Ben Mayo, Winemaker at Eberle Winery in Paso Robles, California. Ben has worked with Eberle for nearly ten years. He first joined as a cellar worker, later graduating to Assistant Winemaker and is currently a partner. He is a graduate of UC-Santa Cruz and Cal Poly San Luis Obispo. At Eberle, I use Scott Laboratories enzymes and some Laffort, which are commonly used because of their reliability and purity. It is always important to know the source and quality of anything you are adding to your wine. I find that Color X from Scott Labs, works the best for color extraction as well as tannin extraction. Color X is a pectinase that helps release anthocyanins, stabilizing color and hue in the must. We add the Color X right at the receiving hopper. With the whites I use a mix of Cinn-Free and Color Pro. This breaks down the pulp and helps settle the juice, this is also a pectinase, thus releasing intense varietal characteristics. Color X is for heavy reds, Color Pro is for light reds (like Sangiovese or Zinfandel).
Technique