http://www.nytimes.com/2013/01/01/scien ... paper&_r=1&
Wine enthusiasts, consider this: The same grapes from different parts of a vineyard can be quite different.
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That is because their surfaces may harbor different species of yeast microbes, which can vary from one part of a vineyard to another, said Evodia Setati, a microbiologist at Stellenbosch University in South Africa.
She and her colleagues are exploring how such differences affect wine flavor. They report their findings in the journal PLoS One.
The researchers looked at grapes produced using three different farming methods: conventional, organic and biodynamic — a specialized type of organic farming that not only refrains from using chemical fertilizers and pesticides but also uses fermented herbal and mineral preparations as compost additives.
“Conventional farmers are allowed to use pesticides and fungicides, and they end up killing even those yeasts that take part in fermentation,” Dr. Setati said. These farmers rely on purchased yeast strains to ferment wine, “ending up with less diversity and complexity in the taste of the wine,” she added.
Organic wine grapes had a greater microbial diversity, the researchers found, but biodynamic grapes had the most.
Differences in yeast communities from one part of the vineyard to another could be due to variances in sun exposure and temperature, Dr. Setati said, adding, “The question now is, does that variation actually translate to different wines at the end of the day?”