Hello all, I am an aspiring sommelier and new to eGullet. I have been studying a lot lately, preparing for my career. My main study guide right now is the Wine Bible by Karen MacNeil. I was curious if anyone knew much about carbonic maceration. I know that it is the fermentation process used with Gamay grapes and that the entire fermentation process takes place entirely within the grape. Thats where I am confused. The process of fermentation as I come to understand it is the grapes are crushed and yeast is added which converts the sugar to alcohol. This may be a stupid question, but how do you add yeast to Gamay grapes while they are still whole? Mrs. MacNeil doesn't go into detail about how this is done. Any input on the process would be greatly appreciated.