CNN Magazine
03-27-07
Ladybug Chemicals May Alter Wine
Ladybugs can become a nuisance by invading homes, crops and even vineyards
-- tainting the aroma and flavor of wine.
Chemists at Iowa State University have identified several chemicals
responsible for the ladybug's noxious odor and that finding might lead to
strategies to detect and eliminate the offensive compounds.
The study could also result in better tasting wine, since an increasing number of
winemakers say their wines have an abnormal aroma and flavor that resembles
the ladybug's characteristic odor.
Winemakers note there are more ladybugs in vineyards and on the grapes during
harvest, leading experts to theorize the bugs accidentally become mixed into the
juice during processing and fermentation.