{"id":4534,"date":"2011-02-14T11:55:07","date_gmt":"2011-02-14T15:55:07","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.hagarty-on-wine.com\/OnWineBlog\/?p=4534"},"modified":"2020-06-26T16:48:46","modified_gmt":"2020-06-26T20:48:46","slug":"2010-white-harvest-hits-the-bottle","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.hagarty-on-wine.com\/OnWineBlog\/2010-white-harvest-hits-the-bottle\/","title":{"rendered":"2010 White Harvest Hits the Bottle"},"content":{"rendered":"

On August 11 of last year, I posted a report on my 2009 wine production<\/span><\/a>.<\/span> In it I included an assessment that the hot and dry 2010 Virginia growing season held the threat of heartache for winemakers; especially for the production of white wine.<\/p>\n

The heartache never materialized.<\/p>\n

Blistering summer temperatures can drive up sugar levels and drop acidity in white grapes that is not conducive to making aromatic and bright white wines.\u00a0 But if my experience is mirrored by the professionals around the state, the Grape Class of 2010 graduated magna cum laude.<\/p>\n

As expected, the juice I was able to procure last September was, indeed, lower in acidity than hoped for.\u00a0 But that\u2019s not unusual in Virginia.\u00a0 When the deficiency occurs winemakers can add natural grape acids to produce balanced wine.\u00a0 The addition can be done both before and after fermentation, but ideally the correction is performed before the juice is converted into wine.<\/p>\n

Let\u2019s Get Technical<\/strong>
\n\"\"In my case, I treated most of my white juice—Pinot Gris, Viognier and Chardonnay with additions of tartaric acid, the major acid found in wine. Only my Seyval Blanc was procured with good acidity levels. \u00a0For those unfamiliar with winemaking, the thought of adding acid to juice may seem off-putting.\u00a0 But it is a critical component of sound winemaking if the harvested fruit is deficient.\u00a0 Without it, the final product would be flabby and boring with a one dimensional character.\u00a0 Bump up the acid to proper levels and the wine comes alive.\u00a0 Think of a generous squeeze of fresh lemon on a tender filet of Mahi Mahi; the sea catch\u2019s flavor is enhanced and intensified.\u00a0 Ditto for wine.<\/p>\n

This year I also committed to blocking a secondary fermentation called malolactic in all my whites.\u00a0 While not a true fermentation process, it converts the malic acid in a wine to lactic acid, softening the mouthfeel and producing butter notes on the finish. It is most commonly used in making Chardonnay.\u00a0 Remember tasting notes that mentioned a \u201cbuttery Chardonnay\u201d? \u00a0The wine went through ML, or malolactic fermentation.<\/p>\n

But I prefer white wine that is bone dry, bright and razor sharp, so I prevented ML through an addition of sulfites.\u00a0 Most commercial wine is treated with a minuscule amount of sulfur. \u00a0It inhibits microbial activity and permits wine to age for longer than a year or so.\u00a0 It is probably the single most important additive in producing sound wine.\u00a0 Dried fruit, by the way, has several more times sulfur added to it to preserve the product.\u00a0 Sulfur is widely used in commercial food processing.<\/p>\n

\"\"

White Wine Undergoing Malolactic Fermentation<\/p><\/div>\n

One mystery that I again encountered was the failure of sulfur to stop a slow, inexorable ML from occurring in my Chardonnay.\u00a0 I have discussed this issue with professional winemakers who are hard pressed to believe the ML process could proceed with sufficient levels of sulfites in the wine.\u00a0 Nonetheless, I have three six-gallon carboys of Chardonnay—completely dry—that continue to produce telltale ML bubbles slowly crawling of the sides of the vessels, even with 50ppm of free sulfur in the wine.\u00a0 The wine completed its primary fermentation back in late September and has been softly perking away ever since, converting the malic acid to lactic.\u00a0 To assure the process goes to completion, I wrapped the carboys in an electric blanket and maintain the wine temperature at 74 degrees.\u00a0 ML bacteria are very sensitive to cold and could stop working if the wine became chilled.\u00a0 Daddy needs to keep his little babies nice and comfy.<\/p>\n

Let It Be<\/strong>
\nSo what to do?\u00a0 Let the wine be itself.\u00a0 I dare not proceed further with cold stabilization or filtering because home winemakers cannot steri-filter.\u00a0 If I don\u2019t let the wine have its way in the carboy, it most assuredly will have its way in the bottle.\u00a0 And I am not a fan of cloudy, fizzy Chardonnay.\u00a0 It\u2019s here that patience in winemaking is rewarded.\u00a0 The wine tastes good so I will let it proceed through full ML before it goes into the bottle.<\/p>\n

I have now bottled 23 cases of my white wines and they are pouring very nicely, displaying pale straw hues and aromas and flavors ranging from white peach and lemon to tropical fruits; all framed with bright acidity.\u00a0 Jean and I can\u2019t wait for the summer months to really begin enjoying our little hobby in the glass.<\/p>\n

As for my red wines, about a third of them have completed ML and the rest are chugging away under an electric blanket.\u00a0 Almost all red wine is encouraged to go through ML and it will not be till early summer before I consider bottling any of my Cabernet Franc\/Petit Verdot blend or Cabernet Sauvignon.<\/p>\n

But that\u2019s not a problem. Last year\u2019s reds are pouring just fine.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

On August 11 of last year, I posted a report on my 2009 wine production. In it I included an assessment that the hot and dry 2010 Virginia growing season held the threat of heartache for winemakers; especially for the production of white wine. The heartache never materialized. Blistering summer temperatures can drive up sugar […]<\/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":[15,173,290,289,292,291,12,242],"yoast_head":"\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\t\n\t\n\t\n