Being Wild in Wine at Inkwell

A Shiraz ferment at Inkwell

Making wine as naturally as possible matters. A lot. 

In a project on wild yeast genetics in wineries, the Australian Wine Research Institute recently identified an entirely different species of yeast finishing Inkwell's ferments than in most of the wine world.  

Not a different strain of saccharomyces cerevisiae (as might be anticipated), but a different species believed to be 300 to 700 million years older than typical wine and bread yeasts. The researchers seem as excited and curious as we are about this. Since this different species turned up in replicates of two different Inkwell Shiraz ferments, they are pretty certain it wasn't a sample or testing error.

It probably isn't a coincidence that incredibly unique events like this happen in an environment where wine grapes are respectfully grown in a sustainable vineyard and fermented naturally on site without synthetic additions. Irina and I will be working closely with AWRI this coming vintage to learn more about what exactly is cooking in our kitchen. But, we may never know why.

So, the next person who tells you all this wine talk about terroir is guff, tell them about this. We all have a lot to learn apparently - even the experts who say this isn't how it works! :) 

If you want to taste the difference for yourself, click here.