Brettanomyces bruxellensis (the anamorph of Dekkera bruxellensis) is a spoilage yeast of the wine industry where it is often referred to as brett. Its metabolic products can impart "sweaty saddle leather", "barnyard", "burnt plastic" or "band-aid" aromas to wine. Some winemakers in France, and occasionally elsewhere, consider it a desirable addition to wine, but New World vintners generally consider it a defect. Some authorities consider brett to be responsible for 90% of the spoilage problems in premium red wines. Scientific classification or biological classification is how biologists group and categorize extinct and living species of organisms. ... Divisions Chytridiomycota Zygomycota Ascomycota Basidiomycota The Fungi (singular: fungus) are a large group of organisms ranked as a kingdom within the Domain Eukaryota. ... Classes Archaeascomycetes Discomycetes Euascomycetes Hemiascomycetes Lecanoromycetes Neolectomycetes Pezizomycotina Pneumocystidomycetes Saccharomycotina Schizosaccharomycetes Taphrinomycetes Mitosporic Ascomycota Members of the Division Ascomycota are known as the Sac Fungi and are fungi that produce spores in a distinctive type of microscopic sporangium called an ascus (Greek for a bag or wineskin). This monophyletic grouping... Genera Ascobotryozyma Citeromyces Debaryomyces Dekkera (Brettanomyces) Eremothecium Issatchenkia Kazachstania Kluyveromyces Kodamaea Kregervanrija Kuraishia Lachancea Lodderomyces Nakaseomyces Pachysolen Pichia (Hansenula) Saccharomyces Saturnispora Tetrapisispora Torulaspora Vanderwaltozyma Williopsis Zygosaccharomyces Saccharomycetaceae is a family of yeast in the order Saccharomycetales that reproduce by budding. ... [[|Diversity]] Binomial name Trinomial name Type Species Species [[Image: ]] Synonyms Brettanomyces is a single-celled fungus that is important in brewing and winemaking as it is resistant to alcohol so can grow even after fermentation starts. ... In biology, binomial nomenclature is the formal method of naming species. ... In biology, fungi are placed into particular taxa based on reproductive similarities. ... Wine is an alcoholic beverage produced by the fermentation of grapes and grape juice. ... The term vintner is applied to wine merchants as well as winemakers. ... New World wines are those wines produced outside the traditional wine-growing areas of Europe and North Africa. ... The term vintner is applied to wine merchants as well as (erroneously) winemakers. ...

One defense against brett is to limit potential sources of contamination. It occurs more commonly in some vineyards than others, so producers can avoid purchasing grapes from such sources. Used wine barrels purchased from other vintners are another common source. Some producers sanitize used barrels with ozone. Others steam or soak them for many hours in very hot water ,or wash them with either citric acid or peroxycarbonate. A vineyard Vineyard with bird netting Wine grapes with netting as protection against birds A vineyard (vignoble in French, vigna or vigneto in Italian, vinha in Portuguese, viña or viñedo in Spanish, Weinberg in German) is a place where grapes are grown for making wine, raisins, or table... Traditional wooden barrels Modern aluminium beer barrels - also called Kegs - outside the Castle Rock microbrewery in Nottingham, England A barrel is a hollow cylindrical container, traditionally made of wood staves and bound with iron bands. ... For the Moldavian pop group see O-Zone Ozone (O3) is an allotrope of oxygen, the molecule consisting of three oxygen atoms instead of the more stable diatomic O2. ... Citric acid is a weak organic acid found in citrus fruits. ...

If wine becomes contaminated by brett, some vintners sterile filter it, add SO2, or treat it with dimethyl dicarbonate. Both knowledge and experience are considered helpful in avoiding brett and the problems it can cause. Sulfur dioxide (or sulphur dioxide) has the chemical formula SO2. ... Dimethyl dicarbonate or DMDC is a colourless liquid with a sharp odour. ...

See also

• Wine fault

A wine fault or defect is an unpleasant characteristic of a wine resulting from poor winemaking or storage. ...

References

• "Breaking the mold", Wine Spectator,2006 (March 31), 30(16), pp. 99–100 & 103.