Our Australian columnist passes on news of a potentially ground-breaking discovery from Down Under. For a general introduction to yeasts and their role in wine, see the yeast entry in the Oxford Companion to Wine.
Wild yeasts may play a greater role in the expression of terroir, house style and varietal character than previously thought, according to fascinating research currently under way in Australia. This is exciting news for the growing number of Australian makers favouring spontaneous ferments with indigenous yeasts – rather than inoculating with cultured yeasts – in an effort to produce unique, more characterful wines...