I love walking into the winery this time of year and being almost knocked over by the powerful, earthy, yeast rich aroma the fermenters give off as these wonderful yeasts are going about their work. At left is a picture of many of the fermenters at Coeur de Terre Vineyard. Scott, the owner is making a lot more wine this year than he did last time around. Most of that new wine will be in his Oregon Pinot Noir which is an amazing bargain at $23. I think the distributors ran out of this wine in early summer last year. Scott signed a number of new contracts with vineyards in the area for this year's vintage. The grapes all looked wonderful as they arrived at the winery. I've been having a conversation with Scott's new assistant winemaker, Shane, about the fermentation process. There are two things I've noticed about Shane. First of all he is a fanatic about cleanliness. When I was Scott's cellar rat last year I thought he was over-the-top crazy about keeping the winery and equipment clean. We cleaned stuff before we put it away in the evening, and then cleaned it again when we got it out to use it several short hours later. Shane finds many more times to clean it. He took every piece of equipment out of the winery and cleaned every surface several times before crush began this year. He cleans equipment the guys have already cleaned because it's not clean enough. He looks at the already cleaned winery and sees it as need much more cleaning. In short, he's crazy! 
Shane is making one fermenter of his own wine. And that's the other thing I've noticed abou thim, he is a non-interventionalist when it comes to wine making. He did not add yeast to his grapes, but allowed the yeast that came in with the harvest to naturally do it's job. He's trying to convince Scott that native yeast would be a good way to go for the rest of the CdT wines. Scott is not that winemaker. He likes to pick his yeast. But he is also guy who loves a new way of doing things, and loves a new challenge. So he has allowed the Syrah harvest to ferment with natural yeasts. That's the Syrah grapes in the photo to the right. I was able to smell them as the yeast had just begun working and the aroma is beautiful. I'm going to be so excited to see how this experiment turns out. I'm amazed at the way God made our creation. Grapes naturally contain a massive amount of sugar, and God put yeast everywhere. That yeast takes a thin, sweet, juice and turns it into a deep, complex, rich wine. Of course it also makes alcohol (which helps to naturally preserve the juice). The process is wonderful to experience. Yes, I would agree, God is good. I'm thankful for yeast and good wine.
