Wine is not a beverage only. Wine is a complex phenomenon for the élite
and for marketing, going beyond the simple definition of beverage. It follows
fashions and trends, not only the ones concerning taste, but also the ones
suggested by a simple opportunism, commercial, of course. Everyone will
remember, for example, the fashion, or better to say, the fashions going on in
the 1990s, result of past decades: a wine became magically important and of
quality in case in the label were written the names of the famous French grapes
or the magic barrique. Moreover, barrique was also a word abused by
experts or by the ones believed to be experts: by saying barrique you were
seen as an expert. And the use of barrique made a wine - and maybe it still
makes it - of indisputable quality. Wine could have been made with disputable
quality methods, but in case it was fermented or aged in barrique, it was a
great wine, something even justifying deplorable speculations. The same can be
said in case a wine was produced with Chardonnay, Merlot or Cabernet Sauvignon -
three magnificent grapes for sure - but they are not enough, alone, to make a
great wine.
The effects of this fashion have however been deleterious. In all the regions of
Italy - each one rich of an unique heritage of grapes - they uprooted local
varieties in favor of the new international grapes and to the magic they
promised as soon as they were bottled. Then someone started to doubt of all of
this magic and started to realize the magnificence of French wines was not only
because of their grapes, but also - and first of all - of what they did in
vineyard and then in cellar, as well as giving a fundamental importance to the
territory, of course. Grape, despite it is important, seemed to be not so
important for French vintners. It is not by chance, in France the names of
grapes are rarely mentioned in labels; indeed, it is shown the place of origin,
the vineyard, the small fraction of a territory. After a long period in which
international grapes dominated the scene, in Italy the fashion is now changing
by returning back to the autochthonous varieties, to the grapes found in the
territory since memorable times. Today when a wine lovers talks about Merlot or
Chardonnay, he or she is not considered as an expert, becomes an expert in case
he or she mentions - and possibly knows - the autochthonous varieties of every
region, including the most obscure and unknown ones.
Now that in Italy they realized at last - since many years, to tell the truth -
the rich and immense heritage of grapes in our country, a new return back to the
autochthonous is taking place: the one of yeast. Wine making technology, with no
doubt, has seen an intense and fundamental development in the last 150 years -
like never in all of the millenarian history of wine - when the great French
scientist Louis Pasteur discovered the secret of fermentation, by
identifying the microscopic organisms responsible of this phenomena: yeasts.
From that moment on, the studies and researches about these precious micro
organisms have been important and fundamental, as to classify the species and
the behavior during fermentation. These important researches allowed the
selection of the most efficient yeasts for the production of wine, up to making
them easily available to the market and therefore usable by anyone who wants to
make the beverage of Bacchus, from the home maker to industrial wine makers.
As it is commonly known, the fermentation process is not only about the
transformation of sugar in alcohol and in other byproducts: this process greatly
affects the development of aromas in wine as well. This means that, by using the
same type of yeast, the aromas we will find in a glass will smell like the ones
of many other wines, just because of the mark given by the yeast. It should also
be said yeasts are naturally found in the air and in grape's skin. When the
grape is being crushed, yeasts come in contact with the juice, therefore
starting fermentation. Not all the yeasts are the same and some of them have
such a strong and intense activity and overcome the other strains, including the
ones naturally found in a territory. This is what actually happens by using
selected yeasts: it is given the wine specific organoleptic qualities by
eliminating - as a matter of fact - the action of autochthonous yeasts, the
ones naturally found in grape's skin. There are many who say selected yeasts
contribute to change environmental conditions naturally offered by the
production place, therefore rightly recognizing to the autochthonous yeasts an
important role in the definition of the so called terroir.
As the yeast greatly contributes to the development of aromas in a wine, as well
as contributing to its autochthonous character, today there are many
wineries which prefer not to use selected yeasts, therefore favoring the
activity of the autochthonous ones found in their territory. Moreover, many
wineries have started interesting collaborations with research institutes and
universities in order to study the population of autochthonous yeasts found in
their estates and cellars, therefore identifying the strains and favoring the
development of the most characteristic ones for the fermentation. These
researches not only will reevaluate the heritage of autochthonous yeasts of
every area, but also the character and terroir, in order to make wines with a
better personality and with organoleptic characteristics different from other
wines. The contribution of selected yeasts - certainly important - has allowed
the creation of similar wines: by using autochthonous yeasts will be enhanced
the differences among wines produced with the same varieties even in neighboring
areas.
The trend of using autochthonous yeasts more and more, will certainly enrich the
sensorial experience of tasting, contributing to the creation of truly different
wines, while giving an element of typicality and quality. The use of
autochthonous yeasts is a characterizing factor, just like any other element or
tool used in wine making. In this sense, we'd better not to believe again to the
illusion given by the barrique or by international grapes: it would be a mistake
to consider a wine made with autochthonous yeasts superior to a wine produced
with selected yeasts. In other words, it is not the tool or the technique to
make a good result, indeed, it depends by the way they are used. The return back
to autochthonous yeasts is however something to be welcome, a new step to make
wine distant from the homologation that in the past few years seemed to be the
only possible way. In fact, too many wines seemed to be the same like many
others. Autochthonous yeast does not promise a striking success, it will
certainly contribute to enrich wine with small and big, however significant,
differences and characteristics. In conclusion, it also depends on market, as
this is the phase in which it is decided what a wine maker will produce. In case
a wine produced with autochthonous yeasts does not meet the favor of market,
producers will certainly resume using selected yeasts. That's the way the world
it is.
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