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Yountville, CA

Temperature: 68°F
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Updated: 11:54 am GMT-8

October 2007
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Archive for October, 2007

Let the Batonnage Begin!

October 29, 2007 in Wine Education and Winemaking. 0 Comments

The 2007 Estate Chardonnay is dry, barreled up, and today begins the batonnage.

But, before we can talk about batonnage, we’d better talk about aging the wine “sur lie”.

If you read a basic winemaking text, it will usually advise you to get the wine off the dead yeast cells and grape solids (lees) after fermentation is over or risk making a stink! But, if you do a good job of pre-fermentation settling and racking (moving the wine off of the sediment) and ferment pretty juice (relatively speaking), then leaving the wine on the lees can be a real plus. When you read a back label that brags about “sur lie aging” that’s what they’re communicating.

The upside of sur lie aging? Added depth and complexity which, of course, sounds a little abstract. What we mean is that it can give the wine a richer mouthfeel (decreases astringency and increases body), and adds a toasty character almost like toasted grains. Geoff Gorsuch, our Winemaker, describes it as a protein milkshake character that he absolutely loves. It’s a great complement to the crisp pear, citrus and pineapple character of our Chardonnay.

The downside? If you’re not careful, the risk of making that stink becomes real, perhaps in the form of a delightful aroma of rotten eggs; it encourages malolacitc fermentation (ML - the technique that makes Chardonnay smell buttery). Some might call that a plus, but Geoff feels the ML interferes with our signature crisp, fruit-driven style. So, he has to be ever vigilant that the wine doesn’t undergo ML spontaneously.

So, what’s batonnage? But, of course, eet eez French, for stirring the lees with an instrument they call a baton (stick). So, the winemaker opens the barrel (or whatever sort of container) and goes in to stir up the lees now and then. In our case, Geoff just waits until the cloudy sediment appears to have settled again, which usually takes about a week, and then stirs it again.

The upside? It increases all the lovely effects of sur lie aging; helps keep the hydrogen sulfide (rotten egg aromas) at bay; the lees themselves serve as a buffer between the wine and the wood so that less tannin and pigment are extracted into the wine - and stirring enhances that effect, too; the wine seems fresher longer and is more stable.

The downside? It’s a royal pain in the tuckus, meaning it’s labor intensive. Today, Geoff and Rosario stirred 32 barrels and they’ll get to do it again in a few days or a week.

And, they’ll keep doing this until Geoff’s palate tells him he’s gained all the benefit he can from the technique, probably several months. Look for that Chardonnay to come out of barrels probably late next spring and, with any luck, we’ll be sipping away on the 2007 Chardonnay in a little over a year!

Creative Marketing

October 15, 2007 in Observations. 1 Comment

My eyes opened wide when I read this entry in winemarketer.com:

“We are currently in the process of opening our winery. We will be selling beer while we wait for our first run to age. Should I try building web presence for the wine in the meantime????”

Of course, we’ve all heard that it takes a lot of beer to make good wine, but, apparently, it also takes a lot of beer to sell good wine!!!???

Beer photo

I think these folks could take a lesson from Josh at Pinotblogger, but that’s just me. Best of luck to you, Briarwood Cellars!

P.S. - Is the beer any good? I need one after reading posts like this (I’m not as nice as Josh).

Get Real

October 14, 2007 in Selling Wine. 0 Comments

So, I was going off on the ratings system again in a recent post. Actually, it was this rant in the CityBeat blog about the ratings guide called “justwinepoints” that got me started again. I don’t like to call anything “dumb” but, as I’ve said before, I do believe these folks are misguided in the idea that descriptors are an unhelpful bore. Their decision was probably influenced by the overly precious, flowery descriptors that turn up in some columns - some of them are truly nauseating. But, not all of them, and I think we all want to get an idea of what it tastes like. So, I ranted, but I also promised that I wouldn�t come to you with a problem without suggesting a solution.

Wine by the numbers cartoon

Enter friend Abigail, who works here in our tasting room. We were chatting about the whole numerical ratings system over lunch and agreed that scores seem to be too simplistic and don’t allow for differences in taste, but that we also wished the writing was more direct. Here’s a write-up from the Wine Spectator:

“Ripe, rich and full-bodied, with layers of currant, plum, black cherry and blackberry fruit, shaded by spicy, cedary oak and finishing with a long, complex aftertaste.”

Now, reading that without knowing what kind of wine it is, you’d think it was a warm-climate Cabernet, right?

Well, it was an evaluation of a Pinot Noir that got 93 points. Hmmm… Should he have marked it down a little for lacking varietal character or typicity? Or, at least comment that it’s a delicious red wine, if not very Pinot-like? Just wondering…

So, we started brainstorming.

First, disclose your preferences - whether you lean toward big, fruit-forward styles or leaner wines. And, try to tell us what it smells and tastes like in a practical way. You know, besides the emotional descriptors like hedonistic and beguiling or yummy things like truffle notes and wild berry offer some basics. Is it a ripe, warm-climate or leaner, perhaps cool-climate example of the type? Which flavors dominate - or is it a true melange? Is it a big, in-your-face style or something you relish discovering over a period of time? Tannin/acid levels? Is it representative of the type?

Checklist:

Color:
1. Depth
2. Hue
3. Appropriate for the variety?
4. Anything that stands out about it (positive or negative)?

Aroma: which way does it lean?
1. Ripe or lean? Fresh or rich?
2. Big or subtle?
3. Appropriate to the variety/region?
4. Descriptors including which are dominant and whether oak plays a large or small role.
5. Anything that stands out about it (positive or negative)?

Flavor: which way does it lean?
1. Light, medium or full-bodied example of the type?
2. Ripe or lean?
3. Appropriate to the variety/region?
4. Descriptors including which are dominant and whether oak plays a large or small role
5. Tannin/acid levels for the type
6. Drink now? A keeper? Both?
7. Anything that stands out about it (positive or negative)?

Aftertaste:
1. Length?
2. Pleasant?

Overall:
1. Is it a good, representative example of the type?
2. If not, is it still delicious anyway?
3. Is it delicious by price standard?

OK, no one expects these guys to go through the whole checklist for every single wine, but it’s a good reminder of context and to comment when something about the wine is unusual. I think the conclusion Abi and I came to was we want to know if it’s a good example of the type and what to expect in terms of overall character and weight.

We also want to know what the reviewer thinks of the quality to price ratio. For instance, the SF Chronicle included Screw Kappa Napa Cab in their top 100 wines (from the west coast, more or less) in 2006. It’s only about $12.00-$15.00 so, of course, I ran out and got some. It’s a heckuva wine for the price. Do I think it belongs in the company of their other top-rated Cabs? No, I do not. Just my opinion, of course, but these things need to be in context.

So, how did the Spectator do with the Pinot Noir description? They let us know that it’s big and ripe, a warm-climate example - that’s good. Implies the oak is subtle, but it’s not real clear. From the descriptors, they might have called it a Cab-drinker’s Pinot and there’s no indication about the tannin levels. The grape makes me expect low levels, but the description might lead you to think Cab tannins. Do they think it belongs in the company of other Pinots that sell at a similar price-point?

Here at the winery we’ve talked about a “get-real” approach when it comes to describing our wines and I think it would be healthy for all of us who write about wine to think less about demonstrating how clever we can be with words and more about whether we’re communicating clearly to the reader. Any thoughts about what you’d like to see or how you’d like the reviews structured?

Fun with SimVin

October 7, 2007 in Wine Education. 0 Comments

For those of you listened to our Napa Valley Wine Radio episode on what it takes to start a vineyard or winery, or if you’re one of the many who has that occasional fantasy, you can literally play it out in a somewhat addictive game called SimVin. I learned about this courtesy of Tom Wark at Fermentation and, while I agree with Tom, that it’s perhaps oversimplified and I didn’t always appreciate the limited choices I was offered, it’s got a certain charm.

Wine Quiz

And - it will bring out your personality and convictions, too, on what’s important in this business. For instance at work, lately, there’s been a minor debate brewing over the lunch table about what it takes to sell a bottle of wine. There’s the (to me) starry-eyed point of view that if you make great wine it sells itself and you don’t need to market it, or not much. So, a person of that opinion would probably go to the high end on every choice but marketing in the game. I kinda think that person is going to end up broke, but I’ve been wrong before!

When I played this game, I put lots of money into quality fruit, I would have preferred more options in choosing my winemaker - something between a renowned, million-dollar winemaker and Joe Average, skipped the bells and whistles in the winery in favor of good quality, sound equipment and more elbow grease and threw dollars-a-plenty at marketing (which, for me, would be heavy on the PR; certainly not conventional advertising). Anyway, it’s fun!

The game is presented by Stephen Reiss of wineeducation.com, which is a great site to explore. Besides several informative articles there are other interactive games there, too, like a wine crossword puzzle, a quiz, a vocabulary game and a trivia game. I checked out each option - some are more user friendly than others - but, days could go by while you’re lost in this site.

I have a few quibbles, for instance in my 25+ years in wine I’ve never heard of adding sugar called “sugaring”. It’s usually just called “adding sugar” or Chaptalization. I checked my Oxford Companion and Jancis says the term “sugaring” is used occasionally. I think the game would be more instructive if we go with the more common term, unless the point is to trip up the player with arcane references. Or, maybe it’s a question of where you live.

Second to SimVin, my favorite option is the mulitiple-choice trivia game. It starts out with questions that are so simple that you suspect there’s a trick and then gets increasingly more technical to the point where, unless you’re a chemist or an enologist, you’re probably out of luck. What keeps you going is that you have just 10 seconds to read the question and choose a reply. Kind of gets the adrenaline pumping when the questions get tougher.

I wish he’d post the correct answers because, as I went through the quiz, there was one case where I was pretty-darned sure there was more than one correct response. The answers disappeared after 10 seconds, so I can’t be sure. Another question, about yeast, didn’t appear to have any good responses. There was no mention of the most commonly used species, Saccharomyces cerevisiae, or its good buddy Saccharomyces bayanus. Again, checking my Oxford Companion, it turns out that the right choice in the quiz, Saccharomyces ellipsoideus, is a name that’s fallen out of use. Work with me, here!

OK, so I’m nit-picking a little. I always like to check things like this out for accuracy before I recommend them, and there were a few very minor things that made me wince, but not much. I admire the considerable effort that went into this and the great educational value that’s offered, plus it’s fun! And you could use it to liven up your next wine and cheese party. With a little adaptation, and depending upon how geeky your friends are about wine, you’ve got built in entertainment! Check it out!

I Can’t Keep Up With This, Either

October 1, 2007 in Selling Wine. 2 Comments

OK, how many of you have purchased a wine because you liked the label or because the packaging made the wine look more expensive than it was? I know I have. With the ridiculous and ever-increasing number of choices we have, you have to make a selection one way or another, right?

And then others bring their copy of the Wine Advocate or Wine Spectator to the shop with them. It’s a perfectly reasonable way to narrow down your choices and try to get the most bang for your buck. And if you’re one of the lucky few who’ve managed to find a publication that’s fairly closely aligned to your personal taste, then it’s all the more reason to go that way.

So, what do you think of numerical wine ratings? Are they helpful for you? I ask because the topic goes endlessly round and round in the blogosphere. Recently, our good friend at Winecast, Tim Elliot, suggested that everyone get together and settle on a common system that actually isn’t numerical. He recommends a five-star system:

Five Star wine scoring

I don’t know about you, but I start having nervous flashbacks to report-card days. Five stars is an “A”. And 3 stars feels like a “C” - kind of the same effect as an 82 from the Spectator - even though that’s not the way it’s described. “I think I’ll pass…” The visual impact is so powerful. And should a flawed wine get any stars at all?

But, I have to say, I love that word “delicious.” We all want to drink something delicious, right? And it reminds me of the wonderful writing team for the Wall Street Journal, Dorothy J. Gaiter and John Brecher. “Delicious” is their highest form of praise. They use words instead of points. But even there, as they acknowledge, one man’s delicious is another man’s “yuk”, just like some of us love figs (Mmmmm…) and they give others the willies.

Alternative wine scoring

Alder at Vinography, one of the most widely-read winebloggers, uses a 10-point system, although it’s been pointed out, repeatedly, that it’s really a 20-point system because he regularly assigns 1/2 points in his ratings: 8.5, 9.5, etc. I know that those who go with this sort of system are trying to address the very real issue that human beings aren’t sensitive enough to discern the difference between a 91 and a 92.

Which leads us to the ubiquitous 100-point system used by Robert Parker, Wine Spectator and others.

wine score joke

But, as many of us have said ad nauseum, a five-star or 96-point wine for one person is a 3.5-star wine for someone else. Just like movie ratings, just like book reviews, just like restaurant reviews…

In a previous post, I noted that a high-profile Merlot received a 94 from Robert Parker and a 78 from the Wine Spectator. What are we supposed to make of that? All of which reminds me that you can subscribe to something called the Wine Blue Book that “groups the major critics’ average wine ratings, then lists them by price to determine overall value - the Quality Price Ratio for wine.” And there’s a similar consumer driven ratings system. Do any of you find either of these options helpful? Is averaging the answer?

Stars, 10-point scales, 100-point scales… it kinda doesn’t matter. 10=100=5 stars. It appeals to our love of a quick, easy answer. There sure are a lot of people out there trying to help us buy wine. I, truly, cannot keep up!

But does the ratings system perform its mission of assisting consumer in deciding if that’s the right wine for him? Or does it mainly result in a handful of writers determining what sells and what doesn’t? Why am I ragging on this again? Well, to quote Wine Blue Book, “scores drive prices.” Soon: what would help?