WHAT: a yeast that divides by fission (division in half, rather than budding like most yeast, hence “Schizo”), ferments sugars (hence “saccharomyces” or “sugar-loving”), and was first identified in African millet beer (hence “pombe” meaning “beer” in Swahili.) Relevance to wine: S. pombe has traditionally been grouped among the spoilage organisms by the wine industry. Unlike its friendly, helpful cousin Saccharomyces cerivisiae (the major player in wine fermentation and bread making), S. pombe tends to throw off a lot of icky-tasting or -smelling byproducts as it turns sugar into alcohol. Sulfur is not a desirable aroma in wine!