Differences in the fungal and bacterial communities found in grape must and in wine fermentation have been linked with differences in wine aromas and flavours, suggesting a microbial role in the shaping of a wine’s terroir, or regional character. Over two vintages, we profiled the fungi and yeasts on grape berries and in wine fermentations from three closely situated (<1km) Okanagan vineyards. We found that the grape fungal communities from each vineyard were distinct from each other, even from vineyards less than 200m apart, and these differences persisted into wine fermentation. Our study suggests that fungi contribute to fine-scale terroir, which is important in differentiating single vineyard wines. The publication can be found here.
