Julien's Journal November 2015 (Volume 40, Number 11) | Page 48

by John B. Donovan

Lake Geneva, WI
A few months ago, Natalee and I were in the Lake Geneva area, specifically in Williams Bay
at the George Williams College (GWC) of Aurora University’s campus. I attended GWC and
each year a reunion weekend is held.

The Winemaking Process
It really is the winemaking process that
truly gives flavors to wine. An experienced
winemaker can, by using different yeasts,
new or old oak or stainless barrels, develop
different flavor profiles based on his or her
likes and dislikes.
Yeast is what releases the aromatic esters
mentioned earlier. Grapes naturally have
yeast on their skins and cultured yeasts are
often added during fermentation. Yeasts
cause simple chemical reactions to occur
which release the esters. These compounds
take on similar molecular arrangements
to familiar scents that our nose and brain
categorize. A winemaker can use different
strains of yeast to produce different flavors.
One strain might produce a soft cherry pie
fla