Yeast Stress for Flavor?!

[cgenebrewer]

Hey guys,
So as I was perusing netflix, I found this move, Blood into Wine(which was pretty good), and the head vintner said that they make sure not to give the little yeasties ALL the nutrition they need because he believed that the result of a little yeast "stress" would add complexity to the wine.

Now, how does this fit in with the mead world? Anyone have any insight regarding fully feed fermentations versus those lacking a little nutrition?

 

[HollisBT]

First off, I will add that the documentary you mentioned is pretty badass IMO, and that the vintner in question is maynard from the band tool .

After that, my knowledge in this thread drops off sharply... wine depends a lot on both esters and phenols to produce their complexity, as well as any acids produced by the bacterial fermentation of their (usually) spontaneous and wild fermentations. Stressing the yeast would boost both esters and phenols, while also letting the bacteria eat more sugars and produce more acids. Wine honestly is a different beast of a drink in the aspect that the art is in the growth of the fruit and the blending of varietals, where as beer is more of the blend of ingredients and how the sugars are converted.

How any of this translates to mead, I don't know, as I have not ever had any or tried to make any, but I hope in some way this helps.