Why so happy about rain? I remember the extremely dry start to the 2013-2014 rainy season and by early February of 2014 where I promised myself that I would not ever complain about too much rain, regardless of how inconvenient it may be at the time. It is far better to have more than enough rainfall than not enough.
Instead of following these new and shiny things, over the years I have tried to streamline our winemaking process. Rather than simply introducing more steps, additives, manipulations, etc. to ‘improve’ only one aspect at a time, I have tried to stand back and focus on as much of the whole picture as I am capable of to refine the process.
I talk about balance [in wine] a lot. My favorite definition is that opposing forces are present in equivalent prominence. I consider the fundamental axis of balance in wine as ‘angles and rounds.’ ‘Angles’ are the harsh, pointy things like acidity and tannins. ‘Rounds’ are the softer, plush, sweet and/or textural parts such as Glycerol (a polyol formed in proportion to alcohol) and sugar if present in the wine style [not mine]
The devastating wild fires in the north coast these past two weeks has affected everyone in the area more than any event I have seen. In the early aftermath, we find some things to be grateful for, personally. First off, our family is safe. The long-time family house where my parents and sister live is[…]
Myself, I like puzzles. Spatial puzzles are the easiest. Rubik’s cube, I didn’t dig so much after staying up most of a night thinking I was so close to solving it (I wasn’t). Some puzzles are easily solved and others are long-term projects that require years to see the consequences of choices made. This is why winemaking suits my personality: I like some things to move slowly so I can ponder them.
It is interesting that in the English language our term for producing wine implies a very active role on the part of the people involved. I remember when studying French in college, I was frustrated by the lack of literal translation of the English word ‘winemaker.’ There were French terms that translated to ‘manager’, ‘cellar[…]
Each year when I write this particular newsletter, we are either still buried under a pile of grapes or as in this case, mostly finished with the heavy work load. It is a great time to reflect upon what the vintage has given us and how we responded to it.
I feel very lucky to have ancestors who purchased agricultural land well over a century ago, to have a family whose successive generations commit to living and working with the land. It’s not an easy path. But it is the one I have chosen and have tried to honor the efforts of those that have toiled before.
The most recent trend of the popular style inching toward higher alcohol/higher ripeness beginning in the 1990’s led to a natural and expected reaction of favoring lower alcohol/lower ripeness wines in certain quarters. However, rather than the pendulum gently swinging back thru the happy & balanced middle where we have been, it looks like a quantum leap from one extreme to the other.
Filmed with Josh Raynolds of Vinous Media at the International Pinot Noir Celebration in 2014.
