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WINEMAKING With fewer yeast cells present at the beginning of a spontaneous fermentation, some mixtures of native yeasts convert more sugar to biomass, reducing the per- centage of alcohol in the finished wine. "Complexity is not an accident," La Follette says. "Everybody is invited to the party. I want fermentation to be a true multiple organism event." Kloeckera, Hanseniaspora and Candida dominate the early stages of fermentation. Pichia drives the fermentation when the ethanol concentration reaches 3%-4%. "The finishing yeast is always Saccharo- myces cerevisiae, which can tolerate higher concentrations of alcohol," La Follette says. He measures Brix and temperature twice per day and checks basic chemistry at the beginning, early stages and the end Marketing native yeast types of fermenting with native yeast and reap the rewards of more diverse fermenta- tions. The three yeast manufacturers all market a Torulaspora delbrueckii yeast in conjunction with a Saccharomyces strain. Laffort chose Torulaspora delbrueckii to S bring greater aromatic complexity and sig- nificant mouthfeel to both red and white wines and sweet or late harvest wine with very low VA production. The product is Zy- maflore AlphaTD n.sacch. Begerow's SihaFerm PureNature product allows a "controlled spontaneous fermen- tation," according to company literature. PureNature comes in a two-in-one pack with a non-Saccharomyces type (Torulaspora) in- tended to start the fermentation and a Sac- charomyces strain to add separately, when the sugar decreases to about 4° Brix. Lallemand's Level² Td also consists of yeasts to be added in sequential inoculation in order to promote aromatic complexity in white wines with low aromatic potential. —T.U. cientists at Laffort, Begerow and Lallemand have experimented with mixed cultures to reduce the risk OneBirdGardSuperPROWireless broadcast distress calls up to 1000 ft in all directions. And one Controller/transmitter can control up to eight 4-Speaker Wireless Receivers. No need to buy 8 complete Bird Gard SuperPROs. Each 4-SpeakerWireless Receiver protects up to 6 acres. Buy 2, 3, 4, up to eight 4-SpeakerWireless Receivers. You get not only wireless speakers, but also the distress calls randomly jump from speaker to speaker keeping the birds from getting used to the sounds. One BirdGard SuperPRO Controller/transmitter&one 4-SpeakerWireless Receiver is $750. Each additional 4-SpeakerWireless Receiver that covers up to 6 acres is $350. More and more vineyard managers are replacing netting with the Bird Gard PRO series. can control birds inupto48acres The Bird Gard SuperPRO Controller/transmitter can "Last year we got the SuperPROWireless. Had the starling flocks been there, we would have lost $20,000-$30,000 worth of grapes," Manager, Hazlitt 1852 Vineyards r JWB Marketing LLC birddamage.com 800.555.9634 of fermentation. If he senses a problem, he observes the must under a microscope. "If it is a late, struggling fermentation and I suspect problems, I might check for Brettanomyces, sulfur compounds such as mercaptans or in rare cases other inhibi- tory compounds such as fluorine," he says. "I weigh the outcome. If I'm not smell- ing VA, ethyl acetate or aldehydes, I let the fermentation go." Once every three years or so, La Fol- lette swaps out a native for a commercial fermentation. "I'm not a Luddite. If the fer- mentation goes south on me, I act," he says. Risk and reward "Large-scale natural fermentations are risky, because once spoilage occurs it is dif- ficult to control," professor Park says. La Follette and assistant winemaker Simone Sequeira approach each barrel of Chardonnay and Pinot Noir as a separate lot. Like other small producers of naturally fermented wines, they can discover a prob- lem quickly, allowing them to isolate a barrel of Pinot Noir with a trace of Brettanomyces, for example, from lots without it. "If you are fermenting in 60-gallon barrels under constant conditions while BidGar Wielr ess d Wines & Vines JUne 2011 49