Yes to Yeast

As a parting gift, SWMBO received a pair of wines from The Chairwoman in recognition of services carried out over the years.  The wines were a fascinating couple to compare against each other and learn a little more about technicalities.  In this world of wine, there’s room to be a little geeky, though we are not generally of that ilk – well certainly not SWMBO.  We recognise the overall view that it’s a drink, made to enjoy, and that as drinkers of wine, we all have differing levels of interest.  One’s culture and way of appreciation of wine can’t be imposed on others.

 

Having stated that, the 2013 Pask Gimblett Road ‘Wild Yeast Fermentation’ and ‘Sur Lie’ Chardonnays were wines to compare, contrast, analyse and learn from.  What role can yeast play besides the obvious conversion of sugar to alcohol (+CO2)?  We were surprised about how subtle the flavours were on the ‘Wild Yeast’ wine, delicate smoke characters, but what was noticeable was the increased texture through the palate.  The ‘Sur Lie’ wine was more pronounced in the nutty, yeasty flavours, but smoother and more acid slippery.  We drank both, and took our time to enjoy both bottles, with some help from the I-Spy Agent, and we all slightly preferred the ‘Sur Lie’ wine.  We’ll need to repeat the exercise, of course…