WINE SPEAK – demystifying the sometimes confusing terms used in talking or writing about wine.

Terroir

Terroir is best described as the term that is applied to the idea that the land from the which the wine grapes are grown imparts a unique quality that is specific to that particular region or vineyard.

The description of terroir has long been a controversial topic in the wine industry.

The framework of the French wine Appellation d’origine contrôlée (AOC) system is based on the concept of terroir and has been referred to in drafting appellation and wine laws throughout the world.

Terroir is perhaps best explained simply as “ sense of place” which includes in its composition, geography,soil types,geology and climatic conditions.

Wild Ferment

Yeasts are the catalysts that convert the sugar in grape juice into alcohol. They are naturally occurring and can be found everywhere in nature and belong to the Fungi family.

So far, 1500 different, naturally occurring yeasts have been identified, and isolated,with estimates that this is just 1% of all the yeasts that exist in nature.

These naturally occurring yeasts are referred to as wild yeasts.

Some wild yeasts that are used to ferment wine are also termed indigenous yeasts because they indigenous to the vineyard or region where the wine grapes are grown.

The French believe that the use of these indigenous yeasts reflect the vineyard characters and form part of the “ Terroir” i.e that sense of place, as explained above.

The majority of wine is made using man-made yeasts i.e. yeast strains that have been isolated by man and refined and stabilized so they can be packaged for transportation and stored safely until use.

Different yeasts accentuate different flavours in wine and man made yeasts are more widely used as they assist in clean and controlled ferments that consistently produce known outcomes with limited associated problems.

At Mistletoe the majority of our wines are made using man made yeasts with the Reserve Chardonnay being the main wine we ferment with a wild yeast component.

The main reason why Wild ferments are not used universally is that they sometimes can have quite negative effects on wine flavours, aromas and subsequently, impact on quality.