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WINEMAKING Hansen's Prelude and Laffort's Zymaflore AlphaTD n.sacch. are produced with the yeast species Torulaspora delbrueckii (TD). The TD products are intended to be used in a sequential inoculation with S. cerevisiae. TD is added first with addition of S. cerevisiae as follows: Prelude at 5%-6% alcohol; Alpha at 24 hours for reds and 72 hours for whites; Level²TD when Brix levels drop 1.5°-3°, and Pure Nature when Brix levels drop 3°-4°. Level2 both the TD and the S. cerevisiae included. Nutrient additions also are recommended. Laffort's technical manager, Dr. Peter TD and Pure Nature come in a kit with Salamone, has degrees in microbiology, enzymology and genetics. He explains that TD was chosen as the target non-Saccharo- myces yeast because, "There are no organo- leptic faults in strains analyzed.…There is a neutral impact on varietal character," and the natural positive traits included aromatic purity and complexity, improved mouthfeel, low VA production (especially in high-Brix grapes and wine), negative phenolic off flavor (POF-such as 4-EP), excellent fer- mentative capacity, better SO2 low ethanol and ethyl acetate production— making TD the best choice to date. The average fermentation time using the Alpha is approximately 2 to 3 days longer than us- ing S. cerevisiae alone. Laffort's studies show an increase in fruiti- tolerance and ness, thiol expression (especially grapefruit, tropical fruits and passion fruit aromas), less vegetal character and more complexity— especially in Sauvignon Blanc, with similar improvement in other high-thiol wines such as Semillon, Riesling and Gewurztraminer, with Chardonnay showing improved mouthfeel. Fruit-forward red wines like Pinot Noir and Zinfandel are accentuated and show improved mouthfeel—as do Merlots and Cabernets. According to Salamone, the use of Alpha in Tempranillo has been very successful. Salamone said Alpha has been used and studied in red and white varieties worldwide, and he hopes to have more information about new yeasts coming in early summer. "There's a little bit more work involved esentially preparing two inoculums, but it's a trivial amount of extra effort." —Assistant winemaker Andrew Brooks, Bouchaine Vineyards Trials with Chardonnay Andrew Brooks, assistant winemaker at Bouchaine Vineyards in Napa, Calif., has used Laffort's Zymaflore Alpha and conducted trials for the past two vintages. It was "recommended we try it in 2010 for a Chardonnay-based dessert wine that had historically produced elevated levels of VA during fermentation," he said, add- ing, "We liked the results and used TD- Alpha again this year in greater quantity." Brooks said, "There's a little bit more work involved in essentially preparing two inoculums, but it's a trivial amount of extra effort.…We didn't see any consequential dif- ference in fermentation speed or completion rate as compared to the non-TDA (TD Alpha) control lots." The fermentations were monitored via dai- ly Brix checks. As far as the results, Brooks said, "In the dessert wine, we definitely saw a significant reduction in the VA.…We also no- ticed some increase in body in the still wines. In 2010 we preferred the aromatic/fruit character of the Saccharomyces-fermented 38 Wines & Vines APRiL 2012