Fining is a process in winemaking often used to clarify wines or take unwanted materials in wine or juice out to alter the aroma, flavor, fermentability, bottle aging, color, biological or chemical stability.  The use of fining as a winemaking tool depends upon the wine, vintage, grape condition, the winery’s winemaking goals, and, of course, on the winemaker.  Various fining agents are used depending upon the type of wine and what the winemaker wants to achieve with it:  bentonite (a grey clay) is used for a variety of things from clarity in juice or wine to treating a heavily botritysed juice.  Most fining agents, though, are proteins of various molecular sizes and charges that are used to “pull out” a variety of solids or flavors.  These include:  gelatin, milk, PVPP, egg whites, or isinglass (a collagen derived from the swimbladders of sturgeon, which, as one might expect, smells quite pleasant), to name most of them.

Much Ado About Nothing?

In the wine drinking world, there does seem to be some confusion over fining as one will often see the phrase “unfined” or “unfined, unfiltered” on the back label, unintentionally implying that fining is somehow undesirable. At one time in recent history in the industry, it was a la mode to specify that a wine was not filtered or fined because these methods were said to be interventions that truly great wine did not require.  I think this attitude was mainly an overreaction to the overuse of fining in the industry’s infancy here in North America.  Nowadays, though, fining is looked upon as a sometimes necessary tool and one to be used with the lightest touch possible. 

To illustrate what fining can do to or for a wine, let me use this example:

In Shakespeare’s time — the Elizabethan era — actors in plays were male regardless of the characters they portrayed.  This meant that underneath the costume of the most mesmerizing and tragic Desdemona could be an uninteresting altogether forgettable lout of an actor, while the Fool in Lear, once stripped of his fool’s costume might altogether be sexy, leading man material (oh my).

Much the same it is with wine.  Fining, when it might be unnessary to begin with and is then performed carelessly, can strip a potentially beautiful wine into lackluster dumbness.  On the other hand, if a wine is cloudy, a little bitter or not as “focused” as one would like it to be, careful fining with the correct fining agent can remove these distracting “outer layers” from the character of the wine to expose brilliance and sophistication. 

Gotta Have Those Legs?

Now that I have your attention, let’s talk a little about wine tasting terms.  Here’s a question:  Have you ever been to a wine bar when someone says “Wow, this wine has long legs?” and think “what the heck does that mean?”  Here is how the term “legs” is defined in The Oxford Companion to Wine”, 2nd ed., pg 403:  “…tasting term and alternative name for the TEARS left on the inside of a glass by some wines.” The definition for tears, on page 694, is this :”…tasting term used to describe the behaviour of the surface liquid layer that is observable in a glass of relatively strong wine….These traces of what look like particularly viscous driplets are also sometimes called ‘legs’, and give some indication of a wine’s alcoholic strength.”

Meaningful Wine Descriptors?

So, legs can give some indication of the amount of alcohol in a wine and this may be of some interest if one is attempting to characterize a “big-bodied” Pinot or an “ultra-ripe” Zinfandel.  In the end, although this term is well-defined, it really is not important.  There are wine descriptors, however,  that are commonly used in modern wine criticism with seeming importance, but are ill-defined.  Here’s a sampling of these descriptors (I lifted these descriptors from two well-known, recently issued glossy wine magazines): ”muscular”, “fleshy”, “energetic”, “racy”, “big-boned”, “easygoing”, “lively”, “angular”, “flabby”, “full-bodied”, “lean”, “poised”, “plump”, “tense”, “mellow”, “supple”, “thin”, “graceful”.  These terms are kind of anthropomorphic, but the bigger point I want to make here is what do these terms mean and do they carry the same implication they would for humans?  For instance, if a woman in this day and age is called “big-boned” it is not necessarily a compliment and could be taken as an insult, but describing a wine as “big-boned” means what exactly? Is that a good or bad thing??  (I’m not exempt here, by the way.  I know I use the word “flabby” all the time to describe mostly chardonnay that is low in acidity.  Buy my “flabby” may not be someone else’s — is your wine flabbier than my wine? yuck).

Many folks — Ann Noble — most notably, have worked very hard over the years to standardize wine descriptors so that most in the industry know what it means when a taster describes a wine as offering “blackberry” flavors or “smoky” aromas.  That is a great beginning, but there are definitely other characters in wine that obviously need descriptors.  Should they be standardized?  Is it even possible to do that?  In the meantime, how does one interpret current wine criticism?

Ew, fungus!  The word might conjure itchy gym-worn feet or that black mold growing in the shower.  Or what about mildew, slimemolds, water molds, and all of those other nasty little things?  But you might also be surprised that the lowly term “fungus” includes tasty treats as well.

What is fungus, anyway?

Fungi are neither plant nor animal, reproduce by sporulation, and include the likes of molds & mildews, yeasts and mushrooms.  Fungi feed themselves by breaking down organic matter and in turn help other organisms to flourish by doing so.  For instance, many mushrooms are “wood rotters”, ie, they are often found growing on either dying or dead trees or branches and essentially break down the wood to make its components biologically available to other organisms.  Yeasts, too, serve a similar purpose:  they digest carbon-rich sugars and turn them ultimately into ethanol, carbon dioxide and heat through a number of very complicated biochemical processes.  With wine or beer, fortunately enough, we have learned how to harness the potential of yeasts and then to preserve the resulting product to create enjoyable and tasty beverages (in nature, if left on it’s own, ethanol would quickly break down, with the help of bacteria, into, among other things, acetic acid, aka “vinegar”.) 

Coincidentally, wild mushrooms and pinot noir for me are one of the highlights of winter.  Together they are classic pair made in the sitting room of the organoleptic matchmaker:  the earthiness of the mushroom and the richness it lends to a dish (cream of mushroom soup, beef stroganoff, mushroom & cheese crepes…..) is perfect for an earthy, fruity pinot with the acidity to balance all the flavors on the palate. 

For more information about various mushrooms and their properties visit:  MykoWeb

Click Here for more information about our January 31st winemaker’s — and wild mushroom — dinner at Grasing’s in Carmel

 

 

The nominations for The American Wine Blog Awards are open now until January 18.  If there is a special wine blog you’ve been following that you think deserves attention, click here to nominate it!

 

 

I got the rare opportunity taste a 1984 Ridge Monte Bello Cabernet the other night.  Now, let me first state upfront that on any given day my preferred red wine is Pinot Noir, hands down.  Now that I’ve cleared that up:  this was a fabulous wine!!  Dark, black fruit, sublime texture, long finish; all the components were well integrated and seamless.  This was not a fleshy, tannic, edgy, alcoholic wine, but purely enjoyable, drinkable, well-made, aging quite well.  Quite an epiphany for me , especially when I saw on this on the label:  12.9% alcohol.  12.9%! 12.9%!  I could write a stupid little song like “Ode to 12.9%” and dance around the room. 

“Seeking Balance“

This may seem quite ridiculous to you to be so happy about this seemingly minute and insignifcant point, but to me it is a big deal.  As a relatively young winemaker who has had a career shaped during a rather turbulent stretch in the wine industry**, one of the challenges with which I struggle is deciding upon the style of wine to produce and at the same time seek a balance between all of these factors:  what a vineyard can deliver in terms of quality and style, conditions of the growing season, commercial considerations (how much of a wine to make/will it sell/will it be appreciated?). Winemaking being my job, and the wine industry being incredibly competitive, I have to find a way to be successful, but these days one can be pulled in so many directions in order to make a wine that will thrive in the marketplace.  For instance, big, alcoholic wines have drawn much recent acclaim and lots of money and top scores.  With a eye on job security and success, I have queried myself about whether I should follow this path.  The problem, though, with making bold, over-the-top wine is that I don’t necessarily like drinking it, and the purist in me doesn’t think they deserve much merit (the optimist in me says that if I don’t like them, then others don’t either).  So, I choose to make wines I prefer to drink and, overall, that style is food friendly and restrained, but this style of wine is not immediately obvious, doesn’t jump out of the glass and grab one by the nose, and takes someone with a trained palate, or at least someone who is tired of other wines, to appreciate. 

So, quite honestly, to taste a refined wine such as this Monte Bello Cab not only renews my enthusiasm for wine, but helps me sleep at night, too.  Afterall, Ridge is one of those pillars in the industry — they’ve been doing basically the same thing for probably close to 30 years now, and they’ve done it well.  In the long-term I hope this will prove to be a strategy worthy of following.

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**Here’s a little summary of what I deem a “turbulent” time in the wine industry:

• late 80′s through late 90′s:  most vineyards were replanted due to the AXR/phylloxera debacle.  This coincided with the availability of new clones and rootstocks, new available technology and knowledge regarding planting and maintaining vineyards as well.  Additionally, many new vineyards were planted all over California, including Southern California, the Sierra Foothills, Central Coast, and the Northern Central Valley.  Overseas, Australian practicality and prowess increased not only their wine production, but intensifed marketing efforts in the US.
• As the wine industry grew during this time, corporations bought-out smaller wineries left and right; winemakers played “musical chairs” as they were offered bigger and better positions within these new mega corporations.  At this time, “cult cab” became big.
• In addition to the then-existing wineries, even more players entered into wine production from outside the industry which influenced all areas: package design, wine style, marketing and sales campaigns, pricepoints, etc.
• studies that proved wine is good for health started to get media attention