Bubblegum and Banana

We're picking our Syrah tomorrow morn at Gentilini in Kefalonia, and I have a cunning plan...

 

I've always been interested in carbonic maceration (cabmac), and I've pitched an idea to the powers that be, which allows me to run a bit of an experiment using the technique on our Syrah.

 

Cabmac is used widely in Beaujolais, its a technique that preserves and enhances the fruity flavours in red berries, whilst slightly altering the pH and lowering malic acids. Its achieved by not crushing your grapes and inoculating the juice with yeast as is the normal way of producing alcohol (yeast convert sugar into alcohol), but instead leaving the grapes on their stems, in whole bunches, and dumping them in a tank absolutely rammed full of CO2, then sealing the tank and leaving it for around a week. The grapes are starved of oxygen and enzymes inside of the unbroken grapes start to convert the sugars into alcohol as well as esters (fruity flavours). They'll only achieve around 2% abv during this process, but its all about that subtle fruity edge. The grapes will eventually disintegrate and will be crushed and inoculated with yeast in the normal way, but it should have a subtle hint of raspberry and cherry, and even banana and bubblegum in some cases!

 

The whole process should be finished by the time I'm done in Greece, and I'll ask the guys here (nicely) to cold and heat stabilise the wine for me, then ping me over a few bottles to glorious Blighty at around Christmas time!

 

Presents sorted. No refunds. 

Feeling hot, hot, hot!

Hi from Kefalonia!

 

I've been here for 3 weeks now, and have only just gotten used to the heat! Bloody hell its hot in the Med in August.

 

My first day here involved me landing, then meeting the guys at a nice restaurant on the bay, then unloading 7 tonnes of Sauvignon Blanc, in the midday sun. I've had to do similar unloads on a regular basis since and have never experienced effort like it!

 

Aside of the heat, a few other things that need getting used to are the early mornings (heat stops us from picking past 11am, so 4 or 5am starts aren't uncommon), wasps/hornets/devils-with-wings etc, and the language barrier. Luckily I don't have to pick too often, I'm more involved with the winemaking process, and the winemaker here is English, softening the language barrier as well.

 

The wines we're making are all white at the moment, made from Robola - a local gem, and also a bit of Muscato and Sauvignon Blanc. I've been putting my lecture slides to good use most days and have learned a lot about the potential pitfalls and logistics behind actual winemaking. Reds are arriving tomorrow, and should involve some barrels and some Syrah, my fave!!

 

I've got a couple more weeks left, so not too long until I saw goodbye to sodden feet, cut hands, great beaches and great food.

Col.Mustard, in Prosecco, with a flash flood

Tragically, northern Italy suffered flash flooding last week, which lead to a number of casualties and sadly, deaths, in some regions. An area just north of Treviso has claimed that large plantings of Glera (used to make Prosecco) in recent years has left the ground unstable, and unable to fend against sudden downpours.

As consumers search for better value for money, and non-offensive flavours compared with Champagne, Prosecco consumption has spiked, particularly in the UK. Giving producers in the region little to consider in terms of adding a few hectares to their hilltop sites.

Prosecutors are filing charges for manslaughter against some producers.

Summer, summer, summer tiiiiime!

Wow, it's certainly been a while since I've posted anything huh?!

 

Well, what has been happening since my last wine-related rambling? LOTS!

 

Firstly, I have finished my second year at Plumpton, one year to go! I had a flourish of decent grades at the end of the year which made my final mark a solid 2:1, something I really wasn't expecting. I think a 2:1 in a BSc is a good thing, right?! One of the marks I'm most proud of was an exam on plant hormones, it was one of those exams that lasts a lifetime, you choose just one question from a choice of two and regurgitate everything that you know on the subject and hope some of it sticks (I even managed to slip in a few references!)

 

Another thing which is worth a quick mention is a potential employer contacting me after sending a fairly speculative application to them, they had a job on the WSET's website, which sounded bloomin' amazing! So I pinged them a quick email saying this and that, and they seemed to quite like it, I'll hear more back about this after vintage this summer, fingers crossed! It would involve a lot of travel to the states and Asia, double fingers crossed.

 

Now then, after Teresa May and her band of merry numpties decided to lay off hundreds of passport office staff before the summer months (good one...), my passport was delayed somewhat. I'm happy to say I've now received it, and will be joining the chaps at Gentilini Winery in Kefalonia (Greece) on Tuesday, until the 23rd Sept. I'll be helping them in all things winery related (grape processing, fermentation management, additions, stabilisation etc etc). Generally helping to make sure their wines are sellable!

 

I'll attach some snaps to make you all a bit jealous...

 

Outside of wine, I've just returned from a quick trip to Rome with the girlfriend, what an amazing city. Cant wait to go back!

 

Have a good Aug/Sept folks

I attended a seminar on "making trouble free wines" today, here's my report on Low Alcohol Wines

Both students and industry professionals listened intently as Guy Smith presented enthusiastically about his latest focus, low and no alcohol wines (or should we say, “grape-based drinks”?). Guy has a wealth of experience in new beverage developments, and although he owns a small English vineyard he confessed to having limited wine-making credentials.

 

Low alcohol wines already hold a significant place in the UK market-place, they currently represent around 1% of all UK wine sales, which equates to approximately £38M per year (or 7M bottles). Why is that? Besides the obvious lowering of post-boozing fuzzy heads, low/no alcohol wines are clearly healthier for you and can be sold to those keen to join in at social events without the concern of calorie intake. Lowering alcohol can also produce a wine that is more acceptable to quaff when a 14.5% sleep-inducing Grenache doesn’t seem too appealing.

 

Not sold? What if you learned that wines with alcohol content lower than 5.5% attract half the duty than their full strength cousins? Supermarkets have recently caught up with this tasty loophole, you can find low alcohol wines in all the big stores if you know where to look, and it will save you pounds per bottle. These products will not only lower your calorie intake and dreaded red wine hangover, but will significantly reduce your alcohol outgoings.

 

A variety of methods are employed to achieve a lower alcohol wine. The most obvious one is to stop a fermentation half-way through. This leaves behind any sugar that the yeast hasn’t consumed, resulting in a lower alcohol. Other techniques include reverse osmosis, which filters out the water and alcohol and modifies the flavour profile. Vacuum distillation (also known as ‘spinning cone’) is another option; this manages to keep the flavour of the wine, but requires a large bank balance (machines cost around £1,000,000) and a certain level of expertise. Lastly, a cocktail-style approach can be used, which involves many techniques from past and present. Using ripe grapes, a half strength wine is made, then natural acids are then added along with grape juice. The result is a higher sugar wine (improving aroma) and low production costs.

 

So, what were the results? I managed to slurp a wine or two provided by Guy. The first thing I noted was the effort taken to make the bottles look like a full-strength style, you’d be forgiven if you arrived home with a bottle or two after mistakenly buying them. The first I tried was a Sauvignon blanc, and, if I am honest, it was just the same, only a touch sweeter than a Marlborough. I later looked at the label (9% ABV), so pretty much a full-power one anyway (which would explain a similar sweetness to a “full strength” Kabinett I tried last week). The zero percent wine, I have to say, was a touch disappointing. It was a fresh tasting, vibrant, fruity drink, but lacked the complexity I have become so used to in full-strength wines. Alcohol provides much-needed complexity to a wine, if you can ignore the calorie, health, religious, legal and taxation issues!

Dont Cry For Me Argentina!!

Just attended a tasting hosted by Lawrie of Las Bodega Wines, on all things Argentina.

I knew I liked some Argentine wines, having done a bit of work for Gaucho's management team (for their CAU brand) in the past, I'd managed to sample some pretty good Malbec. I'd also had some cheapo Torrontes at various events and was never really disppointed by their fresh charm.

However... Recently, my red wine taste had gone off the boil. My rack at home was always kitted out with off-dry whites with a few heavy lees whites chucked in too. I've always enjoyed a Reserva Rioja, but apart from that, red wine was falling down in my estimations. A sweeping statement I know. 

**Cue Malbec**

We all know of it. Some for its ridiculous over extraction of inky purpleness that shines well past its childhood years, others for its huge tannins that leave you gurning after every drop. The other thing which it brags is its velvet style mouthfeel and roundness that oozes class and quality. This was the thing that I had forgotten about in well made reds, I hadn't sampled that soft style in months, and I hadnt even realised! If you combine softness with altitude-acidity and pioneering viticultural practises you achieve an Argentine Malbec. If like me you've left red wines behind or are beginning to prefer whites, then buck your ideas up, get down to your local wine gaff and buy an Argentine Malbec. They do it too well. And ask for Uco Valley. Thank me later.

Climbing the ladder

This week I got an important grade through my door. It was my long over-due WSET Level 3 exam (having passed their first 2 levels some time ago). I got a merit overall, something I'm fairly chuffed with (I came out predicting a destinction, perhaps arrogantly).

 

The exam is in two parts, tasting four wines is the first part, the idea is that you assess each wine for how it looks, smells and tastes, then make an educated guess to which grape is used in each one, and the region it was made (not country, but area within a country, and a region within that area). The second part is a lot more difficult, the exam is split into a few different parts and tests your knowledge on wine production techniques, labelling laws for each country, and the things that affect style and quality of certain wines. These theory aspects are all split over about 5 questions, making study towards the exam pretty difficult. You have to know labelling laws, climate, soil type, winery techniques, grape names and names of individual villages for each winemaking region of each winemaking country on the planet.

 

So yeah, chuffed with a merit.

 

These WSET exams are nothing to do with my BSc, the BSc is more geared towards the science aspect of wine, analysing the wines in a scientific way so you can make good judgements in terms of when to perform certain tasks in both the vineyard and winery. Something that holds weight in terms of getting a job in making wine. The WSET is very much about trade and business. Aimed at professionals in the trade parts of the industry. Level 3 is the "passport" into the trade. Each retailer, sommelier, importer/exporter, brokerage and any other serious wine business will demand this qualification.

 

So where now? In terms of WSET, I'm zoning in on their diploma course now (this will take me over a year to get, and cost a couple of grand). Obviously my degree in wine takes the overwhelming majority of my time, but the WSET courses are a pretty decent thing to rack up at the same time.

Our lavly Dornfelder!

This week we had a tasting session of the wines we had made, not as a chance for a 9am drink, but an opportunity to collect some data on our trials. Our group had made a red wine from Dornfelder grapes, focussing on how leaving skins to fester in juice (maceration) effects the overall composition of the wine. The results were as expected in terms of the science, longer maceration = more colour and more tannin (think of stewing a cup of tea). We had to do an entire afternoon of testing for colour, which was more than a bit dull, and we had to add some MLF bacteria to soften the insane, tooth-ripping acid that had come from our good ol' English harvest, but the results were good, and as expected.

In terms of taste, we wanted to know who preferred what, and if the "more maceration = more colour and tannin" conclusion transferred into peoples perception. Personally I preferred the 8 day maceration, but others seemed to enjoy the 12 day maceration more. This was the longest period of maceration, and it gave an awesome "electric purple" colour, which I think swayed some people palettes.

Anyway, the trial was a success, and people liked the wine, which was a bonus given that the aim of the game wasn't to make the best wine possible.

Oh... And I took a few bottles home with me after. Don't tell my tutors....

The new Cloudy Ridge

Bottling time at Plumpton! Today we started bottling the winning blend of Plumpton Cloudy Ridge white. We had a mini contest at uni, each winery team of 3-5 people spent a good few hours mixing various wines that we had made from our own Plumpton grapes in order to find a winning blend. We then had a blind tasting session, deciding as a group which blend was to be sold in supermarkets and restaurants across the land. My team came an average mid-table, with the winning team dumping a SHED LOAD of sugar in their recipe. And we ALL love sugar don't we...??? Evidently!

Bitterness aside, It does taste pretty good, and ridiculously aromatic. A classic English still white.

Back With a Bang

Uni assignments have once again shown their ugly faces this week. After a festive fortnight of eating multiple wheels of cheese and various bottles good and bad wine, I have turned into a library dweller.

Todays hand in was my project proposal for my BIG assignment at the end of final year. I'm having a look at press fractions and how juices released at different stages during pressing grapes have different properties, good stuff for sparkling enthusiasts, which is good stuff for the UK trade. I'm told if my project works well there may be a job in it for me at a certain, fairly prestigious winery in the UK....fingers crossed!

Elsewhere in the world of wine, Dr Bryan Coombe sadly passed away this week. Coombe almost single handedly dragged me through my first year with his, frankly, epic "Viticulture" publication. This book along with a few others are must-haves for anyone looking to study wine. Coombe started his wine journey in USA before setting up camp in Australia, its fair to say that his work over the last 50 years paved the way for wine making practices throughout the globe, a true titan of viticulture.

Now for my next lab report...