Monday, December 27, 2010

Happy Holidays!

Hope everyone had a good Christmas. The highlight of mine was just being able to relax, unwind, and not have any schoolwork to worry about! I'm on semester break (Spring classes begin Jan 18) and enjoying the respite.



I was pretty happy with my grades from my first semester - five A's (Viticulture Fall Practices; Vineyard Management; Fall Winery Operations; Vineyard Pruning; Pruning Techniques for Vine Balance) and one B (World Viticulture & Wine Styles). Those of you who know my competitive nature when it comes to grades (!), know I was a bit 'miffed' at that B, but considering how much material was covered (that was the class where our Unit 2 test covered all of the regions, sub-regions, grapes, wine styles, viticulture practices, climates, soils, history, etc. of France, Italy, Spain, Portugal, Australia, New Zealand, Chile, Argentina, South Africa, and Germany) I decided I'll take the B and hope for a clean sweep next semester!



After the New Year, I have some plans to get out and visit some wineries I've wanted to see, and hope to have some interesting experiences to post on the blog. So stay tuned!

Sunday, December 12, 2010

For My Champagne-loving Friends

For my Vit 1 (World Viticulture & Wine Styles) term paper, I decided to research one of my favorite champagnes, Veuve Clicquot. Great story, whether you are into champagne or not. What follows below is a really "condensed" version because I had to limit my paper to 6 pages.....if you want to know more, "The Widow Clicquot" by Tillar Mazzeo is a good read. Enjoy!

The Story of Veuve Clicquot Champagne

THE STORY OF
VEUVE CLICQUOT
CHAMPAGNE

AND THE WOMAN
WHO BROUGHT IT TO THE WORLD

Oscar Wilde once said, “Only the unimaginative can fail to find a reason for drinking champagne.” (Kladstrup 2005, 5). While most champagne drinkers do not understand the physical science behind the bubbles – bursting at the surface…making a crackling sound…radiating a fragrant cloud of tiny droplets over the tip of the nose… causing a heightened sensual experience for the taster (Liger-Belair 2004, 103) – they know champagne is synonymous with celebration and the good life. Champagne is also a wine associated with women. This is the story of one woman whose pioneering passion for winemaking changed her own destiny, and that of champagne – Barbe-Nicole Clicquot Ponsardin, who lived through the French Revolution and Napoleonic Wars to become the first great female entrepreneur of her time and build the famous champagne house that still today bears her name: Veuve (“Widow”) Clicquot.
Barbe-Nicole Ponsardin was born in Reims, France in 1777. Her father, Count Nicolas Ponsardin, was a prominent, well-connected textile merchant and an ambitious politician who, as Mayor of Reims, hob-knobbed with the likes of King Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette. His dreams of nobility were shattered in 1789 when a bread riot-turned-grassroots political movement hailed the start of the French Revolution. Nicolas was wise enough to know how dangerous it would be to side with his aristocrat friends, so in a decidedly practical move, he joined the revolution as an activist. Embracing the “cause of the common man,” he saved his family fortune, and even prospered.
At 21, Barbe-Nicole wed Francois Clicquot in an arranged marriage – an economic decision made by her father to connect two wealthy merchant families. In addition to their textile business, Clicquot et Fils, Francois’ family dabbled in wine. They also owned a great deal of property in the Reims countryside which was regarded as prime grape-growing land. (It is notable that by the 18th century, the concept of terroir was already recognized; even then, it was widely known that soil and microclimate play as much of a role in shaping the character of wine as the winemaking style itself.) Although Francois’ father regarded wine as a sideline, Francois dreamed of reinventing the family business to focus exclusively on wine, and he dedicated himself to developing a small wine trade. Fortuitously, Barbe-Nicole shared the same dream. They received a large farm and cash as a wedding gift and, united by their passion for wine, they proceeded to develop expertise in growing, making and marketing the best local wines. “They had the resources to dream, and it was a dream of wine from the beginning” (Mazzeo 2008, 21).
It wasn’t long before Barbe-Nicole and Francois discovered ‘the bubbly.’ In the 1790’s, the French called this intensely sweet dessert wine vin mousseux, or sparkling wine – it was not until the 1860’s that the term “champagne” was used. In reality, it was nothing like the champagne we enjoy today. In addition to the fact it was served as a cold, icy slush, it was also ten times sweeter, often having as much as 200 grams of residual sugar, and it produced a foamy head not unlike that of beer, and large, gassy bubbles. The French aristocracy disliked the bubbles and considered it a sign of poor winemaking (Liger-Belair 2004, 11). In fact, bubbles in wine were an indication that something had gone wrong. This ‘problem’ first appeared in the Middle Ages, with a climate pattern change that brought much colder weather. During the fermentation process, winter temperatures dropped so low that the yeast did not have enough time to consume all the sugar. Then, when spring brought warmer temperatures, a second fermentation took place which resulted in bubbles being trapped in the wine. Although this methode champenoise, or champagne method, is how sparkling wine is made today, winemakers in the 17th century regarded this second fermentation as accidental. Dom Perignon, the famous winemaking monk, is largely credited with having discovered champagne, excitedly proclaiming he was drinking “stars” – as it turns out, this was just clever marketing because in reality, he had been given the task of trying to find a way to get rid of the bubbles that were thought to be ruining wines. What he did do, however, was pave the way for today’s sparkling wines by advocating gentle pressing – “because the color from the skins was largely eliminated from the juice, the resulting wines were no longer murky but instead were distinguished by their clarity.” (Kladstrup 2005, 27).
Fortunately, these “accidental” sparkling wines developed a sort of cult following. They became a status symbol for the trendsetters of the time, and a market for them developed throughout Europe – by 1808, sparkling wine was “all the rage in Russia” (Susie Lacey, “Barbe-Nicole Clicquot Ponsardin”, December 29th, 2008, http://www.LadieswhoLaunch.com).
Even though Barbe-Nicole was living a privileged, comfortable life as the wife of a wealthy businessman, societal laws of the time dictated a “narrow world” for women; as historian Bonnie G. Smith put it, “A prejudice against women acting in the marketplace appeared in the Napoleonic Code (which) pointed women toward an exclusively reproductive life.” (Mazzeo 2008, 39). Happily for Barbe-Nicole, however, though her husband Francois made all of their financial and business decisions, he did not exclude her from the vineyards. As he evolved from grower to vigneron, she was by his side, and by the time he died of typhoid in 1805, leaving her a widow at the age of 27, she had already learned a lot about winemaking, and began to imagine a different future for herself. As a widow, she now had the ability to manage her own affairs, a unique situation in French culture at the time.
Just four months after her husband died, Barbe-Nicole was able to persuade her father-in-law to give her a chance to take over the family business. Without Francois, his only son, Phillippe Clicquot’s first inclination was to liquidate the company; instead, he partnered her with Alexandre Fourneaux, a wealthy textile merchant and winemaker. Barbe-Nicole and Alexandre each invested 80,000 francs (about $4 million in today’s equivalent) in capital to start their new company, Veuve Clicquot Fourneaux. In their first year in business they had some “beginner’s luck” – in the midst of a war with Great Britain and political tensions that were not especially conducive to the international wine trade, they were able to negotiate delivery of 50,000 bottles of champagne through a military blockade that was paralyzing commercial shipping routes. Ultimately, ongoing blockades, skyrocketing storage costs & port fees, and an inability to get insurance to cover transportation of wine during wartime, made the situation untenable. By the time their four-year contract expired, Alexandre gave up his interest and walked away.
It is ironic to note that the many wars following the French Revolution were both a hindrance and a help to Barbe-Nicole as she struggled to stay in business, and their importance can’t be overestimated. “Wherever French troops were to be found… (champagne) was never far behind. As soon as a battle was won, up they would move their supplies for the victory celebration…” (Forbes 1967, 143). Barbe-Nicole herself often opened up her cellars to “thirsty Russian troops, turning French defeat into a marketing coup” (Guy 2003, 15) and in the century that followed Russia became Clicquot champagne’s top market. Even Napoleon, before each of his campaigns, was known to stop at the cellars of his friend Jean-Remy Moet to pick up a supply of champagne. “In victory you deserve it, in defeat you need it,” he said (Kladstrup 2005, 65).)
Barbe-Nicole carried on. Her father-in-law, still confident in her abilities, supplied another infusion of cash, and to keep the business going, she sold local red wine by the barrel. She took a temporary break from the luxury wine market, but continued to make champagne. Realizing its potential, she was determined to perfect the process to eliminate the big bubbles and unsightly foam and sediment. Her obsession with making crystal-clear wine with small, pretty bubbles, led her to the revolutionary technique of remuage (riddling), without a doubt her most important achievement, and the discovery that transformed the way champagne was forever made. Using her own kitchen table, she “riddled” it with slanted holes into which she inverted champagne bottles. She periodically removed the bottles and gave them a sharp twist which loosened the sediment and allowed it to settle on the corks. This accelerated the process of clearing the sediment. In just six weeks, one quick flick of the cork (degorgement) removed all of the unwanted debris. Then the bottles could be topped off with more wine and resealed with a new cork. (It was actually Veuve Clicquot’s chef de caves (chief cellarer) Antoine Muller who discovered that cutting the bottle holes at a 45-degree angle was the key to this technique (Stevenson 1986, 36).) Up until then, removing the sediment had been a labor-intensive, expensive, tedious and time-consuming task (often taking many months) done with a variety of methods. One such method was transvasage, which involved pouring the wine out of one bottle into another; the problem with this was that in addition to destroying some of the fizz, it also wasted a lot of good wine! Barbe-Nicole knew her discovery automatically gave her a huge advantage over her competitors – her biggest and most formidable rival was Jean-Remy Moet, and she “looked forward to devastating” him. (Mazzeo 2008, 127). Amazingly, she was able to keep this “secret” from her competitors for almost a decade before others, Jean-Remy included, began using it. But by that time, Veuve Clicquot champagne had already become one of the world’s most famous and sought-after wines.
Barbe-Nicole was also one of the first winemakers to use labels on bottles, realizing the use of her name was her best marketing tool. Her famous yellow label, the “color of the egg yolks of the famous corn-fed hens of Bresse” (Mazzeo 2008, 177) has been recognizable to champagne lovers all over the world for generations.
Barbe-Nicole Clicquot Ponsardin turned a small family business into a vast enterprise that evolved through changing times of war, industrialization and mass production. Although she is most famous for her business success, it would be incorrect to think of her only as an entrepreneur. She was a true visionary who paved the way for future generations of businesswomen. She was a mother and a great-grandmother. She built and decorated homes, gave parties, and was involved in charitable causes. Toward the end of her life at the age of 89, Barbe-Nicole wrote to a great-grandchild, “The world is in perpetual motion, and we must invent the things of tomorrow. One must go before others, be determined and exacting, and let your intelligence direct your life. Act with audacity. Perhaps you too will be famous.”

Wine Fall Practices - Semester End Potluck

"What though youth gave love and roses....age still leaves us friends and wine." - Thomas Moore

Pellenc Site Visit

On Dec 9 our Vineyard Management class took a field trip to Pellenc (pronounced peLANc) in Guerneville. Made me want to learn how to drive a tractor - cool stuff! Summary and pics follow...

Pellenc USA





SiteVisit Pellenc USA


On December 9, 2010, we visited Pellenc America, Inc. at 3171 Guerneville Road, Santa Rosa. Our gracious host was Lance Vande Hoef, Sales Representative. Pellenc is a leading manufacturer of vineyard and winery equipment. Owner and founder Roger Pellenc started in France in 1973 with sickle bar trimmers for grape growers and launched his first harvesting machines in 1992. Today the company produces a wide range of viticulture machinery and equipment, including harvesting machines, sprayers, spreaders, pre-pruning machines, mechanical weeders, leaf removers, tying machines and electric trimmers and pruning shears. All of their main vineyard and winery equipment is manufactured in France and their hand tools are made in China. The Guerneville Road site is their hub for North America equipment sales, and their parent (head) office is located in Pertuis, France.

Lance began with a brief overview of his job function and history of the company, followed by an audio visual presentation of the different types of harvesting machines, interchangeable modules and optional equipment, and the exciting new technology in winery equipment. The different types of mechanical harvesting machines we saw included towed, traditional, and selective process, self-contained, over-the-row, multi-row and multi function. Lance also explained the various “attachments” or interchangeable modules that are available, which included the “sunflower” which does under-vine tilling; a multi-row weed sprayer; leaf puller; and pre-pruner. All of their products are amazing, and it’s easy to understand why they are so expensive; Lance indicated that an average cost for an over-the-row tractor with a picking head and sprayer attachment was $450-500,000. Most interesting for me was the presentation of Pellenc’s latest innovations in winery equipment – their Selectiv’Process Winery linear separator which separates and eliminates leaf and grape stalks (their replacement of the traditional destemmer), and Selectiv’ Process Vision sorter which selects grapes based on the winemaker’s objectives; they call it a “customized sorting process by artificial intelligence.” The incredible optical sorter can sort 2,000 grapes per second!

The trellis system that best complements their mechanical harvesters is VSP, and they build machines that can fit into rows as narrow as 4-1/2 feet; even though their harvesters weigh 17,000 pounds, vine root compaction is not an issue because the design of the machines places wheels in the row center, not over the roots; their machines are “hillside capable,” with an anti-tipping feature and the ability to accommodate as much as a 30% slope without slipping. I was also impressed with the demonstration of their electric pruning shears, which are not only labor-saving but also “healthy” in that they eliminate hand strain and workers’ comp issues. My only disappointment was the $1,855 price tag!

Lance was a great representative for Pellenc. He was very patient with questions and I felt that he gave us an extraordinary amount of his time to host our group. The message I took away from our visit is that “big changes are coming in the way fruit is managed from the vineyard to the winery” and Pellenc is going to lead the way with their experience, their ideas and the advanced technology they are capable of.

Another typical Wine Fall Practices class...

What's everyone drinking?! No wonder this is my favorite class :-)

Vineyard Pruning/Techniques Class


I discovered I like to prune! There's something to be said for taking a SHARP pair of pruning shears in hand and attacking a vine with conviction - total feeling of control (praying all the time, you don't get carried away and kill the thing!)...fortunately, grape vines are hardy enough to withstand almost anything. The two classes I took covered head, cane and cordon pruning as well as techniques for pruning to promote vine balance. I got so excited over my early success (got an A in the class) that I announced to my teacher I wanted to get good enough to enter Sonoma County's Pruning Championship. She brought me back down to earth by telling me that even my classmate Eduardo, who can prune at a speed that makes me dizzy, would be left in the dust by those who have been doing it for 20-30 years. Well, I guess I have all the time in the world...


























Budget - Term Project for Vineyard Mgmt Class

All I need now is a winning lottery ticket to make it happen!

Rosa Pedone
Vit 60 Fall 2010 - Vineyard Development Budget

F&O Vineyard AVA: Russian River Valley
2 Pug Lane Sebastopol CA 95472

Assumptions: This will be an owner-farmed small vine Pinot Noir vineyard, planted in 4 X 4 spacing to a 5-acre flat, bare site with uniform soil. There is a well on the property with pumping capacity of 25 gallons per minute @ 60 psi. Planned vineyard site is on a 7-acre parcel; there is an existing house and transit road(s) on the property.

13,615 vines of Pinot Noir - 2 different clones on low-vigor rootstock 420A - will be planted in two 2-1/2 acre blocks in high density, Burgundian style – less pounds per vine to attain higher quality fruit, but keeping yields up per acre. A vertical trellis system will direct shoot growth in an upright pattern, exposing the fruit to increased sunlight and air circulation.

Soil will be planted in Fall with a soil-building ground cover crop of beans, peas and vetch. Planting will take place the following Spring. Initial irrigation of new vines will start in May and last through September.

Minimal irrigation will be used, with a goal of eventually achieving 100% dry farming. Intent is to use no insecticides and minimally use organic fungicides when necessary. A small, specially-designed Italian tractor will be used in vine rows, which will use less fuel and create less pollution than standard-sized machinery.

Goal is to produce very high-quality Pinot Noir grapes that will be sold locally to small artisan winemakers.

This budget focuses on the initial costs of planning and site preparation, through actual planting and the first season of watering vines.

I couldn't get my spreadsheet to copy as it was onto this blog, but the total cost for my "fantasy" vineyard was $207,854 (vineyard permit $436; soil analysis & nematode testing @ 10,000/acre=$50,000; site preparation phase 1, planting cover crop $1,475; site preparation phase 2, ripping and installation of drip irrigation system and trellising @ $20,000/acre=$100,000; 13,615 vines @ $3.09 ea=$42,070; virus testing of vines @ $1/vine=$13,615; water to irrigate for 1st 5 months $258).

Sources:
Daniel Roberts, Ph.D., Integrated Winegrowing, Sebastopol, CA
LeBallister’s Seed & Fertilizers, Santa Rosa, CA
Luciani Pump Company, Healdsburg, CA
Nova Vines Nursery, Santa Rosa, CA
Sanchietti Farming LLC, Santa Rosa, CA
Small Vines Wines, Sebastopol, CA
Sonoma County Agricultural Commissioner, Santa Rosa, CA
Wyatt Irrigation, Santa Rosa, CA

Lab Report - Term Project for Fall Practices Class

Rosa Pedone
Vit 51 Fall 2010
Fall Practices Lab Report



Background
Subject vineyard is Battaglini Winery, located at 2948 Piner Road, Santa Rosa, CA. This family-owned-and-operated vineyard and winery produces Zinfandel, Petite Sirah and Chardonnay wines. Their old Zin vines are 125 years old. The vineyard was first planted in 1885 with Zinfandel and Petite Sirah grapes; the Battaglini family has owned it since 1988, and they added Chardonnay in 1996. Vigneron Giuseppe (“Joe”) Battaglini uses old world methods, including dry farming and no chemicals. He also allows all of his wines to go through natural fermentation with no added yeasts. They make 2,500 cases of wine each year.

Observations
The vineyard consists of 30.4 acres, of which 25 are planted to grapes. It includes seven blocks of Zinfandel and Petite Sirah and two blocks of Chardonnay grapes. For this report, observations were made in Block 1 – cultivar planted is Zinfandel, and the rootstock is Primitivo and/or St. George. Vines are planted in old world “bush” style with no trellising and 8 X 8 spacing. Yield is typically 1-1/4 to 1-1/2 tons/acre.

Fall Vineyard Practices
Fall practices are outlined on the timeline on page 3. In addition to regular monitoring for Brix and pH levels once veraison has begun, they are also observing stem color and tasting (seeds as well). Prior to veraison, from pre-bloom and through fruit set, canopy management (leaf removal) is done to minimize mildew problems – in addition, they spray with “Elevate” stylet oil to control botrytis.

The Zinfandel in Block 1 was harvested on November 1st. It had a Brix of 27 and a pH of 3.63.

Effectiveness of Performed Practices/Timing
In a better year and under more normal circumstances, the vineyard practices performed at Battaglini would have been effective for the style of wines they produce. As was the case, however, with a wet spring, cool summer, and unanticipated heat spikes in September that drove temperatures upwards of 100 degrees, Battaglini experienced some major problems – while their canopy management and spraying did minimize the mildew, overexposure of the fruit to unexpected high temperatures resulted in a considerable amount of sunburn and raisining. This scenario was further complicated by a lot of rain in late October which pushed their harvest to a later date than they would have liked. Mr. Battaglini reported that, as a result, their Zinfandel harvest was only about 60% of last year’s crop.

Recommendations for Practices/Timing Improvements
As Mr. Battaglini has been farming and making wine for over 50 years, I don’t feel I have enough expertise at this point to make any recommendations to him. I am sure that his vineyard management practices are based on his experience of what has or has not worked for him, and as I have tasted his wines, I cannot say that anything I can suggest to him would make them any better! Because he uses ‘old world’ methods with no chemicals or irrigation, his practices are simple and few. He does not have an insect problem of any consequence, due to the fact his vines don’t develop huge canopy systems, so there is no need for pest treatment.

There is only one suggestion I would make that would be an improvement, and that would be to plant some cover crops in the vineyard. At present, the only ground cover consists of weeds, and although they are mowed down to a certain level, they seem not to add anything. Cover crops would not only add some diversity to the soil, they would help with the dust (and resultant mud when it rains), reduce erosion, and be an aesthetic improvement. The drawback, of course, would be the expense of planting and the need to irrigate.

Monday, December 6, 2010

A lot to catch up on...

Wow, looks like I haven't posted in almost a month! Some of you were getting a bit restless out there....in my defense, in addition to attending class and a big ol' test on the wines of France, Italy, Spain, Portugal, Australia, New Zealand, Chile, Argentina, South Africa, and Germany (yikes!) I have been very busy with THREE term projects, all due this week or next, and I have to admit that I procrastinated in getting started on them!

First project was a term paper, "The Story of Veuve Cliquot Champagne" - it's actually the story of the woman who built the famous French champage house, and is credited with perfecting the technique called remuage (riddling), which forever changed the way champagne was made - in short, it is the process of turning bottles to collect sediment on the cork, which can then be removed (degorgement) before the bottle is topped off and resealed with a new cork. I decided on this as my topic after reading the book "The Widow Cliquot", a gift from my friend Joyce.

My second project was a "lab report" done by making observations in a specific vineyard over a period of months, from veraison (when grapes are softening and turning in color) through ripening and harvest. My subject vineyard was an old vine Zinfandel vineyard belonging to Battaglini Estate Winery, and thanks go to vigneron Joe Battaglini for his permission to traipse around in his vineyard, as well as the background information he supplied.

My last project is still in the works, and I left it for last because it was the one I dreaded most doing - a budget for a hypothetical vineyard operation. I chose to use as my "fantasy" vineyard one based on the Burgundian concept of "small vines" - high density planting of low vigor rootstock of a Pinot Noir cultivar. I am getting some assistance from a local small vine vineyard, and boy do I need the help! Even the simple idea of creating a budget just to establish such a vineyard, and maybe take it through the first year of growth, has turned out to be so much more complicated that I imagined. Oh well, it's a learning process, that's really the whole point of it.

Other than the above, we did have an interesting field trip to the Clos du Bois winery in Geyserville, which I'll post some notes on with pictures I took. And two "weekend" classes on pruning grapevines, which I really liked. Have some pictures of that too, so I'll get those up shortly.

Two more weeks until the semester ends and then I have a month off before Spring classes begin in January.

Sunday, November 7, 2010

Wine Alert!

Okay, everyone, here's my wine recommendation for
your Thanksgiving turkey dinner....

Just had a bottle (with friends!) of 2007 Picket Fence Pinot Noir (Russian River Valley) which I purchased at Trader Joe's for $8.99 - I am VERY happy with it....first time I've tried anything from Picket Fence, and I'm so pleased because their vineyard is near Shone Farm's, and I know that their vineyard manager, Peter Opatz, was Sonoma County's 2010 Viticulturist of the Year. I guess I just assumed his wine would be too pricey for me, so I never looked for any. Just came across this Pinot at TJ's yesterday when I went shopping for some things for my guests this afternoon. I couldn't believe it was just $8.99,and thought, how good could it be? I'm pleasantly surprised. I highly recommend this for your turkey celebration this year. It's smooth, with 'mouthwatering' flavors of bing cherry and spice, a touch of oak, and a velvety finish. Yummy.

Fall Comes to Shone Farm




Rochioli Vineyards & Winery

Wine tasted at Rochioli on Thursday with classmate Erin (also went to Gary Farrell, pics below)....both have beautiful & scenic settings, though we preferred the overal feeling at Rochioli - a little more casual. A beautiful Maine Coon kitty makes its home at Rochioli, seen lounging around on one of the patio tables! Lucky cat.
Rochioli is a three-generation, family
owned and operated winery, and one of Sonoma County's best known and respected. Started in 1938 by one of the original "westside story pioneers" - Joe Rochioli Sr., they produce "silky-smooth, fruit forward Pinots, rich, opulent Chardonnays and tangy, food-friendly Sauvignon Blancs." Great visit, and our tasting room host Sam was super nice and friendly.


Saturday, November 6, 2010

The Lynn Pedone Wine Tour Continues

What's the best use of an extra hour and a half between classes? Wine tasting of course!! On Thursday, my classmate Erin and I visited Gary Farrell Winery and Rochioli Winery on Westside Road. At Gary Farrell we tasted two Chardonnays, two Pinots and one Zinfandel, and each left with a bottle of our favorite, the 2008 Westside Farms Chardonnay: aromas and flavors of banana, pineapple, lime, and honey-baked apple leading to baking spices, vanilla, marzipan and chalk dust (?)...can't say I detected all of those, but it was rich and delicious, and I don't spend $40 lightly on a bottle of wine! The tasting room had an exquisite view of the valley, and was elegant and trendy (loved the "local" artwork on the walls for sale).

At Rochioli, there were only two offerings, a Chardonnay and a red blend. The latter was bright and tasty and I bought a bottle: the 2008 Ranch Red - 60% Syrah, 20% Petite Sirah, and 20% Zinfandel. It is a rich and full bodied wine with hints of cedar, spice and red plums. For hearty meals and festive occasions :-)










Sensory Evaluation of Wine

The highlight of last week was my introduction to sensory evaluation (aromas/flavors) of wine. Appraising a wine's aroma is the most important part of sensory evaluation - I can't (yet!) but an experienced winemaker or judge can tell a lot about wine just by smelling it. Apparently, it's not all fun and games for the winemakers - a lot of mistakes can happen during handling and fermentation that can result in some pretty bad 'defects' or 'undesirable' (putting it mildly!) attributes. I really had no idea how many aromas, both pleasant and unpleasant, exist in wine, and we experienced both, in actual wine samples and with the aid of aroma "kits" - tiny bottles of sample smells. On the upleasant side, "cork", "sulphur" (rotten eggs) and "brett" (a barnyard character like horse sweat) were the worst; others were garlic, cabbage, mold, tar, and nail polish remover! These are caused by a variety of bacteria and spoilage yeasts. Luckily for winemakers, there are lots of additives and chemicals that can correct or mask these problems, but the key to avoiding them in the first place is to begin with good, ripe fruit, treated well and fermented in a clean environment. The good smells included fruit like apple, pear, pineapple, prune, melon, lemon, orange, cherry, peach, blackberry and strawberry, honey, toast, butter, caramel, hazelnut, coffee, cinammon and chocolate. There are many more. Our teacher said the only way to learn and develop the ability to "describe" wine (balanced, cloying, crisp, earthy, herbaceous, oaky, spicy, jammy, woody) is to taste, taste, taste.....fortunately, that's not an arduous task!!

Tuesday, November 2, 2010

California/Sonoma County - Part 2

So last week, we finished up here in Sonoma County - with an in-depth look at each of its 13 AVA's (American Viticultural Areas), or regions. Climates, soils, and varietals were covered. What I found most interesting was learning about the history of the most famous wineries and who started them - family dynasties and dynamics, etc. It's fun to now know something about the names I've been familiar with for years - Cline Cellars, Ferrari-Carano, Pedroncelli, Clos du Bois, Rodney Strong, Coppola and Beringer (which was Italian Swiss Colony back in the 50's-60's, remember them?!). I also never knew about Raymond Burr (old Ironside himself) Vineyards, which apparently produces great Cabs. Amazing how many vineyards and wineries have been handed down through generations, with enough wealth to go to multiple children and grandchildren, no matter how many there were! The Kendall-Jackson empire is one that comes to mind - I never knew members of the KJ family also own La Crema and Murphy-Goode. Benziger Family Wines was started by father Bruno, but when their Chardonnay label was sold for many millions, they were still able to keep their vineyards and sons Mike and Joe and one or two other siblings each got a piece of the pie which they used to start Glen Ellen Winery ("here's two million, go buy yourself a winery")....and there are many stories like this!

Then there are the "pioneers" who made their mark without family ties - one such person was Justin Meyer, who started Silver Oak Cellars. I've had the great pleasure of drinking Silver Oak Cabernet (very high end - obviously I didn't buy it myself!) but I had no idea who was behind the label. Apparently Justin Meyer (who died in 2002 at just 63) was a real "cult" figure on the Napa wine scene. He was a Spanish teacher and member of the Christian Brothers order, where he learned to make wine. Later he got his enology degree from UC Davis and founded Silver Oak Cellars with partner Ray Duncan, a Colorado oilman. He was President for many years of the American Vineyard Foundation, raising tax-deductible contributions for research in viticulture and enology, one of many contributions he made to the wine industry. Back in the 70's you had to get on a waiting list to buy his wine, now it's readily available, costing $80 for the Alexander Valley Cabernet and $100 a bottle for the Napa Silver Oak Cabernet.

Did you know that the author Jack London had a residence in Sonoma? In fact, his cottage, where he wrote his books, still stands in Jack London State Historic Park. Something he wrote in the late 1800's , talking about his ranch in Sonoma County, would easily be true today:

"I ride out over my beautiful ranch. Between my legs is a beautiful horse. The
air is wine. The grapes on a score of rolling hills are red with autumn flame.
Across Sonoma Mountain, wisps of sea fog are stealing. The afternoon sun
smolders in the drowsy sky. I have everything to make me glad I'm alive."

Friday, October 22, 2010

Quote of the Week

"Reality is only an illusion that occurs due to lack of wine."

BARRELS 101

Yesterday in Winery Practices, we learned everything we always wanted to know about barrels. The best part of class was the point at which our instructor said, "Let's take a 10-minute break, and because this is such a dry topic, I think I should open up a couple bottles of wine..." I only wish I had brought my camera so I could have captured the picture of everyone sitting at their desks, notebooks open, listening intently to Chris' lecture, with pens/wine glasses in hand! This class rocks!!

Actually, the topic of barrels wasn't "dry" at all - now I know all the parts of a barrel - the head, staves, bung hole, croze, chime, and the difference between head, quarter and bilge hoops. We saw a great video of barrels being made by "coopers" at Demptos Cooperage in Napa, CA. All wine barrels are made with oak and from the best wood in the world. 30 individual "staves" - narrow strips of wood placed side by side - are used for each barrel, and because they are all different widths, it's like putting a puzzle together. I was most surprised to see how the staves are "bent" - once in place, the open barrel is placed over fire, and with the addition of water to produce steam, the staves can be bent to curve; in addition, the inside of the barrel gets "toasted" which converts the sugars in the wood into desirable flavors (caramel, butterscotch, vanilla etc.) that the wine extracts during the aging process. This is really an art form and even with today's technology, barrels are mostly made by hand - "Master Coopers" must be able to make a barrel only with hand tools. French oak adds a stronger flavor than American oak, and French barrels cost upwards of $1,000 each (American oak barrels average about $300) which can be quite an expenditure, considering they only "last" 5-7 years. And even though barrels are impossible to sanitize as well as glass or stainless steel, cost more, and leak, they are still the preferred method for aging because THEY JUST MAKE THE WINE TASTE SO MUCH BETTER! But, with today's new methods and resources, many wineries who cannot afford oak barrels (or who just want to save money) turn to "oak alternatives" - chips, etc. - that are added to their stainless or other tanks while their wine is aging and which gives an oaky flavor. I guess you might have to have a sophisticated enough palate to detect something like that. In my view, it's "cheating" but oh well....

In addition to seeing how barrels are made, we also learned what "goes on" in the barrel (oxidation, concentration, extraction, clarification) as well as how barrels are sanitized (lots of hot water followed by 'gassing' with SO2), maintained, and repaired. We also got to "take apart" an old barrel and put it back together again, which was fun.

Week 10 Highlights

Wow, already in my 10th week of school - time is just flying by! World Viticulture & Wine Styles continues to be a great lecture class - internationally, we've been to France, Italy, Spain and Portugal. This week we started the chapter on California. But since I just noticed that I fell behind a bit after reporting on Wines of France, before we get to CA, here's a brief recap of the most interesting things I learned about Italy, Spain and Portugal:

ITALY
The history of wine and Italian civilization is synonymous - winemaking in Italy dates as far back as 4000 B.C. The Romans actually began the practice of trellising vines off the ground, and they also were the first to use barrels to store and transport wine. As it is in France, wine is present in all aspects of Italian life. Also, like France, Italy has a system of laws and standards for producing wine. The French have the AOC (Appellation d'Origine Controlee) and the Italians have the DOC (Denominazione d'Origine Controllata) laws which guarantee the place of origin of any wine bearing the name of a particular region that has the DOC designation. The DOC system is also as complicated! One could specialize only in wines of Italy and have to know a heck of a lot about the many, many wines that come from the wide range of soils and climate conditions in Tuscany, Piedmont, Lombardy, Sicily, Veneto, Trentino Alto-Adige, Umbria and Campania. The most surprising thing I learned is that Italy is the leader in modern winemaking equipment - in particular, their bottling lines are recognized as the best in industry standards.

SPAIN
Spain has 3 million acres of grapevines - more than both Italy and France - but they are #3 in production behind both Italy and France. And although they make some great wines, they have not been as successful in promoting and marketing them to the rest of the world. It has only really been in the last decade that they've made some big strides to improve their wines and open up markets. Their most widely planted grape is the Tempranillo, which goes into their top red wines. and that, along with Grenache ('Garnacha' there) are used to make a wide variety of rose (rosado) wines. A good value is their sparkling wine, called cava - though they don't rival the best of Champagne or California, they cost a fraction of the price and are considered a "solid" choice since they are better today than they ever have been. Another great value from Spain is their sherry, which is rich and nutty and can be bone-dry or rich and sweet. One fact I found amusing about Spain is that, back in the mid-90's when Chardonnay was so popular and in such high demand, they actually tried to make their own to tap into the U.S. market - why they didn't realize it is way too hot to grow Chardonnay grapes there is anyone's guess! Fortunately, they returned to concentrate on growing what DOES grow best for them, and as a result they are producing some wonderful wines. After this lecture segment, my interest was piqued to explore Spanish wine. My first candidate will be a Grenache recommended by Mr. Berger, our teacher: 2006 Las Rocas de San Alejandro Garnacha, Calatayud @ only $11.00 - "the aroma of this stylish red wine is that of violets and black pepper with hints of other complexity. A bargain, and a great example of excellent Spanish red wine."

PORTUGAL
The most interesting fact I learned about Portugal is that the people there drink "massive amounts" of wine! They consume more than Spain, certainly, but have a much smaller population. Also, they have very good wines, and they are cheap, but for whatever reason they have never tried to create an international image for them - maybe they just want to keep a good thing for themselves! They do, however, make the most revered dessert wine in the world - Port. Port is a wine that is fortified with grape brandy whose high alcohol content (77%) kills the yeast cells before fermentation is complete - the result is a natural sweetness from the residual sugar (final product is 18-20% alcohol). The topic of port is fascinating - not just the fact there are so many 'categories' but also that the majority of the Port houses in Portugal are owned by the British. There is a very interesting system of production as well, with producers having to "declare" each year - in other words, they take turns and individually do not produce a vintage every year. Because smaller quantities are made then, the prices are higher. Important fact: only Port and Champagne control their own destinies by deliberately manipulating volume & prices!

CALIFORNIA
So now we are home in California. I was not surprised to learn that California produces 90% of the wine made in the U.S., and that people in California have the highest per capita consumption of wine at 17% :-) I'm drinking my share!! This past week we focused on Sonoma County, where I now reside - the history of wine here was quite interesting. I was shocked, shocked I tell you, to learn that Ronald Reagan was the first U.S. President to bring California wines to the White House - huh, who would have thought? I guess Kennedy and the Clintons had their preferences for French wine. Anyway, Nancy Reagan was absolutely a fanatic for Kendall-Jackson Chardonnay, something probably not lost in popularizing KJ's wines all over the country at the time. Here in Sonoma County we farm 60,000 acres of grapes, and currently 350 wineries and vineyards employ more than 5,000 people and generate $15million+ in revenues. Hopefully, there will be a place for me in all those statistics after I graduate! Sonoma is 2nd in recognition only to Napa as one of the premier wine-producing regions in the world. It's special and unique location (coastal maritime influence) makes for warm days and cool nights - this climate allows the grapes to stay on the vine longer, which means they have the chance to build more flavor and greater complexity. The top two varietals grown here are Chardonnay (the "cash cow" of the industry!) and Pinot noir, followed by Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Zinfandel, and Sauvignon Blanc. We have 13 AVA's (American Viticultural Areas) - or wine growing regions in Sonoma County, the most well-known probably being the Russian River Valley, where I attend classes at Shone Farm. More sparkling wine (made from Chardonnay and Pinot noir grapes) is produced in the RRV than anywhere else in CA, and Korbel (for all you French champagne snobs) makes the leading sparkling product in the country - "Naturale" .... ? Huh....well, I'll just have to try that!

Tuesday, October 19, 2010

Joyce and Lynn w/Joe Battaglini @ Battaglini Winery


Battaglini Winery

I'm so excited to have discovered Battaglini Estate Winery! In looking for a local vineyard to use for a class lab report, Battaglini was recommended by my new friend Peggy Bennington, Pug Wine. This is a family owned and operated winery, headed by Giuseppe aka "Joe" Battaglini, his wife Lucia and children Giulio, Lidia, Paolo and Dino. On the day I just "showed up" unannounced, Joe graciously gave me a complimentary wine tasting and invited me to return for a tour of the vineyard so that I could begin my school project; as my report will evolve over the period of a couple of months, I hope to get to know Joe and his family, and I know I will learn a lot.


As for the vineyard itself, it goes all the way back to 1885, when another Italian immigrant, Bartholomew Lagomarsino, first planted Zinfandel and Petite Sirah grapes on the property (the Battaglini family has owned it since 1988 and added Chardonnay grapes in 1996). It is noteworthy that Joe is producing his wines (about 2,500 cases a year) from these same 125-year old vines, and with old methods using no irrigation (totally dry farmed) and no chemicals and by allowing all their wines to go through natural fermentation (no added yeasts).


They are located at 2948 Piner Road in Santa Rosa, CA, and I highly recommend a visit if you are in the area. The tasting room is small and quaint, adorned with medals and prize ribbons and pictures of the old country and Joe will treat you just like one of the family! As I indicated in the previous post, I thought all of the wines were excellent.


"VITTE VECCHIE, VINO BUONO"............Old Vines, Great Wines


Busy Mid-Term Week

Whew! I'm back....last week was a very busy mid-term week at school, with one test and my oral Mid-Term Presentation on "Use of the Porometer in Testing Stomatal Conductance in Grapevine Leaves." In simple terms, I gave a demonstration on how to use a porometer to measure the amount of water vapor that is released through stomata (tiny pore-like openings on the underside of leaves) - the numbers give an indication as to how stressed the vines are and thus information with which to adjust irrigation amounts, i.e., if the vines are TOO stressed, they probably need a little more water, and if they are not stressed enough, or in the "luxury" range, they are getting more than they need. The idea is to keep them stressed just enough to make them struggle - intensifies the flavors. As Jim Barrett said in the movie Bottle Shock, "a well-watered grape turns into a lazy ingredient of a lousy wine!"



In addition to a busy school week, my best friends, Dr. John and Joyce Saunders, were here visiting for a couple of days - they were in California for John's work at the Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey and house hunting in Carmel. We had a good visit, albeit a short one - a tour of Shone Farm, where I attend viticulture classes, a trip to Guerneville, a stop at Korbel, a nice lunch in Forestville, dinner in Santa Rosa, and just some quality time together. My Pugs Frankie and Otto were, of course, thrilled as usual to have someone in the house besides boring old Mom to give them extra love and attention!



The highlight of Joyce and John's visit was a trip to the Battaglini Winery, where we tasted and purchased delicious Chardonnay and Petite Sirah wines. Joe, the owner and winemaker, was a wonderful host. More on the winery follows in the next post......








Monday, October 4, 2010

Wine Pugs!!

You've been introduced to Pug Wine......now, here are the wine Pugs (big Benny on the barrel belongs to Pug Wine's winemaker) and I'm not sure about the little baby teething on the cork, but he sure is cute - and already a wine lover!




Wine Tasting at Pug Wine




On Sunday, Oct 3rd, my friend Daniella and I spent a wonderful afternoon in Mill Valley (CUTE little town!) at the beautiful home of Peggy Bennington, who IS Pug Wine. As they do not have a tasting room YET (hopefully they will have one open next year in San Francisco), Peggy was gracious enough to offer us a private tasting, and we certainly felt honored to have been invited for such a special and generous treat. Pug Wine is, of course, so named because Peggy is another pug devotee, and has 3 of her own, who were all happy to welcome us into their space. Peggy had an amazing spread on the kitchen island all ready for us - along with bottles of wine adorned with exquisite labels that are tiny works of art on their own (all Pugs of course), she offered a tasty array of cheeses, breads and fruit. We started with Pug Rose, then followed with Pug Blanc, Pug Pinot and finally Pug Cab. We really liked ALL of them! We purchased a bottle of the 2007 Pug Blanc each, a "vibrant" Rhone-style white blend of Marsanne and Roussane grapes from the Russian River Valley - with the aromas and flavors of grapefruit and apple, finishing with pineapple and vanilla. Our second favorite (but, as I said, we felt they were all very good) was the 2007 Pug Cab, which is made of grapes from Hoopes Vineyard in Napa - it was exceptionally balanced, rich with bright fruit flavors (I thought, plum and cherry), and had a gorgeous, dark color. I will definitely be purchasing this one in the future for a special occasion! Thanks again to Peggy, and I hope everyone who reads this will go to the website and try a bottle - I promise you will not be disappointed! www.pugwine.com

Photos - Pinot Harvest at Klopp Family Vineyards











Pinot Harvest at Klopp Family Vineyards

Last Thursday our Fall Practices class met at Klopp Family Vineyards in Sebastopol to observe a local vineyard's Pinot noir harvest. Lauren Klopp spoke to us about their family's vineyards (50 acres in total), where they exclusively grow Pinot grapes for some of the top wineries here - like Merry Edwards and Kosta Browne. Lauren's Dad planted the vineyards in the 90's on what was once apple orchard land. She told us that their vineyards are mostly dry farmed, with no irrigation, and that they don't use harsh chemicals. The vineyard sits atop a hill, above the inversion layer, with one of the most beautiful views I've seen here. At 7:30 a.m. it was stunning.



Wines of France - Part 2

So last week we completed the lecture portion on Wines of France - with a look into Alsace and the Loire and Rhone Valleys. Alsace, which borders Germany, is where you can find a mix of both French and German culture and winemaking techniques. The only red grape variety grown in Alsace is Pinot noir. White grapes include Pinot blanc, Pinot gris, Riesling and Gewurztraminer - I never knew that the latter used to actually be two words, Gewurz (which means spice) and Traminer! One grape though. The Loire Valley is known as the "garden" of France, and its most notable contribution (most of their reds and whites lack the weight and substance of other French wines) is that the Loire River has allowed shipping access to other parts of Europe. The Rhone Valley is second only to Bordeaux in producing AOC wines, and 95% of Rhone wine is red. The southern Rhone region is unique in all of France in that irrigation is allowed during drought - irrigation is outlawed otherwise because of the abundance of natural precipitation there. The most expensive Viognier wine in the world is produced in the northern Rhone, where vineyards cover steep river slopes and are always subject to erosion. Next week we will be in Italy (figuratively speaking only, unfortunately!), examining their regions, climates, varietals, and the different styles of wine they produce. I should probably drink a glass of Chianti before class...

Monday, September 27, 2010

The Lynn Pedone Wine Discovery Tour Begins!

So today I started my own little "discovery tour"
of Sonoma County vineyards & wineries. My plan
is one wine tasting each week at a new winery!

I chose Martinelli Winery first because of their proximity to Shone Farm, and also because I'm trying to get their approval to "monitor and observe" one of their vineyards for a class project over a period of a few months. George Martinelli (described by my teacher as handsome and resembling Paul Newman - and wow, was she not exaggerating!) was gracious enough to meet with me for a few minutes today (everyone is super busy w/harvest at this time of year) and hopefully he will be able to spend part of tomorrow morning showing me around. I'm also hoping he will take me under his proverbial wing and maybe teach me something I can't learn from my school textbooks or classroom lectures. Maybe I can even get an internship or - dare I say it - a job, somewhere down the line...

On the way out I stopped in the tasting room where Denise and Judy were friendly and knowledgeable and because I mentioned I was a Vit student at the JC, I got my tasting fee waived...I sampled two Chardonnays, one Pinot, one Zin and one dessert wine. My favorite was the 2008 Vigneto di Evo Zinfandel: "layers of blackberry, kirsch, roasted figs...long lingering finish" - it comes from a tiny vineyard which is the site of the original family homestead ranch. Excellent at $30. My second favorite was the 2008 Muscat Alexandria, a honeysuckle, jasmine. honey and vanilla delight that would be great during the holidays - also reasonable at $28. The Martinelli family has been in Sonoma County since 1860, starting by raising sheep, cattle, potatoes, walnuts, prunes, apples, and finally wine grapes. They specialize in producing small lots of wine from single vineyards. I loved the tasting room, which is situated in a big, red, historic hop barn. Worth a visit.

Wines of France

Last week we began Unit 2 of World Viticulture and Wine Styles. The instructor, Gerald Boyd, is a former editor of Wine Spectator magazine, very knowledgeable and with a great sense of humor. In 3 hours we covered only the regions of Champagne, Burgundy and Bordeaux. I had no idea there was so much to know about French wines! Of course I wasn't surprised to learn that the French view wine as a food, whereas here in the U.S. it's considered an alcoholic beverage; also that in France wine is rarely consumed without food. Covering a bit of its history, it is easy to see why wine is so deeply entrenched in their culture. The French are passionate about wine, and here's a statistic that proves they believe their own is the best: only 3 percent of all the wine consumed in France is imported!

As most people who are familiar with French wine know, the government controls their wine industry. The French AOC System is one of the most detailed and strictest in the world - it dictates who can plant which grape varieties where; it determines what the density will be in vineyards (how many rows, how many vines per row); and it classifies all wine into four levels of quality, from highest (AOC) to lowest (Vin de Table, or table wine). Within each level, the wines have to meet a very specific criteria that encompasses the grapes, the soil, the alcohol content, and the vineyard & winemaking practices. It was interesting to learn that the whole reason this system was developed back in 1930-37 was to combat widespread fraud that had been going on for years by unscrupulous producers who would, to meet the marketplace demands of popular wines, attach a region's name to their bottles to get a higher price, or buy grapes from somewhere else and blend them with their own and label them all as coming from the same place. In the Champagne region, around 1911, the houses were selling 11 million more bottles of wine than their region's vineyards could possibly have produced! So basically the system protects the authenticity of the geographic names of origin. Good for the consumer!

We learned about the production process of champagne, and I learned a new term: chaptilization, which is the addition of sugar to fermenting wine to increase the alcohol - a procedure NOT legal in the U.S., where our grapes have more sugar naturally and less acid.

"Burgundy makes you think of silly things...
Bordeaux makes you talk about them...
Champagne makes you do them."
- Brillat-Savarin, 18th Century French Food & Cooking Authority

Saturday, September 18, 2010

Pug Wine!


For all of my wine-loving friends, and especially for all of my Pug-AND-wine-loving friends.....I just discovered the ultimate winery - Pug Wine, in Mill Valley. The proprietor, Peggy Bennington, owns three Pugs herself. They specialize in "small lots of handcrafted, ultra-premium single (Sonoma County) vineyard wines.....Pug Pinot, Pug Blanc, and Pug Cab. They don't have a tasting room yet, but I contacted the owner and have been invited for a private tasting at her home next weekend. Frankie & Otto get to come too! I'll report back on what I liked.
Their website is http://www.pugwine.com/ - to order.

Friday, September 17, 2010

2010 Crush - Sauvignon Blanc

We had perfect weather this morning - cool and overcast - for the Sauv Blanc crush. We got one ton of the 43.5 tons picked (Benzinger Winery gets the rest) which should yield about 70 cases for our Shone Farm label. I was surprised at how much "prep time" goes into the operation - sanitizing all the equipment (Hopper, Press, Settling Tank, hoses) with a hydrogen peroxide-type solution and citric acid wash took a good hour. The grapes were crushed in a big, rotating stainless cylinder with a"bag" inside that inflates to press the grapes up against the sides; juice falls through slits into a big bin below, and it is immediately pumped into a settling tank for the night where it will receive some bentonite (removes proteins and helps to clarify the wine); tomorrow it will be pumped into barrels for fermentation.

















Here come the grapes! Sorting in the Hopper, then into the Press
















What's left...juice pumped into settling tank...readying the fermentation barrels
















The Winning Team

Wow, just learned this afternoon that my team 'won' the crop projection exercise we did last week - we had to project how much Sauvignon Blanc we had for the winemaker (what was harvested this morning). "Pick complete for Block 7, and the total was 43.5 tons. The winning team for the crop estimate is MGMBL - they predicted 41.7 tons. They'll announce who they are in next Thurday's class." Mark, Gery, Maria, Barbara and LYNN! How did we do it? Count # of rows of vines, # of vines in each row, estimate # of missing/non-producing vines, allow a percentage for sunburn/disease, weigh samples to get average cluster weight in lbs., figure average cluster # per vine, times the total # of vines, divide by 2000 lb. Easy!

Thursday, September 16, 2010

My First Crush!

So tomorrow, the Sauvignon Blanc grapes at Shone Farm are scheduled to be picked (at 3 a.m. because it's cool) and crushed and sent to fermentation. Those of us from the program who want to be there, and can be, will be assigned a variety of tasks from shoveling to sorting. I will post photos over the weekend!