September 7, 2010

You don't have to be a winemaker to know that this harvest year has been moderate to darn right cold. How will this affect quality? Well, it is a fine question. And unfortunately, I have a complex answer. In years when the weather is cool the vines produce and/or retain a higher level of malic acid and have a tendency to show their character as green or under-ripe. During fermentation much of this acid is converted to lactic acid which has a more pleasing mouth feel, as it tends to be less sharp. However, if not enough tartaric acid is used to adjust the acid level before fermentation, we may end up with a flabby wine which may not have much of a life. All of this needs to framed by the fact that grapes lose acid while we are waiting for the sugars to climb. In short, I must be on top of my game. And I will be. I only get one shot at making wine a year.

Another observation is I have seen ubiquitous sun burning, particularly on Chardonnay, which can adversely affect quality. Overall, I am not concerned because I have the experience and training to work with the grapes I am given and have a long track record of success in making great wines from them.

From a business stand point, Michael Pozzan is well equipped and strategic in his ability to source wine and grapes. He has a long standing track record of his own, consistently producing great wines and offering them at affordable prices.

Together we plan to assess what is going on in the field, and make decisions about how and where we will go to acquire and make our wines this vintage. But I can't give away the strategy, so I will stop here.

After harvest, I plan to share with you something interesting or cool (or even funny) that happened. Check back soon.

Cheers,

Richard Bruno

Consulting Winemaker