Yeast inoculation: See Yeast.

The method Peter Vinding-Diers used for inoculating the wines of Château de Landiras in Bordeaux with yeast was as follows: Part of his reference stock of indigenous [wild or feral] yeast is multiplied in juice every vintage, first in a small glass jar, then in a big cannister, and finally in the tank which is to be fermented. When inoculum and juice are mixed, the temperature of each corresponds exactly, to negate the slightest thermic shock which may stun the yeast temporarily. The Vinding-Diers inoculum contains a population of cells sufficient to convert to alcohol all the fermentable sugar in the tank, to avoid stuck fermentation. Initially, yeast multiply in the presence of oxygen, but when all of this is consumed they go into anaerobic (oxygen-free) survival mode. This sees the yeast in the fermentation vat turn to another energy source, namely the sugar in the grape juice. Their survival phase becomes the alcoholic fermentation. Like humans, the yeast excrete toxins, the natural by-products of survival. These toxins also discourage other species of yeast from establishing a population and taking over or stealing the sugar resource. Strains of yeast selected for commercial sale are known as cultured yeast.