Wine Microbiology

Abstract

Microbiologically speaking, unknown wine is much safer than unknown water. Of the thousands of microorganisms now classified, relatively few have been found growing in wine. This is due to the nearly antiseptic combination of alcohol and acids that occurs in wine. Most microscopic organisms taken from contaminated water actually die if introduced into wine. Human pathogenic organisms cannot survive in the environment of wine. It is because of this phenomenon that wine has promoted human health throughout Western civilization.