| The WeekEnd Brewer |
| The Wine Page |
| Ingredients |
| Wine Equipment |
Picking Chardonnay in Powhatan County
White wines come in a myriad of styles, so it isn’t easy to make generalizations about all whites. I would wager, in fact, that a blindfolded taster could easily mistake some white wines for red. White wines may be fat or thin, tart or flabby, dry or sweet, rich or austere, still or sparkling. The same grapes, such as Chardonnay or Sauvignon Blanc, can produce very different wines, depending on where they were grown, the nature of the vintage, and the winemaking methods employed.
Besides differences such as table wines versus dessert wines and fortified wines, or still versus sparkling, there are some important distinctions among white table wines that have more to do with winemaking choices than with the types of grapes used. You, the winemaker, can “design” your wine to attain a certain style, whether using grapes or kits. Here is a good example. This year, two winemaking partners and I harvested 600 pounds of Chardonnay grapes from a vineyard in Powhatan County, Virginia. The grapes were in good condition, but slightly under-ripe, with a sugar content of 19 degrees Brix.
We decided to make two very different wines from these grapes. Batch 1 is destined to become a clean, crisp, refreshing wine with citrus or apple-like notes, suited to accompanying fresh seafood dishes and warm summer days on the patio. Batch 2 is meant to be a deep, velvety, richly flavored and textured wine with tones of butter and vanilla. Here’s how we are going about creating these very distinctive beverages from the same raw material.
Batch 1 was brought up to 21-22 degrees Brix by adding sugar. The juice was sulfited well right out of the crusher to prevent oxidation of fruit aromas and flavors. A clean, neutral yeast was selected, and fermentation was completed under refrigeration at 55-60 degrees. Following completion of primary fermentation, the new wine was racked to glass carboys. Another dose of sulfite was added, along with lysozyme enzyme, to prevent malolactic fermentation (MLF). This will help preserve the natural malic acid in the wine, which will deliver the crisp acidity and fresh apple flavors we are looking for. The wine is, at this time, continuing to mature in glass under cold (less than 40 degrees) conditions. To finish this wine, we intend to rack it soon off the lees, and to bottle it in early spring.
Batch 2 was brought to 23 degrees Brix, and sulfited with just a bare minimum sulfite dose at the crusher. The yeast chosen for this batch is a strain isolated in Burgundy which is known for emphasizing complexity in Chardonnay wines. Fermentation took place in the presence of lightly toasted granular oak to mimic the effects barrel fermentation. At the end of primary, the wine was racked without sulfite to a stainless steel tank and was inoculated with malolactic bacteria culture and MLF nutrient. Additional oak was added at this time. Over the past several weeks, the yeast lees have been stirred every two or three days in order to add some yeast richness and body to the wine. Malolactic fermentation has completed, and additional sulfite has now been added to prevent oxidation and microbial spoilage. This wine will continue to age in bulk, with varying additions of French and American oak of varying toast levels, well into the spring, and possibly beyond.
Samples of these still-young wines indicate that we have succeeded in producing very different products from the same grapes. Yeast choice, fermentation temperatures, encouraging or preventing MLF, using or avoiding oak: these are all examples of major decisions we winemakers make in deciding what style our white wines will be. While the above example has dealt with Chardonnay grapes, the very same decisions go into the choice to make Tokay (Alsatian style) or Pinot Grigio (Venice style) from Pinot Gris grapes.
Many of these variations in winemaking technique apply also to white wines made from kits. Whether or not to prolong contact with the “light” lees in the secondary fermenter is a decision that can make a profound difference in the structure of the final wine. What’s more, you are not constrained to use the yeast provided in your kit. If you take the time to learn about the different properties of various yeast strains, you can have a notable impact on your wine just by choosing the correct yeast. If your kit comes with oak, consider leaving it out, or substituting a different type of oak, or adding more. In my judgment, many kits provide too much oak. Trying using just half the oak, then after the wine is mostly clear and stable, taste it. Now you can decide whether or not to add more.
As I have noted in earlier editions of this column, please do not attempt to conduct MLF on kit wines. In order to avoid tartrate sediment in your bottles, most manufacturers remove tartaric acid and substitute malic. MLF would replace the malic with the much less acidic lactic acid. That would, at the least, cause your wine to be flabby and dull. At worst it would raise the Ph to unhealthy levels and lead to spoilage.
It is often said that wine is made in the vineyard. I disagree. It is made both in the vineyard and in the winery. Every winemaker leaves his or her imprint on the wine—either by knowingly choosing appropriate winemaking methods or failing to do so through ignorance. It’s your wine.
Pressing the Chardonnay
I have been told (from the seller of my grapes) that the volume estimate for making any corrections to must should be based on assumed wine. In other words, if I have 5 gallons of must, the assumed volume would be 3 gallons of wine and I should be using 3 gallons for all must corrections (water additions to dilute high brix, acid additions, sulfite additions, etc). Is this correct? In the past, I have been using total must for all corrections and am obviously concerned that I may have been adding 40% more of everything. Having said that, I don't remember having any issues because of my must corrections. Thanks for your help.
John.
John,
Additions should be based on your estimate of yield, not on the volume of must. I can guess why you may not have detected any problems if you were "adding 40% more of everything." You mention adding water to correct high Brix. That suggests you are probably making wine from California grapes. Adding a bit too much water would leave many California musts well into the "normal" range for non-California grapes. Likewise, California grapes tend to be lower in acid than normal, so a bit too much there wouldn't be noticed. Finally, as long as the yeast could stand 40% more sulfite, the fact remains that most of the SO2 "boils off" during fermentation and won't leave residual effects in the wine at the end of primary.
Rather than spotlight a particular Virginia wine this month, I’d like to advocate that all loyal readers celebrate Virginia Wine Month by visiting the wine rack at your neighborhood ABC store. Every October, the ABC stores discount all their Virginia wines by 15%! That is some serious savings! This month, for instance, you can buy 2001 Horton Norton for just over 7 bucks a bottle! That’s a serious bargain. This is a good time to go sample a wide selection of home state homebrew.
Also, see: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/CentralVirginiaWinemakers/
Copyright 2004 L. Daniel Mouer