non-sac yeast and this is Growing sort of area of of technology Here for winemakers and i certainly Inoculate A number of my wines with non-sac yeast Because they bring positives One then seeds overseeds the Non-sac with saccharomyces ca strain That will do the job that you want Whether it be stylistic or as in Junior’s Case and and bordeaux and more pragmatic So just getting to dryness sort of Whatever the agenda is for the winemaker And there are many But yeah to answer your question to
Non-set yeast Can be beneficial the reality is if They’re not controlled Like anything that’s not controlled uh It’s It’s a bit of a roll of the dice and and You you it’s a lucky dip so you don’t Know what you’re getting and In that instance non-sat can bring and Negative negative consequences to the One making As well um but just one point I think one i’ll return to perhaps if we Have time And mentioned you know this indigenous Approach or the spontaneous approach Being an ideological one and i Completely agree with that i think There’s nothing wrong with a spontaneous Strategy As long as the winemaker employing it is Is recognizing that It’s it’s not necessarily going to Give you a great deal of control And the results are therefore going to Be Spontaneous and a little random and it’s An Ideological decision but you are giving Up a Fair whack of the winemakers want Control Over the process so you know it’s a Lucky dip
In a sense of as to what you get okay Very well Said sam and so and i’ll talk more about Non-saccharomyces uh selecting Non-saccharomyces To bring their contribution at the Beginning of Alcoholic fermentation because it’s Relatively new and very interesting and I’m coming to that uh julia was there Any other questions that Um i could address at this point before I start Going into the selection process Yeah yeah we’ve had a few different Questions i think some of them have been Answered already Um a couple quickly before we move on we Might have to save some for the end That we’re going to have well maybe i Can answer one question and then We can move on because i’m already Running a bit late Okay um all right let’s just go um There was one from alessandra about um Why someone who say they wash their Grapes before fermentation Um presumably to try and control the Different used populations Uh do you think that is possible does it Will it have an impact Uh sorry say that that’s uh if people Would wash their grapes Uh before the ferment before pressing
Them Yeah yeah um well then you bring water Into Into your wine i don’t know sam from a Winemaking point of view what do you Think I think the question was more directed Is it going to reduce Is water going to be a sufficient Process to eliminate the indigenous Flora To give you more control um during Fermentation if you decide You absolutely want an inoculated Strategy and i think the answer is Yes of course absolutely reduce the Non-sac yeasts and and whatever Saccharomyces Yeast are present it’s like if it rains Uh before harvest then you’re changing Uh your population dynamic into uh Uh certainly uh for that but when you’re Inoculating with saccharomyces Cerevisiae They’ll quickly they’ll quickly take Over And so they’ll be able to control that Indigenous flora Without you having to you know wash your Grapes with water Yeah and in fact this question was Probably related to uh I heard of this i think it’s probably Related to sparkling wine producer in
Italy [Music] Raises a very very good question Actually And and maybe we’re digging too deep but Um so it’s very important that You understand that every growing season Obviously With every growing season being very Different climatically The microflora that you see on the Grapes Is going to be different from one Vintage one growing season to the next So Any producer who says i have a an Indigenous Strain of non-sac or sacramento Cerevisiae that loves my vineyard And i and i you know it comes from the Vineyard and it gives me this character Year in year out You know the reality is that’s just not True that is just not true Because every growing season there’s a Different mix A different balance of microflora um And as ann’s already pointed out that The winemaking yeast the cerevisiae Is likely to be very very low level so These other non-sakis then one year There may be a strain or a species that Is Very prominent because the weather has
Been very humid The next year it may be completely um Different because of You know a dry growing season so it’s It’s not as simple as saying My vineyard yeasts are the same from one Year to the next it’s just not the case And also you also have to keep in mind There is no way the wine yeast that are Indigenous to to the vineyard than the Winery Those whinys they really really don’t Know What kind of wine you’re making whether It’s white or red or You wanted a wine for aging or for early Release or They don’t know what kind of wine you Want to make so Stylistically speaking it’s it’s a bit More Complicated and this is a bit of a Summary Uh about the advantages of selected wine Yeast Uh they control of course foliage Microorganism They respect the varietal and the Terroir And they can help develop particular Wine style Or if for example there’s very high Sugar or High acidity they can you know help
Overcome some of the problem associated With that Um and now i want to dip a little bit Into uh the process of uh Selecting wine knees because it’s it’s Quite interesting well for A microbiologist like me it’s quite a Long and Rigorous procedure it can take between Three to five years but sometimes It is as long as a ten year we have 10 Years We have a wine knees that has been part Of a selection program for the last Uh 10 years and so it’s quite a Rigorous procedure and it’s Often associated with a particular Terroir region Or for a particular wine style and it is Also in collaboration with local wine Research institute And winemakers because they are the Teams that know those regions and the Wine styles Associated with those regions the best Or or a great variety And when we start a selection We start a selection uh program uh based On Um a particular need for example There’s um and i like to give that Example because it’s one of my favorite Region We have a yeast that was selected in the
Priority region In spain and so The winemakers in the region were asking For uh Whinies that were that would Respect of course the different uh Grapes that are present and also the Style of wines that that is made there And when we start a selection program we Don’t go into the the wineries Um just one year we go Over several years to have a large Um a large number of microorganisms Because like sam was saying it varies From one year to another And we um we select them based on Different criteria so there’s the Technological criteria Such as alcohol resistance uh Temperature lag phase Uh whether it is can implant very Easily or not and also whether it’s Compatible or not with bacteria for my Lactic fermentation And of course the classical parameter of Va production so2 production Etc but also style expression and that’s Probably the most important part Is uh whether or not it can uh convert Different Um uh potential Uh aroma compound into the volatile Aroma compounds such as esters and tiles And terpenes
Whether or not they can influence mouth Feel because some of them will produce a Lot of polysaccharide that will Influence the mouthfeel and glycerol Production And but also avoiding defects such as Sulfur Uh compound production and acetaldehyde Uh production so those criteria are part Of the Caye de charge when we when we Select a wine yeast and what happens is That we go Into we sample grapes we bring them back Into the wineries we put them in vets And we let the fermentation Run its course and then we select Those microorganism on plates and we do The yeast colonies analysis And now that we have a dna Fingerprinting We can do their dna fingerprint and make Sure that they are unique Uh that they are at the right species uh Separate Those that are similar from one another Uh remove the The bad yeast from the good yeast and That can take Three years to do that and after that we Maybe end up when we do that maybe we Have a thousand Different colonies and after the third Year maybe we have 300 colonies
And from those 300s colonies uh we’ll do A few quick tests and test their their Characterization And maybe end up with 10 uh yeasts that Are potentially interesting And then we’ll do micro vinification and Taste the The wines to make sure that they Represent uh the style of Wine that uh respect that particular Terroir and then we can grow the yeast In big fermenters that resemble a tank When you ferment wine and then we dry Them and we make them available To wine makers but before we do that We give samples to different wine makers And different wine me Region to be able to characterize them On different grape varietals because Sometimes some yeast that are selected In a particular region Will work particularly well in other Grape varieties Also so that can be interesting also for Winemakers And yes time is running away from us but There’s one very important point i want To make Which is uh i’ve saw a question of Someone just possible Everything here we’re talking about Stuff that comes from nature There’s no gm there’s no genetic Modification and that’s
One of the questions so everything is From nature and in most cases i don’t Know if all the In the vast majority of mass majority of The cases We use those is for organic wine Production so everything is As natural as as it can be exactly And like you said that we don’t have any Gmo yeast Um and uh the terroir for the Biodiversity is so large that right now We We’re plenty busy with uh with uh with What we have And so this is a quick summary of the During the fermentation Uh the the different action of Saccharomyces cerevisiae is on the Production of Higher alcohol and esters and organic Acid and glycerol And of course ethanol and co2 and this Is i i like to show that diagram because It really shows How uh wine yeast influenced the sensory Profile of wine and it’s really Interesting and And like junior said time is is running On us so i’m going to accelerate a Little bit but Each one knee strain when it’s um Selected it is different from one Another
And those whinys within their metabolism They have different Um enzymes within their system That will produce or transform Uh some compounds in different Concentration And the different concentration of those Compounds In the wine their interaction with one Another With the alcohol with the different Acids in them Create a unique profile of the wine so When people say oh yes if i use wine Yeast and My neighbor used the same wine yes but He has a different Grape potential the wines are not going To be the same they are going to be Completely different Because the precursors are different but Also the activity Of the whinys based on those precursors Will also be different So it really creates a unique product And um i’m going to talk a little bit uh About the contemporary um Technology technologies that are are Being used today and and some alluded to It Earlier about the use of Non-saccharomyces cerevisiae And you can leave it to chance but now More and more we’re selecting different
Species Of wine yeast that cannot and they’re All selected Uh during wine fermentation but at the Beginning of the fermentation And so some species um Now are found for wine makers to use at The beginning And each one of them will Influence uh the wine style for example This la chancea thermo tolerance And here i have a few example Uh will increase acidity in wine so it’s Really interesting with Global warming where in hot climate Condition you have less acidity so less Freshness and when you use that Uh yeast at the beginning of uh Fermentation that it increased the Acidity and then after that you Inoculate it With a saccharomyces cerevisiae to Complete fermentation Thai oil production everybody knows About sauvignon blanc the typical Grapefruit passion fruit Aromas and yeast is completely Responsible For the production of aromatic tile so Without and if you use different wine Yeast Then the level of those different tiles Whether it’s the 3mh 3mha or 4mmp will vary depending on the
Wine yeast That you’re using and depending on the Style of wine And the potential of your uh Of your grapes that vintage then you can Pick the right yeast In order to optimize the style of one That you want Some of them for example tour la spora Del bruce high Here in canada ice wine country A lot of wine makers will use it at the Beginning of the fermentation of ice Wine Because it will reduce va production In ice wine and it will contribute to uh The mouth feel of the ice wine along With with the residual sugar But it’s really really interesting Microorganism to use In conjunction with saccharomyces Cerevisiae And also other species like meshnikovia Frecticola and pulcherima Can help in terms of bio control When people wine makers have a strategy For low so2 solutions for their wines Uh in order to cater to uh to those Types of wine then they will use those Microorganisms Because they have the possibility They’re using those microorganisms to Reduce the impact Of the spoilage microorganism because
They will populate The environment and after that we have Selected yeast That are specifically uh selected to Uh produce very low so2 h2s and Acetaldehyde which is an Uh so2 binding compound in order to Produce those Low so2 wine so they’re very good and Natural solution To produce stable low so2 wine so it’s Quite interesting To have those microorganism to face the Winemaking challenge and let’s not Forget that Um with global warming then those issues Are becoming really weird uh really real Real and not weird and so just to show You a quick example our different whinys Differ in their uh possibility to Produce So2 at the end of fermentation so it’s Quite It’s quite significant and Uh of course i alluded to that um Earlier on is that uh wine yeasts Are really uh important in defining the Wine style of the wine so a lot of wine Makers will use that in order To have different wine style and either Blend them Afterwards or or [Music] Or sell them as such but it’s quite
Interesting depending on their The potential of their grape at that Particular harvest then we can recommend Um a wine yeast cater for for their wine And so moving on to melo lactic Fermentation maybe i can take a question Or maybe junior or sam you have some Comment uh before i go on And i think honestly i think we better Crack on because Probably if the julie would agree with Me okay Okay and we can take some uh questions Afterward if there’s some time Malolactic fermentation sybil i will try To Do you proud um malolactic fermentation Is uh the conversion of the arch acid Malic acid into Lactic acid so it’s really important in Red wine And also in some white wine because You will increase you will reduce the Wine acidity so Increase the ph and reduce the the Acidity It also provides microbial stability to The wine because it will eat the Remaining Carbon sort for potential spoilage yeast And bacteria Spoilages this retinomyces and also We know now more and more that the Metabolism
Of malolactic bacteria can really Influence The aroma compounds produced in wines And uh the lactic acid bacteria which is The group of bacteria in which wine Bacteria are found Are one of the most important food group And beverage bacteria You think about cheese and susan and And all the fermented and olives for Example they are all due to lactic acid Bacteria And the main um bacteria found in Mustang wine are lactobacillus Leuconostoc Anococcus and pediococcus and the ones That are Of interest to us are the lactobacillus And onococcus And there are two species lab means Lactic acid bacteria used in wine making Enococcus Only which are very tolerant to low ph Low temperature and also some of them Are resistant to eye alcohol And Now i’m having a little doubt here and The lactobacillus plantarum which Are used more in higher ph wine above 3.5 And also they can be used at uh higher Temperature And the wine bacteria are quite Interesting because it’s more than the
Transformation of malic acid into lactic Acid But also it can shorten the duration of The winemaking process If you inoculate with selected wine Bacteria Then you don’t have to wait for it to To occur spontaneously and sometimes it Can be a real Problem so that can help to rationalize Cost because you don’t need to heat up Your tank to start the spontaneous Malolactic fermentation i also told you That it controls Spoilage population especially in Retinomyces there was a Very good research done by Vince angel beau with his team in Burgundy that showed that Inoculating with wine malolactic Bacteria wine bacteria Really controls the development of Retinomyces and wine and also the Production of ethyl phenol that very Unpleasant leathery band-aid aroma Associated with retinomyces You can lower the acetyl diet content so It’s better for So2 management also It prevents the development of biogenic Amines and biogenic amines Are allergens that are produced by Spontaneous Wine bacteria and some of that allergen
You’ll Recognize is histamines that can Create an allergic reaction but also Other compounds like Cadaverine and putracin and i’m pretty Sure that the Names are quite evocative of the kind of Aromas That they they generate so by Inoculating with wine bacteria you Prevent the development of those Allergens and also you can reduce your Copper footprint When you do co-inoculation of wine and Bacteria because You and it’s Related to rational rationalizing Costs because you don’t need to heat Your Tank so energy saving but also It’s a sensory management everyone has Heard of Diacetyl which is that buttery aroma and That buttery aroma Is directly linked to the metabolism of Wine bacteria It can also help help with aldehyde Consumption Aroma biosynthesis like the esters very Important In red wine stability of color and also Mount field development and of course Avoid aromatic faults like we were Talking about cadaverine and putrescine
Then That that’s an important thing to to Avoid And again uh like the wine knees just to Show The complexity of the action of the Different uh wine bacteria In the production of aroma compounds and Not only the conversion of malic acid Into the lactic acid I really like that picture i think it’s Really nice and Um like we were saying it really uh Influenced the aromatic style of the Wine I think that for some uh people that are Just starting to know wine bacteria this Is a Very uh interesting Topic because when we do tastings of the Same wine fermented with different wine Bacteria You really see the different sensory Contribution there was a very Interesting work done at the awri in Red wines and to show that the different Red fruit Esters aromas like raspberries and Blackberries that are influenced by the Different Types of wine bacteria is Is really interesting and a lot of Decisions now i made For stylistic rage reason
Depending on the wine bacteria used and Finally now more and more People are using wine bacteria in Co-inoculation and the co-inoculation Is the inoculation of wine bacteria At the same time or 24 hours i should Say after yeast inoculation In order to and it’s a stylistic Preference so you’re going to have less Diacetyl produced compared to sequential Inoculation when wine bacteria are Inoculated at the end of alcoholic Fermentation And the sensory profile will be Completely different Uh compared to uh co-inoculation so Those are The results of new research that are Really helping winemaker Uh for example in early release Releasing Wines uh using co-inoculation can really Be a good tool in order to complete Boat fermentation as quickly as possible So i apologize i know i i ran through The the last part and hopefully that Gave me a bit of time to answer some Questions or some Questions for uh sam and and junior you