Mapping The Microbial Terroir Of Wine
Tuesday, December 3, 2013 - 18:20
in Earth & Climate
Terroir is the term for the unique blend of a vineyard’s soils, water and climate that impacts the flavor and quality of wine. These unique microbial inputs are key to regional wine fermentations.A new study from UC Davis, MicroTrek, Inc. and Constellation Brands Inc. offers evidence that grapes and the wines they produce are also the product of an unseen but fairly predictable microbial terroir, itself shaped by the climate and geography of the region, vineyard and even individual vine.Results from DNA sequencing revealed that there are patterns in the fungal and bacterial communities that inhabit the surface of wine grapes, and these patterns are influenced by vineyard environmental conditions. read more