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Greetings Dain Wines Mailing List Members!
And welcome to those of you (so many of you of late!) who are new to our convivial, viniferous family! In this newsletter I have enclosed a bit of an essay (below) and some photos of one of the vineyards we work with, a photo of my lovely bride and of course, a recipe as you have come to expect from our correspondence! This month's newsletter recipe is perfectly timed and features my favorite fungus, the morel!! A special thanks to Bob "Big Toe" Fleming from Atlanta for contributing such a great recipe in time for mushroom hunting season, thanks Bob! Enjoy! I wish for all of you a great source of fresh morels; it isn't easy but is worth the trouble! The vineyard photo is of Brosseau, a few weeks back, with snow on the ground, very pretty indeed. Speaking of very pretty indeed, Cathy is featured in her native habitat, looking very resplendent in her "World of Pinot" T-Shirt, stalking the rogue morel. Do note the very large one directly beneath her in the brush pile! She found that one too just after the photo was taken.
Download Recipe
One more happy note; please rejoice with our family as daughter Jessica's husband, Brandon, will be home soon from the Middle East for some well desired R&R. We promise to feed him well and serve much good pinot noir and syrah!
Ok, here is the essay I warned you about.....
I have been blessed with the opportunity to meet one of my favorite wine critics recently and after some correspondence, he requested I pen a note regarding our "philosophy" of winemaking. Well, this got a bit long but it does capture some of where we are now and what has been accomplished as we slide down our learning curve, I thought I would share it with you too. Thus.....
Philosophy and Approach to Winemaking or What I have learned so far:
Don't screw it up!
You have heard it said, "Great wine is made in the vineyard"
Well I agree with the sentiment of this statement but not the statement. Wine is made in the winery. Great wine is made from careful efforts in a clean winery from great grapes produced from great sites by careful farmers. Notice I said farmers, not winegrowers. You do not grow wine, you grow grapes (some great producers do take an integrated approach; they still, grow grapes and make wine). Great farmers grow great grapes from great sites. Each aspect of the process and each profession of the whole should be recognized and respected for what it is. Which is why I believe to make great wine you must start with a great site, careful farming, perfect harvest, and the winemaker, must not "screw it up". Choices are made every step of the way, to wit....
Non-interventional Winemaking.
Another description of process which sounds good but I have trouble with in all practice. Intervention begins with site selection, root stock selections, clone selection, farming practice, harvest, must adjustments, yeast selection, punch downs (many? few?), enzymes, malolactic fermentation, oak choices, elevage, fine (?), filter (?), closure choices and even when to drink and what to eat. Thus in my humble view, non-intervention means pick grapes at the best time for the site in a given vintage (one would hope the farmer would be a great judge of this) with uniform ripeness and do as little as possible except to make the real winemakers (yeast) able to do their magic. Wes Hagen said, "Winemaker = Yeast Herder"
Terroir
I would like to think wine should taste like it came from somewhere, not just anywhere. Of course it all does come from somewhere, but wine should be oh so much more than "grape based beverage". Russian River Valley wine should be identifiable as such.
If one believes in terroir then it is impossible to suggest one should try to make burgundy from California vineyard sites and fruit. I do not mean to suggest the burgundian do not produce a great standard of product for wine. Rather to try to reflect a place you are not is anti-terroirist. Many different choices and options exist for burgundy vs. California. The weather charts I've read indicate the burgundian weather frequently provides similar summer heat and a much cooler September than is typically seen in much of California. In a majority of years many California winemakers choose to adjust sugar levels with water. In many years, burgundian winemakers adjust sugar levels with sugar. The acidity levels differ, and the mix of organic acids is different because of the different patterns of ripening. It is a different place and that is a wonderful thing. I love wine from both places, especially if it clearly comes from some place!
It seems so important to learn the characteristics of a particular site. For example, Brosseau can be a rather tannic site, enzymes are not to be added IMHO and pressing slightly sweet to get the juice off the skins a bit early expresses the minerality of the location without bitter tannins. Learned this the old fashion way experience, and it is so important to learn the nuances of each location on works with. I feel we are moving down the learning curve about as quickly as can be done in a prudent fashion. Learning as much as we can as best we can, paying close attention to what each vintage gives us from each vineyard we are lucky enough to source fruit from. We have also learned to listen to those that have much experience. We don't have time to learn by making our own mistakes. Rather, taking good advice is a good path.
Rejoice, rejoice, we have no choice.
California vineyards experience wonderful sunny weather and ripeness and that is part of the there that is the there of California wine. One should no more apologize for the beautiful fruit aromas and flavors of the wine than to regret the minerality of a Faiveley Mazi Chambertin.
It is about quality not style.
Balance, depth of fruit, fresh acidity, and structure with ripe tannins, oak used as a condiment spice rather than dominatrix and the result, the best sites produce good wine. I have heard and read and seen that California grapes become physiologically ripe only with rather high (relatively) sugar levels. It seems true that ripeness occurs at somewhat higher brix compared to the burgundian model but in the absence of heat spike dehydration, with low yields and with careful farming one does not have to pick grapes with potential alcohol of >16% (so I am told by great farmers). Alcohol levels are secondary to balance but for many reasons I prefer levels in the 14% or lower range. My own balance for one; I really enjoy this beverage and resent being too "buzzed" after my second (or even first) glass.
Wine is made to be served with food?
Well, yes... but... I could be wrong, but I'm not... Wine is made to be served to friends, preferably friends eating food with wine that matches the meal. Wine is a convivial beverage of pleasure. The best pairing is a glass with your best friend. Might even be your spouse.
Health, Grace and Peace,
Dain
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