Lovers of wine or vodka appreciate the metabolic end product of yeasts—known as alcohol. The work of these microorganisms does not end in the wine barrel. Almost none of what a wine taster will tell you is actually to be found in the bottle. The wine’s bouquet, for example, develops so late because bacteria need time to do their work. They sit in waiting at the back of the tongue, where the process of transforming what we eat or drink begins. The substances they release during that process create the aftertaste so appreciated by the wine lover. And each connoisseur will experience a slightly
...more
