Market challenge
While it takes time and diligence to build a strong brand, all efforts can be jeopardized by a quality deviation in a single vintage. Most of the time, the winemaking practices would primarily go for the use of high dosage of sulphites (sulphur dioxide, SO2) to prevents the growth of undesirable microorganisms leading to flavor defects.
But, if sulphites may seem interesting for their antioxidant and antibacterial properties, wine containing sulphites are more and more discarded by consumers looking for chemical free options.
Indeed, sulphites also have health implications for about 10 percent of all consumers. If most of them suffer from minor irritations, asthmatic people among others can face severe reactions.
Chr. Hansen’s solution
VINIFLORA® cultures enable winemakers to improve the quality of wine from year to year in the respect of its character, allowing the brand to keep up. But it is also an effective solution for lowering/removing sulphites in wine, opening doors to the wineries to respond to consumers demand for more natural wines and global trends for less chemical/preservatives.
So, with selected yeast and bacteria from VINIFLORA® range, it becomes possible to produce wines with low or no SO2 without compromising on quality, and with much less unwanted volatile acidity.
