On the road to red

Every winemaker in the County wants to extract the utmost flavour profile from his or her grapes. However, there are no shortcuts to making a memorable red wine.

It all begins once the winemaker, in conjunction with the vineyard manager, determine the exact moment for the grapes to be harvested. In most cases, the grape clusters are picked by the same vineyard crew that has lovingly cared for the vines since before bud break. Once harvested, clusters are gently loaded onto a conveyor belt. This allows sorters to remove any unripe or mouldy fruit. Only perfect fruit can be used for red wines. Adjustments are made to the crusher and de-stemmer to allow the exact amount of stems to influence the structure and introduce tannins to the wine. A pinot noir, for example, would be allowed a large amount of stems, whereas a petit verdot or a cabernet sauvignon would not.

For red wines, we want contact with skins, seeds and stems to influence the flavour, colour and tannins in our developing wine. Decisions made by the winemakers at this point will contribute to the potency and longevity of the wine. They may cool the must—the liquid mixture of crushed grapes—to allow extra skin contact, or heat it to encourage faster alcoholic fermentation. This process can occur in open oak vats, stainless steel containers, concrete tanks or plastic bins. As sugar levels falls and alcohol levels rise, the carbon dioxide that is released drives the pulp and skins to the surface, where they form a protective cap that prevents further oxidation. To prevent this cap from drying out, it can be physically punched down with a paddle on a time schedule, or must can be pumped over it to achieve a similar result.

We are still a long way, however, from releasing the wine to thirsty.

THIS WEEK’S PICK
East & Main needed to replenish the very popular cabernet franc from Devils Wishbone Winery, so I stopped by their tasting room on one of my wine-purchasing errands in the County. To my delight, I was re-introduced to their 2012 Pinot Noir—a serious, full-bodied treat that will make enthusiasts salivate.

The classic barnyard and dark fruit notes waft on the nose. The palate is layered with flavours of red currants, cranberry and ripe cherry—finishing with Szechwan pepper to set the tongue a-tingle. Quite simply, I love this wine. It has legs to drink now, or to be set down over a five-year span.

Priced at $29 a bottle, the 2012 Pinot Noir is available at the Devils Wishbone tasting room, at 1014 County Road 7, just south of Lake on the Mountain.