1 Fes., 1898.] QUELNSLAND AGRICULTURAL JOURNAL. 125 
Viticulture. 
FERMENTATION OF MUST. 
By E. H. RAINFORD, 
Viticulturist, Queensland Agricultural Department 
As the vintage is commencing, a few words of advice to some of the less 
experienced vignerons on the necessity of care and attention to the conditions 
under which their must is fermented will be opportune. The suggestions 
offered are sanctioned by the teachings of eminent French wine experts and 
my own practical experience, and, if followed out, will undoubtedly be of 
assistance to winemakers in making sownd wine, which is of the first import- 
ance. 
One of the most important points in winemaking, too often neglected 
by beginners until learnt by costly experience, is the necessity of having your 
must fertilised by the right kind of ferment or yeast germ, and no other. 
An infinity of species of ferments exists, a few for good and the rest for 
evil from a winemaking point of view; one, the Saccharomyces ellipsoideus, 
performs the functions of turning grapejuice into wine This microscopical 
organism has the power of assimilating the sugar in the must, and decomposing 
it into carbonic acid gas and ‘alcohol with a small quantity of glycerine and 
succinic acid. The organisms are born in the must from spores or seed which 
adhere to the exterior of the grape, and, having attained maturity, they repro- 
duce by subdivision, a portion of their organism being thrown off, which 
quickly becomes a fully developed and reproducing germ; this is repeated until 
the parent is exhausted and dies. They are so microscopical that a cubic centi- 
metre (two-fifths of an inch) is said to contain 120,000,000. 
Tf the Saccharomyces is born in a must. with its constituent parts pro- 
perly proportioned, and its functions be not interfered with by intruders, the 
resultant wine must be good and sound; but, unfortunately for vignerons, a 
host of enemies are ever on the alert to spoil his wine if they are allowed to 
have a hand in the making of it. ‘To mention a few, there is the Mycoderma 
vini, a germ which, instead of converting sugar into alcohol, converts it into 
water, thereby diminishing the strength of the wine and laying the foundations of 
future trouble; the Mycoderma aceti, which changes the nascent alcohol into 
acetic acid or vinegar; the germs which turn sugar into lactic acid and butyric 
acid, thereby communicating to the wine a disagreeable taste and smell as well 
as non-keeping qualities ; and, lastly, germs of putrescence which attack and 
decompose albuminous substances in the must. 2 If all or any of these noxious 
germs are introduced into the must, and by their reproduction interfere with 
the work of the Saccharomyces, the result will be to damage the quality of the 
wine, in a degree greater or less according to the number of the intruders. The 
only way of ayoiding this danger is to practise the strictest CLEANLINESS— 
cleanliness of your surroundings, cleanliness of your utensils, cleanliness of 
your grapes; this last is most necessary. 
Tt will frequently happen that grapes have to be carried long distances, 
necessitating a delay of many hours, even days, before they are milled, and, 
consequent upon rough handling, many of the berries are broken in transit. 
Allthese grapes should be well washed with clean water before crushing, either 
with a hose, douch, or pails; the grapes being spread upon a suitable cement 
or wooden bed, or, if on the ground, upon clean sacking. 
