Traditional Winemaking and What That Means

4/21/09 - One of questions that comes up often in the course of conversation with our customers is the significance of our label (the specifics of that a topic better suited to the tasting room than here).  Invariably, that leads to a discussion of traditional winemaking and what that means.  The truth is, it means different things to different winemakers, in so much as there are, of course, many different traditions.  For us, what it means, ultimately, is those techniques (or lack of them) that produce wines that are genuine and pure, and result in wines that are honest and have character, in a fashion similar to how wine has been made for centuries, that is, without additions or heavy manipulation.

Using Pinot Noir as a case in point, the goal is to make wines that are pure and balanced, silky and elegant -- as Pinot Noir will be when attention is paid to the timing and care in handling it.   One of the challenges of making Pinot Noir, aside from the inherent fussiness of the grape in how it responds to how it is handled, is staying true to the grape in spite of the pressures to make it something it is not.  For example, Pinot Noir does not have a lot of inherent color relative to many other red wine grapes (take Syrah or Cabernet).   To try to extract more color than is readily available, invariably means extracting other things as well. The result, while not always displeasing, tends to overwhelm the subtle complexities of Pinot that are at the core of its noble heritage. As such, color in Pinot noir is over-rated. Color will vary with the clone, the soil, the weather, and a host of other natural influences.  A deeper color in a Pinot  noir can be quite beautiful and is not a thing to avoid, however a lack of it does not mean a lack of depth of flavor and intensity.  There is rarely a correlation between color and quality, complexity, or concentration of flavor.

The trade-off is to use modern techniques like enzymes, wood additives, or specialized commercial yeast preparations to pull out more color -- or to rely on handling, timing, temperature, and air as a means for just the right amount of extraction to achieve balance and complexity appropriate for the fruit at hand .  While there are variations in how extreme we are in adhering to such notions, and even perhaps to the extent of the practices, or the lack thereof -- us "traditionalists" generally believe less is better when it comes to adding stuff to wine, and instead, put a premium on the importance of paying attention to what is happening to the must and eventually the wine, in order to achieve our goals of purity and complexity for this most delicate of grapes.