Sep
30
What in the heck am I talking about? Can it be that wine is not simply an all-natural alcoholic beverage that is the result of no human intervention whatsoever?!?!?!?
Many wineries obviously want you to think that this is the case! When reading ads or perusing websites of many wineries, their message is that their wines are all handmade; that they are minimalists when it comes to the production of their wines; and your experience will be better because of the aforementioned reasons.
So at what point would a winery /winemaker be considered ‘intervening’ in the winemaking process?!?!? Read the rest of this entry »
Sep
29
It seems that with most things in life, bigger is considered better . . .
In the wine industry, though, conventional wisdom is that ‘smaller is better’ . . . smaller yields, smaller tanks, smaller presses, smaller case volumes, etc. ‘Smaller’ wineries produce better wine then ‘bigger’ wineries, right?
Well, just as with all things wine related, there really is no ‘absolute’ answer here. I’ve had many conversations over the past 5 years with consumers about this very topic, and the vast majority of the time, the ‘conventional wisdom’ seems to hold true for them.
Why am I bringing this up? As you know, my ‘day job’ is Assistant Winemaker for Fess Parker Winery, a moderately sized winery that produces over 100,000 cases per year (though of this, only about 2/3 is ‘estate produced’). The winery is considered ‘large’ in relation to other wineries in Santa Barbara County.
When I give tours at either of our facilities, I’m always careful to watch the reactions of those entering our production area. They are drawn to the size of our largest tanks, to the size of some of our presses (we use both bladder presses and a basket press), and to the stacks of barrels we maintain. There is a natural tendency to compare what they see at our facility with what they’ve just seen at much smaller wineries in our area – with much smaller production areas . . .
What I stress to all who visit, though, is that at a larger winery such as ours, we have LOTS of different tanks to use – from the small 1.5 ton fermenting boxes that are the choice of many many smaller ‘hands on’ wineries to much larger tanks that do a very fine job, thank you very much!
We ferment all of our lots separately, oftentimes splitting the lot into multiple tanks – some very small ones where we’ll do hand punch downs, medium size ones where we’ll do pneumatic punch downs, and larger ones, where we’ll pump over the tanks. We’ll keep each of the resulting wines separately – we’ll create separate barrel plans for each and age them as separate entities.
Throughout their lives, we’ll go through and ‘rate’ each lot, and, guess what – sometimes, our favorite lots are those that some from some of the largest tanks! We do not presuppose that ‘smaller is better’ and ‘bigger is not’, because it is a generalization which simply is not true.
So just because you visit a winery and it is ‘large’, don’t presuppose the wines will be ‘pedestrian’ – you will most likely enjoy yourself – and the wines – a whole lot more!
Cheers!
Sep
28
Brix is a measure of sugar levels in grapes in the wine industry. It roughly translates as follows: a grape sample showing a reading of 20 brix means that that sample has approximately 200 grams of sugar per liter of solution . . .or almost 2 lbs. of sugar per gallon! Yikes! It also means that should you ferment this wine to dryness without any ‘manipulation’, the subsequent wine would have an alcohol level of between 11 and 12 percent.
Many in the wine industry use this as the main determining factor for when to pick grapes. It used to be ‘back in the day’ that many grapes were picked at 22-23 brix so that the finished wine would be in the 12.5 -13.5 alcohol range . . .and there are some that still feel this is the ‘ideal’ area to pick in.
This measurement, as I’ve spoken about before, is simply one of many factors to help determine when to pick. More importantly, this measurement is heavily influenced by weather patterns, watering patterns in the vineyard, crop loads, and a few other variables.
There are some varieties that simply do not ‘come into their own’ until their sugar levels rise to much higher levels. Grenache, my favorite variety, is a prime example. Here are a few reasons for this:
* Grenache clusters are relatively large compared with other varieties, and in order to get complete ripening of the entire cluster, it is necessary to hang them out longer
* Grenache skins are very thick and tannin-filled; if picked too early, the resultant juice and wine will end up being less than stellar – thinner in body, full of tannin, and lacking the beautiful fruit character that draws me to these grapes
* The grapes simply do not produce ‘a harmonic balance’ in the subsequent juice until they are much riper than other varieties – this comes from tasting and tasting and tasting – you just KNOW when it’s time to pick them . . .and it tends to be at higher brix.
What does this all mean? I’m not really sure I know . . . I just felt like sharing this information this morning!
Cheers!!!
Sep
24
A few weeks back, I walked into our tasting room to find 4 customers arguing with each other. I stayed back and listened as best as I could to try to understand what was going on, and this is what I heard . . .
No.1: I smell citrus and spice from this wine.
No. 2: Well, I get peaches and cinnamon.
No. 3: You are both wrong! This wine smells floral and spicy!
No. 4: Are you crazy? This wine has the essence of grapefruit and the sea . . .
Not only were each of these customers telling the others what they smelled, but they were insistent that they were ‘right’ and everyone else was ‘wrong’!
So who was right here? The fact is – they ALL were. One person’s ‘citrus’ may very well be another’s ‘stone fruit’ and one’s ‘spice’ may be another’s ‘cardamom and cinnamon’ . . .
The bottom line is that each of us has a unique sense of smell and taste that is based upon a number of factors unique to us, including the foods we were exposed to throughout our lives, the places we’ve visited and the aromas we’ve noticed at each of these places, the recency of when we last smelled a particular smell or tasted a specific item, and much more.
And not only that, but each of us has different’ thresholds’ for detecting senses as well. For instance, there are some, including some well known wine reviewers, that can detect TCA, the chemical responsible for the ‘wet cardboard’ smell caused mainly by bad corks, at 1 or 2 parts per BILLION! Others may not be able to detect this defect unless it is 20 to 30 TIMES that level!
What similar situations have YOU been a part of? I’m looking forward to your comments!
Cheers!
Sep
21
Now that I have your attention, I wanted to tell you a bit about one of my favorite hours spent at UC Davis in my Viticulture and Enology study days . . .
Tim Hanni is a real heretic in the wine industry – pure and simple. He championed the concept of ‘progressive wine lists’ before most people could comprehend what they were . . . He championed ‘umami’ as an integral 5th taste to go along with sweet, sour, bitter, and salty, understanding how it affected wine and food pairing ‘harmony’ . . .He is an avowed ‘anti-wine snob’ . . . AND Mr. Hanni was one of the first two Americans to ever achieve the level of Master of Wine.
I invited Mr. Hanni to come speak to our class about food and wine pairing and he gladly accepted. During his captivating talk, one brief topic popped up and has stayed with me until this day . . .
‘All of you soon-to-be ‘high end’ winemakers – do me a favor . . . When you graduate from this illustrious institution and you’re working for your ‘exclusive’ winery, go out to a very nice steakhouse, call the sommelier over, and ask for their best bottle of White Zinfandel’ . . .
‘Why are so many of you laughing? Because I said ‘White Zinfandel’? Because I suggested asking for this at a steakhouse?!?!?!?!
You may laugh, but I need all of you in this room to understand that one of the three top selling varieties (and true even now) is White Zinfandel. Beringer and the like are ‘laughing’ all the way to the bank , , ,
And White Zinfandel with steak? Are you crazy? Why NOT?!?!? Who made up the rule that you had to have red wine with steak and NOT white wine (or blush)? Is this truly a ‘rule’?
Talk about ‘eye opening’ . . . I loved it! Here was a guy working in Napa and consulting with some spectacular restaurants around the world giving us some great advice . . . .and you would not believe how many of my classmates came up to me after his talk and laughed and shook their head at his ‘white zinfandel’ comment. To a one, they said that they would never be so crazy as to order that type of wine in a steakhouse . . . .
HELLOOO! I think someone (or, in this case, MANY folks) missed the point here . . .who are WE to tell someone what they should and should not LIKE!?!?!? You are not WRONG for liking this type of wine, and if a white zin is what you want with a steak, more power to you!
Just a little food for thought today . . .
Your thoughts are welcome (-:
Cheers!
Sep
18
There are many many books, blogs, and articles written every year about matching wine with food. There have been a handful of scientific studies on the matter as well (See Hildegarde Heyman’s study from UC Davis a few years back debunking wine and cheese pairings).
That said, I have rarely had ‘epiphany’ moments when matching wines with specific foods. Sure, I’ve had some great steaks with cabs, and some wonderful fish dishes with pinots . . . and even a few wonderful pasta with white sauce dishes with mineral and acid driven Chablis. But these are exceptions, not rules, in my experiences . . .
I had a great experience a few weeks back while pouring at the Malibu Wine Classic, though. I was pouring my wine next to a station that was serving a Hamachi Sashimi with a touch of avocado and a splash of a spicy green sauce. On a hunch, I went over and got a piece and tried it with my 2008 The Outlier, a dry Gewurztaminer with about .25% residual sugar . . and VOILA! The ever-so-slight sweetness on the finish of the wine tamed the slight spiciness of the dish; the fullness of the wine blended perfectly with the mildish flavors of the Hamachi. I recommended the pairing to dozens of people that day, and in every case, they came back with big smiles on their faces! A true success!
What magical pairings have you experienced recently? I’d love to hear about them – and have you share them with others!!!!!!!
Cheers!
Sep
17
When I was growing up, whenever my mom would make a special turkey dinner, she would always insert a temperature ‘doo dad’ that would ‘pop up’ when the turkey was done (or when the turkey hit a certain temperature, I’m assuming). Therefore, it was ‘easy’ to tell when it was done . . .
Life is not so easy when it comes to determining when is the right time to pick wine grapes. There are many many factors that need to be brought into the discussion to help make the right decision:
* The chemistry of the grapes themselves (sugar, acid and pH levels)
* The physiology of the grapes (skin, seeds, stems) and the plant itself
* At what levels things were picked in previous years and if you want to try to mimic these numbers or not
* Crop loads (to determine how things might change in the coming days)
* Weather patterns for the coming days / weeks
* Availability of picking crews
* Availability of tank space
And these are just a handful of the variables that winemakers must take into account each and every harvest, and with each and every picking decision. Note also that many of these are subjective ta boot – for instance, one winemaker’s target sugar level will most likely be higher or lower than another winemaker. And that time is now upon me in a couple of ways:
* As Assistant Winemaker for Fess Parker Winery and Epiphany Cellars, our sister label, I am intimately involved in tracking the progress of our grapes during the harvest season and help plan out picking dates with the rest of our winemaking team
* As co-owner and Winemaker for tercero wines, the picking decisions fall solely upon my shoulders (with the caveat of those things that are NOT entirely in my control as outlined above).
I sampled three vineyards that tercero purchases fruit from late yesterday to look at the progress of the grapes / vines and assess when I might want to bring the fruit in. In the case of syrah from the Thompson Vineyard and Grenache from the Watch Hill Vineyard, no decision has to be made now for the grapes are very far off from being picked – a minimum of two weeks and perhaps up to 6 in the case of the Grenache.
The gewurztraminer that we purchase from another vineyard in the Los Alamos area, though, was showing signs that it was just about ready. The grapes tasted sweet, but not quite the sweetness level I am after. They had a nice floral and spicy characteristic that I look for in the variety, and the skins had already changed colors to the pink/grey hue that this variety gets. I checked weather patterns, and it appears that it will be hitting the mid-80’s over the next few days where these grapes are from. I ran chemistries and they pointed to grapes that were nearly ready . . . for me.
I therefore made the call this afternoon to pick the grapes on Friday morning. Was it the ‘right’ call? I won’t know for sure until the grapes arrive and I get them pressed and into tank . . .and then again I may still not know for many months after that . . .
Should there be a ‘pop up doo dad’ that tells us when the grapes are ready? It would make life a little easier, but it would steal the ‘romance’ and ‘art’ that goes into this very important decision making process!
Cheers!
Sep
16
There has not been a lot of ‘scientific research’ about matching certain wines with certain foods. Most of the ’common knowledge’ about the subject has been disseminated by wineries themselves, with specific suggestions of which food to pair with their specific wines.
In addition, there are the ’conventional wisdoms’ that tell us that one should serve only red wine with meat and white wine with fish. And most people seem to take this advice without doing a little ’trial and error’ for themselves . . .
While attending UC Davis, I organized a seminar series on food and wine pairings, since this was a subject that was not covered in the Viticulture and Enology Program (and I simply wanted to learn more about it for my own knowledge!).
One of my favorite classes had the Master of Wine and Executive Chef from the Robert Mondavi Winery visit our class to share their knowledge. They generously agreed to supply food and wine and lead us in an informative comparison of some of these conventional wisdoms.
They grilled steaks on a barbeque we supplied, adding no spice to the meat whatsoever. They steamed white fish, again with no spices. And they steamed asparagus as well – with this vegetable being known as a very difficult one to match with ANY wines.
As we sat down, we were poured two wines – a Fume Blanc and a Cabernet Sauvignon – and were lead through the tasting by the MW. We were instructed to first try the white fish and then the white wine. Not very good at all. We then tried the red wine with the fish – not much different of a reaction from the white.
We then added two magical ingredients to the fish – sea salt and fresh lemon juice – and VOILA . . . Both wines went beautifully with the white fish. The added acid seemed to make the pairing work a lot better.
We went through the same routine with the unseasoned steak and the asparagus spears – and in both cases, the results were the same. Neither worked well with either wine until the food was spiced accordingly.
The moral here? Sometimes it has NOTHING to do with the wine itself – it’s a matter of how the FOOD is prepared in order to make the two match better!
Just thought I’d share . . .and I’m hoping you’ll share your thoughts no this as well!
Cheers!
Sep
14
I read an interesting blog last week chronicling a reader’s dislike of wine clubs in general. We’re not talking your run-of-the-mill ‘Wine of the Month’ type club here (and not that I have anything against that club or others like it in particular).
He was talking about a number of wineries’ individual wine clubs, and his disappointment stemmed from his experiences as follows:
* Many of the clubs seemed to be using the club to sell off wines that do not sell well elsewhere.
* Many of the clubs sell wine to their club members are prices that are somewhat higher than can be found in the retail market.
* Many of the clubs ‘bundle’ their wines, requiring you to purchase a number of different wines in order to get the ones you really want.
I was absolutely blown away to hear this, as my experiences with individual winery wine clubs has generally been quite positive. I’ve never felt ‘taken advantage of’ by receiving ‘second rate’ products AND I’ve always felt that the prices I received were lower than could be found elsewhere. In addition, I found that these clubs are a way to ensure access to difficult-to-find wines as well.
I have experienced this last point, though, and those wineries that have continued to practice this bundling have lost my business, as well as others I know.
I’ve tried to learn from this in putting together my own wine club. Though it’s a bit difficult to organize, I’ve tried to make my club as ‘open’ as possible and allow pretty much any kind of substitution you’d like . . .
For instance, my first shipment in the Spring consisted of 2 bottles of our 2008 rose, 2 bottles of our 2008 The Outlier (Dry Gewurztraminer), and 2 bottles of our 2006 Cuvee Christie. I had a handful of club members who preferred all reds – no problem. I had a few that wanted all whites – no problem again. And I had a number that wanted to order a few extra bottles – no problem (and I covered the freight charges for these customers!).
I’m interested to hear your experiences with wine clubs – both those from individual wineries and those put together by retail stores or other third parties. I’ll be sending out our Fall Club shipment in the next few weeks and want to make sure we ‘do it right’ (-:
Thanks in advance for sharing!
Cheers!
Sep
11
All of us have a ‘comfort zone’ in many aspects of our lives. For some, it’s with our finances, avoiding ‘risky’ ventures at all costs. For some, it’s their clothes, knowing what they like and avoiding ‘new’ or ‘trendy’ pants or shirts. And many of these ‘issues’ have to do with generalizations we build up in our own minds – THAT’s too risky because the TYPE of investment has been shown to be too risky in the past, not necessarily this specific investment, for instance.
The same could be said about wine drinkers and what they like to drink. There are always exceptions to any rule, but in general, people tend to like to drink what they are familiar with OR what others have told them they will like OR what a reviewer has ‘recommended’ they would like based on their ratings. ‘I only drink red wines’ is a common phrase I hear at tastings, with the person in front of me initially refusing to even TRY the white wines I am trying to pour . . . Or ‘I don’t drink roses’ because the person had tried one some time ago, found it sweet, and does not want to relive that experience!
On a wine board that I frequent, some readers took offense to a reviewer who said that some may not try a wine because they were ‘incapable of thinking outside the box’ . . .The wine in question is one that is barrel aged for a number of years – and sports an alcohol level north of 18%. Now this is certainly not a ‘wine for everyone’, but my read of the reviewer was that he was simply saying that this wine, because of its stated alcohol level, was outside most wine drinkers’ comfort zones . . .
I readily admit that I have my ‘go to’ wines depending upon my mood and the situation, At specific times, if someone offers me something else, I may not want to try it . . . simply because it’s outside my ‘comfort zone’ at that time . . .
That said, I really try my hardest to keep my eyes, ears, and mind wide open when it comes to wine. I tend to try things many others choose not to. For instance, I attended a wine dinner recently where someone opened up a bottle of pinot that had experienced a secondary fermentation in the bottle. It did not smell pretty – band aid, vinyl siding . . . not the type of descriptors I want in a wine. That said, I HAD to try it – when else might I ever experience such a wine??!??!?!
What’s my point here? I guess it’s that we should all strive to ‘maximize’ our comfort zone from time to time, venturing outside of its normal boundaries to explore things we might not otherwise. Try not to ‘predict’ that you will not like a wine because of what is printed on the label – alcohol levels, variety. where the grapes came from, etc . . . My bet is that with wine, as with most other things in life, our comfort zones might be wider than we think they are . . .
I’d love to hear your thoughts on this as well . . .
Cheers!
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Larry | 
09 30th, 2009| 
