Marlborough Express - Weekend Express
Gen Y-ine: Loving wine science
The romantic idea of living and working on a French vineyard may have been the catalyst for Gracie-Rose Kay’s career in wine, but it’s the science of wine that has really piqued her interest.
The 29-year-old student spent the 2022 vintage simultaneously overseeing the Cooper’s Creek cellar crew and a research project involving 16 barrels of chardonnay at the West Auckland winery.
It was Kay’s fourth vintage with the company, where she has worked since beginning a Bachelor of Viticulture and Winemaking part-time through Nelson Marlborough Institute of Technology.
Her research project looked at whether different organic and inorganic yeast assimilable nitrogen (YAN) supplementation products impact fermentation kinetics and sensory attributes in the finished wine differently.
YAN is a crucial component for a successful fermentation in wine and YAN supplementation is standard practice in the winemaking industry.
The project was a requirement of Kay’s degree and was born from trying to find an answer to the perplexing issue of some chardonnay not finishing the fermentation process.
‘‘It occurred to me that we’d never tested YAN levels in the juice prior to fermentation, so for all we knew it could have been deficient, and if that was the case, it would have been an easy fix,’’ she says.
But the grapes were all within the normal range, so Kay decided to delve deeper and experimented with four different treatments using organic and inorganic YAN supplementation products to compare how fermentation was impacted.
With four replicas of the four treatments, it was a ‘‘daunting’’ task to single-handedly manage a research project of 16 barrels of wine, while ensuring it was still drinkable, Kay says.
‘‘While I was focused on taking measurements and collecting and recording data, my main concern was to make sure the wine didn’t develop any offaromas or faults, so it was a massive relief when all the wines developed well,’’ she says.
‘‘I couldn’t have done it without the faith of my employers and the winemaking team at Cooper’s Creek who have given me an amazing introduction to the industry.’’
‘‘We’re a small team, and it’s really hands on, I’ve worked in just about every area imaginable, from general maintenance to health and safety, staff training and lab work. It’s been a very good place to develop my skills.’’
While the results of the study were statistically inconclusive, her findings correlated with other similar studies, and it would be interesting to do further research to better understand precisely how YAN supplementations impacted fermentation, she says.
‘‘Wine can be as simple or as complicated as you want – you can make it really hands off and intuitively once you get to know your grapes, or you can dig into the biochemistry to really understand more and find new or better ways of doing things.
‘‘The world of wine science is endless and so fascinating.’’
But for now, Kay is focused on finishing her degree and even starting to think about turning her dream of visiting French vineyards into reality, now that the world is opening up again.
‘‘I’m looking forward to going out and making wine without deadlines.’’
❚ This article first appeared in a magazine and is republished with permission.