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Ideas With Impact-2003 Chardonnay Outlook
“Proper words in proper places, make the true definition of a style.” Jonathan Swift, 1720
Improve French Wine-Farm Methods
Does your luxury Chardonnay winemaking come from the French wine-farms? This style of winemaking works for making small batches, but French wine-farm methods are not reliable for large volumes. Kistler and other luxury producers have integrated élevage into their winemaking but make relatively small batches, roughly the level of production we find in Burgundy. California winemakers have not figured out how to scale luxury Chardonnay winemaking to more than 10,000 cases year after year. Chardonnay winemaking in California is still improving.
The National Wine Critics, such as Robert Parker, favor wines with élevage attributes. Élevage is the operation that makes wine drinkable and increases quality. It makes big wines elegant. In most every case élevage creates attributes that signal to the critics that you are a traditionalist. The National Wine Critics believe élevage attributes are critical to Burgundy varietal wines. Just look at the higher scores given to Kistler Chardonnays.
How does Enologix analyze élevage? Compare WineFAX from December versus after élevage. It is that simple. Look for changes in color, flavor and fragrance over 90 days.
The Enologix Vintage Numbers
Averages through January
2003 2002 2001
Essential Oils 32 33 28
Yellow Pigment 178 134 131
Essential Oils average 32 for 2003 Chardonnays through January, which is great. Yellow Pigment concentrations averaged 178, which is significantly higher than 2001 and 2002 and is a problem for this time of year. Lower the Yellow Pigments as soon as possible through fining. The Essential Oils are good for this time of year creating an opportunity to make great Chardonnays if the Yellow Pigment can be fined out. The goal is to sur lies age for 45 more days, assay, and consider assembling your reserve Chardonnay from Style IV wines.
To scale luxury Chardonnay to 10,000 or more cases, view winemaking as a value-chain that stretches from vineyard through the winery to the consumer. Start by measuring the quality of the wine when it is young and difficult to taste. Enologix offers quality metrics beginning as early as December when Chardonnay wines are milky with yeast. To add value to wines, predict which operations are needed to make better wines.
Classify each lot in February. Start with the key metrics, Yellow Pigment and Essential Oil concentrations. These flavors drive the style of white Burgundy wines (Style III-IV) that are awarded high scores by consumers and National Wine Critics. Classify wines by Style: AAA lots are Style IV, A lots are Style III, and B lots are Style I-II. Style IV wines are outright reserve lots. Style II and III lots need to have Yellow Pigment concentrations reduced to below 135. Style I lots have potential for becoming AAA lots. Try and add value to Style I wines by pushing Essential Oils to 33-50 by stirring. Analyze these wines every 45 days from February to June. See “Enologix Style Index White” in client center at www.enologix.com under References for more information on white wine styles.
Arrange the lots (regular versus luxury) for future bottling. Use the QMS™ blending software (www.enologix.com) to predict wine blend quality. Enologix allows you to integrate logistics into your winemaking to detect defects before conducting the expensive sur lies aging operations and determine when stirring stops being a benefit, which is a real improvement over French wine-farm methods.
How To:
Step 1. Assay wines, for Yellow Pigments.
Step 2. Fine Style II and III wines as needed.
Step 3. Use MAX-Preference tasting to identify defects. Stop stirring for a week and sample for blind tasting.
Step 4. Use White WineFAX and tasting to identify suspect luxury lots.
Step 5. Make a digital blend using the QMS Blend tool.
Step 6. Make one barrel of the blend. Taste.
Step 7. Battonage the selected lots, and immediately pump lots to tank with lies.
Step 8. Mix the tank and rack the blend back to un-washed barrels.
Step 9. Age sur lies.
Step 10. Assay and bottle wines with an Index of 0.65+ as luxury Chardonnay.
Warm regards,
Christina Nelson, Jackie Dinelli and Maren Gulsrud
The Enologix Laboratory
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IDEAS WITH IMPACT- Chardonnay Winemaking Part 2
“Work expands so as to fill the time available for its completion.” Northcote Parkinson, 1958
Fining 2003 Wines’ Yellow Pigments
Conditions in California consistently produce more yellow pigments in Chardonnays than in the wines of Burgundy. This is especially true for 2003, as Chardonnays are very high in Yellow Pigment. This is The Problem for the 2003 vintage. High yellow pigment hampers the style of any California Chardonnay.
Chardonnay wines are not produced; they are created. It is not just the yeast that makes quality Chardonnays, which are the equivalent of Premier Cru white Burgundy. The balance of Essential Oils and Yellow Pigments in California Chardonnay is important in creating a high quality luxury wine that will score 100-points.
Yellow Pigments produce one or more norisoprenoids. Norisoprenoids are considered the most powerful flavorants in Chardonnay. These 11-carbon aromatic compounds can overwhelm your sur lies methode attributes with the flavor of honey, which upon aging, will turn into the flavor of squash.
If a winemaker never decreases the Yellow Pigment in Chardonnay he or she will always make low quality wine. To compete with white Burgundy we must work to decrease Yellow Pigment in luxury Chardonnays to concentrations of 90-130ppm.
How To Fine Your Chardonnays:
Fine Yellow Pigments from your wine at the rate of 1g/1ppm. Isinglass has been a successful fining agent in the past, however, this year it may prove ineffective. If you have tried fining and have not seen a decrease in Yellow Pigment, STOP. In 2003 fining with Isinglass produced more Yellow Pigment in some appellations.
To reduce yellow pigments, conduct three trials with different fining agents. We suggest:
Trial 1: Fine with Casein (Skim Milk, Powdered Milk) followed by 1/2-pound bentonite.
Trial 2: Fine with Gel Sol followed by 1/2-pound bentonite.
Trial 3: Fine with 1/2-pound bentonite followed by filtration through Seitz 50s.
Submit samples of each trial to Enologix for white WineFAX™ analysis. Choose the fining agent that reduces Yellow Pigment the most while stripping the Aromatics the least. Email consulting@enologix.com with questions or call (707)-938-9463 to talk with an Authorized Enologix Winemaker.
Leo McCloskey, Winemaker
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IDEAS WITH IMPACT-Pinot Noir & Oak Barrels
“Well begun is half done.” -- Aristotle, 384 - 322 BC.
The Difficulty For Pinot Noir Winemakers
Pinot Noir is a very difficult wine to make. First off there is a 50% vintage-to-vintage variation in the quality of grapes, demonstrated by the wide WineFAX Index range between the 2000 and 2001 Sonoma Coast Pinot Noir. Second, luxury Pinot Noir winemaking that is modeled after the wine-farms of Burgundy was never meant to be used to make 30,000 cases of red wine. Just as we said with Chardonnay, no California winemaker has figured out how to scale luxury Pinot Noir winemaking to more than 10,000 cases year after year. These are the limits of production of true vin de terroir.
How To Make Pinot Noir Winemaking Better:
It has been observed that there is vintage-to-vintage variation in how Pinot Noir shows oak through sensory analysis. Also, there is wine-to-wine variation within a vintage based on the intensity of color, flavor and fragrance. Despite this variation, most winemakers continue to use a static recipe, resulting in a default decision to use the same percentage of new oak each year and to distribute that new oak evenly across all the wines of a given vintage. New oak actually reduces color, therefore seasoned oak is best for wines with Complex Anthocyanins below 50. Larry Brooks, Authorized Enologix Winemaker, has “observed in Chardonnay that the best oak sensory effects come from new barrels that are seasoned six-months, or from one-year-old barrels.” Also helpful in the winemaking process is the QMS Blending software. “This software allows me to forecast bottling blends, and enables me to improve oaking Pinot Noir. Once I know my blend, I can age in oak for the perfect amount of time, whether that is 10 months for 2001 or 14 months for 2002 Sonoma Coast Pinot Noirs.” Oaking Pinot Noirs is a two-stage process. The first stage involves using new oak right after harvest. Only the minimum amount of oak should be used at this time. The second stage is applied when you are making blends. At this time you know exactly what the structure of the wine is and you can tell by tasting how it is expressing the oak it has. With this knowledge you can add new oak as needed and shift a higher percentage of the best wine into your best one-year-old barrels.
Warm regards,
Larry Brooks, Zach Berkowitz, Kerry Damskey, Leo McCloskey
Enologix Authorized Viticulturists and Winemakers
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Ideas with Impact - Leaf Removal and Crop Adjustment
“In the right light, at the right time, everything is extraordinary.”—Aaron Rose
June 2004
Leaf removal (leafing) and crop adjustment can make a difference in the pursuit of top quality. Leafing opens the canopy, exposing leaves and clusters to sunlight. This helps reduce fungal diseases, malic acid and methoxyperizines (bell pepper) and improves color and flavor. Crop adjustment can improve vine balance (crop load-leaf area), leading to proper ripening and concentration of color, aroma and flavor.
Leaf Removal:
Leafing involves the removing of basal leaves and/or lateral shoots in the fruit zone, usually on the morning side of the vines. The extent to which leaves are removed is dependent on the trellis, canopy density, wine type and winery style. For example, Sauvignon Blanc wine style is greatly impacted by the amount of leafing. Thin VSP canopies can often be opened sufficiently by removing laterals in the fruit zone. Dense canopies need more leaves removed to improve microclimate conditions. At some point, a change in trellis may be more effective than removing lots of leaves. As a rule of thumb, about half the clusters should be visible on the morning or “shady” side of the vine. Clusters exposed on the hot western or southern side of the vine can burn on hot days, resulting in reduced anthocyanin and related phenolic compounds. For this reason, leafing is to be avoided on the afternoon side in all but the coolest climates or where herbaceous flavors are a serious defect. The earlier leafing is performed, the more impact it has. Therefore, in vineyards with green flavors, leafing should take place at or just after set.
Crop Adjustment:
Crop adjustment begins at pruning, continues with shoot thinning and is fine tuned with cluster thinning. Cluster thinning is performed after set, when the potential crop can be estimated, and continues through veraison when green bunches are removed. For large clustered varieties or grapes going into flagship quality wines, 1 cluster per shoot is an approach that is easy to perform. Another common and effective approach is short shoot cluster thinning, where the number of clusters per shoot is determined by shoot length. For example, shoots that are 18 inches or shorter would have all clusters removed, 18 to 36 inches would retain 1 cluster and shoots 36 inches or longer would retain 2 clusters. Another approach is “green drop” where green bunches are removed during the latter stages of veraison. In all cases, the idea is to go into ripening with the ideal crop load for your vine size and wine type.
Warm regards,
Zach Berkowitz
Enologix Authorized Viticulturist
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Harvest 2004: Client Information
Taken from the Harvest Packet mailed to Clients in the beginning of August
Enologix Operational Hours and Harvest Schedule:
From September 7th to October 29th the Enologix Laboratory will be open 7 days a week from 8:00am-5:00pm. Before and after this period Enologix will remain open during regularly scheduled hours: Monday – Friday, 8:00am – 5:00pm. We will have a cooler outside the laboratory entrance for any samples dropped off during non-operating hours. These samples will not be received or processed until the next business day. Note: Due to the grape sampling process requiring 48 continuous hours, grape samples received on Fridays before September 7th or after October 28th will not be processed until the following Monday.
Turnaround Time:
See your harvest packet mailing.
Drop Off Locations:
Napa & Carneros:
Two locations will be available for the drop off of samples in the Napa Valley. Samples will be collected at approximately 2pm every Monday, Wednesday and Friday to be delivered to Enologix by 3:30pm the same day. This service is free of charge. This pickup schedule will begin September 8th and run until the end of the month of October. If you require a sample pickup at any other time, please call one of the services listed below or Enologix to arrange for a custom pickup. Please note that any pickup aside from the Monday, Wednesday, Friday scheduled pickups will be billed to each individual client.
∑ St. Helena Wine Merchant: 6999 St. Helena Highway – (707) 963-7888
∑ Saintsbury Winery (in the Lab): 1500 Los Carneros Avenue – (707) 252-0592
Sonoma:
One location will be available for the drop off of samples in Sonoma. Samples will be collected at approximately 2pm every Tuesday and Thursday to be delivered to Enologix by 3:30pm the same day. This service is free of charge. This pickup schedule will begin September 7th and run until the end of the month of October. If you require a sample pickup at any other time, please call one of the services listed above or Enologix to arrange for a custom pickup. Please note that any pickup aside from the Tuesday and Thursday scheduled pickups will be billed to each individual client.
∑ Duane McPheeters House from Delivery Today (Cooler on Porch): 2540 Richie Place, Santa Rosa, (707) 576-7263
Enologix:
Grapes can be delivered directly to Enologix, Suite 4, 461 Seventh Street West, Sonoma.
Courier Information:
World Courier Ground:(707) 665-3888
Delivery Today: (707) 576-7263
California Overnight: (800) 334-5000
UPS: (800) 742-5877
Fed Ex: (800) 463-3339
DHL: (800) 225-5345
Lot Tracking Information:
Warning: Samples cannot be processed without Lot and Sample tracking information. Samples received without an Enologix Lot Tracking label cannot be processed until you are contacted to provide this information. Turnaround times listed above will only apply to samples once all lot and sample tracking information is complete. Please avoid delays in processing by logging in your own samples through www.enologix.com:
Create a Lot, Season, Sample, then print a Label:
1. Go to www.enologix.com and log into Client Center with username and password.
2. Click “Click for QMS”, and then click “Administration”.
3. Create a Lot: Click “Lots”, then click “New Lot”.
4. Enter Varietal, Winery Lot Code, Market Class, Lot Name, and Appellation, then Click “Enter”.
5. Create a Season: Click “Seasons”, then click “New Season”.
6. Select the Lot created above, then select a Vintage and click “Enter”.
7. Create a Sample: click “Samples”, and then click “New Sample”.
8. Select the Lot Code created above, and then select the Season created above.
9. Enter Sample Name and Winemaking Stage, and then click “Enter”.
10. Print the Label: Click “Administration”, click the checkbox next to the Sample, and then click “Labels”.
11. From your browser’s menu, click “File” then “Print”. Affix this label to the sample you send to Enologix.
Note that you only have to create a Lot and Season once for all samples from a particular Lot and vintage—you do not need to enter this information more than one time. If you have any questions or concerns regarding this process, we would be happy to help. Please call our Customer Service Liaison, Jennifer Olsen, at (707) 938-9463.
Red Grape Sampling Protocols:
Enologix is committed to providing you with a successful, proven system for assessing grape maturity and quality. The Enologix GrapeFAX provides such a system. The method below outlines a protocol to follow in order to maximize the quality of your grape assays.
How Do I Sample Grapes for GrapeFAX™?
Abstract: Grape maturity is measured by comparing sugar, color and flavor chemistry for three grape samples harvested at 20, 22 and 24 Brix prior to the day of crushing. The resulting data can be used to harvest grapes and to diagnose viticultural problems when combined with consultation from an Enologix representative. Grape samples collected at the time of crushing are also important in auditing the performance of your fermenters.
MATERIALS AND METHODS
Supplies: The viticulturist needs: two zip lock freezer bags per sample, picking knives and gloves, water proof ink pen, heavy Enologix sample label and a scale (optional).
Vineyard Physical Site: “Cordon” off vineyard blocks of about 0.5 acres or a hectare on a map or by flagging portions of the vineyard for accurate sampling. Make sure samples are randomly collected.
Sampling by Sugar and Time: Pick approximately 20 whole clusters or 6 to 8 pounds of fruit per block at 20, 22, and 24 Brix. Once you have started sampling, e.g. at 20 Brix, pick another sample no later than 10 days after the first samples no matter the Brix, e.g. 21.5 Brix.
Bagging the Samples: First, put grapes into a freezer bag. Next, put the first grape bag into a second freezer bag and insert the Enologix Lot tracking sample label between the two bags.
Shipping: When shipping, cushion the bags of grapes with material such as crumpled newspaper to ensure grapes received are whole berries. Deliver the grapes to Enologix, Suite 4, 461 Seventh Street West, Sonoma, CA 95476. PLEASE always ask for a Saturday delivery sticker from Fed Ex, UPS or custom delivery services.
Technical Warning: Be careful to pick a representative sample. If you have uneven ripening make an attempt to include grapes which represent what is really happening in the vineyard. Most GrapeFAX are the basis for forecasting future WineFAX.
Red Maceration Sampling Protocols:
In order to assure a quality sample when shipping or delivering maceration samples to Enologix, please use only plastic sample bottles (Nalgene, water bottles or soda bottles) and fill the bottle only half full. This will help to ensure your sample does not explode or leak during delivery.
NOTE: Enologix does not assay White grapes or White Fermentations
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Tannin Management
Be Proactive and Develop Your Strategy Now
“The key word is paradox. As a fool I sidestep the either/or choices of logic and choose both.” Ken Feit
One of the main factors shaping wine quality is tannin intensity. While moderate levels of these seed-derived compounds are required to contribute the structure and body essential to high quality wines, over-extraction can result in an abrasive unpleasant product. Enologix has found that balancing tannin extraction with complex anthocyanins is essential to achieving high-quality wines and critical acclaim. Given the right tools, tannin management can become a powerful weapon in the winemaker’s arsenal for improving wine quality. Try to develop your tannin objectives and implement tannin management early in order to avoid harsh fining treatments later on in the wine’s life. Use your Enologix services during the following stages of wine production to effectively manage tannins and promote balanced wines.
In the Vineyard:
Using GrapeFAX information to monitor tannin and complex anthocyanin development during grape maturation can aid the winemaker in developing a harvest plan that maximizes the potential for achieving a balanced wine. To do this, submit grape samples from individual vineyards or vineyard blocks at 20, 22, and 24 Brix (and weekly thereafter) and observe tannin development during ripening. Evaluate tannin levels with respect to sugar content, complex anthocyanins, and Enologix Quality Index to determine when grapes are physiologically ripe and optimally balanced. Monitoring tannin development can assist the winemaker in both determining the optimal harvest date in the current vintage and identifying ripening patterns for use in subsequent vintages. Using GrapeFAX tannin information can also assist the winemaking team in establishing extraction goals and developing fermentation strategies to achieve these objectives.
In the Fermentor:
Once crushed and in the fermentor, one option to lower tannin that doesn’t involve fining is Délestage . This technique is implemented during fermentation to eliminate high tannins early in the winemaking process. Délestage attempts to retain the fruit characteristics and color of red wines, while minimizing tannin extraction through aeration, free draining, and seed removal. Aeration aids in combining pigment and tannin molecules to form stable, intensely colored compounds. It also promotes the fusion of various small, harsh tannin molecules present in un-ripened grapes into tannin polymers, which are much softer in mouth feel. Free draining allows for oxidative polymerization of some phenols while the seed removal process reduces extraction of bitter tannins from seed contact. Délestage also disturbs the fermenting must, which re-distributes heat produced by the yeast and allows for aeration. This stimulates yeast growth and promotes a fast homogenous fermentation.
How To:
Step 1. Standard fermentation commences, in a fermentor with a drain valve at the edge or the center of the tank bottom.
Step 2. Once the cap has formed and seeds have fallen to the bottom, drain the tank through the bottom valve into an intermediate container, letting the wine flow freely across a screen to capture and remove some of the seeds.
Step 3. Pump the wine into a second tank by spraying it into the top of the receiving tank to encourage aeration.
Step 4. Empty the seed catching screen as necessary to allow for a good flow into the intermediate tank.
Step 5. Once all the wine has been transferred from the starting tank, return the wine to the initial tank over the top, to encourage a second aeration while breaking up the cap.
The amount of seeds removed and the frequency of Délestage required depend on the initial concentration of tannin in the wine and the desired extraction goals. Use GrapeFAX tannin information to establish extraction objectives and determine whether Délestage might be an effective strategy to improve wine quality at your facility. To evaluate the effect of Délestage on tannin levels, submit maceration samples at 10-12 Brix and upon completion of fermentation. Contact an authorized Enologix Winemaker to get advice on implementing the Délestage technique in your winery.
During élevage:
If adequate tannin management is not achieved in the vineyard or during maceration, the winemaker has several options for creating a balanced wine through élevage (the elevation of quality through aging). The most important work a winemaker can do is grade wine lots with respect to quality and tannin levels immediately following drain-down.
The ideal strategy for tannin management during aging is early blending of high tannin wines. “When dealing with highly tannic wines, the sooner you act the better,” suggests Larry Brooks, Enologix Authorized Winemaker. “This way you won’t have to do as much fining later on. If at all possible, balance the high tannin lot with a lower tannin lot through blending.”
If blending is not an option, consider fining as your last resort. One option to reduce tannin is to super-fine 50% of the most tannic lots. Remove the most highly tannic, bitter wine from the bottom tank outlet, tasting occasionally to determine when the majority of the extremely tannic wine has been removed. Be aware that the fining process decreases harshness but also removes aromas vital to terroir. When a small batch is fined, it can be blended back into the main batch, therefore minimizing the negative effects associated with fining. Submit samples of fining trials to Enologix to ensure that your treatments are not excessively stripping vital flavor compounds.
Warm regards,
Enologix Staff
Questions?
If you have any questions regarding tannin management at your facility, contact an Enologix Authorized Viticulturalist or Winemaker at 707-938-9463.
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Harvest Bulletin V10N4
September 17, 2004
Volume 10, Week 4
DIAGNOSTICS
Version Control: Updated September 17, 2004
Harvest Bulletin – Volume 10, Week 4
Week 4: Bordeaux Varieties – A Winemakers Vintage
September 17, 2004 – after the heat wave last week, pickers are scrambling to bring in super ripe fruit. This includes unripe grapes with high sugar. Symptoms include green seeds, unripe tannins and unripe flavors. The Pinot noir harvest is in, even in the Central Coast, which had been running behind the North Coast. With 100°F and higher temperatures, Central Coast winemakers had little time for tactical considerations. Late season varieties, mainly Bordeaux varieties, have been especially hard hit by the heat. Sugars jumped while flavors lagged, but many grape lots had to be picked early. Vineyards with high sugars that were close to harvest seem to be more affected than those vineyards with lower maturity, e.g. 22° brix. “If you have to pick, focus on how to mediate the damage from hot weather”, says Larry Brooks. For example, consider shorter macerations to avoid green tannin extraction. In damaged fruit, look at fermentation dynamics to get more fruit character and color. This may include nutrient status, SO2 levels and yeast selection. “Don’t ferment damaged fruit with normal practices”, says Larry or risk herbaceous characters. Intense vintages can produce intense defects. Late season varieties that have escaped heat damage are probably not ready to pick. Wait for improved complex anthocyanin before picking, e.g. September 27 for Cabernet Sauvignon.
In the Vineyard – based on conversations with wineries and vineyard contractors, harvest is more than 50% completed; 75% completed by some. The yields are reportedly off by 20% and even more in vineyards with severely dehydrated fruit. It is common that shaded fruit survived the heat in better shape than fruit exposed to afternoon sun. Irrigation did not prevent heat damage but provided some mitigation. Certainly stressed vines fared worse than well-watered vines. Continue liberal irrigation in unpicked vineyards. This will encourage good canopy health and proper maturation.
Pinot noir – much Pinot noir was harvested prior to the worst of the hot, dry weather. Maceration numbers are in and Pinot noir looks good, with about 50% extraction. Almost all the Pinot noir samples are from Carneros or Sonoma, a reflection of the urgency of harvest in the Central Coast.
Cabernet Sauvignon – The index remains modest with solid tannin and complex anthocyanin. In many cases Cabernet Sauvignon is not yet ready to pick. The numbers are quite similar to those in 2003 and waiting for ripe numbers helped last year. We estimate that Napa Cabernet will reach optimum ripeness in Napa/Sonoma in one week or more, e.g. the 27th of September. Maceration numbers are coming in and the trend is for good extraction. More on this as additional Cabernet macerations are run.
Merlot – Merlot numbers remain weaker than Cabernet Sauvignon. This may reflect the timing of Merlot ripening and the hot weather. If your Merlot remains in good shape and has yet to approach a complex of 140, a little more hang time will help. There is little maceration data to review.
Syrah – 2004 looks like a good Syrah vintage, with good concentration. Most samples are from Napa and Santa Barbara Counties. There is little maceration data to share.
Our Laboratory – to date 541 grape samples, 177 maceration samples and 104 wine samples have been completed. The floor in the lab is sticky, reflecting the tsunami of grape samples in recent days. A larger portion of samples are maceration samples, another sign that harvest has peaked and most grapes are picked. The lab staff now reports about 30 maceration samples per day. Pinot noir grape samples have all but stopped and Cabernet, Merlot and Syrah make up almost all the grape samples. The lab also reports that there are fewer samples with dehydrated grapes. Many clients are using the grape tracking and printing labels prior to sampling. This helps the lab track samples and eliminates any chance for misidentification. Visit our website for information on courier services in your area and feel free to contact Enologix at 707-938-9463 for any questions.
Happy Harvest,
Zach Berkowitz
Authorized Enologix Viticulturist
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Harvest Bulletin V10N5
September 24, 2004
Volume 10, Week 5
DIAGNOSTICS
Version Control: Updated September 24, 2004
Harvest Bulletin – Volume 10, Week 5
Week 5: Anatomy of a Picking Decision
The National Critics score is born in the vineyard. Is your grape quality really at the peak? It’s the last three weeks of harvest, the Bordeaux varieties taste ripe, the sugar is very high and the vineyard manager is pushing: You pick now! Will quality continue to improve? Yes . How can you utilize your GrapeFax data to make the best picking decision?
Do: Be proactive and pick the right week to start picking, using GrapeFax and outside experts. The higher the quality expectations, the more critical the data becomes. Look at your GrapeFAx before making that picking decision. For example, that block that goes into the flagship blend should be sampled to determine if quality is maximized. If the sample is still a Style III, waiting should settle them back to Style IV. With time, the color tends to improve and the tannin tends to decrease. The advantage of fermenting Style IV is that it is easier to produce a balanced wine. Style III’s are tricky. If the complex and total anthocyanin are increasing but are still lower than average or are preventing a high Index, hang time will help. For example, if your Cabernet Sauvignon has a Complex Anthocyanin of 160, you can’t make a flagship wine. Wait for 180 or more before picking. Check the Harvest Bulletins to see how you grapes match the averages for your appellation. If you have waited, you have probably improved quality.
Don’t: We have customers that are reactive to conditions and pick too early. If you pick too early, the potential for quality is reduced. Ignore sampling and you run the risk of picking too early and making wine of limited color, flavor and aroma. High sugars and dehydrated grapes can be alarming but there are too many grapes picked before full maturity. Flagship producers have only picked 20% of their Cabernet Sauvignon because they recognize that maturity and sugar don’t always trend together. It’s the old sugar ahead of ripeness phenomenon. With the hot, dry weather earlier this month, some wineries panicked and picked too soon. These wineries can expect wines of modest flavor and color. A little patience today, reaps rewards two years from now. If you are almost finished picking your Bordeaux varieties, you probably picked too soon.
Picking Dates: based on GrapeFax, maceration and wine data, we suggest the following picking dates, for the North and Central Coast. Call the office to discuss these dates if needed.
Pinot Noir – the grapes are in and the maceration and wine data shows good quality for the 2004 vintage. Macerations are quite good this season.
Merlot – grape quality and extraction indicate a good vintage for Merlot. We expect higher scores as grapes picked in the last week improve the scores
Cabernet Sauvignon - As a reference, the lab has only received 75 maceration samples to date vs. 241 last season. In other words, the Cabernet Sauvignon harvest should be only about 30% completed. Grape figures are good but will continue to improve.
Syrah – this looks like another very good Syrah vintage. Concentration appears very good and macerations are at 70%, well above the 50% benchmark.
In the Lab – the lab staff reports that most grape samples are Cabernet Sauvignon. The lab processed 150 maceration samples in the last week. During the same period, 102 wine samples and 188 grape samples were run. Clearly, the lab is still running at full speed to process samples. The lab happily reports that most samples are coming in with printed tracking labels. This helps the lab track samples and eliminates any chance for misidentification. Visit our website for information on courier services in your area and feel free to contact Enologix at 707-938-9463.
Happy Harvest
Zach Berkowitz
Authorized Enologix Viticulturist
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LABORATORY NOTICE
Drain-Down & Press Sampling Protocol
Version Control: Updated September 30, 2004
ENOLOGIX IS COMMITTED TO PROVIDING YOU WITH A SUCCESSFUL, PROVEN SYSTEM FOR ASSESSING NEW WINE QUALITY. THE ENOLOGIX WINEFAX™ REPORT PROVIDES SUCH A SYSTEM. THE METHOD BELOW OUTLINES A PROTOCOL TO FOLLOW IN ORDER TO MAXIMIZE THE QUALITY OF YOUR DRAIN-DOWN AND PRESSING OPERATIONS. DO NOT ADD PRESS WINES WITHOUT ANALYSIS!
How To:
Abstract: WineFAX contains the same quality metrics and chemistry found in GrapeFAX and MacerationFAX. WineFAX delivers the information you need to manage the details of a pressing operation while they are occurring. WineFAX tracks quality so you can make decisions during harvest about cellaring and pressing operations.
WineFAX can give you insight into which fermenters are producing the best wines. And also which is the right pressure setting for pressing fine wines; and we have found it is best to separate press wines. Comparing the results of the GrapeFAX to MacerationFAX to WineFAX allows winemakers to measure the percent extraction precisely. That allows winemakers to customize each fermentation and maceration to meet the unique needs of your grape lots and the style of wine you want to make and can be used to adjust fermentation operations prior to pressing.
Materials and Methods:
Sample a minimum of 150mL to a maximum of 250mL of drain-down or press wines, in a plastic container. Leave at least an inch of space at the top of the container. Water bottles with a “sport top” work best allowing it to release gas. If you have submitted grapes for analysis it is essential to label subsequent maceration samples in a similar manner. This will allow you to track quality from the vineyard through new wine. Consistent labeling will make it easier for you to work with your data and look up records in the future. The sample label should include your winery name, varietal, a unique tracking code, brix, and the date sampled. WineFAX should be used to assess major lots. Enologix recommends sampling drain-down wines AFTER the tank has been mixed.
Questions?
Feel free to contact an Authorized Enologix Agent at 1-707-938-9463,
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Harvest Bulletin V10N8
October 15, 2004
Volume 10, Week 8
DIAGNOSTICS
Version Control: Updated October 15, 2004
Harvest Bulletin – Volume 10, Number 8
Week 8: 2004 Produces Many Cabernet “200 Club” Growers
October 15, 2004 –Environmental factors have given us one declared vintage year since 2000. Is 2004 The Vintage Year? We will not know until we have the drain-down data in our hands. The good news is that average Complex Anthocyanin concentration for Cabernet Sauvignon grapes is 200 (≥24°B).
The Score is created by “200” Complex Anthocyanin grape resources. Consequently we predict that national wine critics will reward those winemakers who can turn 2004 Cabernet Sauvignon grapes into Style IV wines. As we closed the final week of the 2004 harvest, handfuls of wineries from around the state have grown grapes that allow them to join the Cabernet 200 Club, i.e. Complex Anthocyanin averaged over 200 for their Cabernet Sauvignon grapes. So far these include Benziger Family Winery, Vine Cliff Winery, Diageo Chateaux & Estates, Berkowitz Consulting, Joseph Phelps Vineyards, Bernardus Vineyards & Winery, Niebaum-Coppola Estate Winery, Hamilton Vineyards, Karl Lawrence Cellars and O'Shaughnessy. Others, Fritz Cellars and St. Francis Vineyards and Winery, also deserve mention for surpassing the 0.50 Index benchmark, another indicator of 90-point wines. We are waiting to see what happens with wines made by these and other winemakers.
Environmental Factors–Its mid-October and harvest is over for most winemakers. Activities have turned to seeding cover crops and related winterization practices. While the traditional April through October heat summation season is not over, the 2004 season will be remembered for being warmer than average on the North Coast. As the degree-day table shows, the Central Coast is very close to the 10-year average. Rain is expected to begin this weekend and will continue into next week. Rainfall should be significant, especially on the North Coast.
Cabernet Sauvignon–2004 Cabernet’s are not as jammy as 1996 nor as tannic as 2002 or 2003. The table shows lower Tannin and color as well as a lower quality Index. This is true in the grape data as well as wine data from the same relative date as last season. For example, 2004 wine samples are averaging 170 Complex while 2003 drain down wines from roughly the same period last season were at 191. The best wines are those fermented to Style IV. Extraction in 2004 remains good.
Merlot – Extraction for Merlot is quite similar to Cabernet Sauvignon and no extended macerations appear needed. Again, color is low relative to Tannin so management of fermentation is critical for quality.
Syrah – the trend continues, with higher tannin extraction than Complex Anthocyanin extraction. In general, fermentations are going well but resulting wines would improve with more color. For comparison, 2003 Syrah drain down wines had more color and less tannin, resulting in a higher Index than 2004 drain down wines.
In the Lab – Grape samples continue to dribble in. Cabernet Sauvignon, Syrah and Merlot samples are on the lab bench but this looks like the last of the grape samples. At this stage, the vast majority of samples are drain down samples. The lab is no longer open on Sundays.
Q5 Index – The Q-5 Index is an average of newly fermented 2004 wine quality, as a function of the highest quality in the past five years. As drained down wines are analyzed, the Q-5 Index will be determined for each variety. Stay tuned to see how your wine fared against the competition. Look for the Q5 Index on December 1st.
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IDEAS WITH IMPACT - 2004 Input Logistics
“Oh, the Germans classify, but the French arrange!" Willa Cather: Death Comes For the Archbishop (1927).
Version Control: Updated November 3, 2004
We will come the logistiques in a moment. To get through this month’s idea with impact about élevage, we both have to agree on the difference between what we say and what we know about our 2004 wines. It is a management issue.
Today we have a legacy of being too sophisticated. Our joint creeds say, ‘Winemaking is an art, not a science.’ Most of us can define art as a deliberate effort to arrange the nature of the grape to affect the beauty of our wines. Some of us are neo-modernist marketers, “It is avoiding cellar technology to make wines with practices that would be recognized by French wine-farmers who created the Appellation d’ Origine.’”
That’s what we say, what we know is that 2004 produced wines, the style, and quality which, we have not defined. Enologix takes issue with this practice of not knowing. “Effectively functioning value chains involve some degree of ‘governance’ with respect to the dominant market metric of quality.
“The French wine farm method is to grade wine quality quickly. Logistiques is the practice of predicting quality before conducting winemaking operations. To effectively predict the quality it is mandatory to élevage in barrels for 90-days. Élevage is literally the breeding of the wine in oak. The micro-0xygenation of the wine kills the yeast, also malo-lactic fermentation is completed, and most temporal attributes of harvest disappear. What is revealed are the attributes—beauty or defects—of the aroma.
Enologix recommends beginning a 90-day élevage in November.
Questions?
Feel free to contact us at 707-938-9463.
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Customers Count: Today's Quality Is Tomorrows 100-Point Score.
To found a great empire for the sole purpose of raising up a people of customers, may at first sight appear a project fit only for a nation of shopkeepers. It is, however, a project altogether unfit for a nation of shopkeepers; but extremely fit for a nation whose government is influenced by shopkeepers…” - Adam Smith, Wealth of Nations 1776.
Version Control: Updated November 23, 2004
We will get to your customers in a moment. To talk about your customers you and I must agree on the difference between a wine creed and 2004 quality.
A creed is a statement of beliefs, which form an authoritative group of principles considered to be absolutely true by wine media. We all use creeds. Have you heard, “2004 was a great vintage in Napa Valley”?
“Winemaking is an art, not a science” is a popular creed. How about this one-'It is our deliberate effort to arrange [sculpt] the color, flavor and fragrance of Napa grapes to affect the beauty of your wines' grape flavors.' Neo-modernist wine creeds are popular-“It is 'true to the use of traditional winemaking methods that would be recognized by a winemaker transported from 1855.'
Ironically there is a move to debunk the creed makers. Chateau Montelena, august winner of the 1976 Paris Tasting, used some very fine Napa Valley winemaking creeds. Certainly their cellar would be recognized by a time traveler from 1855. Only to have one of the most important wine critics, James Laube, single them out for making 70-point wines.
Quality is the degree or grade of excellence, which forms an authoritative metric, especially one considered absolutely true by wine media.
When you sell your 2004 wines no doubt your customers' dominant market metric will be the media's 100-point scores. Granted there are limits to the scores power over consumers; but if you produce more than 2,000 cases of red wines beware of your score.
In winery management quality metrics are in vogue. Customers will use scores and “The customer is never wrong.” Enologix winemaking team recommends that the score exists today, and that you can predict tomorrow's wines ratings.
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2004 Chardonnay Outlook
“Proper words in proper places, make the true definition of a style.” Jonathan Swift, 1720
Version Control: Updated January 31, 2005
Improve French Wine-Farm Methods
Does your luxury Chardonnay winemaking come from the French wine-farms? This style of winemaking works for making small batches, but French wine-farm methods are not reliable for large volumes. Kistler and other luxury producers make relatively small batches, roughly the level of production we find in Burgundy. Some California winemakers have figured out how to scale luxury Chardonnay winemaking to more than 10,000 cases year after year.
The National Wine Critics, such as Robert Parker, favor wines with Sur Lies élevage attributes. Simple barrel élevage is the operation that makes wine drinkable. It makes big wines great. In most every case élevage creates attributes that signal to the critics that you are a traditionalist. The National Wine Critics believe élevage attributes are critical to Burgundy varietal wines. Just look at the higher scores given to Kistler Chardonnays.
How does Enologix analyze élevage? Compare WineFAX from December or January versus after élevage for 90 days. It is that simple. Look for increases in color, flavor and fragrance over 90 days.
The Enologix Vintage Numbers
Averages through January
2004 2003 2002 2001
Essential Oils 27 32 33 28
Yellow Pigment 180 178 134 131
Essential Oils average 27 for 2004 Chardonnays through January, which is great. Yellow Pigment concentrations averaged 180, which is similar to 2003, but far higher than 2002 or 2001. Lower the Yellow Pigments as soon as possible through fining. The Essential Oils are good for this time of year creating an opportunity to make great Chardonnays if the Yellow Pigment can be fined out. The goal is to sur lies age for 45 more days, assay, and consider assembling your reserve Chardonnay from Style IV wines.
To scale luxury Chardonnay to 10,000 or more cases, view winemaking as a value-chain that stretches from vineyard through the winery to the consumer. Start by measuring the quality of the wine when it is young and difficult to taste. Enologix offers quality metrics beginning as early as December when Chardonnay wines are milky with yeast. To add value to wines, predict which operations are needed to make better wines.
Classify each lot in February. Start with the key metrics, Yellow Pigment and Essential Oil concentrations. These flavors drive the style of white Burgundy wines (Style III-IV) that are awarded high scores by consumers and National Wine Critics. Classify wines by Style: AAA lots are Style IV, A lots are Style III, and B lots are Style I-II. Style IV wines are outright reserve lots. Style II and III lots need to have Yellow Pigment concentrations reduced to below 125. Style I lots have potential for becoming AAA lots. Try and add value to Style I wines by pushing Essential Oils to 33-50 by stirring. Analyze these wines every 45 days from February to June. See “Enologix Style Index White” in client center at www.enologix.com under References for more information on white wine styles.
Arrange the lots (regular versus luxury) for future bottling. Use the QMS™ blending software (www.enologix.com) to predict wine blend quality. Enologix allows you to integrate logistics into your winemaking to detect defects before conducting the expensive sur lies aging operations and determine when stirring stops being a benefit, which is a real improvement over French wine-farm methods.
How To:
Step 1. Assay wines, for Yellow Pigments.
Step 2. Fine Style II and III wines as needed.
Step 3. Use MAX-Preference tasting to identify defects. Stop stirring for a week and sample for blind tasting.
Step 4. Use White WineFAX and tasting to identify suspect luxury lots.
Step 5. Make a digital blend using the QMS Blend tool.
Step 6. Make one barrel of the blend. Taste.
Step 7. Battonage the selected lots, and immediately pump lots to tank with lies.
Step 8. Mix the tank and rack the blend back to un-washed barrels.
Step 9. Age sur lies.
Step 10. Assay and bottle wines with an Index of 0.65+ as luxury Chardonnay.
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Syrah's Style Problem
“It isn’t that they cannot see the solution. It is that they cannot see the problem.”—G.K Chesterton, 1935
Version Control: Updated April 15, 2006
Syrah Quality will be defined by wine marketers, as is the case with Cabernet Sauvignon. Harvard Business School’s Michael Porter claims: the dominant performance metric is determined by the market. In the keynote address to the Wine Industry Financial Symposium, Beringer Blass Wine Estates managing director Walter Klenz took this to the extreme, saying winemakers of the future will be market-focused organizations that "look at the market and work backward," rather than "starting at the production source and working forward."
Rhone Winemakers
Can you turn your brands into a benchmark by which the national wine critics judge California Syrah? We think there is an opportunity to make winemaking better by managing Style before Quality. We are in a period where the most intense wines are not winning. We have observed for some time that Syrah-based wines are made in too many varying Styles. Winemakers do not have a gut reaction that one Style is best. Blind MAX-Preference tastings show winemakers are provincial, tending to “like” their own style. Take the time to define your Style.
Sales statistics show there is a problem
If you perform a search for 2003 Syrah on the Wine Spectator website, you will find that of the 182 rated wines, only 52 (29%), scored 90 points and above. However, this is only about 2% of the total volume of Syrah. Almost all of these wines were made in small batches.
The problem is that no California winemaker is creating large batches of luxury Syrah based wines that are rated “95-points” year after year—a de facto benchmark. As a result, producers have not adapted French wine-farm methods to our appellations. The Australians ignore the French style to create large batches of consumer-based wines. They are using mass production techniques, which do not make luxury wines.
“California winemakers make Syrah wines in tiny batches of less than 2,000 cases,” says a Santa Barbara Rhone expert, “because they do not know how to make larger batches that sell. It sounds preposterous, while Australians are producing one million case batches of Syrah-based consumer wines.”
Twenty years of experimenting with Syrah in California have been fruitless compared to making Bordeaux and Burgundy varietals or Zinfandel wines. California personages, such as Randall Graham, have advocated for Syrah since the late 1980s, while the Australians have really produced. However no New World producer has figured out how to make luxury Syrah-based wines.
Our sense is that Syrah is difficult to make into an elegant luxury wine that can compete with a Joseph Phelps Insignia, a Merry Edwards Klopp Ranch Pinot Noir, or a Ridge Geyserville Zinfandel. These are big, elegant wines, which show off Style, Quality, oak, and terroir. The only way to manage production is to manage both Style and Quality indices.
Enologix clients who specialize in Syrah-based wines have an opportunity to become the benchmarks. To stay in the Rhone game, California winemakers must still establish credibility and trustworthiness with wine buyers and national critics. Before the tide rises for your competitors, you have the opportunity to establish your brand as one of the benchmarks by which California Syrah is judged.
How To Make 2005 Winemaking Better:
Step 1. Blind taste competitors wines, not your own, to choose your Style.
Step 2. Assess your competitors with WineFAX to define Style (I, II, III, IV) objectively.
Step 2. Assess your Value-Chain for Style, i.e. grapes, maceration, cellar wines.
Step 4. Create a Management Plan for maceration, to manage vintage variation in grapes.
We propose that the best Style for Syrah is IV until a Style III benchmark emerges in California. Otherwise, you run the risk of making a tannic wine, contrasting with the low-color, low-tannin Australian wine, currently flooding the marketplace.
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Leaf Removal and Crop Adjustment
“In the right light, at the right time, everything is extraordinary.”—Aaron Rose
Version Control: Updated April 22, 2005
Leaf removal (leafing) and crop adjustment can make a huge difference in the pursuit of top quality. Leafing opens the canopy, exposing leaves and clusters to sunlight. This helps reduce fungal diseases, malic acid and methoxypyrazines (bell pepper aroma), and improves color and flavor. Crop adjustment can improve vine balance (crop load-leaf area), leading to proper ripening and concentration of color, aroma and flavor.
Leaf Removal:
Leafing involves the removing of basal leaves and/or lateral shoots in the fruit zone, usually on the morning side of the vines. The extent to which leaves are removed is dependent on the trellis, canopy density, wine type and winery style. For example, Sauvignon Blanc wine style is greatly impacted by the amount of leafing. Thin VSP (Vertical Shoot Positioned) canopies can often be opened sufficiently by removing lateral shoots in the fruit zone. Dense canopies need more leaves removed to improve microclimate conditions. At some point, a change in trellis may be more effective than removing lots of leaves. As a rule of thumb, about half the clusters should be visible on the morning or “shady” side of the vine. Clusters exposed on the hot western or southern side of the vine can burn on hot days, resulting in reduced anthocyanin and related phenolic compounds. For this reason, leafing is to be avoided on the afternoon side in all but the coolest climates or where herbaceous flavors are a serious defect.
Crop Adjustment:
Crop adjustment begins at pruning, continues with shoot thinning and is fine tuned with cluster thinning. Cluster thinning is performed after set, when the potential crop can be estimated, and continues through veraison when green bunches are removed. For large clustered varieties or grapes going into flagship quality wines, 1 cluster per shoot is an approach that is easy to perform. Another common and effective approach is short shoot cluster thinning, where the number of clusters per shoot is determined by shoot length. For example, shoots that are 18 inches or shorter would have all clusters removed, 18 to 36 inches would retain 1 cluster and shoots 36 inches or longer would retain 2 clusters.
Questions?
Feel free to contact us at 707-938-9463.
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Wine Chloroanisoles Part 2: Basic Program to Monitor Winery.
Diagnose the Problem
Decide whether it is worth the money to fix your winery building and cellar for trichloroanisole (TCA).
Step 1: Find a referee–someone who will send the wines to two or more laboratories for you. It requires two laboratories–a “second opinion”–to be precise.
Step 2: Assay six (6) vintages of bottled wines to determine which vintages may be positive for TCA.
Step 3: Assay one case of the vintage that was positive for TCA.
Step 4: Create a committee to decide if the physical site has a problem. If ALL bottles in a single case contain the same concentrations of TCA, then you have either a cork or physical site problem. If only one or two bottles are positive for TCA it is more likely that you have a cork taint problem.
Remediation
If the committee decides there is a problem, you must remediate your physical site. “Problem” is defined as TCA, TeCA or PCA in your wines NOT due to corks. A contaminated winery will typically show TCA concentrations of up to 25 ppt in winery water over several months of testing.
Step 1: Clean or remove the following items known to contain chloroanisoles: wood palettes, cardboard, cleaners, bug-sprays, herbicides, insecticides, air-conditioners, drains, hoses, and water-tanks. Monitor TCA over two months, testing air-space every month.
Step 2: Clean the building by power-washing the cement walls and floor. Again monitor TCA over two months, testing air-space every month.
Step 3: The last step is to discard equipment that is constructed of plastics and silicon. Again monitor TCA over two months, testing air-space every month.
Step 4: After carrying out one or more of the above steps, chloroanisole concentrations in your airspace should drop dramatically. If you still have a problem after all of the above steps have been carried out, you may need a new building.
Questions?
Give us a call at 707.938.9463
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Predicting 2005 Vintage Quality
“Opinion in good men is but knowledge in the making.” — John Milton
As we near the 2005 harvest, differing opinions are emerging as to the potential quality of the vintage. We will be examining these ideas in full detail at the Enologix Harvest Forum 2005, August 17, in Sonoma. Here is a preview on two of the prevalent viewpoints:
2005 Mirrors Poor Vintages in Rainfall …
The quality of every California vintage is determined by the benchmarks, such as Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon based wines. Vintage 2005 potential may be in the range of 1998, 2000 and 2003 in Napa Valley. These vintages averaged 24.3 inches of rain at Oakville, while great vintages—1997 and 1999—averaged 15.2 inches. Rainfall this season is 24.1 inches, mirroring the worst vintages of the past ten years. This environmental factor will lead to high levels of soil moisture during phase I of berry development. Ready availability of water during this period is linked with larger than average berry size. Larger berry size in general leads to lower amounts of color relative to volume. In vintages like this, preparing strategies for the worst case is a wise approach.
… but Spring Rainfall is Manageable
In the vineyard, heavy spring rains have produced large, healthy canopies. Vine health is good and winegrowers anticipate conditions for proper ripening. The crop is modest, with loose clusters. Despite spring rains, many Cabernet Sauvignon clusters have small berries. Loose cluster architecture should allow good light exposure on all berries, with the result of good color in the wines. The start of veraison confirms that this vintage is within a few days of normal timing for many vineyards. With harvest 2 months away, there is plenty of good weather ahead. The spring was difficult for growers but if fall weather holds to historical form, we should be optimistic that 2005 can be an excellent vintage.
For more information on the Harvest Forum 2005, call Enologix at 707-938-9463
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Balanced Pruning
"The thing with high-tech is that you always end up using scissors."
-- David Hockney, 1937
Pruning is your next opportunity to improve quality for 2006
Pruning can be defined as the removal of cane growth to obtain viticultural objectives such as controlling size and structure of the grapevine, optimizing production, and maintaining a balance between vegetative growth and crop load (vine balance).
Balanced pruning is used to maintain proper shoot growth as well as a suitable equilibrium between growth and crop size. The ultimate goal of balanced pruning is the maximization of quality. Here is how it works:
• The previous year’s cane growth (1-year old wood) is used to determine the relative vigor of a vine. This will in turn determine how many buds to retain at pruning.
• The number of buds to retain per amount of pruning wood has been established for each varietal, based on inherent vigor and cropping characteristics.
• The number and placement of buds impacts both shoot spacing and canopy microclimate, two important quality factors.
How To Balance Pruning:
• Step one – take pruning weights to determine the relative vigor of the vineyard.
• Step two – use relative vigor data to determine how many buds to retain.
• Step three – prune vines, retaining suitable bud number (size) and spacing (structure).
Balanced pruning is easy to achieve with the proper viticultural information. Plan ahead and design a balanced pruning program this winter for early spring. If you need help putting together a program to improve quality in your vineyard, contact an Authorized Enologix Viticulturist.
Questions?
Feel free to contact us at 707-938-9463.
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Customers Count: Today’s Quality Is Tomorrows 100-Point Score.
To found a great empire for the sole purpose of raising up a people of customers, may at first sight appear a project fit only for a nation of shopkeepers. It is, however, a project altogether unfit for a nation of shopkeepers; but extremely fit for a nation whose government is influenced by shopkeepers…” – Adam Smith, Wealth of Nations 1776.
We will get to your customers in a moment. To talk about your customers you and I must agree on the difference between a wine creed and 2004 quality.
A creed is a statement of beliefs, which form an authoritative group of principles considered to be absolutely true by wine media. We all use creeds. Have you heard, “2004 was a great vintage in Napa Valley”?
“Winemaking is an art, not a science” is a popular creed. How about this one—‘It is our deliberate effort to arrange [sculpt] the color, flavor and fragrance of Napa grapes to affect the beauty of your wines’ grape flavors.’ Neo-modernist wine creeds are popular—“It is ‘true to the use of traditional winemaking methods that would be recognized by a winemaker transported from 1855.’
Ironically there is a move to debunk the creed makers. Chateau Montelena, august winner of the 1976 Paris Tasting, used some very fine Napa Valley winemaking creeds. Certainly their cellar would be recognized by a time traveler from 1855. Only to have one of the most important wine critics, James Laube, single them out for making 70-point wines.
Quality is the degree or grade of excellence, which forms an authoritative metric, especially one considered absolutely true by wine media.
When you sell your 2004 wines no doubt your customers’ dominant market metric will be the media’s 100-point scores. Granted there are limits to the scores power over consumers; but if you produce more than 2,000 cases of red wines beware of your score.
In winery management quality metrics are in vogue. Customers will use scores and “The customer is never wrong.” Enologix winemaking team recommends that the score exists today, and that you can predict tomorrow’s wines ratings.
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IDEAS WITH IMPACT
Predicting 2006 Vintage Grape Quality Will Be Good
“Most of what matters in your life takes place in your absence.” — Salmon Rushdie
Annual Rainfall affects California Wine Quality? Yes California Wine Quality is more linked to Bloom to Harvest times —109 for Pinot Noir to 118 days for Cabernet Sauvignon—according to Zach Berkowitz, but not when Annual Rainfall is high. Grape researcher and Global Warming expert Greg Jones at Southern Oregon College, has a Bordeaux Model that says Summer Rainfall affected Bloom to Harvest times between 1949 and 1990. Summer Rainfall greatly affects Wine Quality throughout Europe. Annual Rainfall is more important in California Models according to our statistics (below). In vintages like this, you are wise to prepare to pick a week standard Bloom to Harvest dates.
As we approach verasion (the increase in accumulation of sugar and flavor in grapes) experienced viticulturists, with 20 vintages, believe Annual Rainfall is predictive of low to high Wine Quality.
High Rainfall Is Predictive of Low Wine Quality
The benchmark by which we all judge wines are Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon. Wine Quality is inversely correlated with Annual Rainfall. The great vintages—1997, 1999—averaged 15.2 inches for the period of January 1 through today (roughly seven months). The poor vintages—1998, 2000—averaged 24.3 inches of rain at Oakville. Annual Rainfall this season is 31.0 inches for the period, mirroring the poorest vintages of the past ten years.
Spring Rainfall Governs Vegetative and Berry Growth
Spring Rainfall governs both berry and vegetative growth. This single environmental factor leads to high levels of soil moisture during a critical period of vine growth called Phase I Berry Expansion. Water availability during this period is linked with larger than average berry size. Large berry size dilutes sugar and flavor concentration of wines.
Berry Growth But vintage 2006 is not following the trend towards larger berry size (see below). Vintage 2006 will be excellent if heat summations ending August 31 are as high as 1997 or 1999.
2006 Spring Rainfall
Spring Rainfall was 10.4 inches this year, In the vineyard, heavy spring rains have produced large, healthy canopies, but apparently not berry growth.. Large canopies will help to deplete ground water. Vine health was good to excellent through July 31st, and winegrowers report conditions for proper ripening are good. The crop is modest, with loose clusters, which is good for quality. Despite spring rains, many Cabernet Sauvignon clusters have small berries. Loose cluster architecture should allow good light exposure on all berries, with the result of good color in the wines. The start of veraison confirms that this vintage is within a few days of normal timing for many vineyards. With harvest 2 months away, there is plenty of good weather ahead. The spring was difficult for growers but if fall weather holds to historical form, we should be optimistic that 2005 can be an excellent vintage.
For more information call Enologix at 707-938-9463
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Cabernet Sauvignon Analysis Notice 2
Send Bordeaux Varietal Wines for Analysis.
ENOLOGIX MAKES LUXURY WINES LOGISTICALLY. BY KNOWING THE SCORE BEFORE YOU BLEND, YOU CAN BLEND SMARTER, RESULTING IN HIGHER QUALITY AT BOTTLING TIME.
How To:
Grade Bordeaux varietal wines now. Taste the wines in groups of the same Enologix Style (e.g. Style III, IV), using the MAX-Preference (plus/minus) method. Candidates for luxury wines are: (1) stable, (2) have a higher Enologix Index than Competitors and (3) show no defects from the MAX-Preference tasting.
First, compare current lots to drain-down samples assayed last year (e.g. November). Evaluate each wine's stability and split wines into stable and unstable groups. For example, if tannin is 90-95% of November’s assay, then consider it stable.
Then grade your lots based on comparisons of your wines to Competitors (available through the Client Center www.enologix.com). Click Cabernet or Bordeaux under databases for free WineFAX information.
Next, make several one-barrel proforma AAA luxury blends. Create wines with different concentrations of Cabernet Sauvignon depending on the Enologix Style (call for details). Before blending in tanks, assay these blends with Enologix to verify that the quality is higher than Competitor wines. Scale luxury Cabernet Sauvignon volumes from a few barrels to up to 30,000 cases by blending wines with our strategy.
WARNING: DO NOT blend lots that are unstable into your AAA luxury wine. An unstable wine, consisting of over 10% of a blend, has been known to cause a “crash” in the color of blends.
Questions? Feel free to contact us at 707-938-9463
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Pinot Noir Lab Notice 2
Send Red Burgundy Wines in for Analysis.
PINOT NOIR IS A HIGHLY UNSTABLE VARIETAL. ENOLOGIX RECOMMENDED IN NOVEMBER TO ASSAY PINOT NOIR WINES AFTER A 90-DAY ÉLEVAGE TO ASSESS STABILITY. ASSAY THESE SAME WINES NOW FOR COMPARISON TO NOVEMBER WINEFAX.
How To:
Assay the same Pinot Noir lots that you assayed in November to assess their stability. The WineFAX data from the samples assayed in November can be used to establish a baseline for the stability testing. It is necessary to determine a wine’s stability before scaling luxury Pinot Noir from a few barrels to thousands of cases. Candidates for Flagship wines must be assayed twice to determine stability in the cellar.
To calculate stability, divide the recent WineFAX data by November’s WineFAX data, yielding a stability percentage. It is important to determine stability for both tannin and color. Wines that yield a 90-95% flavor stability percentage can be considered stable and therefore can be safely blended to create the highest quality wines. Wines which are unstable should be segregated, and blended with tannic wines.
Warning: Unstable wine, comprising over 10% of a blend, has been known to cause a “crash” in the color of blends.
Questions?
Feel free to contact Enologix at 707-938-9463
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Chardonnay Analysis Notice 2
Send Chardonnay Blends For Analysis
INCREASE THE VOLUME OF YOUR LUXURY CHARDONNAY WINES EARLY. BALANCE THE WINE BY TRACKING ESSENTIAL OILS AND HIGHER ESTERS USING WHITE WINEFAX.
How To:
If you have not yet blended your Chardonnay wines now may be the time. Ideal flavor concentrations for April are: (i) Yellow Pigment: 90 to 130, (ii) Essential Oils: over 33, (iii) Higher Esters: over 9,000. Compare current blend quality to January’s WineFAX to ensure quality is rising.
Step 1. Fine individual lots that still have high Yellow Pigment concentrations (above 130). See March’s Ideas with Impact “Chardonnay Winemaking Part 2” at www.enologix.com for additional information on fining.
Step 2. Blend wines of equal quality, creating an AAA grade luxury blend from wines with an Enologix Index > 0.60.
Step 3. Age low quality wines separately for another 30-90 day cycle. If quality does not rise, separate these wines from the luxury wine program.
Step 4. Blend your highest quality lots sur lies (i.e. with all the lies) in tanks.
Step 5. Fine-tune the oak in blends by selecting appropriate barrels, depending upon both the Quality index and the length of time of your sur lies program. For luxury Chardonnays that are aged 15 months sur lies, using any new barrels is strongly discouraged.
Step 6. Rack your blend back to barrels (0-3 years old) with the yeast.
Step 7. Assay wines after 60-120 days sur lies. Once the Index stops rising plan to age a portion of the blend in tanks or go straight to bottle.
NOTE: Having a hard time finding Gelsol? American Tartaric Product Inc., a local company, supplies Gelsol in two sizes: 25 kilo pails and 250 kilo drums. Located at 1230 Shiloh Rd. Windsor, Ca. 95492, Phone Number: (707) 836-6840.
Questions?
Contact us at 707-938-9463
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Cabernet Sauvignon Analysis Notice No. 3
Make 70% Assemblage of Bordeaux Wines by May 31st.
THE BORDEAUX PRACTICE OF BLENDING 70% OF LOTS TWO YEARS PRIOR TO BOTTLING CAN IMPROVE QUALITY BY UP TO 15%. THIS MAY MAKE THE DIFFERENCE IN ACHIEVING 90 POINTS WITH THE NATIONAL CRITICS.
The Problem:
No wonder there are so many 89-point Cabernet Sauvignon wines, as most California winemakers wait too long to blend their Flagship and Luxury Wines. From Bordeaux to California the top scoring wines in the Wine Advocate and Wine Spectator are blended early. Sometimes wines are blended early by default as in the case of single vineyard wines made from only one varietal. Naturally, it is easier to blend single vineyard wines than to make larger batches consisting of wine from several vineyards. If you are making wines from several varietals and vineyards it is absolutely critical to start assembling now. To assess wine Style and Quality send wine samples to Enologix for Red WineFAX analysis. If you followed our advice in the February Cabernet Sauvignon Notice No. 2, which recommended grading Bordeaux varietal wines by April, then identifying the wines to blend your luxury Cabernet should not pose a problem. Contact us at (707) 938-9463 if you did not receive a copy. If you have not analyzed all your Cabernet lots, send them in now and begin blending ASAP.
How To:
Step 1. Grade Wines: Separate your wines into AAA, A and B grade wines based on style,
stability and Enologix Index.
Step 3. Initial Blends: Make several one-barrel trial bottling blends for the wines you plan to
bottle two years from today. All blends should be a Style III or IV and have an Enologix
Index >0.65. Remember that as wines age the Quality Index typically decreases.
Step 4. Taste: Get a WineFAX of your initial blends to confirm the Enologix Index is 0.65+.
Carefully taste the “winners” for your style and expression of terroir.
Step 5. Scale Up: Verify that the small blend you liked above is capable of blending in tanks with batches of 10,000 cases or more. A high WineFAX Index, favorable blind tasting scores and sufficient cellar experience are needed to scale production to this level. Then assay the wines you blend in tank to ensure similarity to the preliminary blends.
Step 6. Return the wine: Barrel the wines with about 30 ppm Free Sulfur Dioxide (aeration
method).
WARNING: DO NOT blend based on bench top trials using a liter of wine only, you will give up critical points. DO NOT blend unstable wine lots into your AAA luxury blends. An unstable wine, making up over 10% of a blend, has been known to cause a “crash” in the color of the blend.
Questions?
Contact us at 707-938-9463.
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Pinot Noir Analysis Notice Number 2
Make Assemblage of Burgundy Red Wines by June 30.
THE BURGUNDY WINEMAKERS PRACTICE OF BLENDING SINGLE-VINEYARD WINES ONE TIME IS APPROPRIATE FOR CALIFORNIA PINOT NOIR, TOO.
The Problem:
Luxury Pinot Noir is incredibly hard to make. Expressing the terroir and balancing the delicate flavors presents challenges to even the most seasoned winemakers. The difficulty of this varietal becomes clear when you see a winemaker make a great wine one-year and a really poor wine the next. It may be easier to blame low quality scores on the weather or critics, but for luxury Pinot Noir it is safer to anticipate the problems of the vintage and consider them a winemaking challenge.
The biggest problem facing large Pinot Noir producers is scaling-up volume while maintaining quality every year. The French wine-farm practices of Burgundy were developed for small producers (usually less than 5,000 cases) and are not always successful when applied to large production wineries. These practices arose from a wish to avoid oxidation by minimizing racking and blending as any exposure to oxygen will lower ratings. California winemakers live batch-to-batch and year-to-year because of national critics’ ratings, which are harsh for inconsistency in blends. We recommend blending all Pinot Noirs in June to create a consistently defect free aroma. Enologix observed that racking the average Pinot Noir, with a Complex Anthocyanin concentration of around 40 after june hides the terroir.
How To:
Step 1. Grade Wines: Grade your wines into AAA, A and B wines. AAA wines are flagship wines made in volumes over 1,000 cases and priced over $50 with a minimum Complex Anthocyanin of 60. Grade A are reserve wines with a complex of 50+, while Grade B is 30. Do not bottle anything less. Lower the Grade from AAA to B if the wine is defective.
Step 2. Proforma Blends: Make one-barrel blends of AAA, A and B wines.
Step 3. Tasting: Confirm that the terroir is high using the MAX-Preference (plus-minus method). Verify that Proforma Blends do not oxidize, hiding the terroir.
Step 4. Scaling: The biggest problem here is oxidation, so blend 90-days prior to bottling. When single-barrel blends oxidize you have to plan to “bulldog” the wines with gas when making tank blends.
Step 5. Bottling: Get a WineFAX to verify the quality, then bottle.
WARNING: DO NOT blend based on bench top trials using a liter of wine, you will give up critical points. DO NOT blend lots into your AAA wine that are unstable. An unstable wine comprising over 10% of the final blend, has been known to “crash” the color of blends.
Questions? Feel free to contact us at 707-938-9463 or call the lab at 707-938-0205
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Chardonnay Analysis Notice 3
Send Chardonnay Blends For Analysis.
MANAGE BOTTLING TANK PITFALLS OF LUXURY CHARDONNAYS. REASSAY YOUR WINES NOW TO MANAGE AGING BY TRACKING ESSENTIAL OILS AND ESTERS IN THE WHITE WINEFAX™.
How To:
Don’t fall short in the cellar by ignoring your bottling tank blends. Any aeration during racking can introduce oxygen into your luxury wines anywhere from tenths of a mg/L to upwards of 5-6 mg/L in an over-aerated racking regiment.
At this point, increased yellow pigment must have been fined out by use of Isinglass to avoid defects from developing (as in UCD clones 3, 4, 5). Assay these fined wines, to check for preservation of high aromatic esters (+9000) and Essential Oils (+33). Barrel fermented luxury Chardonnays pose a greater risk to increased yellow pigment, so it is recommended that new barrels not be used in the aging process.
Remember to re-assay segregated lower quality lots to check for quality consistency and if quality still has not risen, keep them out of any AAA luxury lots. A cardinal rule of thumb is to only blend lots of equal quality. Aging on lees for a couple of months and rechecking the Index on these select lots should control the quality and allow for the Index to remain above 0.60. Pre-bottling stabilization of Luxury Chardonnay is essential. Once you are certain that the Index and level of Essential Oils and Esters remains constant, the blend should be stable enough to bottle.
Questions?
Feel free to contact us at 707-938-9463
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Grape Analysis Notice 1
August Ramp Up to Harvest 2004
CRITICAL DECISIONS NEED TO BE MADE PRIOR TO HARVEST, IN ORDER TO MOST EFFECTIVELY GAUGE GRAPE MATURATION AND QUALITY. DON’T FALL SHORT, IN LAYING OUT A PLAN FOR WHICH LOTS YOU WANT TO TRACK CLOSELY WITH THE ENOLOGIX GRAPEFAX™.
How To:
Assay no fewer than 4 grape samples per lot at approximately 20, 22 and 24 Brix and at harvest. Bear in mind that there is usually about a 2 Brix sugar increase per week through September. Carefully tracking maturation with the Enologix Index will help determine the best harvest date. As the Enologix index breaks the 0.60 point and Brix is greater than 24.0, optimum conditions for ripeness exist.
Vineyard Managers and Winemakers often fail to agree about what defines performance. At this point, the winemaking team should ascertain vineyard events from the vineyard manager such as irrigation protocols, pressure bomb readings, etc. Send grape samples of all your viticulture trials so you can see how your treatment variables are influencing your quality. Use the Viticulture and Winemaking Pages in QMS on our website to enter your treatment levels and winemaking variables, then use the Statistics tool in QMS to determine if there is correlation between any treatment variables and quality. Verify which variables impact quality and support a higher Enologix Index. By entering this information into your QMS database, you can statistically validate vineyard practices and effect changes to increase your quality. Please call us for further information or instructions on using our FREE Statistical analysis tool.
WARNING: Proper sample collection is key to successfully assessing grape quality. Begin by following the Enologix guidelines for sample collection included in your Harvest Package sent to you in the beginning of August.
Questions? Contact us at 707-938-9463
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Lab Notice—Maceration Sampling
ENOLOGIX IS COMMITTED TO PROVIDING YOU WITH A SUCCESSFUL, PROVEN SYSTEM FOR ASSESSING FERMENTER EXTRACTION AND QUALITY. THE ENOLOGIX MACERATIONFAX PROVIDES SUCH A SYSTEM. THE METHOD BELOW OUTLINES A PROTOCOL TO FOLLOW IN ORDER TO MAXIMIZE THE QUALITY OF YOUR MACERATION ASSAYS.
How To:
Abstract: MacerationFAX contains the same quality metrics and chemistry found in GrapeFAX and WineFAX. MacerationFAX delivers the information you need to manage the details of an operation while they are occurring. MacerationFAX tracks quality so you can make decisions during harvest operations.
MacerationFAX can give you insight into the maximum extraction possible. Comparing the results of the GrapeFAX to MacerationFAX allows winemakers to measure the percent extraction in tanks, allowing you to customize each fermentation and maceration to meet the unique needs of your grape lots and the style of wine you want to make and can be used to adjust fermentation operations prior to pressing.
Materials and Methods:
Sample a minimum of 150mL to a maximum of 250mL of maceration, in a plastic container. Leave at least an inch of space at the top of the container. Water bottles with a “sport top” work best allowing it to release gas. If you have submitted grapes for analysis it is essential to label subsequent maceration samples in a similar manner. This will allow you to track quality from the vineyard through fermentation. Consistent labeling will make it easier for you to work with your data and look up records in the future. The sample label should include your winery name, varietal, a unique tracking code, brix, and the date sampled. MacerationFAX should be used to assess major lots. Enologix recommends sampling fermenting wines at 10 Brix. However, if the 10 Brix sample shows poor extraction, another sample should be submitted at 0 to 2 Brix.
Questions?
Feel free to contact us at 707-938-9463
Download the Acrobat PDF version.
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Ideas With Impact—2003 Cabernet
“Advice is seldom welcome; and those who want it the most always like it the least.” — Lord Chesterfield, 1748
Version Control: Updated October 2, 2004
We have some advice for makers of Bordeaux varietal wines. Our advice to winemakers is, “Focus hard on the 2004 vintage, and it will be as good as 1996. But also recognize that quality issues with the 2002 and 2003 vintages have cascaded into this vintage.: Poor vintages create logistical problems. Most of us have not finalized our 2003 regular and flagship blends!
Logistical Problem Plagues 2004
How can you make 2004s if you are still blending past vintages? Many winemakers have not finalized their 2003 blends, largely because of problems that started in the 2002 vintage. The problem seems most acute for large winemakers—making over 50,000 cases.
2002: Winemakers blended wines very late. The 2002 vintage was the most tannic in over 10-years. We expect James Laube and Robert Parker to dam flagship wines with faint praise. The truth is that many flagship wines are too tannic. And tannin concentrations are actually rising in Style III wines. That means the wines are drying out. Yet winemakers took too long to blend.
2003: Winemakers have known for a long time that there is an issue with the vintage. In August 2003 we said in a headline about the upcoming vintage, “Best Case Scenario, A Mediocre Vintage for 2003”. But we worked well together and most Enologix users made very good wine. By November Q5-Index showed use quality was 90%-ish of past vintages. As a reminder, the Q5 is a measure of the wine quality as function of the best vintage in the last five. Even so, James Laube of the Wine Spectator has said the vintage was “spotty”.
More advice is, “If you are fiddling with 2003 blends this January you are going to hurt your 2004 wine quality.” If the Wine Spectator decides this is a great vintage it pays to focus on the best vintage. And we think that is 2004.
Table 1: Overall Q5 Index for 2003 Vintage
Cabernet 90%
All 88%
Hardball Advice
Your peers have brought down the vintage rating to below average in the eyes of the national critics. Best to finalize your 2003 blends and bottle your best wines 3 months earlier than normal, i.e. than you did for vintages 1997, 1999 and 2001.
Look for Q5-Index December 1, 2004
2004: The Q5-Index has proven to be the best predictor of national critics’ scores for California wines. At least for the moment we can assume that 2004 is an above average vintage for winemakers. Our sense is that 2004 will produce wines the equal of the 1996 vintage.
To learn more about the how to finalize your 2003 blends, register now for the Enologix 2003 MAX-Preference Tasting on Thursday, Decmeber 10, , 2004.
Warm regards,
Larry Brooks, Zach Berkowitz, Leo McCloskey
Enologix Authorized Viticulturists and Winemakers
Questions?
Feel free to contact us at 707-938-9463.
Download the Acrobat PDF version.
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Balanced Pruning
"The thing with high-tech is that you always end up using scissors."
-- David Hockney, 1937
Version Control: Updated November 22, 2004
Pruning is your next opportunity to improve quality for 2004
Pruning can be defined as the removal of cane growth to obtain viticultural objectives such as controlling size and structure of the grapevine, optimizing production, and maintaining a balance between vegetative growth and crop load (vine balance).
Balanced pruning is used to maintain proper shoot growth as well as a suitable equilibrium between growth and crop size. The ultimate goal of balanced pruning is the maximization of quality. Here is how it works:
o The previous year's cane growth (1-year old wood) is used to determine the relative vigor of a vine. This will in turn determine how many buds to retain at pruning.
o The number of buds to retain per amount of pruning wood has been established for each varietal, based on inherent vigor and cropping characteristics.
o The number and placement of buds impacts both shoot spacing and canopy microclimate, two important quality factors.
How To Balance Pruning:
o Step one - take pruning weights to determine the relative vigor of the vineyard.
o Step two - use relative vigor data to determine how many buds to retain.
o Step three - prune vines, retaining suitable bud number (size) and spacing (structure).
Balanced pruning is easy to achieve with the proper viticultural information. Plan ahead and design a balanced pruning program this winter for early spring. If you need help putting together a program to improve quality in your vineyard, contact an Authorized Enologix Viticulturist by calling (707) 938-9463.
Questions?
Feel free to contact us at 707-938-9463.
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Early Bottling for 2003 Cabernet Sauvignon
Version Control: Updated March 21, 2005
Issue for the vintage
2003 was not an outstanding year for Cabernet Sauvignon. The Enologix Q5 Index for 2003 Cabernet is 77, an average score. Our intelligence on the vintage says that early bottling will capture the fruit in these wines, and protect the quality of the product. We recommend bottling five to six months before you normally would, between April 1 and June 30. If 2003 Cabernet Sauvignon is left in barrel past June 30, off aromas will be conferred to the wines, and quality will plummet. Take initiative now and safeguard your wine from these defects.
A look at the metrics
2003 Cabernet Sauvignon Averages
Q5 Index Quality Index Tannin Complex Anthocyanin
77 0.46 1172 176
Questions?
Feel Free to contact us at 707-938-9463
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2005 Cabernet Sauvignon Analysis Notice 4 - Make 70 - 90% Assemblage of Bordeaux Wines by May 31st.
THE BORDEAUX PRACTICE OF BLENDING 70 - 90% OF LOTS TWO YEARS PRIOR TO BOTTLING CAN IMPROVE QUALITY BY UP TO 15%. THIS MAY MAKE THE DIFFERENCE IN ACHIEVING 90 POINTS WITH THE NATIONAL CRITICS.
Version Control: Updated April 15, 2006
The Problem:
No wonder there are so many 89-point Cabernet Sauvignon wines, as most California winemakers wait too long to blend their Flagship and Luxury Wines. From Bordeaux to California the top scoring wines in the Wine Advocate and Wine Spectator are blended early. Sometimes wines are blended early by default as in the case of single vineyard wines made from only one varietal. Naturally, it is easier to blend single vineyard wines than to make larger batches consisting of wine from several vineyards. If you are making wines from several varietals and vineyards it is absolutely critical to start assembling now. To assess wine Style and Quality send wine samples to Enologix for Red WineFAX analysis.
How To:
Step 1. Grade Wines: Separate your wines into AAA, A and B grade wines based on Style,
stability and Enologix Index.
Step 2. Initial Blends: Make several one-barrel trial bottling blends for the wines you plan to
bottle two years from today. All blends should be a Style III or IV and have an Enologix
Index >0.65. Remember that as wines age the Quality Index typically decreases.
Step 3. Taste: Get a WineFAX of your initial blends to confirm the Enologix Index is >0.65.
Carefully taste the “winners” for your style and expression of terroir.
Step 4. Scale Up: Verify that the small blend you liked above is capable of blending in tanks
with batches of 10,000 cases or more. A high WineFAX Index, favorable blind tasting scores and sufficient cellar experience are needed to scale production to this level. Then assay the wines you blend in tank to ensure similarity to the preliminary blends.
Step 5. Return the wine: Barrel the wines with about 30 ppm Free Sulfur Dioxide.
WARNINGS: DO NOT blend based on bench top trials using a liter of wine only. DO NOT blend unstable wine lots into your AAA luxury blends. An unstable wine, making up over 10% of a blend, has been known to cause a “crash” in the color of the blend.
Questions?
Contact us at 707-938-9463.
Download the Acrobat PDF version.
Click here for the Adobe Acrobat Reader.
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2004 Chardonnay Notice 5 - Send Chardonnay Blends For Analysis.
MANAGE BOTTLING TANK PITFALLS OF LUXURY CHARDONNAYS. RE-ASSAY YOUR WINES NOW TO MANAGE AGING BY TRACKING ESSENTIAL OILS AND ESTERS.
How To:
Don’t fall short in the cellar by ignoring your bottling tank blends. Any aeration during Racking can introduce oxygen into your luxury wines anywhere from tenths of a mg/L to upwards of 5-6 mg/L in an over-aerated racking regime.
At this point, increased Yellow Pigment should have been fined out by use of Isinglass to avoid defects from developing (as in UCD clones 3, 4, 5). Assay these fined wines to check for preservation of Higher Esters (>9000) and Essential Oils (>33). Barrel fermented luxury Chardonnays pose a greater risk to increased Yellow Pigment, so it is recommended that new barrels not be used in the aging process.
Re-assay lower quality lots to check for consistency. If quality still has not risen, keep these lots out of any AAA luxury blends. A rule of thumb is to blend only lots of equal quality. Aging on lees for a couple of months and rechecking the Index on these select lots should control the quality and allow for the Index to remain above 0.60. Pre-bottling stabilization of Luxury Chardonnay is essential. Once you are certain that the Index and level of Essential Oils and Esters remains constant, the blend should be stable enough to bottle.
Questions?
Feel free to contact us at 707-938-9463
Download the Acrobat PDF version.
Click here for the Adobe Acrobat Reader.
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Grape Analysis Notice 1: August Ramp Up to Harvest 2005
CRITICAL DECISIONS NEED TO BE MADE PRIOR TO HARVEST, IN ORDER TO MOST EFFECTIVELY GAUGE GRAPE MATURATION AND QUALITY. DON’T FALL SHORT IN LAYING OUT A PLAN FOR WHICH LOTS YOU WANT TO TRACK CLOSELY WITH THE ENOLOGIX GRAPEFAX™.
How To:
Assay no fewer than 4 grape samples per lot at approximately 20, 22 and 24 Brix and at harvest. Bear in mind that there is usually about a 2 Brix sugar increase per week through September. Carefully tracking maturation with the Enologix Index will help determine the best harvest date. As the Enologix index breaks the 0.60 point and Brix is greater than 24.0, optimum conditions for ripeness exist.
Vineyard Managers and Winemakers often fail to agree about what defines performance. At this point, the winemaking team should ascertain vineyard events from the vineyard manager such as irrigation protocols, pressure bomb readings, etc. Send grape samples of all your viticulture trials so you can see how your treatment variables are influencing your quality. Use the Viticulture and Winemaking Pages in QMS on our website to enter your treatment levels and winemaking variables, then use the Statistics tool in QMS to determine if there is correlation between any treatment variables and quality. Verify which variables impact quality and support a higher Enologix Index. By entering this information into your QMS database, you can statistically validate vineyard practices and effect changes to increase your quality. Please call us for further information or instructions on using our FREE Statistical analysis tool.
WARNING: Proper sample collection is key to successfully assessing grape quality. Begin by following the Enologix guidelines for sample collection included in your Harvest Package sent to you in the beginning of August.
Questions?
Contact us at 707-938-9463
Download the Acrobat PDF version.
Click here for the Adobe Acrobat Reader.
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Drain-Down & Press Sampling Protocol
How To:
Abstract: WineFAX contains the same quality metrics and chemistry found in GrapeFAX and MacerationFAX. WineFAX delivers the information you need to manage the details of a pressing operation while they are occurring. WineFAX also tracks quality so you can make decisions during harvest about cellaring and pressing operations.
WineFAX can give you insight into which fermenters are producing the best wines, and what is the right pressure setting for pressing fine wines. We have found it is best to separate press wines. Comparing the results of the GrapeFAX to MacerationFAX to WineFAX allows winemakers to measure the percent extraction precisely. That allows winemakers to customize each fermentation and maceration to meet the unique needs of your grape lots and the style of wine you want to make and can be used to adjust fermentation operations prior to pressing.
Materials and Methods:
Sample a minimum of 150mL to a maximum of 250mL of drain-down or press wines, in a plastic container. Leave at least an inch of space at the top of the container. If you have submitted grapes for analysis it is essential to label subsequent maceration and wine samples in a similar manner. This will allow you to track quality from the vineyard through new wine. Consistent labeling will make it easier for you to work with your data and look up records in the future. The sample label should include your winery name, varietal, a unique tracking code, brix, and the date sampled. WineFAX should be used to assess major lots. Enologix recommends sampling drain-down wines after the tank has been mixed.
Questions?
Feel free to contact us at 707-938-9463
Download the Acrobat PDF version.
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2005 CABERNET SAUVIGNON & BLENDS SCHEDULE
Through our Cabernet Sauvignon & Bordeaux Blends program, we provide analysis to customers for tight grading of wines by style. Late FALL is the time to grade both style and quality. WINTER is the time to decide if élevage makes AAA wines the equivalent of Bordeaux’s First Growth and Grand Cru classifications, e.g. Joseph Phelps Vineyard’s Insignia. Warning: It is just as important to grade the style as the quality.
Issue
Making great Cabernet Sauvignons and Bordeaux Blends requires two quality indices. First, predict the style of your blend. Lay out a plan for separating Style 1, 3 and 4 wines for blending. Secondly, establish that AAA prospects become equivalent of Grand Cru this winter, and only after wines survive élevage with all their style, quality. Watch for changes in style and quality.
How To:
Assay Cabernet Sauvignon & Bordeaux Blends in November. Rack the AAA wines to appropriate new barrels for 75 to 90-days. Even if wines are not finished with the malo-lactic fermentation, establish a baseline for future stability. Testing quality trumps fermentations.
Our second Cabernet Sauvignon & Bordeaux Blends notice says how-to make equivalent of First Growth Grand Cru wines. In January you assay wines a second time, to determine which lots are stable. Divide the January by November numbers to calculate color and flavor stability. Determine both tannin and color stability. 90% stable wines are your prospects. Blind tastings will reveal whether individual lots have herbal defects. Down grade wines with herbal defects to grade A.
A third Cabernet Sauvignon & Bordeaux Blends notice says how-to make equivalent of Fifth Growth Grand Cru wines. In February grade AAA and A can be blended together to create the equivalent of Fifth Growth wine. Unstable grade AAA wines, are blended into lower grade A this winter.
WARNING: DO NOT blend lots of your AAA wine in fall. Unstable wines, which comprise over 10% of a blend, have caused a “crash” in the quality of otherwise “good” blends.
Download the Acrobat PDF version.
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2005 SYRAH & RHONE BLENDS SCHEDULE
Through our Syrah and Grenache-Syrah-Mourvedre (GSM) program, we provide analysis to customers for making two different styles of wines—100% Syrah versus blends. WINTER is the time to grade 100% Syrah lots by AAA, A and B. Also, it is the time to make consumer friendly blends of A and B grade Syrah with AAA Grenache and Mourvedre wines. We are learning to make blended wines no later than February.
Issue: Learn the Benchmarks By Which Customers Judge Syrahs.
The truth is California winemakers are not setting the commercial pace with Rhone wines. California winemakers have not been successful in creating wines that mirror the style of Côte Rôtie or Hermitage. The winery manager’s job is to choose to make 100% Syrahs versus Rhone Blends.
How To:
Between now and February age your 100% Syrahs in oak. Assay Syrah and Rhone Blends in February. Grade the wines AAA, A and B. It will take for 180 to 270-days to make a 100% Syrah elegant.
Warning: Syrah is hard to make in batches of more than 1,000 cases and score.
Question and Answer: What is the Rhône Quality System?
The Rhône has no official classification based on quality.
While the conventional wisdom is that Syrah is easy to make, the truth is that Syrah’s growth has been slowed by the lack of quality system in the benchmark regions. There is a real danger that Australian Shiraz will set itself up as a new benchmark. When that happens California wines will be judged by benchmark Australian wines—from Rosemount?
The history of the Appellation d’Origine started in the Rhône valley. “The basic law of May 6, 1919 required, as a condition of recognition of an Appellation d’Origine, that ancient local customs should be respected,” according to Larousse. Unfortunately no classification is equal to the Burgundy’s Grand Cru (1.6% of production) or Bordeaux’s Cru Classé Premier Cru (First Growth Chateau Lafite Rothschild).
Efforts to include quality classifications failed in the Rhône; and instead a paradox was created for consumers. Growers formed one region, Côtes du Rhône, from incredibly different Côte Rôtie, Hermitage, Chateauneuf-du-Pape and Southern Rhône regions. These wines are made in wildly different Enologix Styles 1, 3, and 4. In essence California winemakers have been mislead by French sophistication.
“The attribute of the northern Rhône is dogged single-mindedness: one grape, the Syrah, grown on rocky slopes that need terracing to hold the soil” says Hugh Johnson. Wines are sometimes blended, with Condrieu, whites as is done in Tuscany. Results can be mixed, and this practice is not recommended.
“By contrast, several different types of grape variety are used in the southern Cote du Rhône. These come from three different sources. Some varieties originate on the French coast of the Mediterranean, a few come from Italy, but most have been imported from Spain.” according to Larousse. The point is that southern Rhone wines are blends of 13 major varieties, the most common being Grenache, Syrah and Mourvédre (GSM).
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Organic Wine Part 1. Primer On Wine Certification.
Retailers Seek USDA Organically Grown Wines Over Sustainable Winegrowing.
By Leo McCloskey
ORGANIC WINES gained respectability with consumers when the nation’s largest retailer announced plans to sell organic wine to New York Times, Wal-Mart Eyes Organic Food. The story was followed by a full back page of the Times business section, “WE’RE HEADED IN A NEW DIRECTION.” A few days earlier a San Francisco Chronicle story by Janet Fletcher, The Faces of Organic, implied California winemakers are not ready for organic.
ORGANIC FOODS arose in the 1970's right along side of the fine wine boom with Robert Mondavi. It was a reaction to mass-production, and to large-scale farm food. 70s era winemakers reacted to the low quality. Organic criteria banned chemical fertilizers and pesticides on crops and harmful additives in foods and wine; it was a health issue with the media. Winemakers banned viticulture and enology practices of mass-production. Consumers consider large-scale agriculture and mass production to be harmful to the environment or to human health. In a sense organic and wine are brother and sister.
AN INDUSTRY STANDARD exists for organic wine which winemakers have ignored. It is the USDA National Organic Program for labeling “Organic Wine” or “Organically Grown Grapes”.
USDA and Wine Spectator 90-Point Break
We are at the tipping point with USDA “Organic Wines”, that’s the point of no return. Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB) approves wine labels by the USDA’s National Organic Program for labeling “Organic Wine” and “Organically Grown”. USDA has defined both farming and manufacturing criteria. Early adopter Bonterra Vineyards (www.bonterra.com) boldly displays “Organically Grown” as their tag-line.
So what is the problem with “Organic Wine”? Winemakers do not yet know how to make a “90-point” USDA Organic Wine. Traditional methods such as are used to make flagship wines are not compatible with the USDA criteria. French wine-farm methods allow for chemical additives and adjuncts. So there is no connection between organic wine and consumer scores.
But grape production is compatible with the USDA National Organic Program. It is easy to grow grapes to USDA “Organically Grown” criteria. From a farming perspective, Vitis vinifera, wine grapes are resistant to pests and rot. That is because UCD Growing Regions III and IV are hot and dry. Botrytis cinerea the cause of the rot does not like living in a dry habitat. Cabernet Sauvignon is never attacked by Botryis as far as we know.
Pro and Con
It is a marketing anathema to admit to that one uses both chemicals and are organic. Winemakers who want to adopt the USDA Organic Wine criteria cannot. Only a five (5) wineries have met USDA criteria to mark "organic wine" on their labels. What is the main reason? Traditional winemakers chemicals, such as sulfur dioxide, which are banned. Global winemakers make use of adjuncts such as natural dyes, and oak chips to unnatural preservatives such as sorbic acid and Velcron which are banned, too.
Supporters of the USDA system say it can protect consumers from the possibility that wines, especially reds, contain additives and adjuncts. Critics of the USDA systems say that it harms quality metrics. Rightly, white winemakers avoid the USDA requirement for banning sulfur dioxide. “The biggest stumbling block, many winemakers agree, is the USDA's prohibition against added sulfites,” says Janet Fletcher "Wines without sulfites are on a fast track," says Bob Blue, winemaker at Bonterra Vineyards in Hopland. "They taste old quickly." (see The Faces of Organic, Janet Fletcher, SF Chronicle, May 4, 2006 )
Strict USDA Certification
Winemakers can go to the California Certified Organic Farmers (CCOF) to certify their wines for the USDA and then get label approval from the TTB wines for sale to Wal-Mart. “Basically there is one [1] organic standard nationwide. All the products sold in Wal Mart have to be certified to the same standards that CCOF uses, or one of 18 other organizations. We certify more than 90% of the grape acerage. A big problem for the wineries is that no one has made a spectacular organic wine,” says Jake Lewin, Public Relations Director of (CCOF)
The Chronicle says, since “[v]irtually all wine contains some sulfites as a by-product of fermentation. Only a few commercial winemakers are willing to forego adding more. [CCOF], an organization that polices the USDA organic standards and certifies most of California's organic vineyards, has certified only four wineries as producers of organic wine: Frey Vineyards, Organic Wine Works, La Rocca Vineyards in Forest Ranch (Butte County) and Coates Vineyards in Orleans (Humboldt County)”, says Fletcher.
Three Certifications
There are three basic levels of certification. Winemakers want to define organic for themselves by using organizations they help to set-up to certify organically grown grapes and wines. One goal is to gain some form of certification, which does not ban sulfur dioxide and other chemical additives.
Benziger Family Winery’s, Mike Benziger says, the three levels of organic are Biodynamic, USDA and Wine Institute. There’s the Wine Institute’s Sustainable Wine Growing. “Sustainable is the first level of conscious farming, the first step from conventional agriculture. It’s a loose set of practices, that was devised so it is self-policing.” Next, there is the USDA’s organic. “Organic is about elimination of chemical inputs, and the acceptance of natural chemicals. It practices a high level of management, but Biodynamics takes the management to a more intense level. “What worries me about organic is it can be industrialized.” “Biodynamics is the most advanced form of organic. It is the way to tune a given terroir to the local nature. The real story is that it requires the farmer to engage nature, by looking at the farm as a living system. Biodynamics goes beyond measuring the chemicals. “[Ecological] science tells us there are relationships, among plants and animals in an ecosystem, which are required to define an ecosystems. No one denies these relationships but they fall outside of the USDA’s organic criteria.”
The Demeter Association was founded in Europe in 1928 to support and promote the Biodynamic agricultural methods that Rudolf Steiner set forth in 1924. Today, Demeter is an assembly of 20 country-based organizations, including the U.S. Demeter Association Inc., which certified its first farm in 1982. Demeter Association developed the Biodynamic® certification agency, in Aurora, New York. They own the The Biodynamic® Farming and Gardening Association - The BDA is a non-profit organization open to the public, formed in the U.S. in 1938 in order to foster, guide, and safeguard the Biodynamic® method of agriculture.
Everyone should adopt the lowest level of certification. Wine Institute, developed a self-certification called Sustainable Winegrowing and wrote The Wine Code of Sustainable Winegrowing brochure found in winery tasting rooms. Allison Jordan, Communications Manager, says, “Organic is a special class, California Sustainable Winegrowing Alliance offers a self-evalution workbook that allows winemakers to benchmark themselves. It is much more about education rather than certification.” “One of the things under discussion is to come up with a certification for Sustainable which will be allow [winemakers] to put a label—sticker—on their wine.”
Wal-Mart
“Some organic food advocates applaud the development, saying Wal-Mart's efforts will help expand the amount of land that is farmed organically and the quantities of organic food available to the public.”
Whichever certification you choose, Wal-Mart's interest is expected to change organic food certification in substantial ways. “Organic food is 2.4 percent of the overall food industry, says the New York Times. “It has been growing at least 15 percent a year for the last 10 years. Currently valued at $14 billion, the organic food business is expected to increase to $23 billion over the next three years.” Wall-Marts entry into organic wines will cause winemakers to determine which certification is best. (Wall Mart Eyes Organic Foods, May 12, 2006).
Wal-Mart's organic worries Ronnie Cummins, director of the Organic Consumers Association, a lobbyist for strict standards and the preservation of small organic farms. “He said Wal-Mart did not care about the principles behind organic agriculture and would ultimately drive down prices and squeeze organic farmers.” (See May 12, 2006, New York Times Business Section.)
Some organic food advocates applaud the development, saying Wal-Mart's efforts will help expand the amount of land that is farmed organically and the quantities of organic food available to the public.
But others say the initiative will ultimately hurt organic farmers, will lower standards for the production of organic food and will undercut the environmental benefits of organic farming.”
"This model of one size fits all and lowest prices possible doesn't work in organic," Mr. Cummins said. "Their business model is going to wreck organic the way it's wrecking retail stores, driving out all competitors."
Wal-Marts Bruce Peterson’s approach to organic is noticeably different from many of those involved in the field. He says, "Organic agriculture is just another method of agriculture — not better, not worse. This is like any other merchandising scheme we have, which is providing customers what they want. For those customers looking for an organic alternative in things like Rice Krispies, we now have an alternative for them."
“Wal-Mart and some large food manufacturers are careful not to position their organic versions as superior to the original process foods. "We have no intent to send a message that the standard Rice Krispies are somehow not great brands," Mr. Mackay of Kellogg.”
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Organic Part 2. High Forms of Organic Farming for Wine.
Wine press telling consumers biodynamics is the highest form of organic.
By Edward Tsan, Leo McCloskey and Toby Sayre
FOOD AND WINE MARKETERS are telling wine press that biodynamics is the highest form of organic. Benziger Family Winery’s Mike Benziger is leading the industry in biodynamics. That is plain to see in a recent Food and Wine story (See May 3, 2006, The Press Democrat Food and Wine Section.) However, it has been shown that biodynamic farming does not add any additional quality beyond that which is obtained from organic farming (Soil and Winegrape Quality in Biodynamically and Organically Managed Vineyards, Am. J. Enol. Vitic. 56:4:367-376 (2005)). Regardless of the quality of the final product, biodynamic hype continues to hold media and consumer attention.
The Biodynamic Attitude
There is something happening to the wine drinking market. The demand for more sustainability in the food we eat and drink has increased and there has to be a reaction to that shift. Consumers are paying much closer attention to what goes into their bodies and how that consumable was grown. And established wineries such as Bonterra Vineyards, Grgich Hills Cellars, and Quintessa are quick to react and answer. Take for example Mike Benziger, winegrower and general manager at Benziger Family Wineries located in Glen Ellen, CA. “A lot of people who are interested in biodynamics are younger people…they are very sensitive to being marketed to…they’re very sensitive to the truth.” He adds, “Wine making is so quality orientated. People are much more cued in to very slight variations in flavor and aroma, differences that can be affected by farming techniques.” Benziger has begun a program titled Farming for Flavors and all of their growers are taking part in it. He hopes that by 2008, his entire wine portfolio will read certified for biodynamics, organics, or sustainable agriculture. “That’s what our consumers are demanding,” said Benziger. The ideals of biodynamics are not new. The theory developed in Austria in the 1920s by the Austrian scientist Rudolf Steiner. The philosophy states that one must treat the soil as it were a living organism, and doing so brings the grapevine and earth into perfect harmony. Factors such as climate conditions, present wildlife, and even cosmic forces are all influential. Alan York, an expert biodynamics consultant working with Benziger says, “We don’t say biodynamic wines are better. Fine wine is always a question of superior site…we try to say and show that they are authentic to the site where they are grown, and reveal the passion of the people involved.” York later adds that growers who truly understand how nature works have developed a precision focused state of mind. When applied to the properly primed location, there rewards are well worth the effort. “You can taste that raised level of consciousness.”
From the Vineyard to the Marketplace
Benziger chimes in to say that the payoff is real. “We have no problems selling biodynamic wines. Even though they’re really expensive…the consumer is willing to pay more provided the quality is there.” As for how he does it, his biodynamic vineyard is very unique, but also very natural. A vibrant insectory consisting of bees, spider mites, and others prey on unwanted harmful bugs removes the need for chemical pest control. Free roaming chickens peck and scratch at the soil to provide turning and airation properties, cows produce manure for soil health, while the soon to be added sheep flocks add soil vitality by chewing down tall cover crops. One very interesting technique used by Mike Benziger is that of stuffing used cow horns with cow manure or ground quartz and burying it for a set amount of time. When ready, these produce very high quality fertilizer that help promote root activity and increased photosynthesizing and leaf rigidity. “The real story is about engaging nature in the process to grow grapes. In biodynamics, man leaves much of the work to nature, helping the natural systems to become self-regulating. The natural environment and the farmed environment merge into one.”
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LABORATORY NOTICE
Grape Analysis Notice 1: Start Sample 2006 Grapes At 20• Brix
MATURATION IS EXCELLENT WHEN COLOR AND FLAVOR RISE FASTER FROM 20 TO 24 BRIX! SAMPLING YOUR FLAGSHIP VINEYARD BLOCKS AT DIFFERENT BRIX BETWEEN 20 AND 25 BRIX ALLOWS YOU TO GAUGE YOUR VINES ABILITY TO ACCUMULATE FLAVOR. DON’T FALL SHORT IN CHOOSING THE RIGHT WEEK TO START PICKING WITH THE ENOLOGIX GRAPEFAX™.
How To:
Assay no fewer than 4 grape samples per lot at approximately 20, 22 and 24 Brix and at harvest. Bear in mind that there is usually about a 2 Brix sugar increase per week through September. Carefully tracking maturation with the Enologix Index will help determine the best harvest date. As the Enologix index breaks the 0.60 point and Brix is greater than 24.0, optimum conditions for ripeness exist.
Vineyard Managers and Winemakers often fail to agree about what defines performance. At this point, the winemaking team should ascertain vineyard events from the vineyard manager such as irrigation protocols, pressure bomb readings, etc. Send grape samples of all your viticulture trials so you can see how your treatment variables are influencing your quality. Use the Viticulture and Winemaking Pages in QMS on our website to enter your treatment levels and winemaking variables, then use the Statistics tool in QMS to determine if there is correlation between any treatment variables and quality. Verify which variables impact quality and support a higher Enologix Index. By entering this information into your QMS database, you can statistically validate vineyard practices and effect changes to increase your quality. Please call us for further information or instructions on using our FREE Statistical analysis tool.
WARNING: Proper sample collection is key to successfully assessing grape quality. Begin by following the Enologix guidelines for sample collection included in your Harvest Package sent to you in the beginning of August.
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GRAPE HARVEST MANUAL
HARVEST MANEUVERS
Version Control: Updated August 5, 2010
GRAPE HARVEST MANUAL
This manual will help you to determine 1) best date of harvest and, 2) best fermentation practices for the season. Our goal is to harvest grapes with an Enologix Index that is equal to the bottled wine benchmarks by which your consumer judges wines. Best farming practices should be producing a positive Quality Rate (Δ Quality per 1° Brix ) between veraison and harvest, which in turn create flagship wine taste quality by 24° Brix. We will follow a structured process starting as follows:
- Use Quality Rate (Δ Enologix Index/1° Brix) for vineyard block performance.
- Use Enologix Index of 0.65 for the picking date.
- Use Percent (%) Extraction at Mid-Fermentation to modify Standard Fermentation Practices.
Increase quality by following a structured process of determining picking date, and followed by fermenter performance. The recommendations explained here depend on the general manager integrating the vineyard manager’s and winemaker’s efforts, and working together to integrate their analyses with sales.
Sampling
Proper sample collection is essential to creating precise measurements. The methodologies are published in our website, www.enologix.com: Click “CLIENT CENTER,” and download “Sampling Grapes.pdf ” and “Sampling Fermenters.pdf” You will also find these documents in the Harvest Package we sent you by mail.
The three most important samples to assay are:
Part 1 — Vineyard Block Performance: Assay grapes at least two times to determine vineyard block performance by the Quality Rate ( + Δ Quality per 1° Brix ). Positive Quality Rates are produced by best farming practices. Seasonal factors such as Growing-Degree-Days (GDD) and water availability increase and decrease the Quality Rate and change the Enologix Index at 24° Brix.
Part 2 — Harvested Grape Quality: Assay grapes at 24° Brix to harvest. Pick the week to start harvest when the grape quality (Enologix Index) is equal to your competitive set’s best wines. Moreover, deliver grape quality that is 15 percent greater than your competitive set’s best wine.
Part 3 — Mid-Fermentation Extraction: Assay fermenters at mid-fermentation (13° to 14° Brix) to predict extraction performance for your standard fermentation procedure. Macerate to increase percent extraction to 50 percent at mid-fermentation.
Part 1: Vineyard Block Performance Measured By the Quality Rate
Assay grapes two times between 19° and 27°Brix. Best farming practices produce a positive Quality Rate (Δ Quality per 1° Brix ) between veraison and harvest. Ideally, Enologix Index will rise faster than sugar. Pick when the Enologix Index is higher than 0.65 to produce flagship wines using your Standard Fermentation Practices.
Issues, Challenges, Problems
The issue driving vineyard grape quality is seasonality. When the season is cool or hot, farming practices perfected for an average-normal year will still produce sugars 24° and 27° Brix and low quality. Measuring the Quality Rate allows the winemaker to forecast vineyard block performance, and if the Enologix Index is below 0.65 he/she can modify the Standard Fermentation Practices to accommodate for seasonality. We can determine the vineyard block performance by using these techniques:
- Compare performance of two different vineyard blocks between 19° and 27° Brix. By example sample grapes at 20° and 23° degrees Brix.
- Quality Rate = Δ Enologix Index / °Brix.
By sampling more frequently, (between 20° 23° and 26°) Brix, you will have at least two rate calculations to make an unequivocal picking date, as explained in Part 2, on the next page.
The Quality Rate is a function of sugar, light intensity and genetics. On average, the rate of quality accumulation is higher in September than October. In great years, by example 1999, the Cabernet Sauvignon Quality Rate is highest between 19° and 25° Brix; and drops after 25° Brix in September and October (See Table 1 below). Changes in the Quality Rate are due to genetic and environmental factors, too, Table 1. Genetic factors show that there are different &Delta&Quality/Brix rates for the main grape groups, as Bordeaux are greater than both Burgundy and Rhone groups.
Table 1. September Quality Rates (ΔQuality / 1°Brix )
| Seasonality — is the unique combination of physical and environmental factors that cause the variation we measure in grape harvest and mid-fermentation chemistry. For example, weather changes the concentration of color, flavor, and fragrance chemistry. Weather affects the ambient temperature, which changes the fermentation temperature, which changes the percent extraction — hence concentration. |
Part 2: Check Grape Quality At Harvest
The primary goal is to harvest grapes at maximum quality, color and flavor with the caveat: Flagship Vineyard quality must be equal to your bottled wine benchmarks. Moreover, your quality objective should exceed your Competitive Set’s best-bottled wine. Assay grapes one time between 24 ° Brix and harvest. In most cases, grapes have achieved optimum maturity when the Enologix Index is over 0.65 Index, and sugar concentration is over 24° Brix.
Issues, Challenges, Problems
There are several issues when it comes to predicting grape quality. Sugar concentration above 24° Brix does not guarantee grape quality. High flavor mountain grown grapes are tannic. A lower quality Index than required must be identified early.
- Assuming you have assayed grapes two or three times and have calculated the Enologix Quality rate, we can predict at what Brix you will reach your target Enologix Index.
- For example, let’s say that the current Enologix Index for grapes is 0.40 at 24°Brix, and the quality rate is 0.25 Index/°Brix. You can predict that your index will reach 0.65 at approximately 25°Brix.
- When the Index is low, use the Complex Anthocyanin concentration to determine quality.
By example, if your quality benchmark is a bottled wine with an Enologix Index of 0.50, the grapes must be harvested with an Index of 0.65. Anthocyanin pigments degrade over time causing a drop in the Index. Table 3 below offers some Complex Anthocyanin benchmarks.
Table 2. Picking By Complex Anthocyanins
Part 3. When To Modify Standard Fermentation Practices
The primary goal is to maximize quality of the wine using your Standard Fermentation Practices. The Standard Fermentation Practices must produce quality wines, which are equal to bottled wine benchmarks the day the wine is pressed. Analysis is used to determine whether mid-fermentation samples are nominally 50 percent extraction of grape quality. We assay fermenters at 12° to 14° degrees Brix, mid-fermentation. Most of the time, a Standard Fermentation Practice does not extract the same each season.
Issues, Challenges, Problems
A Standard Fermentation Practice is by definition created for an average season; and so it does not “work” in cool or hot years. The standard operating procedure (SOP) usually has to be modified the first week of harvest to modulate the color, flavor, and fragrance for seasonality. In essence the winemaker must rebalance the color and flavor to produce quality by changing fermentation practices. Seasonality causes variation in percent extraction of color, flavor, and fragrance measured at Mid-Fermentation. If you use the same SOP each season, it will produce a different quality each vintage, too!
Quality Control
Align your Standard Fermentation Practices with quality by testing your fermentation parameters the week before you ferment your flagship wines. We know a 100 percent extraction of the perfect grape at zero degrees Brix is a perfect wine. At mid-fermentation—this perfect fermentation extracts 50 percent of grape harvest quality at 12° to 14° Brix. Here is how to test your extraction: Multiply your mid-fermentation numbers by 2-times to determine you have extracted 50 percent of your grape harvest quality factors. Next, change the standard fermentation practice until you can extract 50% of your grapes quality. Then modify the SOP to create the perfect wine at the time of pressing
Standard Fermentation Practice (SFP)
Define the SFP, which produces the 50 percent extraction of grape harvest quality based on your best estimate. Next, ferment grapes using this well-defined SFP. Next, measure percent extraction at 12° to 14° Brix. Finally, optimize the SFP.
One SFP we have defined is as follows:
0 hours Crush grapes at 60°F with 30 mg/L potassium metabisulfite, into full 1,500 to 3,500 gallon tank.
24 hours Cold Soak at 55° F. Use a 60°F if ambient is low after the Fall Equinox. P/O 1-tank volume/day. Extract 45% of the Total Anthocyanins chemistry.
48 hours Warm Must to 70-76° F. Add yeast and nutrients. Pump-over (P/O) 2-times tank volume/day. Extract 85% to 90% of the Total Anthocyanins.
72 hours
Warm Must to 76°-
82° F. Add yeast and nutrients. P/O 1-time tank volume/day.
108 to 120 hours Mid-fermentation percent extraction 50% at 12-14 Brix – P/O 1-tank volume/day, between 72 and 120 hours. Extract 50% complex anthocyanins, 40% tannin by third day of fermentation.
192 hours End-fermentation percent extraction 100% at 0° Brix, whichever comes first, P/O Stop. Drain and press at zero Brix. Extract 100% of the perfect grape.
Edit SFP Edit and modify SFP activities to create more or less percent extraction at zero degrees Brix.
Modifying extraction is a multi-variable math problem for the winemakers. No two fermenters extract the same. For example, an 8 x 8 meter fermenter is different from a 4 x 10 fermenter. Unique tank configuration, seasonal environmental, and grape tissue maturity factors combine to affect extraction.
Modify the drain and press time if extraction is more than 50 percent at mid-fermentation. Modify the temperature and pump-over volume if the extraction is less than 50 percent at mid-fermentation. Modified SFP’s will be discussed in more detail in the September issue of Harvest Maneuvers.
Diagnostics
The benchmarks by which we judge fermentations remains constant. Define the benchmarks by which to judge your SFP using one or more chemistries. For example, Table 3 is repeated here. It shows the target complex anthocyanin concentrations.
Table 3. Complex Anthocyanins Benchmark Concentrations
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Interpreting a WineFAX
Use WineFAX to monitor your wine’s quality. WineFAX reports contain three quality indices; Style, Quality and Aging indices in columns A, B and C. The quality Index is based on a model which calculates a Regional Winemaker’s Score from blind tastings and flavor chemistry of bottled wines. The Index for a cellar wine is expressed as the MAX-Preference Score (scale of +1.0 to -1.0).This is the predicted Regional Winemakers Tasting Score. California’s top winemakers are tracking Regional Winemakers versus National Critics’ Scores. Enologix is the best information technology winemakers have to protect quality. Each WineFAX report also contains six (6) chemical indices for technical winemaking.
Enologix Style Index
The Enologix Style™ Index is the computed “Sales Category” defined by European appellations, expressed as an index of I, II, III and IV. It is computed using the major color, flavor and fragrance of the flagship wines of the region. Click Benchmark Wines on the WEB in the Client Center to determine Style at www.enologix.com. Check Enologix Style Index for benchmarks to gauge trueness-to- type for wines such as Cabernet Sauvignon.
The benchmarks by which regional winemakers and national critics judge wines are the wines of Europe. In the New World only Napa Valley has set itself up as a benchmark Style; and this is only for Cabernet Sauvignon.
Generally the national wine critics expect the regional winemakers to make Cabernet wines in terms of “top” Bordeaux or Napa Valley wines. The flagship Cabernet Sauvignon wines of Napa Valley are made in the same Enologix Styles as the wines of Bordeaux. Critics also expect regional winemakers to make other varieties in terms of the wines of France for Grenache, Mourvedre, Pinot Noir, and Syrah. Enologix advice to California winemakers is to make sure that you are making wines in the Style expected by the National Critics if you are making more than 2,000 cases and you want “90-points.”
The Quality Index?
The Enologix Quality Index is the computed MAX-Preference™ Score. MAX-Preference is the most widespread tasting method among California winemakers. The computed score has a higher reliability than tasting because it is calculated from the target wine and bottled wines both by tasting and flavor chemistry. Enologix Quality Score is reliable to less than 1-point on a “100-point scale.” That allows client winemakers to try and align computed MAX-Preference with National Critics’ Scores. When does your wine cross the 90-point break? Click Benchmark Wines on the WEB in the Client Center, www.enologix.com. Check Enologix Quality Index for benchmarks to gauge whether you will be awarded “90-points.”
The Quality Index is a function of the Style. So the Styles are the “rulers” by which regional winemakers and national critics judge wines. The only difference between critics and winemakers scores are the units used in each “ruler.” The Enologix Quality Index is expressed on the MAX-Preference scale, +1.0 to (-1.0); and the critics on the so-called “100-point scale.” In essence the most balanced intense wines are the “90-point” wines. The weakest wines are the “70-point” wines.
The process by which all professionals judge wines involves two-steps. First wines are assessed for trueness-to-type. Only if the wine is true-to-type can it be awarded a high score. Next, the professional assesses Quality, largely as a function of the flavor balanced intensity. But defects, whether that be in aroma or taste, upset the “90-point” wine’s score, and often results in a rejection out-of-hand. That is why so-called “Brett” or “tannic” wines are awarded lower scores.
The Enologix Quality Index is statistically significantly correlated with selected National Critics Scores. The Enologix Index cannot be translated directly into one critic’s score, e.g. Robert Parker. The critics’ scores are a function of current and past wine quality in our opinion.
Regional Winemakers and National Critics form the two (2) major groups that determine wine quality in the United States. Whereas the Regional Winemakers and National Critics are in complete agreement when it comes to Style, they sometimes agree to disagree about ratings.
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Red Wine Assemblage: Blending Early To Increase the Critics’ Score
Division Technical Support
Do all red wines benefit from early blending? The answer is yes under most production scenarios, where emphasis is placed upon quality rather than rarity. Unless you are making a low production single-vineyard wine, such as small batches of “farm-wine” Pinot Noir, blending plays a crucial role in determining final wine quality and can be a powerful tool for increasing national critics’ score. This is especially true in the case of wines produced in quantities exceeding 5,000 cases and up to 40,000 cases. Winemaker Leo McCloskey, says, “most of my California clients have conducted experiments which show that early assemblages have a 10-15% higher quality than those blended later after two-years.” To make an appointment with an Authorized Enologix Winemaker, email consulting@enologix.com or call 1-800-919-9463 today.
Question and Answer
How can I use the tools available to me through Enologix to make a great blend?
Strategy and Winemaking:
Use QMS™ software (www.enologix.com) and the blending tool to make a “digital blend” which optimizes quality score with respect to production requirements. The strategy is to make a blend that achieves case production goals while maintaining quality in the value-chain (ie-making the whole blend greater than the sum of it’s parts). Use QMS to model and evaluate how the incorporation of different vineyard lots and change in production quantities are expected to influence the final blend Quality Index. Enologix suggests using the following strategy to maximize your blending options and manage the quality scores of regional winemakers and national critics: 1) Make several digital blends with QMS Blend tool. 2) Make 1-barrel lots of the blends. (3) Taste and score. 4) Blend and scale production, from one to many barrels based on the highest scores.
Research & Consulting:
QMS database at www.enologix.com allows us to collaborate in the following way: Select 5 wine lots with an Enologix Index of 0.50 or higher. Blend one group of wines early (February). Age the other unblended wines for one-year. Next, assess wine quality between blended and unblended lots using Enologix WineFAX Index and replicate tastings based on the MAX-Preference Method. Use the Enologix Statistical analysis tool to evaluate tas..ting results and choose the best blend taking into account both tasting scores and WineFAX Index.
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Red Wine Assemblage: Blending Early To Increase the Critics’ Score
Division Technical Support
Do all red wines benefit from early blending? The answer is yes under most production scenarios, where emphasis is placed upon quality rather than rarity. Unless you are making a low production single-vineyard wine, such as small batches of “farm-wine” Pinot Noir, blending plays a crucial role in determining final wine quality and can be a powerful tool for increasing national critics’ score. This is especially true in the case of wines produced in quantities exceeding 5,000 cases and up to 40,000 cases. Winemaker Leo McCloskey, says, “most of my California clients have conducted experiments which show that early assemblages have a 10-15% higher quality than those blended later after two-years.” To make an appointment with an Authorized Enologix Winemaker, email consulting@enologix.com or call 1-800-919-9463 today.
Question and Answer
How can I use the tools available to me through Enologix to make a great blend?
Strategy and Winemaking:
Use QMS™ software (www.enologix.com) and the blending tool to make a “digital blend” which optimizes quality score with respect to production requirements. The strategy is to make a blend that achieves case production goals while maintaining quality in the value-chain (ie-making the whole blend greater than the sum of it’s parts). Use QMS to model and evaluate how the incorporation of different vineyard lots and change in production quantities are expected to influence the final blend Quality Index. Enologix suggests using the following strategy to maximize your blending options and manage the quality scores of regional winemakers and national critics: 1) Make several digital blends with QMS Blend tool. 2) Make 1-barrel lots of the blends. (3) Taste and score. 4) Blend and scale production, from one to many barrels based on the highest scores.
Research & Consulting:
QMS database at www.enologix.com allows us to collaborate in the following way: Select 5 wine lots with an Enologix Index of 0.50 or higher. Blend one group of wines early (February). Age the other unblended wines for one-year. Next, assess wine quality between blended and unblended lots using Enologix WineFAX Index and replicate tastings based on the MAX-Preference Method. Use the Enologix Statistical analysis tool to evaluate tas..ting results and choose the best blend taking into account both tasting scores and WineFAX Index.
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Harvest Bulletin V10N7
October 8, 2004
Volume 10, Week 7
DIAGNOSTICS
Version Control: Updated October 8, 2004
Harvest Bulletin – Volume 10, Week 7
Week 7: 2004 Cabernet Quality is emerging
October 8, 2004 – “Quality was crossing the 90-point break as the first quartile of Cabernet Sauvignon was drained down this last week,” says Leo McCloskey. That is only true of Style IV wines however, as the more tannic Style III wines are of distinctly lower quality than in 1996. Looking at the all the results to date, 2004 Cabernet Sauvignon quality is quite variable. Some of the variability may be due to the fact that the data is still limited. We estimate that only about 1/3 of the drain down analyses have been run for the 2004 Cabernet vintage. From the data below, the overall Index for 2004 Cabernet wines to date is only 0.185. These wines average 1,127 Tannin but only 177 Complex Anthocyanin, i.e. unlike 2003 which was a Style III vintage, the 2004 vintage is a Style IV vintage. By contrast, wine samples with an Index over 0.50 averaged 945 Tannin and 190 Complex Anthocyanin. In fact, the Style III wines averaged an Index of –0.02, while the Style IV wines averaged 0.454. The take home message is that Complex Anthocyanin is not strong enough to support the high Tannins in 2004. This may be due to hot temperatures during ripening and resulting heat damage to the fruit. This issue appears most alarming in the cooler areas of the Central Coast where wine quality has been a challenge. Another observation is that Tannin extractions are more efficient than Complex Anthocyanin extractions in 2004, i.e. about 75% vs. 65%. This may reflect greener seeds at harvest. For comparison, the 2001 vintage saw 75% extraction for both Tannin and Complex Anthocyanin. We do expect improved figures with drain down samples from riper grapes.
In the Vineyard – the Santa Rosa Press Democrat recently reported that the 2004 harvest is 95% complete. The data seems to confirm this, i.e. there were only 15 grape analyses run in the past week (Cabernet Sauvignon and Syrah). For those few unpicked vineyards, the weather looks cooperative, with 70’s and 80’s forecast for the cooler coast areas and 80’s in the warmer areas. No rain is forecast. Post-harvest fertilization, cover crop seeding and winterization has replacing picking for most vineyard managers.
Cabernet Sauvignon – as mentioned above, 2004 is shaping up as a Style IV vintage. What does that mean for winemakers? Overly extracted Style III wines are tannic, with insufficient color for the high tannin content of 2004 grapes. The chart below shows that grape data from the 2004 measures up well compared to recent vintages. Low Complex Anthocyanin vintages like 2000 and 2002 have been poorly received. 2004 has solid color but relatively high tannin, so fermentation management is critical. To convert tannic Style III grapes into Style IV wines, check maceration data and shorten maceration if needed. If you need some guidance on this, call the office. If your 2004 Cabernet Sauvignon is predominately Style III, reconsider your maceration logistics. It is interesting to note that the average brix is on the raise, reflecting the industry trend.
Cabernet extraction remains good, at about 70%. There is little reason for extended maceration in 2004. In fact, Style III wines would benefit from lower extraction. Note that more 2004’s are Style III than Style IV, a fact that no doubt lowers the average. Finally, about 85% of all Cabernet Sauvignon samples are from Napa and Sonoma Counties.
Merlot – Extraction for Merlot is quite similar to Cabernet Sauvignon and no extended macerations appear needed. Again, color is low relative to Tannin so management of fermentation is critical for quality.
Syrah – the trend continues, with higher tannin extraction than Complex Anthocyanin extraction. In general, fermentations are going well but resulting wines would improve with more color. For comparison, 2003 Syrah drain down wines averaged 184 Complex Anthocyanin at an Index of 0.57.
In the Lab – the last grape samples are trickling in. There are still quite a few maceration samples coming in but the majority of samples are drain down wine samples. The lab will remain busy processing wine samples for the next couple weeks. Look for notification when lab hours will change.
Q5 Index – The Q-5 Index is an average of newly fermented 2004 wine quality, as a function of the highest quality in the past five years. This year’s “Oscars” cannot be awarded until all wines are drained down and analyzed. Stay tuned to see how your wine fared against the competition. Look for the Q5 Index on December 1st.
Happy Maceration,
Zach Berkowitz
Authorized Enologix Viticulturist
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2005 CHARDONNAY SCHEDULE
Through our Chardonnay program, we provide analyses to customers for managing quality. WINTER is the time to remove defects; prior to the first 150-day élevage sur lies. SPRING is the time to identify wines which are equivalent of Burgundy’s Grand Crus, e.g. 2000 Chevalier-Montrachet Grand Cru Vincent Girardin Grand vin de Bourgogne. Call us for the numbers on this “true” AAA wine from France.
Version Control: Updated October 26, 2004
Issue
The grower and winemaker produce Grand Crus jointly. The winemaker's job is to remove defects in January. Don't fall short in laying out a plan that includes the grading of wines by March 31. Execute the sur lies methode through spring, and bottle B wines. The élevage of AAA wines depends on defects versus quality.
How To:
Assay Chardonnays and remove Yellow Pigments as soon as possible. Even if wines are not finished with the malo-lactic fermentation, establish whether you have the Yellow Pigment defect. Grade wines as follows: AAA is 75-110. A is 110-150. B is 150 and above.
Our second Chardonnay notice says how-to blend AAA versus B wines. In March, assay wines a second time to determine which lots are prospects for AAA. First grade wines AAA with the chemistry equal to our Grand Cru Burgundy. Secondly, decide which A grade wines are improving. Divide the March by January WineFAX numbers to calculate the percentage increase in defects versus quality (call for details). Blind tasting will reveal whether the élevage makes them equivalent of Grand Cru by mid-spring.
We have a third Chardonnay notice that says how-to make the equivalent of Premier Cru wines by extended aging to 15 months. Call for this Laboratory Notice 3, In June we grade wines track AAA wines. Make a judgment call as to whether lots will increase in quality faster than Yellow Pigments.
WARNING: DO NOT blend lots of your AAA wine until Yellow Pigments have been removed. Do not élevage sur lies in barrels if Yellow Pigment concentrations are too high.
Question and Answer: What is the Burgundy System?
Burgundy's Grand Cru wines are only a dream for two technical reasons. They are the top 1.6% of production. Also, they are never racked. Conventional wisdom in California is that Grand Cru grade Chardonnay is too hard to make.
Burgundy is the benchmark by which we all judge California Chardonnays. Only Burgundy has a rating system based on geological and geographical boundaries, fine-tuned by local micro-climate (soil, rainfall, aspect…) but California winemakers have the National Critics' ratings!
Let's consider the Burgundy system. In the 19th century that Burgundians made a serious attempt to classify Burgundies according to climate or individual plot of land. The publication in 1855 by Dr Jules Lavalle called "History and statistics of the vineyards and great wines of the Côte d'Or" classed wines as "têtes de cuvée" (the very best wine), "premières" (first quality) "deuxièmes" (second quality) troisièmes (third quality) and regional. This work, which was later recognized by the Beaune Committee of Agriculture, already identified many of today's Grands Cru classifications as "têtes de cuvée". It was finally superseded by the present AOC classification.
In California the media mavens tried to support the French system in print. Making Sense of Burgundy by Matt Kramer is one example. But this was too informal for consumers. Here is what Kramer says:
"The mentality of terroir is not uniquely Burgundian although it reaches full expression there. It more rightly could be considered distinctively French…. France more than any other (country) viewed its landscape from the perspective of terroir. It charted its vineyard distinctions with calligraphic care. Indeed, calligraphy and Cru are sympathetic, both the result of emotional yet disciplined attention to detail. Both flourished under monastic tutelage."
Questions?
Feel free to contact us at 707-938-9463.
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Chapter 4. Red Winemaking by Blend Lots
4.1 Red Wine Assemblage: Blending Early To Increase the Critics’ Score
Do all red wines benefit from early blending? The answer is yes under most production scenarios, where emphasis is placed upon quality rather than rarity. Unless you are making a low production single-vineyard wine, such as small batches of “farm-wine” Pinot Noir, blending plays a crucial role in determining final wine quality and can be a powerful tool for increasing national critics' score. This is especially true in the case of wines produced in quantities exceeding 5,000 cases and up to 40,000 cases. Winemaker Leo McCloskey, says, “most of my California clients have conducted experiments which show that early assemblages have a 10-15% higher quality than those blended later after two-years.” To make an appointment with an Authorized Enologix Winemaker, email consulting@enologix.com or call 1-800-919-9463 today.
Question and Answer
How can I use the tools available to me through Enologix to make a great blend?
Strategy and Winemaking:
Use QMS™ software (www.enologix.com) and the blending tool to make a “digital blend” which optimizes quality score with respect to production requirements. The strategy is to make a blend that achieves case production goals while maintaining quality in the value-chain (ie-making the whole blend greater than the sum of it's parts). Use QMS to model and evaluate how the incorporation of different vineyard lots and change in production quantities are expected to influence the final blend Quality Index. Enologix suggests using the following strategy to maximize your blending options and manage the quality scores of regional winemakers and national critics: 1) Make several digital blends with QMS Blend tool. 2) Make 1-barrel lots of the blends. (3) Taste and score. 4) Blend and scale production, from one to many barrels based on the highest scores.
Research & Consulting:
QMS database at www.enologix.com allows us to collaborate in the following way: Select 5 wine lots with an Enologix Index of 0.50 or higher. Blend one group of wines early (February). Age the other unblended wines for one-year. Next, assess wine quality between blended and unblended lots using Enologix WineFAX Index and replicate tastings based on the MAX-Preference Method. Use the Enologix Statistical analysis tool to evaluate tasting results and choose the best blend taking into account both tasting scores and WineFAX Index.
Download the Acrobat PDF version.
Click here for the Adobe Acrobat Reader.
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2005 Syrah & Rhone Blends Notice 2 - Style 3 for Cote-Rotie versus Style 4 for Chateauneuf-du-Pape?
Version Control: Updated March 15, 2006
Through our Syrah & Rhone Blends program, we provide analysis to customers for tight control of styles. WINTER is the time to make test barrels! 100% Syrahs are typically Style 3 or 4. Rhone Blends are typically Style 1 or 4. First, let's make the equivalent of the Rhone's top Chateauneuf-du-Pape wines, e.g. Beckmen's Cuvee Le Bec. The real “trick” is to execute a Rhone blend by February.
Issue: Making Volumes of High Scoring Wines Is Impossible.
Before we get to making Syrah and Rhone Blends, we both have to agree about the differences in the styles of Syrah based wines. Growers formed one region, Côtes du Rhône, from incredibly different Côte Rôtie, Hermitage, Chateauneuf-du-Pape and Southern Rhône regions. These wines are made in wildly different Enologix Styles 1, 3, and 4.
How To:
In essence we recommend making two different styles of wines.
Côte Rôtie Style 3: Start by grading Style 1, 2, 3 and 4. Next grade the wines AAA, A and B using WineFAX and the taste with élevage in barrels, for 100-days. AAA wines which win your tasting are your equivalent of Côte Rôtie, or Hermitage. OK, next make Rhone Blends.
Chateauneuf-du-Pape 4: Start by making trial single-barrel blends of Syrah and Grenache, Mourvedre and Carignane. Start with Style 4 lots. Next grade the wines AAA, A and B using WineFAX and the taste with élevage in barrels, for 60-days or more. If WineFAX and tasting proves the barrel blend is AAA, scale the volume up to 2,000 cases. Wait until spring to make larger volumes. Making Syrah requires tinkering with blends in spring.
Future Pacing the Problem
“It isn't that they cannot see the solution. It is that they cannot see the problem.” -G.K Chesterton, 1935
Our sense is that there are two winemaking management problems. California is NOT successful with the Northern Rhone style. No California winemaker “knows” how-to make large batches of luxury Syrah based wines that are rated “95-points” year after year. Producers have not adapted French wine-farm methods to our appellations.
Enter the wines from Australia. The Australians ignore the French style to create large batches of consumer-based wines. They are using mass production techniques, which do not make luxury wines.
Twenty years of experimenting with Syrah in California have been fruitless compared to Bordeaux and Burgundy varietal wines. California personages, such as Randall Graham, have advocated for Syrah since the late 1980s. However no New World producer has become the Crystal of Syrah.
Is Syrah a luxury wine? Our sense is that Syrah is difficult to make into an elegant luxury wine that can compete with a Joseph Phelps Insignia, a Merry Edwards Klopp Ranch Pinot Noir, or Ridge Geyserville Zinfandel.
How To:
Assay Syrah and Rhone Blends in January. Grade the wines AAA, A and B. Make AAA 100% Syrah by élevage in highly “specialized” oaks (call) for 180 to 270-days. Make trial single-barrel blends of Syrah and Grenache and Mourvedre and Carignane, too. Making Syrah requires tinkering with blends.
Warning: Syrah is hard to make in batches of more than 1,000 cases and score.
Question and Answer: What is the Rhône Quality System?
The Rhône has no official classification based on quality.
While the conventional wisdom is that Syrah is easy to make, the truth is that Syrah's growth has been slowed by the lack of quality system in the benchmark regions. There is a real danger that Australian Shiraz will set itself up as a new benchmark. When that happens California wines will be judged by benchmark Australian wines-from Rosemont?
The history of the Appellation d'Origine started in the Rhône valley. “The basic law of May 6, 1919 required, as a condition of recognition of an Appellation d'Origine, that ancient local customs should be respected,” according to Larousse. Unfortunately no classification is equal to the Burgundy's Grand Cru (1.6% of production) or Bordeaux's Cru Classé Premier Cru (First Growth Chateau Lafite Rothschild).
Efforts to include quality classifications failed in the Rhône; and instead a paradox was created for consumers. Growers formed one region, Côtes du Rhône, from incredibly different Côte Rôtie, Hermitage, Chateauneuf-du-Pape and Southern Rhône regions. These wines are made in wildly different Enologix Styles 1, 3, and 4. In essence California winemakers have been mislead by French sophistication.
“The attribute of the northern Rhône is dogged single-mindedness: one grape, the Syrah, grown on rocky slopes that need terracing to hold the soil” says Hugh Johnson. Wines are sometimes blended, with Condrieu, whites as is done in Tuscany. Results can be mixed, and this practice is not recommended.
“By contrast, several different types of grape variety are used in the southern Cote du Rhône. These come from three different sources. Some varieties originate on the French coast of the Mediterranean, a few come from Italy, but most have been imported from Spain.” according to Larousse. The point is that southern Rhone wines are blends of 13 major varieties, the most common being Grenache, Syrah and Mourvédre (GSM).
Questions?
Feel free to contact us at 707-938-9463.
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Chapter 1. White Burgundy Winemaking by Vineyard Lots
1.2 Reducing Yellow Pigment Prior to Élevage
In order to produce a superior white wine that will score well with national critics, Enologix has found it imperative to reduce the levels of carotene-phenol-complexes found in your wine to acceptable levels. These compounds, which appear on your White WineFAX as 'yellow pigment', can both adversely affect the visual appearance of your wine and cause the development of a defective norisoprenoid aroma through their breakdown. These norisoprenoids are the most powerful food odorant, and are responsible for the 'canned-tomato' aromas commonly found in Central Valley whites and pinots.
Question and Answer
How can Enologix help me to assess the potential of my wine to develop the norisoprenoid defect, and what can I do to control it?
Identification of Risk Factors
Through extensive research, Enologix has found that most Chardonnays should exhibit yellow pigment scores no higher than 125 ppm. Send your white wines in to Enologix for analysis early (around January or after completion of malolactic fermentation, if applicable) to determine a baseline composition for your wine. Use your White WineFAX report to determine whether your 'yellow pigment' score falls within an acceptable range. We suggest sending in white wines again prior to bottling to ensure yellow pigment levels have not increased during elevage.
Logistics of Reducing Yellow Pigment
Jeff Meier of J. Lohr has given us some data on yellow pigment reduction using oxygen and other fining agents. These results can be viewed in terms of amount of yellow pigment removed by the agent.
Agent used Dose Change
O2 0mL 0
O2 9mL -66
DE 1 lb/1000 gals -55
Colorfine (K-Casein) 1 lb/1000 gals -107
Milk (2%) 1 lb/1000 gals +15
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2005 Chardonnay Notice 4: Send Chardonnay Blends For Analysis.
INCREASE THE VOLUME OF YOUR LUXURY CHARDONNAY WINES EARLY. TRACK ESSENTIAL OILS AND HIGHER ESTERS USING WHITE WINEFAX.
Version Control: Updated March 15, 2006
How To:
If you have not yet blended your Chardonnay wines now may be the time. Ideal flavor concentrations for April are: (i) Yellow Pigment: 90 to 130, (ii) Essential Oils: over 33, (iii) Higher Esters: over 9,000. Compare current blend quality to January’s WineFAX to ensure quality is rising.
Step 1. Fine individual lots that still have high Yellow Pigment concentrations (above 130). See March’s Ideas with Impact “Chardonnay Winemaking Part 2” at www.enologix.com for additional information on fini ng.
Step 2. Blend wines of equal quality, creating a AAA grade luxury blend from wines with an Enologix Index > 0.60.
Step 3. Age low quality wines separately for another 30-90 day cycle. If quality does not rise, separate these wines from the luxury wine program.
Step 4. Blend your highest quality lots sur lies (i.e. with all the lies) in tanks.
Step 5. Fine-tune the oak in blends by selecting appropriate barrels, depending upon both the Quality index and the length of time of your sur lies program. For luxury Chardonnays that are aged 15 months sur lies, using any new barrels is strongly discouraged.
Step 6. Rack your blend back to barrels (0-3 years old) with the yeast.
Step 7. Assay wines after 60-120 days sur lies. Once the Index stops rising plan to age a portion of the blend in tanks or go straight to bottle.
Questions?
Feel Free to contact us at 707-938-9463
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