Native / Indigenous Yeast
Wild fermentation — using the yeast that lives on the grape and in the cellar
What It Means
Commercial winemaking typically uses selected, cultured yeast strains that are added to the must to drive fermentation. These strains are reliable, predictable, and efficient. They can also be generic — contributing little to the wine's individual character.
Native yeast fermentation allows the indigenous yeast population — the diverse community living on the grape skins, in the winery air, on equipment surfaces, in the cellar itself — to drive fermentation. This community varies by vintage, by vineyard, by region. It is a direct expression of place.
The Risk
Indigenous yeast fermentations are slower, more unpredictable, and more vulnerable to stuck fermentation. They can introduce unwanted organisms if cellar hygiene is poor. For this reason, they require more attentive management, not less — the winemaker must observe carefully without intervening chemically.
The Reward
Proponents argue that native yeast fermentation produces wines of greater complexity and site-specificity — wines that taste like somewhere, not like a yeast strain. Every producer in our portfolio ferments with indigenous yeast. We consider it non-negotiable.