{"id":3020,"date":"2010-06-12T14:33:50","date_gmt":"2010-06-12T18:33:50","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.hagarty-on-wine.com\/OnWineBlog\/?p=3020"},"modified":"2010-06-30T17:25:40","modified_gmt":"2010-06-30T21:25:40","slug":"winemakers-roundtable","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.hagarty-on-wine.com\/OnWineBlog\/winemakers-roundtable\/","title":{"rendered":"Winemakers Roundtable"},"content":{"rendered":"

Northern Virginia winemakers sip together before selling independently<\/strong><\/p>\n

It\u2019s a bit risky\u2026maybe even threatening, but several times a year a group of professional winemakers gather to discuss and evaluate each other\u2019s wines.<\/p>\n

\"\"

Baby Wines<\/p><\/div>\n

The bottles they pour from are not the classy ones sold at their wineries. These nascent wines come in unadorned vessels with handwritten labels and have been drawn directly from tanks and barrels. It\u2019s the ultimate, \u201cSo tell me, what do you think,\u201d exercise.<\/p>\n

And they do it all for us wine lovers.<\/p>\n

In February this year, with snow on the ground, some thirty winemakers gathered at Breaux Vineyards in Loudoun County to discuss and evaluate their new red wines. As they filed into the expansive cellar, chatting and recognizing each other with vigorous handshakes and animated conversation, it was obvious camaraderie—not competition—would be the spirit of the day.<\/p>\n

Unlike most businesses in today\u2019s competitive world of commerce, Virginia winemakers are supportive of each other\u2019s efforts to build the reputation of the state\u2019s wines. It\u2019s not an easy task.<\/p>\n

Notwithstanding the surge of wine quality in the Old Dominion, there are many outside the state that still view the industry as provincial. With a preponderance of the state\u2019s boutique wineries averaging around 3,000 cases a year—Gallo, by the way, sold 68 million cases last year—much of the supply is consumed by Virginians who know and enjoy the wine.<\/p>\n

As a result, there is precious little product to sell to the rest of the country. If you can\u2019t taste or buy a Virginia Viognier or Cabernet Franc outside of our state, building a national reputation becomes a formidable challenge.<\/p>\n

The pursuit of excellence is critically important to achieving national recognition. Quality will beget quantity if the public demands greater production. Today, there are over 6,000 wineries nationwide. Virginia has less than 170. And as amazing as the explosion of tasting rooms has become, today\u2019s production amounts to just a few drops in the bottom of the nation\u2019s wine bottle.<\/p>\n

Enter the Northern Virginia Winemakers Roundtable. The group\u2019s membership is largely comprised of Loudoun County wineries, but membership is open to all winemakers in the northern part of the state. There is a similar group in the Charlottesville area.<\/p>\n

\"\"As the meeting began, attendees settled in at long rows of tables set up in a canyon of tall stainless steel tanks lining both sides of the cellar. Jim Corcoran, proprietor of Corcoran Vineyards is the group\u2019s organizer. Dave Collins, winemaker at Breaux Vineyards, was the day\u2019s host.<\/p>\n

Collins spent the first hour sharing his perspective on winemaking. His discussion ranged from vineyard practices—\u201cOne technique I use to determine if the grapes are ripe, is to crush them between my fingers and see if they bleed red,\u201d— to an in-depth discussion of his fermentation processes.<\/p>\n

While\u00a0all winemakers employ the same fundamental procedures, there is a wide variety of techniques—from yeast selection, fermentation temperatures, barrel or tank aging, and other important minutiae—that differ between them. Collins described his best practices and answered questions from his colleagues.<\/p>\n

The heart of the meeting began with the distribution of a sheet describing three different flights of wines to be evaluated: Cabernet Franc; Varietals (75% or more of a single grape); and Blends. Each flight consisted of about five different offerings.<\/p>\n

With empty wines glasses and a plastic pour cup set before each participant, staff from Breaux Vineyards began pouring an ounce of wine into every glass. The first flight of Cabernet Francs featured five wines from four wineries. After a few minutes of sniffing and sipping, Collins commented on the wine. After his assessment, observations from the assembled vintners began to tumble out.<\/p>\n

Throughout the afternoon, the language of winemakers resonated around the cellar: \u201cNice color and good fruit with firm acidity. Should age nicely.\u201d \u201cSpicy with a touch of Jalapeno on the mid-palate.\u201d \u201cVery dense color with a rich mouth feel. Balanced.\u201d<\/p>\n

One immediately noticed observations were couched in terms not meant to offend, but rather constructively interpret aromas and flavors. \u201cI pick up a touch of H2S on the nose,\u201d states one evaluator (that\u2019s hydrogen sulfide, a flaw that produces a rotten egg aroma). Almost in unison, the room hoists the targeted glass and sniffs deeply. \u201cThere might be a bit of it, but it should blow off. I\u2019d suggest some splash racking and additional barrel time,\u201d responds an experienced vintner.<\/p>\n

After all of the comments are aired, Collins turns to the vigneron who produced the wine and asks for a summary of how it was made. This triggers a few more questions. \u201cDid you use medium toasted French oak or medium plus,\u201d inquires one person. Another query seeks to understand, \u201cIs this all oak or oak and steel aged?\u201d And so it goes throughout the afternoon, with information exchange in full mode.<\/p>\n

The second round of wines is varietals. In the United States, a wine can be labeled by its varietal name, say Cabernet Sauvignon, if it contains at least 75% of that grape. This requirement offers winemakers an opportunity to enhance palate flavors by blending in small percentages of other wines. It would not be unusual to taste a Cabernet Franc enhanced with 20% Merlot and 5% Petit Verdot, or similar type blend.<\/p>\n

\"\"Collins again offers comments on the first wine in the flight and then asks for additional reactions. Here it becomes apparent, as with most group dynamics, certain individuals are the first to respond. Often, these are the more experienced bulls with years of accumulated industry skill.<\/p>\n

The third and final flight focuses on blends. Typically, extensive \u201cbench trials\u201d have been conducted to achieve a blended cuvee.<\/p>\n

The wines being evaluated range from very small producers to some of the largest wineries in the state. When asked how a particular wine was aged, one winery owner responds, \u201cCarboys.\u201d These are six and seven gallon glass vessels that are typically used by only the smallest and newest wineries. Nevertheless, it showcases the diversity of size among the industry participants, and reinforces the value of group feedback, especially for the newcomers.<\/p>\n

As before, each wine is quietly evaluated and then openly discussed. During the entire process there is no food served with the wines, not even crackers. Only a bottle of spring water is used to cleanse the palate between flights. This is an exercise in concentration.<\/p>\n

As the meeting draws to a close, everyone is thanked for his or her participation. Yet, there is no rush for the doors. Small groups of winemakers chat animatedly as if attending a family reunion. It\u2019s evident friendship and respect knits this assembly together—all in search of world-class wine.<\/p>\n

So the next time you\u2019re sipping wine in a Virginia tasting room you might ask, \u201cWho\u2019s your winemaker?\u201d And perhaps the answer will be, \u201cThe Northern Virginia Winemakers Roundtable, of course.\u201d<\/p>\n

But if you don\u2019t get that response, one thing\u2019s for sure, the group\u2019s spirit will certainly be in the glass.<\/p>\n

\"\"

Evaluating Wine<\/p><\/div>\n

Published in the 2010 summer edition of the Virginia Wine Gazette.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Northern Virginia winemakers sip together before selling independently It\u2019s a bit risky\u2026maybe even threatening, but several times a year a group of professional winemakers gather to discuss and evaluate each other\u2019s wines. The bottles they pour from are not the classy ones sold at their wineries. These nascent wines come in unadorned vessels with handwritten […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"spay_email":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false,"jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true},"categories":[1],"tags":[154,101,152,12,151,153],"yoast_head":"\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\t\n\t\n\t\n