Old Town Crier, November 2007 Issue
Exploring Virginia Wines by Doug Fabbioli

The grapes are in!

The 2007 growing season looks to be the best on record for Virginia vineyards and wineries. Dry and warm was a perfect prescription for fruit flavor development, high sugars and ripe tannins in the grapes. We had no hurricanes to fight, no October frosts and plenty of sunshine to finish off the fruit. The rain can come any time now. Compared to years past, the yields were slightly lower because of the drought conditions. Although the grapes are deep rooted and can find water many feet deep, there was not much water available and the berries were smaller than in years past. That is OK with me. If the yield is lower but the quality is higher, it leads to better wine.

What happens in the vineyard now?
The vineyard is tired, and ready for bed. The frost will come and kill off the leaves and the vines will go dormant. In a month or so, we will start the vineyard work for next year…..trellis repairs, training out new branches or cordons, removing any dead or dying vines, and ordering replacement vines for next year. These vines are propagated and grafted in California and shipped dormant to us in the spring. A young vine spends two years in the nursery before being shipped to us, so if a vineyard is to be planted with something special or uncommon, good planning needs to be done early.

Custom Crush:
As I have expanded my winemaking space here, I am bringing in grapes to make into wine for a few other “start up” wineries. This process is called “custom crush.” This gives other wineries a chance to start their wine production from their grapes without having to build their winery right away. I started this way a few years ago and it is a very common practice in California and other wine regions. As we continue to grow in this region, this will be done more often.

What does the winemaker do now?
Well, I am tired and ready for bed also. But there is still a lot of work to do. All of our bins are full of grapes at the moment, fermenting away, extracting color and flavor from the skins and changing the sugars to alcohol. We are punching these down 3 times daily and will be pressing them off in a week or so. Then we move the wine to barrels. Once the wines are in barrels, I can relax a little, letting them age and settle while I catch up on the rest of life that has been ignored for 2 months. Our next bottling will be in January.

Questions:
Vicki from Purcellville asked, “What are the crystals on the bottom of the wine cork when I pull it from the bottle? I have seen them inside the bottle also.”
These crystals are called tartrates and they are formed from the natural tartaric acid in the wine. When a bottle of wine sits for a while or gets cold, some of the tartaric acid can drop out of the wine forming the crystals. Rest assured, they are flavorless and harmless, although some people do choose to decant the wine to avoid getting crystals in their glass. Larger commercial wineries will stabilize their wines before bottling to prevent the crystallization from occurring. Smaller wineries may choose to skip this process, as it involves handling the wine for one more step, possibly affecting the flavor of the wine.

Aaron from Springfield asked, “Why are their so many wineries popping up in Virginia?"
The state has been investing in the wine business for over three decades. This is the only area of agriculture in Virginia that is growing in size. The combination of good climate for growing, value added product for the dollar and local tourism efforts makes the wine industry a winner for many people.

If you have a wine question, feel free to contact me at vinofab@aol.com. Thanks and try a local wine this week.