Role of Yeast

Wild Yeast Fermentation – Pied de Cuve

Luca Roagna (Barbaresco, Italy) says he uses a pied de cuve as a starter; to play it safe he does a mini harvest of 5 kilograms about a week before the actual harvest. He then does a pre-pigeage, and this starts the fermentation. After a week he will blend this with the harvested grapes. He makes a specific pied de cuve from each cru, because using a starter from another parcel strikes us as un-natural. By using this technique, he feels he reduces the many risks associated with natural fermentation such as certain non-Saccharomyces strains of yeast that may give unwanted aromas.

  • Accredited to:
  • Ronald Wortel
  • 15 Dec 2019