Where did that note of Cinnamon come from?

[Don Giovanni]

Where did that note of Cinnamon come from?

As a winemaker I can confirm that the note of cinnamon does come from the interaction of the yeast and the grape...not the barrel...it could come from the barrel...that said I made some red wine from super ripe table grapes from Chile...the wine never saw any oak I let the wine lay on the lees for one year...this was one of the best wines I have ever had...big notes of cinnamon...I then looked up this fact in a Oenology book

The following compounds are present in the grape skin at maturity: benzoic and cinnamic acid, flavonols and tannins

source Vol 1 "The Microbiology of Wine and Vinifications" from University of Bordeaux publisher John Wiley & Sons , LTD ISBN 0471 97362 9...

Ethyl cinnamate is the ester of cinnamic acid and ethanol...pure ethyl cinnamate has a "fruity and balsamic odor, reminiscent of cinnamon with an amber note" (Merck Index). source Merck Drug CO

The use of purified enzymes with low cinnamoyl esterase activity (eg. LAFAZYM EXTRACT, LAFAZYM PRESS or LAFAZYM CL). These enzymatic preparations permit a larger choice of yeast strains as they prevent the production of vinyl-phenols (4-vinylphenol and 4-vinylguaiacol). or in English the animal odors...

source Click On Me

A note on yeast...natural yeast can work well with a spontaneous fermentation that produce wonderful wines as well as cultured yeasts...