The Science of Wine

Some winemakers like Jean-Sébastien Capdevielle dare to gamble their whole crop by planting ungrafted vines, susceptible to the destructive Phylloxera; analyzing if these ungrafted wines are actually better; finding out if it's worth the risk.

Terroir is everything, but Jamie wants to know if people can actually taste soil in wine; he goes to investigate with a specialist scientist and a wine producer, and finds some answers.

It takes an experienced winemaker to master time and temperature, on which malolactic fermentation depends; analyzing if this is needed to make age-worthy wine; traveling to Rioja, Spain, to find out.

Only high quality wines benefit from the added complexity that comes with aging; analyzing if old wines are always better than young wines; visiting the steep slopes of the Mosel, France, to find out.

Winemakers are challenged by an increase in frost, rainfall and disease in the vineyard; resistant hybrid varieties can offer the solution; setting out to answer the question if new grape varieties are needed.