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Wine (alt.food.wine) Devoted to the discussion of wine and wine-related topics. A place to read and comment about wines, wine and food matching, storage systems, wine paraphernalia, etc. In general, any topic related to wine is valid fodder for the group. |
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![]() We have all see the pictures (and perhaps the real thing) of a red grape cap floating on the surface of an open vat and of winery workers either punching down the cap or pumping-over the must. I showed a couple of those pictures at a recent wine class and one of the students wondered out loud whether the fermentation that was going on was really anaerobic, given the cap's exposure to air. She got me wondering too. Obviously the brew is producing CO2 and alcohol, but what about the presence of the oxygen? I understand that yeast may need some oxygen at some point in their life cycle and that they can carry out plain old aerobic respiration (i.e., can turn sugar and oxygen into CO2 and water instead of CO2 and alcohol). Are they both respiring and fermenting simultaneously? Will greatly appreciate an explanation (or reference to a suitable book or article, no matter how technical) about what is going on in an open fermentation vat from the yeast's perspective. -- ================================================= Do you like wine? Do you live in South Florida? Visit the MIAMI WINE TASTERS group at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/miamiWINE ================================================= |
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