Billy wrote:

In article
,
"Paul E. Lehmann" wrote:

Paul J. Dudley wrote:

On Tue, 22 Jul 2008 22:45:55 -0700, Billy
wrote:

In article

,
Charlie wrote:

Hmmm....I wonder how wine was produced
before the advent of carbaryl?

It was pretty good when they used amphoras
and fumarias. But then they severed the wine
in these very pretty lead glazed cups and a
Gothic night descended on Europe. Things
(flavor) started looking up again in the
mid-1600s when cork stoppers came into use.
In the mean, time beer and wine saved Europe
from the main diseases of ground water. The
same function that tea served in the East.

Paul should check with the nearest ag
consultant but my understanding is that
nothing harmful to man can survive
fermentation. All the same, you've been a
naughty boy Paul. I know it wasn't your
intent to bring about the downfall of
Western Civilization (such as it is). You've
got to be careful about unintended
consequences. See that this doesn't happen
again.

I understand that they also burned sulfur
wicks in their casks much
like adding sodium metabisulfite as many (
can't say 'all' - might start another flame
war ) now do.

But ... Yes .. I promise to be more careful
in the future ( .. so I won't start the
world whining again ).

I will chech with the aggies. I have written
gardentech.com ( the company that forced me
to use their dust ) and am waiting their
reply.

= Paul =

Paul, since you are making wine I offer the
following information.

"Organic wine" may be hazardous to your health
- depending on the wine makers practices.

For example, if SO2 is not used, if the pH of
the must is above 3.5, if there is extended
contact with the lees, If cultured wine yeast
and ML bacteria are not used then the
probability of the formation of carcinogens is
enhanced.

Here is a post I contributed to the wine making
news group:

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

I always look for articles indicating positive
health benefits of drinking wine and indeed
there are many. I recently came across an
article in "Practical Winery & Vineyard" by
Robert Tracy with the heading of "Human health
concerns associated with wine microorganisms"
(pp 96-98).

The partial information I summarize below is
NOT an attempt to start religious wars over
technique or scare anyone but to raise some
concerns that we as wine makers/growers should
know.

Personally, I believe there are "probably" more
health related issues in a can of soda than
some of the material discussed below but
perhaps we can make better wine if we are aware
of some of these facts.

Summary and quotes:

"From a winemaking perspective, there are two
types of compounds produced by wine microbes
that have health implications for the consumer:
biogenic amines and ethyl carbamate.**Biogenic
amines have been shown to cause negative
physiological effects in allergic humans (such
as headaches, nausea, hot flashes), while ethyl
carbamate is considered to be a probably
carcinogen to humans.**The*probable
carcinogenic properties of ethyl carbamate are
based on studies with experimental animals,
there is not direct evidence of it causing
cancer in humans."

"The concentration and type of biogenic amines
vary greatly in wines; however, generally red
wines contain significantly more than white
wines.**In*addition,*there*appears*to*be*a
direct correlation between elevated biogenic
amines in wine, wine spoilage constituents
(such as acetic acid, ethyl acetate, butyric
acid, acetoin, and higher alcohol compounds),
and malolactic fermentation."

Because ethyl carbamate is a probable
carcinogen, it is becoming the focus of
international regulation, and so its formation
must be managed properly both in the vineyard
and during the winemaking process."

"Even though both yeast and bacteria can
generate precursors for ethyl carbamate
formation, urea produced from wine yeast is
thought to be the major precursor."

Factors that affect formation

"Throughout the winemaking process, a whole
host of factors can influence the formation of
biogenic amines including:

1)**initial*microbial*populations*present*on
grapes;

2)**presence*of*precursor*amino*acids*in*grape
juice;

3)**ageing*of*wine*on*wither*yeast*lees*(sur
lie ageing) or lees following malolactic
fermentation;

4)**extended*grape*maceration;

5)**spontaneous*malolactic*fermentation*by
indigenous lactic acid bacteria;

6)**number*of*lactic*acid*bacteria*that*are
decarboxylase-positive:

7)**wine*pH;

8)**concentration*of*sulfur*dioxide*(SO2)
following malolactic fermentation and during
ageing;

9)**winery*sanitation*practices;

10)**yeast*strain;*and

11)**fining*practices*(fining*white*wines*with
bentonite may remove biogenic amines).

Among these factors, it has been demonstrated
that malolactic fermentation is the primary
stage for biogenic amine formation during the
winemaking process.

Ethyl carbamate formation is affected by the
following factors:

1)**argine*content*of*grapes;

2)**concentration*of*ethanol;

3)**nutrient*additions*to*must,*during*both
alcoholic and malolactic fermentaitons;

4)**yeast*straiin;

5)**spontaneous*malolactid*fermentaion*by
indigenous lactic acid bacteria;

6) ageing wine on yeast (lees (sur lie ageing);

7)**temperature*of*iwne*during*ageing*and
shipment;

8)**duration*of*wine*ageing;

9)**wine*pH;*and

10)**wineery*sanitation*practices."

"Recommendations to prevent formation of
biogenic amines and ethyl carbamate

Biogenic Amines

if possible periodically monitor microbial
populations on grapes to determine risk for
biogenic amine producers.

if possible, assess concentration of primary
precursor amino acids in grapes and must.

avoid spontaneous alcoholic fermentations and
use commercial strains of Saccharomyces
cervisiae that lack or have minimal
decarboxylase activity.

Avoid extended ageing of wine on yeast or
malolactic lees.

Try to minimize extended grape maceration.

Avoid spontaneous malolactic fermentations and
use commercial strains of Oenoccus oeni that
lack or have minimal amino acid decarboxylase
activitry.

Try to avoid higher pH wines (above 3.7) since
they allow proliferation of Lactobacillus and
Pediococcus.

When pH of wine is high, lysozyme can be added
to remove the natural lactic acid bacteria.

Immediately following malolactic fermentaion
and during wine ageing, maintain molecular SO2
levels of at least 0.4 to 0.5 ppm to prevent or
minimize growth of lactic acid bacteria.

Maintan good sanitation practices during wine
production.

Ethyl Carbamate

Avoid argine content of 1000 mg/L in juice.

Avoid excessive nitrogen fertilization of
vineyards.

Periodically monitor nitrogen status of vines
and soil.

Test nitrogen status of juice.

Avoid adding excessive nitrogen supplements; do
not add urea.

Use commercial strains of Saccharomyces
cervisiae that are known to produce low levels
of urea (Premier Cuvee (PdM) or Lallemand 71B)
when juice has a high arginine content.

Avoid ageing wine on yeast lees (sur lie
ageing), which can liberate amino acids and
proteins.

Avoid spontaneous malolactic fermentatons and
use commercial strains of Oenoccus oeni that do
not have ability to produce high levels of
citrulline.

Avoid elevated temperatures during ageing and
shipment of wine.

If wines are going to be aged for an extendd
period of time, it is advisable to periodically
monitor ethyl carbamate levels.

Try to avoid higher pH ines (above 3.7) since
they allow proliferation of Lacto bacillus and
Pedioccus.

Immediately following malolactic fermentation
and during wine ageing, maintain molecular SO2
levels of at least 0.4 to 0.5 ppm to prevent or
minimize growth of lactic acid bacteria.

Maintain good sanitation practices during wine
production."

I realize that amateur winemakers do not have
the resources to monitor all of the above but
we can control a good amount of them.

I encourage anyone who is interested in the
topic to pick up a copy of the magazine.**There
are*23 references cited at the end of the
article.**I did not quote the article in the
entirety but tried to summarize the main
points.

Paul

Interesting article, however I suggest you check
with http://vm.cfsan.fda.gov/~frf/ecintro.html

and download the "Ethyl Carbamate Preventative
Action Manual: English Language Version, PDF
format". It is put out by U.C.Davis. I have no
idea who Robert Tracy is or if he is just trying
to spice up a story.

S U M M A R Y

Avoid excessive nitrogen fertilization in the
vineyard.

Monitor soil nitrogen status.

Monitor vine nitrogen status.

Do not use winter legumes as cover crops if soil
nitrogen status is already high.

Be aware that nitrogen uptake varies strongly
with different cultivars and especially
rootstocks.

Monitor juice nitrogen status.

Do not add excessive nitrogen supplements.

Do not add nitrogen supplements routinely.

Do not add urea as nitrogen supplement.

Avoid juice arginine levels greater than 1000
mg/L.

When choosing among wine yeast strains, avoid
those with high urea excretion characteristics.

Use malo-lactic bacteria with known
characteristics.

Be aware that use of urease preparations cannot
completely eliminate EC formation.

Be aware that must fortification may aggravate
the problem of urea excretion by yeast.

Monitor EC levels of fortification spirit.

Avoid exposure of wine to elevated temperatures
during storage and transport

All of the above true but does not detract or
counter what I have posted.