Wine Tracks decided to send one of our interviewers to the vineyard to find out how Grenacha was doing
.
WT: How did you feel when you were not picked by the winemaker to be tested for ripeness?
Grenacha: I knew that all I would become was owed to a staunch few of my brethren who were picked by Weingut to sacrifice their juice for tasting and I would soon find myself surrounded by hundreds of other grapes in a wooden box heading for the crushing machine.
WT: Crushing machine, that sounds like it could hurt. Aren’t you a little concerned?
Grenacha: No, it's just part of growing up; in fact, I been told that it used to be quite enjoyable when the crushing was done by feet.
WT: What happens after the crushing?
Grenacha: I will go through my first cleaning by shedding my outer skin, spitting out my seeds and juice-joining with all the other grapes from the harvest. Then I will be able to relax for about ten days floating with my friends and family.
WT: Does the winemaker come around to check on your progress?
Grenacha: Weingut the Winemaker, will constantly check for the optimum time for fermentation when we are at the right color and are in perfect balance. You know its fermentation time when you can smell the wine yeast Saccharomyces and feel the temperature rising to about 75 degrees. I have heard that you become Intoxicated by the co2 bubbles rising and enjoy the transformation into alcohol.
WT: How long does that take?
Grenacha: About 15 days. Then you are no longer only juice. Friends told me at that time the rude harsh acid gangs that join in during fermentation became more friendly due to lactic acid bacteria linking together and started malolactic fermentation.
WT: Once you are not just juice, what will happen next?
Grenacha: For the next few weeks, you lay back and enjoy the scenery, slowly sinking to the bottom of the vat. When you hit bottom you take a fun ride, known as topping, through a hose around the outside of the vat and poured back on top, joining new juices that had been added to the mix. You do this over and over again for weeks.
WT: Does this mean that you are now ready to be bottled?
Grenacha: Not yet. After weeks of fun in the vat, it is time to get cleaned up. Weingut brings in some fining agents led by Mr. Big, Bentonite, to begin cleaning us.
WT: When Mr. Big is done, now are you ready for bottling?
Grenacha: Not yet. After fining you are poured through cellulose fibre filter pads. This will remove all the yeast cells and bacterial cells. After a high speed spin in a centrifuge machine for a final cleaning, I will end up in a storage area where the temperature will only reach 25 degrees. After two weeks in the polar regions, I will finally be laid to rest in a wooden oak vat for a well deserved rest for a minimum of 6 months. Then, I will finally end up in a bottle.
WT: I wish to thank you for your time and insight. Good luck. I'll be drinking you.
In deference to his age, our interviewer called him Grandfather.
WT: Grandfather, can you tell us how far back you can remember?
Grandfather: I remember being part of the first crop cultivated by the human tribes that stopped their nomadic hunting and settled down to farm. Gosh, it had to be 10 to 15 thousand human years ago.
WT: Do you know the name of the land where you were born?
Grandfather: No, but as the years went by these tribes came to call themselves Sumerians, I think. In fact, they were the first to turn some of my family into beer.
WT: Where did they get this knowledge?
Grandfather: As I can remember they had no idea on how to make beer. It was discovered by accident. Although I wasn’t there, it was told to me that some of my brethren became wet and soon began to ferment and some lucky Sumerian ate the inebriated pulp. Years later humans found a description of the making of beer on an ancient engraving in the Sumerian language. It showed barley followed by drawings of bread being baked, crumbled into water to form a mash. Then it was made into a drink that is recorded as having made people feel “exhilarated, wonderful and blissful.”
WT: Where did you go from there?
Grandfather: When the Sumerian empire collapsed, I found myself in a place called Mesopotamia ruled by another group of humans called Babylonians. They also learned the art of making beer. Their king, Hammurabi, who ruled Babylon from 1795-1750 BCE, gave the world its first written code of laws. Law 108 stated that a tavern owner had to give a proper measure of beer for corn.WT: Did you feel good knowing that you could be turned into a beautiful gold drink with a thick, frosty white head?
Grandfather: Surely you jest! Beer in those days was ugly, cloudy and unfiltered. Humans had to use “drinking straws” to avoid getting the very bitter, brewing residue in their mouths.
Grandfather: Did you know that beer was used for money? King Hammurabi set up a law for daily beer rations. Even in those days the rich got richer, so to speak. The ration was dependent on the social standing of the individual, an ordinary worker received 2 liters, civil servants 3 liters, administrators and high priests received 5 liters per day.
WT: Yes we can certainly relate to that even now.
WT: Do you know if any other beverages like beer was being made at that time?
Grandfather: A land called Tibet had a beer called Chang, a beer made from corn called Chicha and I also heard they made a strong drink from fermented camel milk called Kumis.
WT: Grandfather, you are a plethora of information. Where did you go next?
Grandfather: I am afraid that I am quite tired now. We will have to continue this after I get some rest.
WT: Thank you Grandfather.
The first ice wine was produced in Germany in 1794, the result of an accident. Legend has it, the owner of a German vineyard was out of town when he should have been home harvesting his grapes. Upon his return, he and his staff decided to pick and process the grapes anyway. The result was ice wine. At that time, however, it was called “winter wine.” Ice wine remained Germany’s secret until 1962, when it was produced commercially throughout Europe.
To make a “true” Ice Wine, grapes are left on the vine long after harvest and are picked by hand when temperatures reach about 17° Fahrenheit. Winery workers will trudge through the snow in the middle of the night to pick the grapes once it is cold enough. The grapes, hard as marbles, are crushed frozen and only a few drops of sweet juice comes out to be fermented. Now you can see why ice wine tends to be very expensive and usually comes in half-bottles. The best ice wines retain natural acidity even though picked late with high sugars which is why Riesling is one of the best varieties for making Ice Wine. Some wineries are now making Ice Wine from red grapes such as Pinot Noir, Merlot and Cabernet Franc. Here are some from the Finger Lakes:
Sheldrake Point Cabernet Franc Ice Wine
Sheldrake Point Riesling Ice Wine
Lakewood Vineyards Borealis Lakewood Vineyards Glaciovinum
Wagner Riesling Ice
Casa Larga Fiori Vidal Ice Wine
Lamoreaux Landing Riesling Ice
Lamoreaux Landing Vidal Ice
Heron Hill Riesling Ice WineHeron Hill Ingle Vineyards Riesling Ice Wine
Hunt Country Vidal Blanc Ice Wine
Wine grapes are usually harvested at maturity in the early fall for processing into wine. When grapes are harvested, their sugar content or brix is measured; the higher the sugar content, the sweeter the wine will be. Sugar content varies depending on the grape, the year, and the conditions; measurements of 24-27% are common for white grapes like Chardonnay, Riesling, and Gewürztraminer.
When grapes are left on the vine, they start to dry up and they become much sweeter. The brix on late harvest grapes can be as high as 40%. Some late harvest grapes end up almost like raisins because they are allowed to wither fully before harvesting. After harvesting, the grapes are turned into a late harvest wine through pressing, fermentation, and aging. The resulting high sugar content wine tends to be thick, sweet, and very rich; some people find late harvest wine almost cloying because of the sweetness, while other consumers enjoy them.
