WTN: 2005 Terres Dorées (Jean-Paul Brun) Vielles Vignes Beaujolais.

The yeast conversation is an interesting one, and reminds me that absolute purist doctrines can be quite misplaced. This weekend was jabbering with Claude K. who informed me that DRC has been quite proud of chaptalization at times, and while I've never tasted the wines to know how this plays out, clearly one can take everything too far.

Except for an obsession with pure dry-farmed tomatoes.

And there is of course no justification for Banana Yeasts.

The yeast conversation is an interesting one, and reminds me that absolute purist doctrines can be quite misplaced. This weekend was jabbering with Claude K. who informed me that DRC has been quite proud of chaptalization at times, and while I've never tasted the wines to know how this plays out, clearly one can take everything too far.

I don't know if I mentioned, but I spoke to a winemaker (and tasted his wines) who got a conversion ratio of .63.
Now that, my friend, is either off the charts or BS of the first order.
And of course, begs the question why (in either instance)?
Best, Jim

But what if the indigenous yeast that your vineyard and/or winery hosts produces bad wine, dies when the alcohol reaches 8% ABV or worse makes vinegar? Despite all the romantic imagery surrounding the wine industry, a winery is still at its core a commercial venture that has to have some type of marketable product to survive. Using cultured yeast is one way of minimizing the risks of producing a bad product.

Sure, but my point was that winemakers concerned with expressing terroir may want to avoid commercial yeasts insofar as it's possible to do so. The situation you point out strikes me as not much different from a winery whose Pinot Noir vines get 2000 degree-days too much sun: cut your losses, bag the terroir and sell a safe wine that'll likely be labelled "International" style or some such. Last I checked, there was no widespread objection to those wines in the marketplace.

Mark Lipton

It can be particularly tough to get a good indigenous fermantation if, for instance, you've sprayed your vineyards pretty heavily with antifungals. Or if your local ecology is otherwise deranged.

71B can be considered "just another choice" the way hanging acrylic clown paintings on velvet with the big tear in the eye in your living room is "just another decorating idea."

It can be particularly tough to get a good indigenous fermantation if, for instance, you've sprayed your vineyards pretty heavily with antifungals. Or if your local ecology is otherwise deranged.

71B can be considered "just another choice" the way hanging acrylic clown paintings on velvet with the big tear in the eye in your living room is "just another decorating idea."

Hey, who showed you photos of our house?

Mark Lipton