Though grapevines are not insect pollinated, taking care of the worlds’ pollinators, particularly bees (both farmed and wild bees) of critical importance to agriculture and our food supply (in addition to countless other ecological and environmental reasons). In fact, figures…
Tag: bees
The Role of the Social Wasp in Yeast Ecology: Thank Your Local Wasp for the Complexity of Your Wine
Not too long ago, I read a post online discussing the relationship between social wasps and fermentation (ultimately) in wine. The first thing that I thought, being the ecologist that I am, was “Wow, this is really cool! I need…
Pollination Dynamics of Cabernet Sauvignon
In many plant species, including grape cultivars, autogamy (i.e. self-fertilization) is all that is necessary to successfully reproduce. However, some cultivars require cross-pollination in order to reproduce and reach maturity. The level of successful pollinations that occur will determine the…
Enhancing the Sweet Nectar: The Effect of Pollen Addition on Fermentation and Sensory Characteristics of Mead
For today’s post, I am going to stray away from our usual discussion of all things V. vinifera, and discuss current research related to another type of wine. Part of the foray into something new is that well, for one,…