We check a statement by wine connoisseur Ilja Gort about, of course, wine. He says that one fruit fly can ruin an entire bottle of wine. In Radio EenVandaag we find out in the ‘Fact or fiction’ section that this is correct. And it soon turns out that it is true. This is how it is:
“A fruit fly can kill a whole bottle of wine. If you sit on the terrace, have ordered a nice bottle that is reasonably priced and a fruit fly flies in, then that wine is gone,” says wine connoisseur Gort.
You can taste virginity
“It is the virgin fruit flies that want to attract males with the emission of pheromones. And if those fruit flies with pheromones end up in the wine, you can taste it”, explains Joost van den Heuvel, who is researching fruit flies.
But not every fruit fly hurts your bottle of wine, because female fruit flies that have already laid eggs and the male fruit flies do not bother you. They don’t ruin the taste of your wine.
Alcoholics among the insects
Whether you taste it when there is a virgin fruit fly in your wine may be the question, but wine connoisseurs certainly taste it. “You really smell those fruit flies in the winery. They also have a direct effect on the wine. The smell can really affect the wine. It is a musty taste that they convey,” says winemaker Roelof Visscher of Wijngaard Hof van Twente.
Biologist Midas Dekkers is also positive about the tiny animal: “It is the alcoholics among the insects. There is no insect that is as resistant to alcohol as a fruit fly,” he says. But, to a certain extent, because if they ingest too much, they will die. Regardless of whether the fruit fly can withstand alcohol: watch out for fruit flies with your glass or bottle of wine. You do not see with the naked eye whether you are dealing with a virgin fly.
Radio EenVandaag
This article is a contribution of Radio EenVandaag, every working day between 4 and 5 pm on NPO Radio 1. More about the broadcast can be found on EenVandaag.nl, Facebook or on Twitter.
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