Like so many things, you get two winemakers together, you get three different opinions. But that’s probably because there seems to be nothing a professional winemaker loves to do more than talk about making wine.
“That’s one thing that’s unusual about the wine industry,” said Chris Dearden, general manager and winemaker at Benessere, in St. Helena (Napa County), California. “We do share ideas. You can share ideas and still make different wine.”
When we sent out the call for winemaking tips to professionals around the country, we got a terrific response. It was so hard culling the responses, especially since there are so many different decisions and choices — all of which can work. It just depends on how you like your wine. But cull we did and here are ten tips from the pros that should help you make your wines even better this year.
“There is always more than one factor for everything in winemaking,” said Hillary Sjolund, winemaker at DiStefano Winery, in Washington state. Understanding the valid options in winemaking as well as the things that all winemakers agree upon can help you guide your winemaking plans.
1. USE GOOD GRAPES
“It’s like a chef. Raw materials are really important. I would use the best grapes you can and pay attention to the details and be patient.”
Chris Dearden,
Benessere Vineyards,
St. Helena, California
“Look for consistent physiological maturity through the cluster and individual berries. It’s more important than the ‘numbers,’ although the numbers can provide clues to ripeness. Berry color and appearance, skin thickness and phenolic ripeness, seed color and crunch, berry flavor, appearance of the rachis…”
Bob Betz,
Betz Family Winery,
Redmond, Washington
2. IT’S ALL ABOUT THE VINEYARD
“Are the vines planted in the right place, on the right soils? Are the growing conditions conducive to the particular variety I want? Are the vines balanced? Flavor is the most important thing, and you have to consider the condition of the environment, the farming practices and your palate. You cannot create flavor in the winery, it has to come from the field.”
Hillary Sjolund,
DiStefano Winery,
Woodinville, Washington
“Proper management of irrigation, vine canopy and crop load are the most critical aspects to wine quality. Keeping the vine balanced and uniform will produce better wine aromas and flavors.”
Julianne Laks, winemaker,
Cakebread Cellars,
Rutherford, California
3. CHOOSE YOUR YEAST FOR YOUR WINE
“Match yeast type to chemistry of your grapes and your ability to control temperature during fermentation.”
Clay Brock, winemaker,
Zaca Mesa Winery
Los Olivos, California
“Yeasts should be chosen for performance and low nutrient demand. Then the yeast should be chosen as appropriate for the style of the wine or variety. A Riesling would be better made with a particular yeast, such as Epernay II, and a Syrah would be better with a yeast like D254.”
Steve DiFrancesco,
Glenora Wine Cellars
Dundee, New York
4. TO COLD SOAK OR NOT COLD SOAK
“A cold soak is important to increase the extraction of tannin and anthrocyanin on the front end of maceration. During a cool vintage it is an absolute must to extend the cold soak period because the grape tissues are more difficult to extract.”
Julianne Laks, winemaker,
Cakebread Cellars,
Rutherford, California
“I think people overestimate the benefits (of a cold soak). At the very least, winemakers should do a well-controlled side-by-side trial. I think in most cases, they would be surprised.”
Peter Bell, winemaker,
Fox Run Vineyards,
Penn Yan, New York
“It’s a must for Gewürz, since the flavor is in the skins. And for us, it’s a must for Rosé. Otherwise, I avoid it. And the most important thing to consider is whether you have the facilities to pick the grapes cold and keep them cold on the skins. Otherwise, you just get a stinky mess.”
Dave Breeden, winemaker,
Sheldrake Point Vineyards,
Ovid, New York
5. BOTH TA AND pH REALLY COUNT
“You taste TA, but pH is important in wine chemistry and safeguarding the wine. People tend to talk in shortcuts and refer to wines as either low or high pH (meaning high or low acid), but you can have high pH and high acid, so they don’t always go hand in hand.”
Steve Rogstad, winemaker,
Cuvaison Winery
Calistoga, California
“Both pH and TA are important. Finished wines above about 3.5 pH are susceptible to bacteria problems. Below that, they are more stable. Total acidity needs to be in an acceptable range or the finished wine will be too tart. If one chooses clean, ripe grapes, these parameters will usually be in the desirable range.”
Art Hunt,
Hunt Country Vineyards,
Branchport, New York
6. MALOLACTIC CULTURED OR NATURAL
“I have experimented with spontaneous ML, but prefer to inoculate with a culture to speed up the completion of ML. The faster the completion of ML, the sooner I can rack and add SO2 to protect the wine.”
David Larsen, winemaker,
Soos Creek Wine Cellars
Kent, Washington
7. WHEN TO BOTTLE
“When the wine tastes good.”
Clay Brock, winemaker,
Zaca Mesa Winery
Los Olivos, California
“The easy answer is when you’re out of wine! The questions I ask myself are: 1) Is the wine chemically stable? 2) Is the wine biologically stable? 3) Have I done everything I can to make this wine as good as it can be? 4) Is this wine where is should be on the reduction/oxidation scale? 5) Does it hold a stable SO2 level? If yes is the answer to all these questions, it means it’s probably time to bottle.”
Chris Stamp, president, partner, winemaker, Lakewood Vineyards,
Watkins Glen, New York
8. KEEP IT ALL CLEAN
“Sanitation is paramount.”
Hillary Sjolund,
DiStefano Winery,
Woodinville, Washington
“I think sanitation is really important. A lot of what we do is janitorial. We clean scrupulously, then we make a mess, then we clean again.”
Chris Dearden,
Benessere Vineyards,
St. Helena, California
9. WHAT TO DO TO BECOME A BETTER WINEMAKER
“Make more wine and drink more wines. And talk to other winemakers and read about winemaking.”
Dave Breeden, winemaker,
Sheldrake Point Vineyards,
Ovid, New York
“Taste wines daily to evaluate their quality and direction during aging. I also keep
current with viticulture and winemaking research.”
Julianne Laks, winemaker,
Cakebread Cellars,
Rutherford, California
“Don’t believe all of your friends when they say you make the greatest wine in the world. If you really want to know how good your wine is, taste it blind in the company of great wine.”
Chris Stamp, president, partner, winemaker, Lakewood Vineyards,
Watkins Glen, New York
“You learn the most from other winemakers and their experiences. So the best thing for a home winemaker to do is to join a club or make wine as part of a group. Nothing replaces experience though in terms of improving wine quality. It also is important to have a thorough understanding of the technical basics of wine production so that the ‘why’ things are done is understood, as well as cause and effect of winemaking choices.”
Dr. Linda Bisson, professor of enology,
University of California, Davis
10. FINAL THOUGHTS/TIPS (AND, YES, WE’RE SQUEEZING A FEW EXTRAS IN HERE)
“Taste a lot of wines. Have patience. Trust your intuition and focus on the vineyard. Patience is really huge because I think people tend to overprocess.”
Richard Sanford, owner,
Alma Rosa Winery & Vineyards
Buellton, California
“Do whatever it takes to hang on to your wine until it has enough bottle age to be drinking really good.”
Rob Newsom, owner/winemaker,
Boudreaux Cellars
Leavenworth, Washington
“Always know where the basic parameters such as pH, TA and free sulfite levels are. Never allow oxygen to be in contact with the wine after fermentation is finished. Rack early and maintain your cellar and equipment in a highly sanitary condition.”
Art Hunt,
Hunt Country Vineyards,
Branchport, New York
“Avoid falling into the trap of making wines to a recipe, i.e., doing exactly the same thing every year. See every year as a chance to make everything just a little bit better. Keeping copious notes about each wine is a great aid.”
Chris Stamp, president, partner, winemaker,
Lakewood Vineyards,
Watkins Glen, New York
