Dead Fish Make Good Wine, Study Finds

What do dead salmon have in common with fine wine? One leads to the other, according to a study by two local researchers.

The study indicates salmon that die naturally in northern California’s Mokelumne and Calaveras rivers contribute to the growth and quality of wine grapes grown nearby.

Lead researcher Joseph Merz, a Lodi-based fisheries biologist, discovered 14 species of animals that feed on salmon carcasses following the spawning season. Nitrogen from the fish finds its way into nearby vineyards either through animal droppings or the actual carcasses left behind by the scavengers.

„What we found is that grapes close to the river get up to 25 percent of their nitrogen from salmon,“ said Merz in a U.C. Davis news release.
Merz was joined in the study by UC Davis professor Peter Moyle, a leading authority on California’s native fish.

According to Merz, nitrogen affects yeast growth and sugar fermentation in the winemaking process.

The study, „Salmon, Wildlife and Wine: Marine-Derived Nutrients in Human-Dominated Ecosystems of Central California,“ was published in the June 2006 issue of the journal Ecological Applications.

Source: kxtv10.com