More easily understood nutrient info

Grapestompers provide this guide/info about nutrients. It's quite a nice, straight forward, explaination.

I've included it in the links on the right too........

An interesting read......

Got this link from one of the Facebook groups I read. Some of it I knew, some not.

It mainly focuses on the US wine industry, and I generally don't enjoy American or other "New World" wines. Not to say I didn't enjoy the read........

http://www.marketwatch.com/story/10-things-winemakers-wont-tell-you-2014-07-31?pagenumber=1

A satisfying afternoon

Cabernet sauvignon pressed, juice racked etc. 1 x 11 litre carbohydrates and 1x 1 imperial gallon DJ.

The other 3 x 11 litre carboys are the Primitivo, Merlot and Shiraz. The 1 & half gallon DJ's are the excess from the racking of the P, M and S. I expect another drop of sediment from them, as the 3 x 11 litre carboys were carefully racked, whereas the blended bits are from closest to the lees.

I don't know if you can see from the picture that the sediment in the cab is dropping out already.

D21, a good yeast for meads, but it seems the search for "Maury" yeast goes on.........

Some years ago, the late Brother Adam (of Buckfast Abbey, bee breeding and mead making fame) wrote of using "Maury" yeast.

Somewhere along the lines, this fabled "Maury" yeast became unavailable to him for use in his mead making (should be noted, as far as I can find out, he never made meads for public sale, only for consumption by members of the Abbey), so he changed to using the "Montpellier strain". This was confirmed for me, after I'd emailed the Abbey, and they (well, the apiaries manager) responded that he'd looked through Brother Adams personal papers.

It seems that he was using Gervin varietal "E". As far as I can ascertain, that is the same strain as Lalvin K1-V1116.

Some further researching led me to Lalvin D21. Which seemed to, maybe, have been isolated by Lallemand a few years after the death of Brother Adam, but a few of my contacts had seen it mentioned, maybe even advertised, as a "Maury" yeast.

Ok, I was happy with what I could find out so far.

Now this morning, I'm digging around and it seems that Lallemand have now been a bit more specific, and I find this about D21..........

Lalvin ICV-D21 was isolated in 1999 from Pic Saint Loup Languedoc “terroir” during a special regional program run by the Institut Coopératif du Vin (ICV)’s Natural Micro-Flora Observatory and Conservatory. Lalvin ICV-D21 was selected for fermenting red wines with stable color, intense fore-mouth, mid-palate tannin structure, and fresh aftertaste. Unlike most wine yeasts, Lalvin ICV-D21 contributes both higher acidity perception and positive polyphenol reactive polysaccharides. Strong interactions of the polysaccharides with the floral and fruity volatile compounds (β-ionone, ethyl hexanoate) contribute to a more stable aromatic profile in the mouth. These attributes avoid the development of cooked jam and burning-alcohol sensations in highly mature and concentrated Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Syrah. During fermentation, Lalvin ICV-D21 produces very few sulfides and it is also noted for its good fermentation performance even under high temperature and low nutrient conditions. It allows for the expression of fruit from the grapes while reducing the potential for herbaceous characters in Cabernet sauvignon. When blended with wines fermented with Lalvin ICV-D254 and Lalvin ICV-D80, Lalvin ICV-D21 brings fresher, sustained intense fruit and lively sensations beginning in the fore-mouth and carrying through to the aftertaste. Lalvin ICV-D21 is also used in very ripe white grapes, barrel-fermented to develop fresh fruit aromas, volume and acidity which compliments wines fermented with Enoferm ICV-D47 in blends. Rosé wines fermented with Lalvin ICV-D21 have enhanced red fruit, fore-mouth volume and balance, making it the perfect blending complement to Rosé wines fermented with Lalvin ICV-GRE.

It appears that D21 isn't "Maury" after all. Pic Saint Loup is directly north of Montpellier, whereas Maury is west, closer to the Pyrennees, in the Perpignan area.

Seems that despite the plethora of information being available about the Maury AOC region and the published stuff about Brother Adams mead making, whether we'll truely ever find the yeast he originally used, is becoming less likely..........

D21 itself does make a good mead, and I now understand why it seems to share many of the characteristics of K1-V1116......

Not disappointed per se, just a little deflated that my earlier researching has proven erroneous.........