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Thursday, October 6, 2011

Pétiller in Vouvray---My Unlearning

When I read Kermit Lynch's Adventures on the Wine Route, I came across the phenomenon common in Vouvrays called pétiller or the natural desire to sparkle.
In the chapter on the Loire, Lynch writes "A generous dose of sulfur dioxide will suppress this desire, but that is a bit like whipping a dog for wagging its tail."
Is it almost like brainwashing? We learned in yet another course, Wine Production, that fizzing in a still wine is an indication of post bottling fermentation and it is not a good thing. In order to avoid this post bottling fermentation, we need to ensure that any residual sugar would not be consumed by yeasts or bacteria present at bottling, by among other things, using sterile filtration with a filter with an absolute rating or by dosing with sulfur dioxide. Lynch writes, "For some reason, many tasters seem to be threatened by such a spirited display of energy, so most Vouvray producers resort to all sorts of technical shenanigans to keep their wine still."
This answered a question I had when we drank Laurent Kraft Vouvray and observed some fizzing.
There is so much to learn, even when (just) drinking wine!

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