🍷 Brettanomyces

Brettanomyces is a wild yeast that can settle in wine and give it a "barnyard" smell. Brettanomyces, or "Brett", is a wild yeast that sometimes settles in wine and barrels. It gives characteristic smells: "barnyard", horse sweat, medicinal notes, smoke. The name comes from Greek roots meaning "British fungus": it was first described in British beer.

Brett gets into wine from grapes or from a poorly cleaned barrel. It especially likes red wines in oak barrels with some residual sugar. As the yeast multiplies, it produces aromatic substances that make the wine smell of a farmyard rather than fruit.

A little of this smell is tolerated by some connoisseurs: in old French reds it is considered "character". But if the smell is strong, it is a fault. It is described as one of the wine faults.

Winemakers fight Brett with clean equipment, sulfites and filtration. A wine with Brett is not a health risk, but it spoils the taste.