Getting Geeky on Yeast and Acidity with Mary Bridges from Gusbourne

This show was published Wednesday, July 23, 2025

Overview

Mary Bridges, head winemaker at Gusbourne, talks to Chris about the role of yeast in sparkling wine making, during the primary fermentation and secondary fermentation.

We hear how yeast cultures are made from commercial dried yeast rehydrated with water, mixed with sugar, and then added to wine which, with its low PH (high acidity) and alcohol, is not an environment that yeast likes.

Mary describes the intricate process of adding yeast cultures to the wine and how they take care of the yeast in the lab to keep them healthy before being added to the wine in the bottle. We touch on the tirage (activating secondary fermentation) and dosage (after fermentation) and how they are carried out pre and post fermentation.

We delve deep into malic acid, lactic acid and malolactic conversion.

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Music

The music used for the UK Wine Show is Griffes de Jingle 1 by Marcel de la Jartèle and Silence by Etoile Noire.