Wednesday, March 31, 2010

Making Wine to Help Save The World

I started growing grapes and making wine in 1987. It was at the advice of a friend that if I was living in the Napa Valley, I should know everything I could about wine. So it was that year that I also volunteered as free labor on a crush pad and now 23 years later I have become fully immersed in the craft, education and business of wine.

Though I no longer live in California, I still tend around 60 vines in 6 different varieties. My basement looks like a mad scientist's laboratory at times and at harvest my garage does too. The French have a couple of terms for grape grower and wine maker and home wine maker. "Vignon", is the term used for one that grows the fruit, manages the vineyards and makes the wine. "Garagiste" is the term for one that makes small scale wine in their garage. I think I fit these two definitions.
As so many hundreds of other Americans, I started a fascination with yeast and the entire fermentation process. I would ferment anything that had a specific gravity or Brix level. Some good, others really bad. This experimentation of all things sweet got out of hand at a point and I realized that as a hobby, I was over the top. So I stopped my beer brewing, mead making, spirit distilling, and liqueur blending practices. I settled in on a few varietal grapes I like to grow; found a blend of both white wine and red wine that I enjoy and now focus on two wines per year.
This week, preparing to blend, rack and bottle, I thought of so many people I know in commercial wine production and wondered if this is how they started too. I thought that maybe if I reach a level of confidence in my garage practices, I could take it to the commercial "cult" level. I thought that if my friends and family like my wine, and I continually place in local competitions, what's stopping me from slapping my cult label on the market place as well.
Then I thought that this was ego talking. Really, does the market place need another wine label? Maybe the fun of my hobby would lose its appeal and like so many other professions started with passion, burn out due to loss of the "fun" over the needs and demands of the business. The one thing I am certain of is that I am doing my bit to save money by making my own wine. I am helping the environment by recycling used wine bottles and I am building a diverse educational foundation for my kids by exposing them to the practice, (they have all been to crush since they were 5 yrs. old). At the very least inspiring the beauty of Agriculture, Biological and Chemical Science and a little Philosophy in in their educational upbringing.
It was a good bit of advice I received 23 years ago. Who would ever think Viticulture and Enology could save our economy and planet except a passionate grower of grapes and maker of wine.

Tuesday, March 23, 2010

Wine & Fish

I once chaired a tasting of Zinfandel's for a private organization. The room held 30 or so attendants including 2 winemakers and 2 sales reps that specialized in Zinfandel. The topic drifted towards food pairing and we began to play a game of, what food would not go with Zinfandel. The end result was that there was no such food group.

For years growing up, my parents generation lived by the rule of white wine and fish; red wine and meat. As part of the "baby boomers" it became our mantra, if not duty, to question all the rules. Today we find that this long time rule of "the man" no longer applies. Zinfandel may be the extreme example, but the case is made much easier in extremes.

It is the Easter season, Christians eat no meat on Fridays during the weeks leading up to Easter Sunday. Fish is advertised more during this time of year than in any segment of the Calendar. So whats a red wine loving man of the faith to do? First, throw out the rules. Then build a bridge. The bridge in this case is preparation and sauce. No matter the seafood, pick the biggest, boldest red wine you can find and have at it!

Try this:

Salmon? - dry rub a Jamaican Jerk spice and grill; squeeze orange over for moisture; serve in a black bean salsa and open a Dry Creek Zinfandel.

Scallops? - lightly flour and dip in egg wash and the corn meal, pan sear in olive oil until dark golden; pull from the pan, deglaze in red wine, butter, garlic and cream. reduce by half and throw in chopped tomatoes. place tomato cream over scallops and serve with an Australian Shiraz.

get the point yet; the bridge is how you have prepared the fish and the sauce. Choose darker preparation and sauces for red wine and you will be fine.

Try:

Swordfish? press in a wet mixture of brown sugar, lemon juice, crushed walnuts and sea salt. bake slowly in a covered dish with a touch of orange juice and garlic until done. Saute scallions, carrots, and toss with arugula; grate asiago cheese and black pepper over and place swordfish on top. Open a Washington State Merlot.

The sky is the limit. Fish can be served with red wine. The pairing is up to you. Cheers!

Saturday, March 20, 2010

Spring in the Vineyards



I woke this morning to popcorn on the vines. Earliest I have noticed in PA. I planted 4 hybrid varieties last year as my attempt at vinifera was a struggle to nowhere. It may have been my pruning methods, root stock or clonal selection, but after 6 years, it was time to get real.

So now enter Seyval Blanc, Traminette, Corot Noir & Noiret. The latter two being the newest set of red hybrid varieties from Geneva. The Seyval seems to be the champ in this set. Strong cane production, semi-vigorous and berrys I allowed to mature in the first year were promising. It may be that this is the vine for this area. These vines are pushing now and encouraging me to make this the key grape for my vineyard.
The Seyval Blanc I have tasted from other area producers was Chenin Blanc / French Columbard in nature. Semi-dry styles with stone fruit flavors, soft tannins, and slight acids. There are some that have produced this as a late harvest in certain years so the fruit has shown versatility in a range of styles. Should the Traminette be everything that other growers have said it is, a better Gewurztraminer more resistant to mold and mildew, then the opportunity to produce a Rhine style Kabinet wine may be the ticket.
At any rate the hybrids as a whole have survived the winter and now the work begins, watching for spring frost, early bud break, and bad bugs hungry for food.