From the 4th to 7th November, the Merano Wine Festival celebrates its twentieth year with numerous “events within the event,” including foreign producers from around the world to emerging Italian companies and tastings of older vintages.

I have come to prefer this event to the VinItaly because it is smaller and limited to high quality producers and it attacts a higher ratio of wine professionals among the visitors. The event has always had a strong international vocation and offers a glimpse through the window of the best of European and worldwide production, confirmed by the presence on Saturday and Sunday of the Union des Grands Crus de Bordeaux, including 32 historic châteaux and their most prestigious products. This is always a highlight of the event for me not only because it gives the opportunity to compare a few different vintages from each Bordeaux producer, but the winemakers and/or owners are often there to answer questions personally.

From Saturday to Monday there will be a new section devoted to one particular nation, SOUTH AFRICA, whose most representative wineries will be present to describe their country, relate their oenological history and of course, extol the excellence of their wine production. This will give me a chance to taste and sample and make appointments for my up and coming trip to visit wineries in South Africa this coming January.

Merano Wine Festival also means food, or raw materials and unique products in the CULINARIA section. One hundred “masters of flavour” offer the best of Italian olive oil, vinegar, pasta, cheeses, meats, and of course chocolate. To conclude the perfect journey from raw materials to the recipes that enhance them, the GOURMETARENA will feature numerous guest chefs will competing in spectacular “show-cooking” challenges.

I am looking forward to the Merano Wine festival. It is always a great road to discovery and I’m able to research for articles on interesting themes!

For the past 24 years, the Salon of Austrian Wine has been the official annual national championship. Around 7,000 wines are tasted in the provincial premier tastings of Lower Austria, Burgenland, Styria and Vienna. From these 7,000 wines, the provincial winners go on to the Salon championship. Around 200 to 220 of these wines make it into one of the 16 categories in the Salon of Austrian Wine.
Most of Austria’s wineries are quite small and because the country’s most successful producers do not need to enter their limited quantities of wine in the national championship, a special category of recognition has been created called the “Auserwählte” – loosely translated as “special select”. National journalists and sommeliers are asked to nominate 40 wines for this category. From these 40 wines, the 10 most frequently nominated appear in the Salon as “Auserwählte”.
A Salon book is published each year and a Salon tasting goes on tour through the country. This tasting has become a wonderful opportunity for consumers to discover quality wines from little-known producers. Many of the wines can be purchased directly from the producer and also offer wine enthusiasts an excellent quality for price. For small unknown vintners, it has often served as a launching pad into yet higher spheres of recognition.
This year, the Austrian wine marketing has sent wine journalists two Salon Champion wines with the request to publish tasting notes online. The first wine I tasted was lovely – a prime example of its variety, aromatic, well-balanced, and a wine that would be a lot of fun to pair and enjoy with food. The second wine was … er… well, it is the reason I have been procrastinating. I have been procrastinating because I disliked it. In fact, I found it unbalanced and crude. Obviously a lot of people are in disagreement with me about this wine because it has had to make it through at least two tasting commissions to make it into the Salon. All of the tasters for the Salon have received special tasting training sponsored by the Austrian Wine Marketing. I am qualified with the WSET diploma as a taster, am experienced, and have even written a book on wine tasting for which I have done considerable research. Despite this, there always remains an element of subjectivity in wine tasting. It is my job to be as objective as possible and give you, the reader, a realistic idea of how a wine tastes, when it is best drunk and for which occasion or with which foods it is best enjoyed. The following descriptions are intended to do just that.

The winegrowers in the volcanic soils of Klöch have come up with a special label for their Traminer - but don't let that put you off: the wines are lovely.

Salon Champion 2011 Aromatic Varieties
2010 Gelber Traminer Röhrl, Weingut Griessauf-Nell
The Gelber Traminer is a special variation of the Gewürztraminer and this particular example comes from the Röhrl vineyard in Südoststeiermark (Southeast Styria). Traminer varieties are a specialty in the micro-climate and volcanic soils surrounding the village of Klöch. Wine snobs will sometimes rumple their nose at Traminer, accusing the variety of being loud and clumsy. This is not so with this wine. Its bouquet is softly aromatic instead of penetrating and releases a fragrance of rose petals, litchi, and vineyard peach. The wine is off-dry, alcohol content moderate, and the residual sweetness is balanced by surprisingly refreshing acidity for the variety. The floral components are by no means cloying and mingle elegantly with citrus-laced litchi in a medium-full body and medium long finish. This very well-balanced wine pairs nicely with a goose liver and bitter chocolate praline or with a cold lettuce and prawn spring roll with a peanut and cilantro dip. This Gelber Traminer is lovely to drink now and should continue to offer abundant drinking pleasure over the next three to five years. It is sold in Austria for around € 12.50.

This wine makes a refreshing cocktail with 50% sparkling mineral water, a slice a cucumber and lemon, and a sprig of peppermint.

Salon Champion 2011 Spätlese/Auslese
2010 Chardonnay, Weingut Handler
This pale yellow Chardonnay has a nose reminiscent of canned pineapple and pear. It is both sweet (33 g/l rs) and sour in the mouth, simple, medium-bodied, and rustic. The tart and sweet finish is quite short. I thought this wine might improve with food and wanting to give it a chance, I tried it with a couple things that I thought might work. On its own, the best combination with this wine was a pork chop with apple sauce – spicy Asian-inspired dishes didn’t work. I then tried this wine as a “G’spritzter”, 50/50 with sparkling mineral water. Better. Then I tried it as a G’spritzter with a slice of cucumber and lemon and a sprig of mint. This was absolutely lovely! This is a simple wine that is sold for only € 5.-. It won’t improve with age, so drink it now or never.

The Domäne Wachau has often been called the world’s best wine cooperative. Since taking over management of Domäne Wachau, Roman Horvath MW and oenologist Heinz Frischengruber have not only put together a young and competent team, they have managed to integrate all of the member growers into their mission of producing some of Austria’s very finest white wines. This is important for the region because with 440 hectares of vineyards they cultivate 30% of the prestigious Wachau vineyard area and play a significant role in protecting a UNESCO World Cultural Heritage Site.

In addition to caring for a protected landscape, the Domäne Wachau is also in possession of an exquisite regional landmark, the Baroque “Kellerschlössel” or “Cellar Palace”. The palace originally served as an entertainment residence for the Dürnstein abbot, Hieronymus Übelbacher. The Abbot had the inner walls adorned with satirical etchings, as well as a copy of his doctoral thesis on the Last Supper. On another wall is a poem with his last will and testament stating that he did not want to be buried after he died. He said that would be a shame because he drank so much good wine in his life – he would prefer to be distilled! The Cellar Palace has hosted many gatherings and celebrations over the course of history. The Foreign Minister Leopold Figl was a great fan of the wines of Wachau and used the Cellar Palace frequently for meetings during negotiations for the Federal Treaty after WWII.

I recently had a chance to personally experience the hospitality of the Domäne Wachau. Dear friends were visiting from Willamette Valley, Oregon and I was looking for something special to do with them when Roman Horvath called. I conduct English PR and communication workshops for the Domäne Wachau staff and we needed to schedule the next one. When Roman heard I had visitors, he said, “Let’s have a barbecue party at the Cellar Palace! Bring Nancy and Steve along and we can give them a tour of the Domäne Wachau and we can practice our English communication skills! After the tour, we’ll do a little tasting and explain the Wachau wine classifications Steinfeder, Federspiel, and Smaragd. Then we’ll have the barbecue party.” What a perfect idea. Nancy and Steve lived in Austria for a short time years ago before the wine scandal and Austria’s subsequent climb to be among the world’s elite wine producing countries. And the two of them are always keen for a party.

While working out the details for the staff workshop with Kerstin Klamm, the export manager at Domäne Wachau, I told her that Nancy, Steve, and I would be contributing a bit of Americana to the barbecue. We would bring the dessert and provide some entertainment.

When we arrived, the Domäne Wachau team divided into three groups and each took one of us “Amis” with them. The tour and the tasting went fabulously, except that I think my very brash and irreverent friend Nancy may have taught her group some words they probably shouldn’t use!  The barbecue was delicious – salad with sautéed wild chantrelles that Kerstin had found in the Wachau forest, grilled tomatoes with local fresh goat cheese, roasted rosemary potatoes and prime rib. Then came our American desserts! Rootbeer floats and brownies. Europeans do not typically know the American soft drink flavoured with the sassafrass root and they found the taste very strange indeed! Michael Linke, the wine shop manager, was the only one who really seemed to find any enjoyment with that. Thank goodness our brownies – complete with little fireworks fountains – were more successful.

For entertainment we played a few American picnic games. Franz Hofbauer (marketing and sales) and Veronica Ambrosz (sales director Vienna) turned out to be unbeatable in the three-legged-three-headed race. Melanie Topp (events) was a high-scoring talent with the “hang it on the grape vine” ball game.

We had a fantastic time there and I can truly recommend a visit to Domäne Wachau when wine touring in Austria. They have several different venues for different sizes and kinds of events. There is tasting room in the atrium above the wine shop as well as in the house distillery. A modernly equipped seminar room is also available. A tour of the famous Wachau vineyards by ship is possible as is a guided hike on the steep vineyard terraces. The Cellar Palace would be a perfect setting for a fun, yet elegant wedding in the vineyards. I’ve watched the team as they have built up the competence of Domäne Wachau, not just as a top wine producer, but as a top tourist destination and ambassador for Austrian wine and culture.

My first contact with German wine was with Blue Nun Liebfraumilch during my youth in the USA. It was a pleasant way to wean myself from soft drinks into the fascinating world of wine. Since then my tastes have evolved and demands on quality have increased – just as has German wine. Germany has long discarded its reputation for shallow sweetish wines and now enjoys increasing international demand for its complex and age worthy wines. (Blogeintrag unten auf Deutsch)

Around 200 elite German vintners belong to the VDP

The Rheingau wine region in Germany established the ERSTES GEWÄCHS RHEINGAU in 1999. The Verband Deutscher Qualitäts- und Prädikatsweingüter (VDP) established the GROSSES GEWÄCHS (GG) classification for other German wine regions in 2001. Both of theses classifications are reserved for dry wines from specific, superb vineyards and their establishment documented the movement towards wines with more structure and expression of terroir. It also signalled the beginning of the quality revolution that has taken place with German wine over the past 10 years. The work of the VDP continues. Not only does the association continue to ensure the highest standards of quality, they are also striving to make German wine labels as easy to understand as the wines are to enjoy.

A complete report of my assessment will appear in German in the next issue of GENUSS wein.pur magazine. I will be posting a few first impressions next week during the 2011 Premier Tastings of GROSSES GEWÄCHS and ERSTES GEWÄCHS RHEINGAU on

Symbol for Germany's top classified vineyards

Facebook, twitter, Google+, and here on my blog. I’ll be pleased if you join me and I certainly welcome dialogue.

Nächste Woche bin ich im Auftrag von genuss.magazin & wein.pur bei der VORPREMIERE GROSSES GEWÄCHS 2011 in Wiesbaden. Der VDP (Verband Deutscher Prädikatsweingüter) lädt namhafte internationale Journalisten und Importeure ein um über 200 deutsche Spitzenweine zu verkosten noch bevor sie auf den Markt kommen.

Ich freue mich sehr auf diese Einladung! Meine erste Berührung mit deutschem Wein während meiner Jugend in den USA war Blue Nun Liebfraumilch. Es war eine angenehme Umstellung von Cola auf Wein. Inzwischen ist mein Geschmack erwachsener und anspruchsvoller geworden – sowie auch deutsche Weine. Deutschland hat schon längst seinen Ruf für einfache, liebliche Schankweine abgeschüttelt und genießt steigende internationale Nachfrage für komplexe und langlebige Weine. Ich selbst bin ein großer Fan von deutschen Riesling.

Die Einführung der Grosses Gewächs oder „GG“ Klassifikation im Jahr 2001 von den Verband Deutscher Qualitäts- und Prädikatsweingüter (VDP) markiert eine Bewegung zu trockenen Weinen mit mehr Struktur und Terroir Ausdruck. Es war auch der Anfang der aufregenden Qualitätsrevolution deutscher Weine über die letzten 10 Jahre. Der Arbeit des VDP geht weiter, nicht nur um die Qualität zu sichern, sondern auch Weinetiketten für Konsumenten leichter verständlich zu machen.

Meine Eindrücke werden Sie nächste Woche während der VORPREMIERE GROSSES GEWÄCHS 2011 hier auf der Facebook Seite von genuss.magazin & wein.pur, sowie in englischer Sprache auf meinem Blog julia7ich.com lesen können. Ein Dialog wird mich sehr freuen.

The quality of grapes is defined by the balance between sugar, acid and phenolics such as anthocyanins, tannins, and flavour compounds. This essay will not examine the factors in establishing a vineyard, but rather the factors within the direct control of the vineyard manager in an existing vineyard that will affect the quality of grapes produced. The principal factors that will be examined are pruning, canopy management, yield reduction, soil management, water management, and pest and disease control.
Winter pruning is the first step a vineyard manager takes to create balance between leaf surface area and fruit volume to enhance fruit quality. Over-cropping stresses the vine causing weak growth and incomplete ripening. The vine compensates for severe pruning with vigorous vegetation causing shading and hindering ripening of fruit. During winter pruning, vines are cut back to a specific number of buds based on the variety, climate, site fertility, style of wine, possible legal restrictions and volume goals. French Camp Vineyards uses the Oxbow system (a two row, tow-behind tool carrier) to mechanically prune and farm 600 vineyard hectares of mostly quadrilateral spur-pruned vines. Vines are pruned to yield 220 hl/ha for wines that sell for under $8 a bottle. Manual pruning used to cost French Camp vineyards $0.40 per vine; with the Oxbow system it is now $0.15. (Wines & Vines Magazine) Querciabella has quite other goals for their premium Chianti Classico. Vines are manually pruned to yield 35 hl/ha of grapes with high aroma and tannin concentration. In Champagne high concentration of phenolics are not a desirable quality factor and although yield restrictions are set annually and have been as high as 83 hl/ha in the past (Stevenson, World Encyclopedia of Champagne), in 2010 yields were set at 10,500 kg/ha which translates to approximately 68 hl/ha. Generally, a total pruning weight of 1/5 to 1/10 the crop weight is ideal. A vineyard manager with a volume goal of 50 hl/ha may prune to 80 hl/ha as a sort of insurance policy, waiting until after fruit set before making further crop thinning decisions. The vineyard manager will also keep an eye on timing of pruning depending on whether or not it is a late or early ripening variety and to what the climate risks the vine is exposed. In areas that are prone to spring frost, by postponing winter pruning to just before budbreak, flowering can be delayed to hopefully avoid frost during the pollination period.
The goal of canopy management is to promote the health of the vine and achieve full physiological ripeness of fruit with a good balance between sugar, acid and phenolics such as anthocyanins, tannins, and flavour compounds for the style of wine that will be made. A loose and well-aerated canopy and a ratio of around 10-15 cm ² leaf surface area per gram of fruit will not only enhance photosynthesis – it also helps prevent fungal diseases and potential nest areas for vine pests. (Sunlight into Vines, Dr. Richard Smart) Techniques involved include shoot thinning and positioning, leaf removal, and crop thinning. Canopy management affects not only the current year’s crop; it affects the amount of sunlight on developing buds and determines how fruitful they will be the following year. Canopy management actually begins in spring with shoot positioning on the trellis. In vineyards of the Veneto region of Northern Italy that have problems with fruit set due to vigour, they have found that tipping young shoots before bloom changes the vine’s hormonal balance and enhances a better and more even fruit set. Phillip Frees of Vilaforté in South Africa removes leaves in the fruit zone of Sauvignon Blanc at fruit set, stating that sunburn is actually avoided by giving fruit a chance to adjust early and naturally to its sunny environment and undesirable grassy components in the final wine are eliminated. Likewise he has found that shoot positioning brings higher tartaric and lower malic acid with the same sugar content resulting in softer acid, more delicate fruit and improved mouthfeel. Gary Wood of Montana wines in New Zealand retrained his vigorous Sauvignon Blanc Vineyard to a split canopy which improved physiological ripeness of the grapes as well as increasing the yield enough to compensate for the investment in materials and labour necessary to make the change. In some regions hail can devastate the vine’s canopy, if not to the fruit and the entire vine itself. Wineries that can afford it in Mendoza, Argentina often invest in nets to protect their hail-prone vineyards when they can afford the investment.
Crop-thinning may also begin shortly after fruit set. Because Austria’s St. Laurent variety is so susceptible to coulure, the Juris winery in Burgenland cuts away half of each bunch of St. Laurent grapes just after fruit set to promote better ripening and prevent fungus with a more loosely set bunch. Juris owner Axel Stiegelmar prefers this to crop thinning post verasion stating that cutting away fruit so late wastes the vine’s energy whereas cluster division results in a higher skin to juice ratio with more flavourful grapes and riper finer tannins. In other regions and/or for other varieties, green harvesting is practiced as verasion begins. The initial abundance of fruit can result in smaller berries for some varieties such as Zinfandel. Less ripe or excess bunches are removed to channel the remaining sunshine and nutrients into fewer, smaller berries to concentrate flavour and enhance ripeness of tannins. Crop thinning is not necessary every vintage or in every climate for achieving the best quality grapes. As an example, looking at the past decade in Burgundy one sees that the 2005 and 2009 vintages, both rated with the highest quality, were also the highest yielding. At Domaine Grivot in Burgundy green harvesting of Pinot Noir is not normally practiced. Etienne Grivot states that if 20% of the crop is thinned, you don’t end up with 20% less juice, but 10%, thus increasing the juice to skin ratio and diluting grape flavour compounds and anthocyanin content derived from the skins.
Methods used to maintain or improve soil structure and vitality are important factors in determining the health of vines and the quality of fruit. Methods used include soil aeration, weed control, cover crops, and fertilization. After harvest the alleyways between the vine rows are ploughed for soil aeration and in climates with severe winter frosts, such as Columbia Valley, Washington this opportunity is taken to simultaneously heap earth up around the base of the vines to cover the sensitive graft joint from freezing temperatures which could kill the vine. In spring, the earth is ploughed back, fertilized (sometimes organic or bio-dynamic compost is added at this time) and the ground is levelled. This provides nutrients that will be brought to the vines roots by rain or irrigation in the spring before flowering to promote vine fruitfulness. Mineral elements that can be added are urea, potassium, phosphorus, zinc, boron and magnesium. Lack of enough nutrients in the soil may lead to stuck fermentations and poor quality wine. Too much fertilization can not only be detrimental to the environment, it can stimulate vegetative growth to such an extent that it is detrimental to the ripening of fruit and result in meagre, herbaceous wines. Excessive use of potassium can also increase pH which can cause difficulties in wine stability in vinification. After the first ploughing, the vines are desuckered to prevent the vinifera part of the vine from establishing its own roots. While expensive, some viticulturists will seed for specific legumes and other high-nitrogen plants which promote soil nutrients and aeration and desirable micro-organisms in the soil. Another aspect of cover crops that is advantageous to soil is their ability to attract beneficial insects and thus reduce the need for driving the tractor through the vineyard to spray, thus compacting the soil with heavy machinery. Ridge Vineyards found that money saved on insecticides and herbicides helped to significantly mitigate the costs of seeding for cover crops. The disadvantage of cover crops in low fertility soils is that they may lead to too much competition for nourishment with the vines and cause atypical ageing in wines. After fruit set is the time for mowing cover crops, or weeds in open-cultivation, and ploughing them into the soil, providing both aeration and vine nutrition. At this time again, non-organic vine fertilization may be added to the soil.
Just like nutrients, vines require water, not too much and not too little. In regions where irrigation is permitted, many vineyards have systems installed. Although flooding and watering via furrows have been used in the past and still are in some countries and regions, most modern wineries employ drip irrigation. Spray irrigation is used primarily only to prevent frost damage to buds and flowers in spring. Availability of water is crucial for vines during the budding and flowering stages, but after fruit set mild water stress is desirable. Too much water encourages vines to produce shallow root systems and vigorous canopies with large grape berry clusters that may not achieve sufficient physiological ripeness. On the other hand, severe water stress will shut down photosynthesis and the development of sugars and phenolic compounds in grapes. A balanced supply of water will depend on a variety of factors including rainfall and drainage properties of the vineyard. Modern drip irrigation systems in dry arid climates, such as at Cayuse Winery in Columbia Valley have computer-monitored sensors placed deep in the vineyard soil in strategic positions. In this way, Cayuse owner, Christophe Baron supplies the soil with moisture at necessary key times such as during flowering, fruit set and the onset of vegetation. Baron also practices partial root drying and restricts irrigation to the absolute minimum from verasion to harvest when no more shoot growth is desired and the plant’s energy should be devoted solely to ripening its fruit. In very wet, rainy climates or vintages there is little a vineyard manager can do. In the poor St. Emilion vintage 2002, Château Valandraud strived to keep its ripening grapes from swelling and becoming diluted from excess water by spreading plastic tarps over the soil. The wine was declassified as a result. Fertigation, the method of adding fertilization elements to the irrigation water, can be a more efficient and economical way of fertilization that that described above with soil management.
Pests and disease can be detrimental to grape quality and must also be controlled by the vineyard manager. Much prevention can be achieved through the promotion of beneficial insects with cover crops or with good canopy aeration through methods already mentioned above. Pests can harm the vine by damaging or consuming leaves, fruit and wood, interfering with photosynthesis, health of the vine and quality of fruit. Pests can also be vectors of viral and bacterial disease. With the use of pheromone traps the spraying of insecticides can be limited to sprays that target specific pests during shorter time frames. Fruit that has been damaged by birds or other pests is susceptible to acetobacter infections and bunch rot. The vineyards dedicated to sweet wine production at the Sepp Moser estate are located near Lake Neusiedl in Austria, which is also a natural habitat for a multitude of birds. Birds can not only damage fruit, large flocks can plunder an entire vineyard in just a few hours. 8 km of nets per hectare protect Moser’s vines from these large vineyard pests. The fungal disease oidium attacks vines and can survive over winter in buds and diminish fruit set, reduce yield, and delay ripening. Fruit infected by this mildew tastes mouldy. Oidium is generally prevented in conventional viticulture through spraying with sulphur, while organic producers such as Sepp Moser in Austria are advocates of fennel oil. Peronospera also attacks all green parts of the vine, especially young leaves. When severe, leaves will drop resulting in reduced photosynthesis diminishing sugar and anthocyanin production in grapes. The classic treatment is sprays containing copper, but these are only effective for around 10 days or until the next heavy rainfall. Because the heavy use of copper over many years can result in soil toxicity, the EU limits this to 6 kg per hectare for conventional viticulture and 3 kg per hectare for organic. Vineyard managers can install weather stations in the vineyard that monitor temperature and humidity to help minimize their use of copper. Spraying of potentially toxic substances is not done in the weeks before the harvest. There are many treatments available to the vineyard manager to combat pests and disease, which ones are employed will depend on legal regulations and the philosophy of the winery. Costs of potential damage and crop loss are weighed against the costs of prevention and control.
There are numerous factors within the direct control of the vineyard manger that will affect the quality of grapes. Whether for a high volume mid-market wine or for a super-premium icon wine, balance between fruit volume and canopy as well as balance of the vine in its environment are the basis for high quality fruit. High quality will mean different things for different wine styles, grape varieties, and targeted market segment of the wine to be produced. Pruning, canopy management, yield reduction, soil management, water management, and pest and disease control will all be adjusted to the climate, preconditions in the vineyard, and the materials and budget at hand. Once harvest arrives, the vineyard manager will work closely with the chief winemaker to coordinate picking and ensure that the grapes come to the crush pad in optimal condition.

Note: The essay above is written in study preparation for MW exams.

I have recently discovered a fabulous summer event here in Austria. If you know anyone traveling here, for example for the Salzburger Festspiele, let them know about the Baroque Costume Celebration in the Imperial Festival Palace Hof just 60 km east of Vienna on the border to Slovakia.

This is Austria’s largest rural palace complex and it has recently been restored to its former splendor and intended purpose as a venue for magnificent celebrations. The Imperial Festival Palace Hof is a magnificent Baroque ensemble with an exquisite palace, terraced garden and idyllic manor farm. You can explore the world of Prince Eugene and Empress Maria Theresa through a Baroque Costume Celebration on August 13th, 2011. Stunning costumes for the entire family are provided for rent. The programme starts at 6 PM with a musical welcome in the Palace’s Court of Honour. Music, dance performances, acrobatic stunts, equestrian art and carriage rides are offered well into the night. At dusk 6,000 candles are lit in the formal garden where you will enjoy culinary treats, including freshly baked bread from the wood stove, selected game dishes, and tempting desserts. Refreshing beverages and the region’s famous white wine, Grüner Veltliner from the Weinviertel appellation are offered from the Fountain Grotto. The evening culminates with spectacular fireworks.

Christine Mayr asked me last year to develop a one-day course for the Accademia del Vino Alto Adige in Caldero, Italy to help non-native English-speaking wine professionals polish their English for the wine trade.  Participants would be predominantly employees of local wineries: oenologists, viticulturists, export managers, tasting room directors, sales people, and sommeliers. After gaining advice from wine educators Richard Bampfield MW of the UK and Marianne Frantz in the US, I was able to design a course. It hasn’t been an easy task  due to the different levels of English knowledge, different needs in the trade, and last but now least, three hours is not a lot of time. What I have come up with is what influences how the wine in our glass tastes and how to describe the wine in the glass. We go through the very basics of climate, soil, grape varieties, viticulture, winemaking and sensory evaluation of eight wines. The couse has been tailored specifically to the Alto Adige wine region in northern Italy. The feedback has been good, Christine keeps inviting me back and the nuber of participants is growing, so I hope that people are finding it useful. I certainly enjoy going to the region. the people are friendly, there are very interesting wines there, and as you can see by these short videos, it is a gorgeous region.

Blue skies, snow capped mountains, lakes glistening in the sun, vines, and blooming apple trees – how lucky I am to be here on such a glorious spring day.

Filmed at the very recommendable Manincor Estate in Caldero.

Note: This is a practice essay for the MW exam. I totally bombed at my first effort. This is another attempt.

For the last two decades market trends have seen an increased demand for more concentrated wines – wines with more colour, more flavour, more tannin, more texture. This is leading to longer hang times and harvesting of riper fruit as well as prolonged pre- and post fermentation macerations. Global warming and more extremes in precipitation are changing ripening patterns of grapes. Both winemaking and climate variations are bringing higher pH wines and raising issues for winemakers regarding the effect of pH on wine stability and quality. This article will first explain what pH is before taking a look its very important role in the microbial and chemical/physical stability of wine post fermentation. The significant role of pH for malolactic fermentation (MLF) and maturation in barrel will then be discussed. Finally, the role of pH in determining a wine’s quality (colour, flavour and mouthfeel, and longevity) will be addressed.
pH is the negative of the log to base 10 of the concentration of hydrogen ions in a solution. It is a scale of measurement of the concentration of the effective acidity of a wine, the relationship between its acids and natural salts such as potassium. The buffering effect of potassium raises pH without altering total acidity (TA). As grapes ripen, potassium content increases and acidity decreases which results in increasing pH. Potassium is also higher in vintages with abundant rain during the growing season. A good demonstration is the 2009 vintage in Germany, a warm vintage with abundant rain. Acidity was so low that Germany received legal permission from the EU to acidify, yet pH was higher than average. Wine pH is usually between 2.8 and 4.2 on a scale of 14. In this essay low pH is determined as <3.2 and high pH >3.6. pH is an important parameter because it is a controlling factor in how wine looks, tastes and lasts.
pH plays a vital role in maintaining the microbial stability of wine because the hydrogen ion concentration controls the effectiveness of SO2. Because the hydrogen ions combine with bisulphite ions, in low pH wines more SO2 is kept in the effective molecular form that protects wine from oxidation and spoilage organisms. With the effectiveness of SO2 diminished, high pH wines are more susceptible to oxidation and offer an ambient solution for various bacteria and yeasts. This is particularly true if there is any residual sugar and the reason why sterile filtration with a 0.45μm membrane is standard procedure for off-dry commercial wines like white Zinfandel. Contrarily, the high pH environment is essential for a flourishing population of flor yeast that determines the style and aroma of fino sherry. Tolerant of 15% abv, flor yeast ousts competition from other microbes and a surface carpet of flor inhibits oxidation. Looking at a completely different style, László Mészáros of Disznókö states that while Tokaji aszú typically has a pH of 3.6-3.8, TA is usually over 9 g/l. To prevent microbial spoilage and excess oxidation during the long maturation in cask, Mészáros adds a high dose of around 150 mg/l SO2 and filters before racking into clean, hygienic barrels. A high pH wine style which has become highly fashionable is big, ripe, concentrated dry red wines. Due to their high pH and possible trace residual sugar after fermenting to over 14.5% abv, these wines are particularly susceptible to Brettanomyces (Brett) infection. Studies at the AWRI of 129 dry red wines showed that over half had low level Brett aromas with a high correspondence between phenolic content and 4-ethylguiacol. Cabernet Sauvignon and Shiraz were particularly vulnerable. Low threshold Brett is often interpreted as a positive attribute of complexity in tannic red wines, but at higher levels it is certainly an unpalatable taint. Additions of up to 200 mg/l DMDC are permitted to help eradicate Brett. To summarize, low pH enables the winemaker to protect the wine with lower additions of SO2 and less intervention.
High pH diminishes the ability of bentonite to bind with proteins in the fining process of white wines. Winemaker Rudi Strasser of Napa Valley has an experimental plot of Grüner Veltliner, which by nature is a high protein variety. The first harvest in 2007 came in with a pH of 3.6 and Strasser underestimated the amount of bentonite needed to achieve protein stability. A few cases were sold, but had to be recalled due to protein haze. Heinz Frischengruber of Domaine Wachau advocates addition of 1.5 to 2 g/l of bentonite to Grüner Veltliner must before fermentation. Maturation on lees post fermentation will often render the wine protein stabile, but if not, Frischengruber recommends further adjustment with the sodium bentonite GranuBent PORE-TEC because the sodium makes it more effective in high pH wines and less bentonite is needed. Frischengruber states the advantage of applying bentonite on must is that it strips less flavour, protecting those created during fermentation.
Potassium bitartrate (KHT) and/or calcium tartrate (TCa) can precipitate from wine as crystals and although harmless, most consumers object to them. Potassium, calcium, tartaric acid, alcohol and pH play a role in tartrate stability of wine. Tartrate stability can be improved by either removing things responsible for the formation of crystals or by adding substances that inhibit their formation. High pH wines pose a special problem for tartrate stabilization due to their content of TCa. Only KHT is removed in the process of cold and contact stabilization. Electrodialysis is an alternative with advantages being much lower energy costs, no loss of wine volume, reliable removal of both KHT and TCa, no additives, and the ability to tailor treatment to each wine. The technology is expensive and viable for purchase only by large wineries or hired as a mobile service.
For many styles of wines, malolactic fermentation (MLF) and/or maturation in oak barrels is employed. MLF generally requires a minimum of 3.1 pH. High acid wines with pH levels below this where MLF is desired can be adjusted with the addition of calcium carbonate or potassium carbonate. An ambient temperature of around 20°C is necessary for MLF to occur. A warm, unprotected high pH red wine provides the ideal environment for both desirable lactic bacteria and undesirable bacteria. Likewise any fermentable residual sugar also leaves the wine exposed to fermentive organisms such as Brettanomyces (see above). An efficient MLF can be promoted either through inoculation with a lactic bacteria culture or by putting the wine into clean, hygienic barrels where successful MLF has already occurred. A dose of 10 – 30 mg/l free SO2 can help mitigate spoilage in endangered high pH wines without hindering MLF. A new gene modified yeast developed by food biotechnologist Dr. Hennie van Vuuren at the University of British Columbia makes it possible inoculate both alcoholic and malolactic fermentation to occur simultaneously. This yeast has just been approved in North America and is now on the market. Because it has the added benefit of producing wines that are free of allergenic bioamines, this may become an attractive option not only for producers of high pH wines.
In low pH wines, anthocyanins are present in bright red coloured forms, while in increasingly high pH wines the colour is dull purple ultimately even slightly greyish or taupe. SO2 additions may seem to bleach a young wine with high pH, but this actually stabilizes red colour by protecting some monomeric pigment which is restored as pigments polymerize. Robert Parker generally seems to praise the deep dark colour of very ripe high pH wines and many consumers also find this appealing. Low pH in young white wine brings pale greenish hues which are often seen in high acid varieties like Riesling or Sauvignon Blanc. The consumer often associates this pale green-yellow with positive refreshing qualities.
Abundantly praised, in particular by American wine critics, is the rich finish of full-bodied, concentrated red wines. According to Clark Smith of Vinovation in California, this is not entirely attributable to high alcohol and phenol content; potassium and sulphate both contribute to the back palate mouthfeel and are natural by-products of high pH winemaking. Not only New World producers of dry red wines conscientiously make the decision to make high pH wines, these textural goals are also seen in the past 20 years in Bordeaux, particularly on the right bank. The quality attributes of sparkling wine are also affected by pH. Arnaud Weyrich, winemaker at Roederer Estate in California has also worked at the parent company in France and can make a good comparison between typical pH values in Anderson Valley and Champagne. Weyrich states that the pH in Champagne is significantly lower and as a result the second fermentation takes much longer resulting in a more delicate brioche and floral autolytic character compared to more forward bread-like aromas from the higher pH sparkling wines of Alexander Valley. With similar acidity and alcohol levels, the Alexander Valley wine is also somewhat broader mid-palate.
Longevity of a wine after bottling is dependent on pH, TA, alcohol content, and dry extract. While high alcohol and high extract content connected to high physiological ripeness of dry red wines contribute positively to a wine’s longevity, low acidity and high pH can be detrimental. Like many other right bank properties in Bordeaux, Château Pavie has seen an extreme shift in style towards bigger, riper, high pH wines. After purchasing the property, Gerard Perse followed the advice of Michel Rolland for harvesting later and employing cold maceration. The rich voluptuous wines were highly praised by Parker and prices achieved increased dramatically. Sceptics criticized the style as unbalanced and not worthy of aging. Gerard Perse counters that these wines are now 15 years old, drinking splendidly, and still improving. Leo Alzinger, vintner in the Wachau, Austria is more critical of the trend for big bodied, high alcohol white wines. “I make small quantities of a dry late harvest ‘reserve’ Grüner Veltliner and a dry late harvest ‘reserve’ Riesling because this style gets the highest accolades from critics who taste the wines in their youth. The more mineral, more longevous wines are the single-vineyard ‘Smaragd’ wines. In my opinion, higher pH is does not improve balance and it does not support expression of terroir.”
Praise from certain critics as well as high accolades in wine competitions for rich, concentrated wines have inspired many wine producers to strive for higher physiological ripeness. This, together with global climate change is bringing higher pH values. High pH reduces the effectiveness of SO2 and renders wine prone to microbial spoilage and oxidation. More intervention is required by the winemaker to lend these wines balance and keep them stable. Acidification, high SO2 additions, addition of DMDC and sterile filtration are just some of the methods employed. While these measures can possibly diminish the quality of wine, potential advantages for aroma, flavour and texture make it an interesting and viable option for some styles. A scrutinizing eye must be kept on the concept of physiological ripeness to keep it from compromising balance, longevity and expression of terroir in high quality premium wines.