Dear Friends,
Welcome to Autumn at Windsor Vineyards! It's our busiest season all year: the grapes are finally ready for picking! So for this edition of Sips, we've included a quick tour of the Crush process for you, and a view of the vineyard from our winemaker, Toni Stockhausen. Now imagine yourself curled up by the fire with a warm blanket and your favorite glass of wine, read on . . . and enjoy!
Tammy Boatright
President, Windsor Vineyards
Contents
No Bare Feet Allowed: The Modern Crush
Autumn in the vineyards means Harvest Season, also known as Crush. And though we often imagine young men and maidens dancing barefoot together in great vats of purple grapes, our modern methods are a bit more efficient (and yes, more sanitary).
At Windsor Vineyards, preparing the juice after harvest actually involves three steps for our red wines: Crush, Pump, and Press. Our white wines skip steps 1 and 2 and go directly to Press. This reduces the amount of strong phenolic content and immediately removes the grape particles such as seeds and stems (together known as lees), to ensure that our whites are smooth and creamy.
Step 1: Crush
Immediately after picking, the grapes are taken to the crusher/de-stemmer machine (sorry: unromantic, but best) and dumped into the hopper. They are met by rotating paddles that push them down to the rollers. (The paddles also remove the stems.) Despite the machine's strength and speed, the grapes are not brutally smashed. Instead, the rollers gently break open the skins to release the juice. The pulpy mixture is then moved to the fermentation barrels or tanks for one to several weeks - and the wine-making process moves to Step 2.
Step 2: Pump
As the skins soak deep down in the tanks, they infuse the naturally white juice with its gorgeous red colors. They also add flavors and tannins. But if left entirely to themselves, the skins will float to the top and form a cap, which lessens their impact and may attract unwanted bacteria. The solution? The Pump! (Yes, it's a machine.) For most of our red wines, the juice is pumped over the cap to keep it moist. For our Pinot wine, we do things a bit differently. It's called Punch Down. Brandishing large tools that resemble potato mashers, the vineyard crew punches down the skins regularly - or in some cases, constantly. While three to four punch downs per day is usually sufficient early on, other situations can require a punch down every two hours. Fortunately for the crew, this work can also be performed by (apologies once again) punch down machines.
Step 3: Press
Though often confused with Crush, Press is the final step before aging. The mixture is run through a hand-operated press (or alas, in larger operations, yet another machine) where the juice is completely squeezed from the skins and pulp. The discarded skins now resemble dark flakes - and the juice now displays the unmistakable color and fragrance that will mature over the next few months to mouth-watering perfection.
Vintage 2006: Winemaker Toni Stockhausen's Vineyard View
Happy Autumn, all!
We're having such a beautiful season here. The leaves are beginning to show off those magnificent colors (that's right, even in Sonoma County), and our classic warm days and fog-chilled nights have filled the vineyards with luscious grapes, grapes, and more grapes. Oh: speaking of which, I haven't got a lot of time to stare at the scenery - I need to start working it! As you read above, all those vines we babied along are about to get raided. We're ready to gather the fruit of our labors, and this year's bounty promises to be a great one. Hot weather during the harvest pushes sugar levels in the grapes too high. That means a scramble to get the grapes off the vines quickly, often before the flavors have matured. But no such worries this year. In fact, the Chardonnay grapes have been taking their own sweet time, longer than usual, while the Merlot grapes seem to be in a hurry. We'll certainly have our hands full harvesting both of these bountiful beauties nearly at the same time - but then again, we should always have such challenges! I'm really looking forward to crafting all of this year's magnificent grapes into another offering of glorious wines - and I know you'll love sipping them with all your favorite friends and foods. But that comes later - to the task at hand!
Sangiovese: Direct from the Heavens
"The blood of Jupiter." With such a god-like name, you might expect a wine grape to be nearly unwavering in taste, texture, and color. Not so with the grape called Sangiovese, from the Latin sanguis Jovis, "blood of Jovis" (Jupiter). This Tuscan-born grape is tremendously influenced by terroir, the particular soil in which it's grown. In fact, vines from the same clone growing in the same vineyard but in different soil conditions can bear grapes with amazingly varied characteristics. This tendency has spawned at least 14 distinctive Sangiovese clones, including Sangiovese Piccolo (Italian for "small sangiovese") and Sangiovese Grosso (Italian for "big sangiovese"). The Sangiovese Grosso grape is better known as the Brunello grape, used for Italy's exquisite Brunello di Montalcino wine. Despite its sensitivity, the Sangiovese grape rules as the primary grape used for Italy's popular Chianti wines. It may also be considered lord in another sense: planted in more than 10% of Italy's vineyards, it is the nation's most widely grown varietal. And it's the perfect food wine - try it with your favorite red meat dishes. It pairs especially well with Italian fare - tomato-based pastas and pizzas - so it's a great alternative for Pinot lovers. Its fruity flavors, moderate to high acidity, and mildly bitter finish also make it a terrific complement to chicken, fish, and well-aged cheeses. In other words, when making food selections for a bottle of "the blood of Jupiter," the sky's the limit . . .
Taste for yourself! Place an order today for our 2005 Sangiovese, California, Private Reserve by calling 800.289.9463. But hurry - it's going fast!
The Business in the Bottle: How Red Wines Age
What exactly is meant by aging?
Aging refers to the change in certain elements in a wine. The primary elements are the tannins. Tannins are those strong acids that give a wine its "character." The stronger or more plentiful the tannins in a wine, the more bitter and lip-puckering (the more astringent) the taste will be - and the less you'll notice the fruit flavors. As the wine ages, the tannins mellow, and the fruit is said to come "forward," which means you can taste it more clearly.
How does aging work?
Over time, a portion of the tannins interact with other elements in the bottle, such as other acids, pigments, and compounds called phenols, which give the wine its aromas. The rest of the tannins convert to sediment, lose their bitterness, and sink to the bottom of the bottle. The phenols are altered, increasing their aromas, and the acids and alcohol react with oxygen, decreasing their harshness. What's left? The luscious fruit flavors that were masked when the wine was young.
Should you or shouldn't you age your wine?
That depends - but not on the opinions of others. If you tend to fancy the fruit, aging is the way to go. But if you prefer a "big" wine with bold tannins and strong acids, pop the cork now. There's really no right or wrong. When it comes to choosing your wine, your palate is the final authority.
Of Wines and Wings: Thanksgiving Food and Wine Pairings
When the table includes creative hors d'oeuvres that boggle the mind, meats and cheeses, fruits and vegetables, breads and sauces beyond number, and desserts that dazzle the senses, how can you possibly pick a single wine to complement?
The good news: you don't have to! The easiest solution, of course, is to offer both reds and whites and let your guests decide. Wines with less tannins and light to medium body tend to pair better with the endless bounty of food flavors. For reds, try Pinot Noir and Carignane (or Zinfandel and Syrah if you prefer fuller-bodied wines). Their ample spices and fruits can handle a variety of flavors. For whites, go with Sauvignon Blanc, Riesling, and Gewürztraminer. Their full-bodied lushness blends well with both meats and sweets. Chardonnay lovers might want to try an unoaked Chard for a more turkey-friendly alternative to the heavier, oaky Chards.
If you still prefer to offer just one wine, consider the virtues of Sparkling Shiraz. It's a great compromise for those who might not be strictly red or white lovers. Its hint of effervescence makes it a scrumptious treat for every holiday - and it pairs famously with turkey!
For more specifics, call us at 800.289.9463! Your Personal Wine Consultant is a great resource for all your wine and food questions.
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