You’re standing in the winery chatting to the winemaker and he or she starts talking about the must or moût (in French). What’s that?
Must or moût is essentially unfermented grape juice. It comes from the Latin vinum mustum (young or new wine) and is the first stage in winemaking.
Must is freshly crushed grape juice that usually contains some solids (pips, skins etc). It varies in colour and its treatment in the winery will have an impact upon final wine style.
Natural yeast lives on the skins of grapes so many organic winegrowers rely on this to start the alcoholic fermentation which turns the must to wine. The large majority of growers will introduce a commercial yeast to the must to kick off the fermentation process.
