ask a winemaker

Update from La Fortuna in Chile

2010-03-17T12:25:00.000-05:00

A short report from La Fortuna in Chile. In total, they lost 85,000 liters or 113,333 750ml bottles of wine in the earthquake.

Here is the text of the email from the winery:

Hola Paolo:

Not sure if I have send you pictures of the winery after the earthquake, enclosed a few of them.

Despite these views La Fortuna is 100% functioning now, the filling and bottling plant has been moved to the building in front of the cellar where usually the fresh fruit is processed while the roof of the cellar is rebuilt.

Three 50.000 lt oak tanks were destroyed but thankfully were empty, a tank with 25.000 lt Pinot Noir 2009 was damaged and this wine unfortunately was spread around, we lost the whole stuff, another 50.000 lt of Cabernet Sauvignon was lost and 10.000 lts of Sauvignon Blanc.

However, considering the magnitude of the quake losses were not very big, what’s a pity is the Pinot; vintage 2010 will be ready at the end of July.

Thankfully grape maturity is delayed what has given us time to repair the area where the fruit is crushed, we do not need the roof by now, next Monday the Sauvignon Blanc harvest starts.

I’m sure that you will understand that how urgently we need to generate sales; your consideration upon this will be very much appreciated.

Saludos,

Juan E. Oyarzún

Charlie Barra on his estate, organics, and Mendocino

2010-01-18T13:05:00.002-06:00

Sixty four vintages ago, the now eighty-two year old Charlie Barra skipped out on his high school classes to go pick grapes. Today, he and his family own and operate Barra of Mendocino and Girsaole Vineyards, farming two hundred acres of grapes organically and making a line up of well priced, well made wines.

I had the pleasure of sitting down with Charlie and filming nearly three hours of conversations about everything from his choice to move to organic farming to his efforts to break the monopoly that controlled grape prices for years in Mendocino. There will be more videos with fragments of that conversation, but here, the talented independent videographer and musician Steven Stokes of Stoked Studios was good enough to condense our conversation into a four minute overview. This is a departure for Askawinemaker as the video is not aimed at answering one question, but I think the content justifies the inclusion of the video on this site. Many thanks to Steve for his good work - he composed and performed the music as well.

The video is posted here.

How does terroir make it into a glass of Pinot Noir?

2009-07-18T12:43:00.006-05:00

Terroir is perhaps one of the most over used words in wine-speak. It was a relief when I heard Wes Hagen of Clos Pepe talk about how minerals that might affect the taste of wine are transfered from the soil to the glass in a way that was grounded in science and study, and not marketing. After he finished presenting at the tasting of the 2007 Southern California AVA's at Pinot Days, I chased him outside to ask if he would repeat of few of his thoughts on camera. He obliged and this is the first of a number of great clips.

Wes' refreshing lack of hyperbole combined with an intimate knowledge of the most recent research in vineyard management makes this a terrific resource for anyone trying to understand the many reasons one wine might taste more "mineral" than another.

For updates on Wes' work in the vineyard in the form of clever haikus, you might consider following Wes @weshagen on Twitter, or @clospepe.

Mendocino, CA: America's first county to be GMO free

2009-07-17T15:05:00.004-05:00

Octogenarian Charlie Barra of Barra of Mendocino and Girasole Vineyards has predicted, spearheaded and witnessed lots of changes to farming in Mendocino over the course of his sixty four harvests. In this first video with Charlie, he discusses the process by which he and a group of others lead the charge to pass a countywide ordinance banning the use of genetically modified plant material in their county.

More information on the ban can be found on these websites:

The Mendocino Ecological Learning Center

Wild California

The Universtiy of California's "California Agriculture On-Line" site has an interesting history of the effort.

Ripeness, alcohol, & when to pick grapes; California's hot button issue du jour.

2009-07-03T11:54:00.006-05:00

At Pinot Days, San Francisco this year, ripeness levels, alcohol and knowing when to pick in California were the subjects du jour. It seems the question of when to pick is central to consumers and winemakers alike as "fruit bombs" and "Parkerized" morph from superlatives into negatives.

Looking into the archives over on Askawinemaker's YouTube channel, I found three videos with American producers providing thoughtful commentary on how to judge ripeness in the vineyard and when to pick grapes for wine. This is not a commentary on what alcohol levels should or should not be. These videos provide insight into one aspect of the winemakeing process which I hope will contribute to your understanding.

Fred Scherrer starts us off talking about the evolution of his practice in the vineyard going from lab analysis to tasting.

Tim Olson of Olson Ogden focuses on visual and textural cues, without making any mention of the lab numbers he might find.

From Santa Barbara County down south, here is Joey Tensley's take on when to pick Syrah.

If you have not been to SF or to Chicago, you are missing out on a fascinating experience. Because the event is organized by wine lovers, for wine lovers and staffed by volunteer wine lovers, it has a different feel than any other "professional" event I have attended. I was flattered and honored to be invited to sit in with Rusty Gaffney,The Prince of Pinot and Jay Selman of Grape Radio for their sessions.

Interestingly, Jay just posted a long interview on alcohol levels over at Grape Radio. Check it out, here.

From California Trip June 09

The Selection of Rootstock and Clones for Syrah in Santa Barbara with Joey Tensley, Pt III

2009-07-01T18:56:00.003-05:00

Tasting acidity vs. Ph in wine: Fred Scherrer explains

2009-06-23T11:54:00.005-05:00

Last night I had the good fortune to be part of a small private dinner with a group of friends at the Sofitel in Chicago. Chef Martial Noguier did a great job and we were fortunate to have his undivided attention all night including extensive question and answer sessions with each course. We were also fortunate to enjoy, among other things, Krug NV, Cos d'Estournel 1989, Daumas Gassac 1995, and to finish, 1993 Quintarelli Recioto. Life is good, to say the least.

This post is inspired however by the 2004 Domaine Gauby Vielles Vignes Blanc, from the Cotes de Castalan in France, a vibrant wine that led us to a discussion of the perception of acidity vs ph. The wine has a brightness which I initially tasted as acidity. In discussing the pairing - Chef Noguier served us a Peekytoe crab salad, with pickled rhubarb, radish, and pistachio that was fantastic - one of our friends noted that he preferred the "lower acid" wine that he then identified as the Gauby. Well, which is it? It's time to ask a winemaker. Hey Fred, what's the difference between ph and acidity in wine and how do you tell which is which when tasting?

At the end, we concluded that the wine has a medium amount of acidity, but that the ph leads to the sense of brightness that Fred evokes in the clip. This seemed like a "speedy wine" per Fred's description - medium acidity and lower ph.

As noted, the video above was shot in the cellars at Flickinger Wines, which coincidentally is also the retailer from whom I bought the Gauby.

Rootstock, Clones, and Syrah in Santa Barbara County PT II

2009-06-22T09:12:00.004-05:00

Winemaker Joey Tensley of Tensley Wines sat down with Jeremy Quinn of Webster's Wine Bar in Chicago for a conversation about the choices around the selection of rootstock and clones when planting Syrah in Santa Barbara, California. Jeremy Quinn, the sommelier at Webster's Wine Bar, is one of the city's leading proponents of terroir driven wines, and his questions go to the heart of how a vineyard manager's choices might heighten or muddle the transfer of place from soil to grape to bottle.

We broke the conversation into three pieces for ease of use. Part I focused on the history of Syrah clones in California and then grew into the start of a discussion on rootstock.

Part II focuses on terroir in California, with comments from Joey on how an understanding of terroir develops with time, in relation to what types of clones and rootstocks are planted.

Rootstock, Clones, and Syrah in Santa Barbara County PT I

2009-06-20T12:10:00.005-05:00

Winemaker Joey Tensley of Tensley Wines sat down with Jeremy Quinn of Webster's Wine Bar in Chicago for a conversation about the choices around the selection of rootstock and clones when planting Syrah in Santa Barbara, California.

Jeremy Quinn, the sommelier at Webster's Wine Bar, is one of the city's leading proponents of terroir driven wines, and his questions go to the heart of how a vineyard manager's choices might heighten or muddle the transfer of place from soil to grape to bottle.

We broke the conversation into three pieces for ease of use. Part I focuses on the history of Syrah clones in California, from Australian Durrell Clones to Estrella Clones from France to the growth of nurseries like ENTAV and the Tablas Creek Vine Model Project, and then grew into the start of a discussion on rootstock. More on that in II and III.

Many thanks to Webster's Wine Bar and to Jeremy Quinn. These conversations between sommelier and winemakers will play a big role in www.askawinemaker.com as it evolves and we hope JQ's continuing participation will be central.

Dirty pictures. Chardonnay wearing nothing but Botrytis cinerea

2009-06-16T12:02:00.019-05:00

Here at Askawinemaker, our love for complex, well balanced, age worthy dessert wines is matched by our love for complex, well balanced, age worthy Chardonnays. Interestingly, there is sometimes a link between the two: Botrytis cinerea, or "Noble Rot".

When it comes to wine, Botrytis is the double edged sword of the fungal world. Chris Kissack, aka, The Wine Doctor, has a terrific article on the benefits and the dangers of Botrytis in the vineyard, as well as the role Botrytis plays in producing sweet wines from Sauternes, the Loire Valley, Germany and beyond. While Botrytis can elevate some grapes to sweet nobility, it also has the power to ruin an entire harvest where it is an uninvited guest. In the best cases, it can add layers and complexity to dry wines. In conjunction with Candid Wines 2005 tasting of Domaine de la Romanee Conti and our subsequent visit to the cellars in Vosne Romanee, Aubert de Villaine explained to me that they encourage Botrytis in the Montrachet vineyard for up to 25% of the crop.

Re-reading The Wine Doctor's article on Botrytis, this passage sticks out in relation to DRC's use of such a high percentage of botrytized grapes:

Early Botrytis infection, which turns the grapes a purple-green, is known as pourri plein, and at this stage Botrytis cinerea consumes grape sugar without concentration of juice; hence the grapes may actually be less sugar-rich than before Botrytis set in. Pickers must wait until the grapes are fully desiccated, when they are known as confit or rôti, before harvesting. At this stage the Botrytis has consumed more sugar, but such is the effect of dehydration that the juice is highly concentrated and sweet; in addition, the fungal action creates glycerol, dextrin and other compounds which contribute to the texture and unique and desirable honey, toast and apricot flavour profile of a botrytised wine. (The Wine Doctor)

So a grape with early onset Botrytis can have some of the benefits like increased richness (from the glycerol) and more layered flavors without having additional sugar. Assuming that the flavors can be steered in the right direction, this makes sense to me. This of course is the fodder for many more direct questions we can ask down the road. In particular, I'd like to ask Klaus Peter Keller of Weingut Keller in the Rheinhessen about Botrytis and Riesling. Klaus Peter makes some of the world's best dry Rieslings but avoids Botrytis in those wines like he might avoid the plague. So many questions.

I was fortunate to help with the 2006 harvest in the Russian River Valley and was present on the days when Fred Scherrer of the Scherrer Winery and vineyard owner Don Helfer made the decision about when to pick the Helfer Vineryard Chardonnay, which was starting to be affected by Botrytis. Here is a discussion of that process that we recorded with Fred in January of 2007.

Warning! This video contains lots of pictures of Chardonnay grapes covered in the spores of Botrytis cinerea, which The Wine Doctor points out is the asexual form of Botryotinia fuckeliana. (That's the actual scientific name, and not a product of my inner twelve year old, though my inner twelve year old is laughing.)

Still hungry for more information on Botrytis? An outfit called Picturebookpublishing.com has a detailed look at Chardonnay harvested after Botrytis had set in in order to make a dessert wine at Simi Winery in the Russian River Valley. It is good read, especially after watching Fred Scherrer describe his efforts to control Botrytis in the production of dry Chardonnay. The article also includes many good pictures of shrivelling grapes as Botrytis affects more and more of the vineyard.

ADDITION:
The series of pictures I took during the 2006 harvest at the Helfer Vineyard, documenting the process of going from vine to bottle is on http://www.candidwines.com/. The pictures document the decision of when to harvest given the growing threat of botrytis, as well as the work done in the vineyard and at the winery.

When to pick Syrah? Joey Tensley responds

2009-05-26T15:48:00.003-05:00

Joey Tensley talked through his approach to judging ripeness in Syrah at the end of the growing season. I am disappointed with the sound quality here and starting to look for an alternative the to Flip Camera I have been using. Any low price suggestions would be apprecated. Many more Tensley videos to come as I edit them.

How much blanc could a Pinot Blanc blanc, if a Pinot was actually blanc?

2009-05-14T09:52:00.005-05:00

Despite selling Pinot Blanc for years, I learned recently that I have no idea as to what it is that I am either selling or drinking. Naively, I thought Pinot Blanc from Alsace was, well, Pinot Blanc. As Christophe Ehrhart from Josmeyer explains here, his Pinot Blanc, like many, contains a fair amount of Auxerrois. Christophe talks about the profile or Auxerrois and its relation to Chardonnay - think rounder and fuller bodied - and how it is used to soften the harder, more acidic edges of pure Pinot Blanc. A bit of searching on google turned up this very useful page on what else might be in Pinot Blanc from Alsace. http://www.alsace-wine.net/d/pinotblanc.shtml Note that in some cases, there is not even a drop of Pinot Blanc in a bottle of Pinot Blanc.

On a related note, my search for an explanation of the wine laws in Alsace turned up the history of Pinot Blanc in California. http://www.sallybernstein.com/beverages/wine/vintnerschoice/pinot_identity.htm Turns out that for a long time, Pinot Blanc in California was not actually Pinot Blanc either, but Melon de Bourgogne, which of course is the cousin of Chardonnay that makes the world's greatest value, most age worthy white wine that no one seems to know about, Muscadet.

Along with the videos with Olivier Humbrecht, this was filmed at the Return to Terroir tasting in NY in February of 2009.

Do most winemakers filter red wine? Tim Olson replies

2009-04-22T15:51:00.003-05:00

Since we began posting videos a few months ago, this has been one of the most often viewed and the most often "stolen" clips. (By stolen, I mean posted on other sites). I suspect the filtering question grabs the attention of home winemakers, and certainly Tim and the Olson Ogden wines have received some good press, but I am not sure why this has maintained its "most viewed" status.

Tim does a nice job of explaining filtration in layman's terms and he describes why one might or might not filter along the way.

When should I decant Pinot Noir? Joe Davis of Arcadian answers

2009-04-13T18:27:00.003-05:00

At Pinot Days Chicago in 2008 I asked Joe Davis of Arcadian Winery, along with a number of other producers, when and why one might decant Pinot Noir. I was surprised by this answer, which quickly became focused on dissolved oxygen and the use of sulphur.

Gross Lees vs Fine Lees in Winemaking : Master of Wine Olivier Humbrecht explains

2009-04-13T14:51:00.004-05:00

The difference between "Gross Lees" and "Fine Lees" and their importance in winemaking is discussed by Olivier Humbrecht, Master of Wine. Thanks to Jessica Bell of the MidWest Wine School who teaches WSET classes and provided a few questions. This video was shot at the Renaissance des Applelations tasting in NY

Reductive vs Oxidative Winemaking - Olivier Humbrecht explains

2009-04-13T14:22:00.005-05:00

Reductive and oxidative winemaking styles are compared by Olivier Humbrecht of Domaine Zind-Humbrecht in Alsace. Olivier makes the point that new wood barrels are full of oxygen. He points out that new wood barrels float whereas old barrels sink. I had not thought of that before. There is also a discussion here of the lees of a wine. I have a number of other videos that I will post regarding lees. Click on lees in the appendix for all related videos currently on line. Thanks to Jessica Bell of the Midwest Wine School who provided this question from students in her Wine and Spirits Education Trust (WSET) classes. If you have questions, or are a wine educator with students like Jessica's, please post follow up questions in the comments or email me and I will save your questions for my next encounter with a winemaker.

What is Malolactic Fermentation? Christian Moreau from Chablis answers

2009-04-13T14:11:00.004-05:00

Malolactic fermentation is defined by Christian Moreau of Domaine Christiane Moreau Pere et Fils. Monsieur Moreau also talks about the 2003 Valmur wine and the fact that it did not go through any malolactic fermentation due to extraordinary circumstances in regards to the vintage. After this, he discusses the Domaine's move to natural yeast fermentations as of 2008.

Sulphur in Winemaking - Tim Olson explains

2009-04-11T21:43:00.002-05:00

Tim Olson of Olson Ogden Wines explains the uses of sulphur in winemaking and what can happen when too much or too little sulphur is added.

Oak Barrels at Siduri Wines, Winemaker Adam Lee discusses

2009-04-11T21:38:00.002-05:00

Adam Lee of Siduri Wines talks to askawinemaker about how they use many different types of barrels and blind taste from each before blending at Siduri Winery. Video filmed at Pinot Days Chicago in 2008.

2009-04-11T21:23:00.001-05:00

Winemaker Fred Scherrer of the Scherrer Winery discusses the terroir of the Russian River Valley and Sonoma Coast Appelations in California, and talks about how the two can taste different. This question came from Steven Rigisich of Pinot Days.

Selecting Clones - Steve Cass of the Cass Winery

2009-04-11T21:11:00.006-05:00

The selection of clones (different types of vines within one sort of variety) is central to viticultural success. Stephen Cass of the Cass Winery discusses his use of ENTAV certified clones as well as their relevance to Brix levels. Along the way, Steve describes the relationship of Brix to alcohol levels in wine. Filmed at Feast, Gold Coast in Chicago.

The Importance of Clones

2009-04-11T13:29:00.005-05:00

Selecting the right clones for a vineyard site is big business all over the wine-growing world. Here, Fred Scherrer talks a bit about what might go into the decision and advocates for "Mass Selection" which is the process of selecting the best plants from an existing vineyard over the course of a number of years.

"Angles & Rounds": Fred Scherrer discusses acidity and tannin in wine

2009-04-11T13:13:00.006-05:00

"Angles and Rounds" is the way that Fred Scherrer sums up his approach to finding balance in wine. I find this to be an easy way to think about wines, especially when tasting blind and trying to either figure out what type of wine I am tasting, and to assess wine quality.

Jessica Bell, Owner and Founder of The Midwest Wine School, asked Fred a series of questions that she hears from her students. Look for many more videos with Jessica and Fred, as well as more collaborations between Jessica and Ask a Winemaker.

Olivier Humbrecht on Biodynamics

2009-04-11T11:54:00.004-05:00

Olivier Humbrecht is both a Master of Wine and the Owner / Winemaker at Domaine Zind-Humbrecht in Alsace, France. I spoke to him at the Return to Terroir tasting in New York in February, 2009.

"What is biodynamics?" was the last question that I asked him and his initial response was "No". I caught him came at the end of a full day of pouring his wines and talking about while he fought a cold and I think the question was just too broad for the time and place. He hesistated, and then said that there was not enough battery in the camera, nor time in the day to give a proper answer. This video starts at that point, when he warmed up and was kind enough to provide an overview. I appreciate that he took the time and am thrilled to have a few of his thoughts on this site.

How wine is bottled at the Scherrer Winery

2009-04-10T16:43:00.013-05:00

The inagural post on Ask a Winemaker goes to winemaker Fred Scherrer, whose patient, reasoned responses to my seemingly endless queries are a big part of the motivation for this video series and blog. I am fortunate to be able to ask winemakers like Fred (and winemakers not at all like Fred) questions and have learned that there is always something more to learn. Therein is the spirit of this blog - wine education through questions asked of the people who make it.

This first video was shot by Connor O'Rourke of Candid Wines in the spring of 2008. Connor can be seen helping Fred bottle.

Enjoy, and if this or any other video inspires a question, please share it and we'll do our best to find an answer.

Cheers!

Here is the link to the video on YouTube, which is also embedded below.