Pac NW grape weather update, 9-13-2012

Very good news. A dry and warm summer (warm for this region, which would be a summer cold crisis just about anywhere else). And now, a continuing sunny spell for at least two more weeks. We haven't had more than a tenth of an inch of rain since July 6.

The grapes, all grapes (vinifera and modern varieties), are looking great, though some are already suffering some bird predation.

It would be easy to go ahead and declare a triumphant, wonderful year! but it is prudent to wait and see.

And yet, the harvest is so close now.








(photo credit: alegriphotos.com)

Minerality in wine? Only problem is, there isn't any.

. . . or so say researchers:

We see many winemakers referencing their wines' "minerality." Whether it's oyster shells in the wines of Marlborough, New Zealand, or Burgundy's limestone, or the Sierra Foothills AVA's decomposed granite, many wines are marketed as having unique minerals in the wine.

It's almost as if making wines is more like a rock and mineral show than a study in fruit.

But a fascinating article shows that minerals in wine are not detectable by humans. Really? Yep.  There are certain smells and flavors that we associate with minerals, but we cannot detect the minerals per se--there just aren't enough ppm of the minerals in the wine, for us to be able to notice them.

One example is flint. Flint is silica, which is what we make glass from. Flint is odorless and tasteless. We make glass from it precisely because it's odorless and tasteless. Ergo, it can't be a taste or aroma in wine.

However, we all know that smell after a summer rain on hot rocks. We all know what "flinty" means in a wine descriptor. So I think that even though the minerals aren't perceptible to us, there are other smells and flavors (perhaps from the fruit?) which we describe as mineral in origin. No harm, no foul. And as we know, grapes are the original chimeras of the plant world: Grapes alone are able to mimic the bouquets and flavors of other fruits. Yes! Just think of the many fruits we taste in grape wine: strawberry, kiwi, citrus, blackberry, apple, peach, pear, currant . . .

Read the article here.

(photo credit: geology.com)

Pretty impressive wine haul

Every picture tells a story. This first pic says, "61 cases of wine purchased from the bankruptcy trustee's rep safely made it back to Portland from Seattle, and are eagerly awaiting enthusiastic drinkers."

The second pic is my home's foyer saying, "My joists are aching! I sure hope everybody gets their wine soon!"


Wow; what great prices! I am happy that we can enjoy some of that '06 Merlot; Walla Walla fruit, perfectly mature now, expertly made, and a super, super treat! And of course the '07 Narcissa is just wonderful in every way. What a find!

Considering both volume and vehicle weight ratings: 61 cases just barely fits into a Highlander and a Civic. In case you wanted to know. Also, an SUV's mpg (which, admittedly, is not so great to begin with) doesn't seriously suffer when it's loaded to max weight; who knew? And: would you be surprised to know that our '06 Civic can carry nearly the same weight as our Highlander? (of course, it doesn't have nearly as much room, but it could carry almost as much weight).

I learned more about the Whitman bankruptcy. There were several owners, and the majority owner really loved the Narcissa (who doesn't?) but he made too much of it--more than could be sold. That's about all it takes to get into trouble. So sorry it happened. But don't feel too bad when consuming this wine--at least we're all helping the unpaid creditors get some of the money owed to them, by buying the bankrupt estate's assets.

online comments

Online comments can be snarky, but just look at these priceless gems from a (tongue in cheek) online recipe for how to make ice cubes:

“This recipe is horrible!” declares Chef #1408275. “Maybe I should have left them in longer than two minutes (the recipe doesn't say how long to leave them in the freezer so I just kind of guessed) but mine came out all watery. I won't be making these again.”  

“I harvest my own free-range water, so the idea of putting it in a plastic tray and a commercially made electricity-wasting freezer disgusts me,” huffs donquix66.  

It goes on, beautifully: “I was wondering if you had a crock-pot version for this recipe.” “So easy and low carb/cal, lactose, and gluten free.” “The addition of 1 1/2 T of Sriracha really lifted the oxygen flavor that was being overpowered by the doubled hydrogen.”

Those are from an article by Slate magazine.

Pears are more mysterious than you may think

We have a spot on our front hill where a thorny shrub has been trying to thrive for years, and for years we have battled it, removing it wherever we found it. Yesterday, I found a spot, in a cleft between two boulders lower down on our slope in a wild area, where this thorny shrub has grown unmolested for a few years. But there are pears atop the branches!

What is this craziness? And then I learned that most pears are thorny when young, and the thorns disappear when the tree is mature. Most nursery pear trees are sold when mature, and are thus thornless. Ours must be a chance seedling planted by a bird. We'll harvest after the Fall equinox, then let the pears ripen at room temperature (they don't ripen on the tree), and then when the flesh beside the stem is soft, they're ready to eat, and we'll find out just what kind of pears these are--right now they look like Bosc (brown, rough surface) but on one side a pretty rosy blush is appearing, so who knows?

Sometimes, pears will "escape" into the wild, creating thorny thickets that puncture tractor tires and cause real mayhem with their thorns. But, in thinking about it, it's a great way for the tree to repel predators like deer, and once the tree is tall enough, it doesn't need the thorns anymore as the growing tips are out of the deer's reach. And, I'm here to tell you, these are some pretty nasty thorns!

Moral: When you are trying to kill or demolish something, first be very certain that this is what you want to do!

We are pretty happy that our destructive efforts failed. And, BTW (as this is a wine blog), I made a pear wine once that made several wine lovers think it was a white vinifera wine.

More info is found here.

Finally, a great year in Oz: 2010

After many years of torrid heat and backbreaking Herculeics in the wineries which nevertheless resulted in unformed or overcooked wines, in 2010 Australia got a great weather vintage. Let's watch for these wines, and see what Oz can do when presented with good weather.

However, in 2011 South Australia and  Victoria had heavy rains during summer, with cool temperatures, and tremendous disease pressure. There will be some good wines made here and there from 2011 fruit. Poor Australia cannot catch a break. Too much heat and drought in so many years, and then too much rain. But, we will always have 2010!

Here is the article.

How to store an opened bottle of wine

I used to think that the best way to store an opened bottle of wine was to stick the cork partway in the neck and put the bottle (red or white) in the refrigerator. The thought was that the coldness would slow the natural process of oxidation to such a reduced rate that one could enjoy the wine up to a week or more later.

Supporting the above theory, read this:

As a final thought, and in keeping with the discussion above, be sure to store your opened bottle of wine in the refrigerator. If you must keep an opened bottle of wine for a few days, the best place to store it is in your refrigerator which is typically at a temperature of about 41°F (5°C). The chemical reactions leading to spoilage (primarily oxidation-reduction) will be slowed down by a factor of 6 to 16 times compared with storage at room temperature (about 73°F). Therefore, a wine should last 6 to 16 times longer in the refrigerator than at room temperature. Red wine can be poured in a glass and allowed to slowly warm before consumption or put in a microwave oven for 15-20 seconds.

1Re-published from The Alchemist’s Wine Perspective^™, Issue One, November 1996.© 1996, 1998 by Alexander J. Pandell. All rights reserved.

However, what is Life if not the chance to keep learning? A grapebreeder friend of mine, who is a very accomplished chemist, explained to me that the temperature of refrigerators is only cold enough to slow oxidation by only 10-20%, and he advises that the opened bottle of wine should be recorked with a Vac-u-vin rubber cork and then the accompanying pump should be used to pump most of the air out of the bottle. Only then should the wine be stored in the refrigerator.

If you are the cautious type, you should probably follow the second method. If you think every situation is a laboratory experiment waiting to be performed, why not try it both ways with two identical opened bottles of wine, and compare?

As mentioned in the above excerpt, to drink a red wine stored in this manner, simply pour it in a glass and microwave the glass for 10-14 seconds (depending on your microwave's power and your desired ending temp of the wine). We have done this for years and it does not seem to impair the wine's quality. To drink a white wine stored in this manner, simply pour and drink (or if the wine's a bit too cold--after all, most Americans drink their red wines too warm and their white wines too cold), simply pour it and let it sit in the glass for a few minutes.

If you do not properly store an opened bottle of wine, all is not necessarily lost: Certain very youthful red wines will benefit from air exposure, as that, like heat, can hastens aspects of aging. This is how a young big red can improve after decanting (exposure to oxygen). But for all other wines, if you aren't going to store an opened bottle correctly, then you should consider finishing the wine at one sitting, if possible (and for goodness' sake, do not do that if you are going to be driving a car or bicycle, or doing anything else where being impaired is unwise).

Here is information on the Vac-u-vin pump system.