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Wineries Unlimited Trade Show and Conference takes place in Richmond, Virginia next week. With a few commenting at last year’s event that there was too much of an emphasis on California, I was interested to see where this year’s speakers hailed from. Of the 19 speakers, 8 are from California. Two of the 8 from California were from France and Scotland but now have offices in California. Where are the other speakers from? Two speakers are from France, three if we count one I counted as being from California. One speaker is from Canada. One from the state of Washington. Four speakers are from the Virginia/Washington D.C. area. One speaker is from Italy but has the business office in Michigan. There is one speaker from Arkansas and one speaker from New York.
Although the largest group of speakers are from California, some represent businesses that are wine or vineyard related. If you are going to start a wine-related business in the United States where would you locate? Half of the wineries in the country are in California while 60% of the nation’s wineries are located on the West Coast. On the other hand growing grapes on the East Coast is different than growing grapes on the West Coast. However crafting wine shouldn’t be that different.
I observed a frustration among a few conference goers that attended the International Wine Tourism Conference in Italy during January. Some just didn’t want to hear about Napa even if Napa wineries were doing something right when it comes to wine tourism. There may be some of this going on here on the east coast. Some people want to hear about winegrowing and winemaking in their own back yard. That being said, this year’s Wineries Unlimited Trade Show and Conference has a diverse group of speakers. Hopefully all attendees will take home ideas and knowledge from the sessions.
Cheers,
Terry
Our weather in Central Maryland has been beautiful this month of March. We have had and continue to have a string of above average temperatures in the 60’s and 70’s. Finishing up the warmer than average winter, the spring show of colors has started early. Spring flowering trees are in their full colorful display of blossoms. Shrubs such as forsythia are in bloom. Did our few grapevines not get the memo? The grapes are starting to put forth a bud, but they are taking their time and seem to be in no rush.
So they didn’t get the message, or they’re smarter than that. I heard somewhere that grapevines are one of the more advanced life forms on the planet. If so they are on their timeline and not influenced by weather extremes. In 2011 I pruned the vines on March 19th, this year I pruned on March 11th. In 2011 the Dornfelder vines were weeping by March 25th, this year they started weeping on March 15th. Compared to last year, the vines are about a week to ten days ahead of where they were in 2011, a cooler than average winter.
Why aren’t the grapevines as advanced as spring flowering trees, shrubs and flowers? Although we did have a warmer than average winter, up till March 11th most of the evening temperatures dipped below freezing. There were a few days that the temperatures didn’t go that low, however, most of winter saw below freezing lows. This helped keep the grapevines in check. This recent string of twenty degree above normal weather though has sent the other plants into a hyper showcase of awakening. The long-range forecast places us back in the average range for the end of March. It is a good idea that the grapevines are taking their time.
Cheers,
Terry
In two weeks we’ll attend the annual Wineries Unlimited Trade Show and Conference in Richmond, Virginia. Like last year, Kathy and I will split up to take different sessions so we can cover more of the conference. I have a tendency to cover the enology sessions while Kathy likes to cover the marketing sessions. Fortunately there will be some overlap for us. The first day of the conference begins at 8:00 am on Tuesday, March 27 with a Marketing Workshop. The day is divided into several sections with a do it yourself DYI theme.We’ll start with “Hammer Out Your Message” and follow that session with “Nail Down Profits in the Tasting Room.” Other sessions include “The Nuts and Bolts of Selling During Events,” “Setting the Foundation for an extraordinary Team” and “Having the Right Tools to Make the Sale.”
On the second and third days I’ll cover enology sessions and Kathy will cover more marketing sessions. Last year I was introduced to the term “chicken wire chemistry” when diagrams of tannins were shown on the slide presentation. I use to like chemistry in high school and for awhile was considering majoring in it. However, education won out. It was interesting to note that last year’s enology sessions were understandable and only one speaker on two occasions presented material that was “over my head.” There were many other blank stares from conference attendees at that session so I didn’t feel bad.
Does a conference such as Wineries Unlimited help winemakers and growers do things in their wineries and vineyards? Last year at one of the marketing sessions it was mentioned that the hottest white grape among consumers is Muscat. Since then we met several growers that already planted Muscat last year or plant to plant it this year. They also mentioned the session at Wineries Unlimited. People do listen to the sessions. When I presented at the International Wine Tourism Conference in Perugia, Italy in January, there were attendees that were making edits to their winery website to include the information that I presented. People do listen.
I’ll post blog entries on this site. You can view our main Wineries Unlimited coverage as well as past conference coverage on the Wine Trail Traveler site for Wineries Unlimited.
Cheers,
Terry
I have been working on a presentation that looks at the many roads that lead to wine knowledge. This presentation is geared to wine writers who, whether they want to face it or not, must to some degree be accountable for their credibility. Yesterday, Kathy and I met with Lisa Baker and her brother Drew Baker. Lisa is the winemaker for Old Westminister Winery. With a recent degree in chemistry, Lisa is crafting some good wines with 2011 fruit. Lisa loves the chemistry part of winemaking. After yesterday’s meeting, I started thinking about the many roads that lead to winemaking knowledge.
We have met hundreds of winemakers and just as with wine knowledge there are many roads that lead to winemaking knowledge. We met a winemaker that, out of nowhere, decided to make wine. He bought a paperback book and read it cover to cover. Then started making wine. We’ve met winemakers who were taught to make wine by their grandfather, father or uncle. We’ve met winemakers who have enology degrees or attended winemaking programs at colleges and universities. We’ve met winemakers who attend seminars at conferences. We’ve met winemakers who work with a mentor. Often, winemakers will use a combination of the above.
There isn’t a particular road to winemaking knowledge that is better than another. Like wine itself, winemaking is interdisciplinary. Winemaking involves science, math, art, culture, history and many other disciplines. Just as wine can be approached from different disciplines, so too can winemaking. I recall what Eric Fry from The Lenz Winery on Long Island stated about the art and science of winemaking, “If the data says there is something wrong with the wine, but your taste says it’s fine what would you do? Similarly, if your taste says there is something wrong with the wine but the data says it is OK, what will you do?” In Erik’s case, taste trumps data.
Reading a paperback book or receiving a college degree as well as many other roads can lead to winemaking knowledge. The best approach is an individual decision. The bottom line is that if people like your wine and buy it, your road to winemaking was successful.
Cheers,
Terry
 2009 Illuminatus Cabernet Sauvignon with Rome in the background A parent wants to know how their children are doing. Whether its classes at school, girl scout or boy scout activities, a job, or adulthood, parents want to know. Winemakers have similar interests wanting to know about the wines they’ve crafted. I knew our 2009 Cabernet Sauvignon, bottled in August 2011 needed to bottle age for at least a year. If we were a winery, we would think about releasing the wine in September of 2012. But like a parent, we desired to know about it now.
We took a couple bottles to Italy to share with wine bloggers and media. It is a good idea to hear other people’s opinion about your wine. Unfortunately, the bloggers were too kind. They had nothing negative to say about the wine. Actually they were quite impressed. In contrast, two of the winemakers we met in Italy were both in agreement that the wine needed to age longer. Teresa Severini of Lungarotti Winery thought the wine could age in the bottle for another four months. Teresa completely understood the parent wanting to know how their children are doing analogy. She too checks her wines to see how they are doing. Sara Goretti of Goretti Winery concurred with the extra time needed to bottle age. She thought we should wait until August. We started the wine in October of 2009 and waiting until August of 2012 is difficult to do when it’s there and can be opened. A bottle once every couple months, though, is fine if we are just checking how it is doing.
Thaddeus Buggs of the Minority Wine Report asked a thought provoking question that I have pondered for several days now. Thaddeus asked, “If you were to make this wine again, what would you do different?” After giving the question some thought there are two things I’d like to do. The first is source grapes from Lake County or Napa. The 2009 Cab had fruit sourced from Paso Robles. I like Lake County Cabernet Sauvignon and would be happy to also go with Napa fruit. The next thing that I would do assuming cost wasn’t a factor is research on the best French oak barrel for a Napa or Lake County Cab. Then purchase the barrel that the research indicates. Other than that, I would repeat the same procedures that I did for the 2009 Cabernet Sauvignon. Is this a foreshadowing hint of crafting another barrel? I’ll have to see how the weather treats Napa and Lake County this year.
Cheers,
Terry
We just started making wine in 2008. Since then we have made eight different wines, six at home and one at a Virginia winery and another at a Maryland teaching winery. The reason we started making wine was the realization that since we were writing about wine, we should make it. This reasoning was probably the result of our careers in education and life-long learning attitude. So its no wonder that as we prepared for a new companion website on food that emphasizes cheese, wine vinegar and olive and grape seed oils that we should try to make some of those items.
We were told while visiting a Maryland creamery that Mozzarella cheese was the easiest to make. We followed the directions precisely and I recalled the feeling I had when following the kit wine directions on the first wine I made. Well, the Mozzarella did not turn out as we expected. It was the consistency of peanut butter. We did make Ricotta from the left over whey that did turn out as expected, so our first attempt was partially successful. Since that first cheese making attempt, I’ve had several winemakers tell me they were not successful when they tried to make Mozzarella. Misery enjoys company.
A week ago we started a batch of wine vinegar. The directions are much easier. Take a good red wine, add mother of red wine vinegar and place in a container with cheesecloth covering the opening. Finding the vinegar container was the most challenging part, although the Internet has plenty of sites to choose from. The next challenge was what wine to use. I went with my 2010 Petite Sirah because the alcohol was only 12.5 % and my thinking was that I would have to add less water to dilute the acid of the final vinegar. We’ll see if that was a good choice in a few months.
The website: Food.WineTrailTraveler.com focuses on cheese, wine vinegar and olive and grape seed oils. It has articles about these foods as well as articles about destinations such as creameries and olive oil producers. There is a recipe section that uses cheese, vinegar or oil in the ingredients. New recipes are added monthly. There is a list of events that focus on cheese, vinegar or oils. A forum section is for the community that would like to post or read comments.
Check out the newest member of the family of WineTrailTraveler websites at: http://food.winetrailtraveler.com.
Cheers,
Terry
It’s the first of the year and for the past several years I’ve made some winemaking resolutions. Last year I was three for four only failing on the resolution to harvest grapes grown at my house. Everything that could go wrong did go wrong including birds and rain prior to, during and after harvest time. So this year I know better than to make a resolution where I have very little to control.
2012 Winemaking Resolutions
- Use the filter Kathy gave me for a Christmas present.
- Make a raspberry melomel.
- Monitor the weather in California and determine if I should make another barrel of Cabernet Sauvignon. I realize that I would have to commit to making a barrel of Cab prior to harvest, however the decision could be delayed until enough information is derived to make a prediction if 2012 will be a great year or just a good year.
- Make another very high end kit white wine. I swore off kit wines a few years ago. Then at the urging of a wine blogger, I decided to try a high end white. It turned out quite good. I’d like to try another high end white wine kit and see if I get similar results.
Based on prior year resolutions, four is a nice number to deal with. Of course I’ll try additional winemaking experiments, however the four resolutions mentioned above are all realistic.
Cheers,
Terry
On this last day of the year, it is time to reflect on how I did with my 2011 New Year’s Resolutions. In early January of 2011 I had four resolutions. Here are the resolutions and comments.
1. Learn to clarify, filter and sweeten the Muscat wine prior to bottling.
Well we posted a question about sweetening the wine on the LinkedIn Winemaker’s discussion group. It was decided to sweeten the muscat with Muscat concentrate. We did not filter the wine. This turned out to be a mistake. The wine was clear when bottled, however after resting for several months in bottle, there is a noticeable sediment. You can pour one glass of the wine or fill a decanter without the sediment mixing in with the wine. However, when the wine is turned up after pouring a glass, the sediment will mix with the wine. Not very appealing. The silver lining is that Kathy gave me a wine filter for a Christmas present. In 2012 I’ll filter my whites.
2. Bottle the case of Cab at Vint Hill Craft Winery.
We bottled the first weekend in August with help from son Kevin and daughter Meghan. The only problem is the label machine was broken so we had to hand label at home.
3. Bottle the Petite Syrah in a carboy at home.
We bottled the Petite Syrah. This wine was made from juice that we were given. The juice was from Lodi. I finally came to a conclusion that red wines should be made from grapes, not juice. The juice needs the grape skins and seeds.
4. Get a yield of grapes greater than 15 pounds from our Niagara vines. Make Niagara wine. Rent or borrow a press and end up with more than 3/4 gallon of juice.
Completely lost out on this resolution. I sprayed the grapes and put netting over them. Birds and chipmunks somehow made it into the netting and we spent more time releasing them then harvesting any grapes. The Niagara grapes never managed to get above 14 brix. Then a hurricane followed by a rain train destroyed the crop. We ended with nothing but a respect for grape growers and what they have to go through.
If you had winemaking resolutions, how did you do?
Cheers,
Terry
At the urging of another wine writer, I decided to once again give a kit wine a try. My first kit wine attempt was a Cabernet Sauvignon. Since then I’ve come to discover, that for me a red wine needs to be made with grapes and kit red wines or juice don’t measure up to what can be accomplished with the grapes. White wine however is different. Some vineyards harvest and press there white grapes before sending to wineries. Since there is little or no skin contact with the juice in white wine production, this practice makes sense since shipping the juice has a lower carbon footprint than shipping the grapes. So I decided to try a high priced white wine kit.
Rather than purchasing an entry level kit, I purchased the WineExpert Selection Estate New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc. We traveled to the Marlbourough wine region in New Zealand in 2010 and enjoyed the Sauvignon Blancs. So this choice made sense. I started the wine in early September. Because of travel, the wine was often left in the carboy longer than the directions stated, however this did not bother the wine. I did have to top off the wine and I selected a Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc to use for topping off. The wine was bottled the first week of November.
After resting for almost two months, I tasted the wine. First impression was that it did not have the “kit wine” taste associated with some kit wines. The wine had a gold color with lemon and tropical fruits on the aroma and taste. The crisp finish was accompanied by tropical fruits. There are different profiles for Sauvignon Blancs and this is one that I enjoy. This wine kit wine can be given as a gift rather then destining it for the mulled wine crock pot during the winter or summertime Sangria. I look forward to trying another Selection Estate Series Ultra Premium Wine Kit white wine. I’m still prejudiced towards red wines made from juice.
Cheers,
Terry
Earlier this year we bottled a Muscat that Kathy made. Since we do not have a filter, the wine was racked a few times and appeared clear. Now that it has cellared a few months, we tried some of it. We enjoyed the taste and aroma, however there is a residue and after pouring a glass of the wine, when you tip the bottle upright, the wine mixes with the residue and becomes cloudy. Hopefully Santa will be nice and provide a filter. In the meantime I tried a work-around.
I decanted the Muscat since I knew we would finish the bottle in a couple hours. I carefully filled the decanter watching for the sediment to reach the neck of the bottle. Then I stopped pouring the wine into the decanter. In all, about one to two inches of wine was left in the bottle. I’ll use that in cooking. The first wine poured out of the bottle as well as the wine poured into the decanter was clear with a yellow color. The wine that remained in the bottle that mixed with the sediment was cloudy. However it tasted fine. Cloudy white wines, however, do not offer an appeasing view even though the aroma and taste were fine.
I do not filter my reds and residue never appeared to be a problem. This isn’t the case for whites. In the future I will certainly consider filtering my white wines as appearance may be the strongest reason for filtering.
Cheers,
Terry
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Companion Website Launches
We just started making wine in 2008. Since then we have made eight different wines, six at home and one at a Virginia winery and another at a Maryland teaching winery. The reason we started making wine was the realization that since we were writing about wine, we should make it. This reasoning was probably the result of our careers in education and life-long learning attitude. So its no wonder that as we prepared for a new companion website on food that emphasizes cheese, wine vinegar and olive and grape seed oils that we should try to make some of those items.
We were told while visiting a Maryland creamery that Mozzarella cheese was the easiest to make. We followed the directions precisely and I recalled the feeling I had when following the kit wine directions on the first wine I made. Well, the Mozzarella did not turn out as we expected. It was the consistency of peanut butter. We did make Ricotta from the left over whey that did turn out as expected, so our first attempt was partially successful. Since that first cheese making attempt, I’ve had several winemakers tell me they were not successful when they tried to make Mozzarella. Misery enjoys company.
A week ago we started a batch of wine vinegar. The directions are much easier. Take a good red wine, add mother of red wine vinegar and place in a container with cheesecloth covering the opening. Finding the vinegar container was the most challenging part, although the Internet has plenty of sites to choose from. The next challenge was what wine to use. I went with my 2010 Petite Sirah because the alcohol was only 12.5 % and my thinking was that I would have to add less water to dilute the acid of the final vinegar. We’ll see if that was a good choice in a few months.
The website: Food.WineTrailTraveler.com focuses on cheese, wine vinegar and olive and grape seed oils. It has articles about these foods as well as articles about destinations such as creameries and olive oil producers. There is a recipe section that uses cheese, vinegar or oil in the ingredients. New recipes are added monthly. There is a list of events that focus on cheese, vinegar or oils. A forum section is for the community that would like to post or read comments.
Check out the newest member of the family of WineTrailTraveler websites at: http://food.winetrailtraveler.com.
Cheers,
Terry