What is Native Yeast?

At its core, native yeast refers to the wild microorganisms present in the environment, specifically strains of yeast and bacteria that naturally occur on fruits, in the air, and live in porous wood surfaces. These yeasts are often moved around by our flying friends, like bees and wasps. Unlike commercial yeast strains cultivated in laboratories, native yeast is untamed and unpredictable, lending a unique character and complexity to fermented products.

But why do we care so much about native yeast?

For starters, native yeast plays a crucial role in the terroir of fermented beverages, imparting distinct flavors and aromas that reflect the specific environment where the grapes or apples were grown. In addition to its role in terroir expression, we also celebrate native yeast fermentation for its potential to produce more complex and nuanced flavors in wine. While commercial yeast strains may produce consistent results, native yeast fermentation allows for a broader spectrum of flavors to develop, resulting in wines that are dynamic, vibrant, and alive with character. One of the reasons for this is most native yeast fermentations are also mixed fermentation with several cultures fermenting side by side. This helps develop many layers of flavor. It’s the difference between cooking with one spice and cooking with 100 spices.

We get asked a lot by other producers why we use an “inefficient” wooden basket to press our fruit. That wooden press is essential to us being us! It has absorbed and then inoculates each pressing with our “house” mixed culture strains that live in the wood pores. Once the juice is moved into open-top tanks, our distinct “winery ecology,” living in the air, composed of dozens of yeast strains, then also comes into play. All this working together explains why Botanist & Barrel has a flavor profile that is so distinctly our own!