Winemakers often struggle with the green components of wine, which, while desirable in some white wines, are a source of unwelcome aromas when making red wines like Merlot, Cabernet Franc and often Cabernet Sauvignon. As global warming raises temperatures, viticulturists and scientists are experimenting with canopy management to find the best way to slow grape ripening and thus decrease the presence of the methoxypyrazine compounds associated with these green and vegetal wine notes.

“Depending on yields and ripening areas, you will see viticulturists leave the grapes to ripen for an extended period,” explains Tinus Els, the Director of Sales for BSG Wine. “This year may be very challenging because it’s so dry. If it gets too hot — for example, if the temperature reaches 95°F and more, grape start shutting down,trying to conserve water. If the temperature reached 104°F, the enzymes that carry out photosynthesis lose their shape and functionality, and the photosynthetic rate declines rapidly — In addition, the vines begin using acids in the grapes to reproduce photosynthesis. That’s why it's extremely difficult to achieve higher acidity and lower pH levels, and the ripening process is also not complete. In that situation, you will get green aromas when you make the wine.”

In cases like this, winemakers may try warmer fermentation to blow off the green aromas. However, the wine often retains some of the methoxypyrazines that cause the green aroma. Winemakers will then turn to using additives during the fermentation process to cover up the green characters , as well as to provide other benefits.

BSG Wine began offering its customers AB Biotek Pinnacle Ferm MP to help reduce these green aromas while achieving early color stabilization and improving mouth-feel by integrating the structure of these medium and full-bodied red wines. This natural additive is a thermally inactivated yeast additive made from yeast cream. Pinnacle Ferm MP does not interfere with the aromatic expression of a wine varietal and provides a brighter red color.

BSG Wine started its relationship with AB Biotek three years ago when it added the Pinnacle Wine Ingredients to its product lineup. They order products directly from AB Biotek, one of the largest yeast manufacturers in the world, making BSG more price competitive and giving them direct access to the technical support team. The AB Biotek technical team are critical to supporting the broader BSG team, who have been supplying select ingredients at competitive prices to winemakers, craft distillers and breweries in North America since 2004.

BSG looks forward to offering more products from the Pinnacle line in the near future, including Pinnacle Absolute MP and Pinnacle Wine MP. In winemaking, you will first use Pinnable Ferm MP, then Wine MP, then Absolute MP.

For more information about BSG Wine and Pinnacle Ferm MP, contact Tinus Els at 707-499-4197 or tels@bsgcraft.com.

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