New World Winemaker Blog » Bertus Fourie

Diversity

Bertus Fourie — Mon, 10 Dec 2012 12:48:40 +0000

“There is a place I love in Africa, that they call the rainbow land…Chris de Burgh”

I could not help over the past few weeks to realize the challenges that entities may face as a result of diversity…diversity in just about everything, all starting with changes in DNA. I started thinking about similarities between South African ethnic groups and what lives on grapes (forgive me, but I am pretty parochial as wine is not only my job, but also my hobby…)

South Africa as a multi-ethnic nation has diverse cultures, languages and religions. Eleven official languages are recognized in the constitution. English and Afrikaans are of European origin. Afrikaans originated mainly from Dutch ancestry and is spoken by the majority of white and Coloured South Africans. Though English is commonly used in public and commercial life, it apparently is only the fifth most-spoken home language. All ethnic and language groups have political representation in the constitutional democracy. About 80% of the South African population is of black African ancestry, divided among a variety of ethnic groups speaking different native languages, nine of which have official status. South Africa also contains the largest communities of European, Asian, and racially mixed ancestry in Africa…I bet you did not know this about our Rainbow nation.

Now I will not elaborate any further on political issues or leadership challenges, as this blog is mostly about the diversity that occurs on the republic of grapes. As winemakers, we are required not only to have a winemaking persona, but also to have personas that reflect our knowledge of chemistry, engineering, consumer behaviour, finance and many others. We are also required to know something about microbes, as they not only occur naturally on and in grapes and wine, but also direct our product in what may be acceptable for the consumer, or not. They may be friends or foes, and their diversity makes it challenging to manage, particularly if you do not know the basic elements that govern their existence…am I starting to sound like a politician?

Anyway, managing complexities efficiently probably start with understanding the magnitude of the challenge. I was utterly amazed when I took the book “Biology of Microorganisms on Grapes, in Must and in Wine”, and started counting what actually occurs on grapes and in wines. Now I am not a microbiologist, and I do not wish to quarrel about physiological differences between Leuconostoc oenos and Oenococcus oenos, but I do think even if some of these are anamorphs of each other, or genetically closely related and the differences insignificant, the diversity is quite darn amazing! The following is a table of “bugs” that occurs naturally on grapes and in fermenting wines and musts (and I did not count the sub-species…:

Bug	Genus	Species	How many species?
Lactic acid bacteria	Lactobacillus	brevis	16
		buchneri
		casei
		fermentum
		curvatus
		delbrueckii
		diolivorans
		fructivorans
		hilgardii
		jensenii
		kunkeei
		mali
		nagelli
		paracasei
		plantarum
		vini
	Leuconostoc	mesenteroides	1
	Oenococcus	oeni	1
	Pediococcus	damnosus	4
		inopinatus
		parvulus
		pentosaceus
	Weissellas	paramesenteroides	1
Acetic acid- bacteria	Acetobacter	aceti	9
		pasteurianus
		peroxydans
		orleaniensis
		lovaniensis
		estuniensis
		malorum
		cerevisiae
		oeni
	Gluconacetobacter	liquefaciens	8
		xylinus
		hansenii
		europaeus
		oboediens
		intermedius
		entanii
		johannae
	Gluconobacter	oxydans	1
Yeasts	Hanseniaspora		22
	Metschnikowia
	Candida
	Cryptococcus
	Rhodotorula
	Aureobasidium
	Rhodosporidium
	Auriculibuller
	Brettanomyces
	Bulleromyces
	Debaromyces
	Issatchenka
	Kluyveromyces
	Lipomyces
	Pichia
	Sporidiobolus
	Sporobolomyces
	Torulaspora
	Yarrowia
	Zygoascus
	Zygosaccaharomyces
	Botrytis
	Saccharomyces	cerevisiae	4
		bayanus
		pastorianus
		kudreavzevii
Bacteriophages

Isn’t this amazing? Not counting strains and sub-species, Lactobacillus has more than 22 genera and species, acetic acid bacteria more than 18, and yeasts more than 26!

And the most important thing to remember, I suppose, is to either educate yourself as a manager that guides this immense diversity (“winemaker”) in the oenological principles, or surround yourself with people who can.

Wish some leaders could learn from this…

Bertus Fourie is a winemaker, turned Enology lecturer and creator of the Barista coffee Pinotage.

This NewWorldWinemakerBlog.com post was written by Bertus Fourie

Facial for your barrel anyone?

Bertus Fourie — Mon, 29 Oct 2012 07:45:15 +0000

This blog can be regarded as the sequel for “Snow blower on Enceladus”, which I have posted in November last year. The blog was all about technology that uses CO₂ ice pellets to clean and rejuvenate the inside of barrels by “blowing” these ice pellets under immense pressure against the inside staves of barrels, leaving them clean and “disinfected”. Another advantage of course remains the fact that the condition of a used barrel can be inspected. Many winemakers was struck with complete and utter dismay at the sight of many a blister in the inside of these very pricy barrels…and most probably found the puss that “oozed” from these blisters a terrible reality.

Yet the challenge remains to manage barrels in such a way that you get what you want from them: Extraction of flavor, and introduction of oxygen. Yet both decrease as a result of extraction and blocked pores, as the barrels grow older. The other challenge is of course to maintain a good sanitary status after these barrels are emptied and filled with new wines, as spoilage organisms such as Brett and acetic acid bacteria literally get a “breather” in between emptying and filling…

Several techniques are at the disposal of winemakers to clean barrels. Many high tech barrel cleaning systems are currently on the market, from “ordinary” pressure cleaners, to units that can empty the barrel and clean it afterwards without having to move the barrels from the stack. It is possible to use dry steam or wet steam. You may even use chemicals such as SO₂treatments or the patented “Thales cleaning” method. Yet again – different strokes for different blokes.

The purpose of this blog however, is to take a view on the “Barena” method. One of the differences to the Ice Jet System is that they do not physically dismantle the barrel. A rod is simply placed through the barrel’s bung hole, and quartz crystals are sprayed under pressure against the inside of the barrel. These crystals were sterilized by heating it up to 300 degrees Celsius several times. Approximately 30 kilograms of these crystals are used per barrel. The quartz removes less than a millimeter of the surface of the staves, almost like peeling off a skin from a litchi. The barrel is then rinsed with de-chlorinated cold water. Step 3 in the process is the “disinfection stage” where the barrel is steamed for 12 minutes.

The barrel is now ready to dry naturally. A disinfected silicone bung is put into the bunghole, and a needle through which SO₂ gas is injected, penetrated through the bung. This leaves the barrels treated and ready to be filled yet again.

Unfortunately the downside remains the transport of the barrels to the depot where they are treated and back to the cellars. I also like the fact that I can physically inspect the inside of the used barrels when I used the Ice blast technology, although you may argue that it is possible to look into a barrel with optical fibers…honestly, how many of us actually use these gadgets on barrel inspection day?

Nevertheless, I also like the idea of “blasting” (and opening blisters I suppose) away deposit and residue by force, “steaming” the pores open and bugs away, and finally treat it with sulphur. It all makes sense…almost like giving your barrel a facial.

The technology will soon be available in South Africa, and I really think it’s time to look at some hardcore evidence – which method will ultimately prevail? Let the wine decide…(or the bottom line?)…

Bertus Fourie is a winemaker, turned Enology lecturer and creator of the Barista coffee Pinotage.

This NewWorldWinemakerBlog.com post was written by Bertus Fourie

Smooth Operator…

Bertus Fourie — Tue, 25 Sep 2012 11:12:50 +0000

It all started in the mid eighteen hundreds, when a gentleman with the name of Antonin Prandtl, invented the first dairy centrifuge in order to separate cream from milk. At that stage he was working (probably with some sort of butter addiction) for himself and not for Cadbury’s…

The principle was “refined” by Gustaf de Laval in 1879 who demonstrated the first continuous centrifugal separator, making its commercial application feasible. But what exactly is a centrifuge, and how can it add value to the wine industry?

A centrifuge is a piece of equipment which is driven by an electric motor that puts an object or liquid in rotation around a fixed axis, applying a force perpendicular to the axis. The centrifuge works using the sedimentation principle, where the centripetal acceleration causes denser substances (like yeast cells, grape particles, fining agents, etc.) to separate out along the radial direction. By the same token lighter objects (juice or wine in this case) will tend to move to the top. The net result thus, a very efficient separation of solids and wine.

Centrifugation technology has become so advanced over the years that it is considered a superior method for winery solids management and eliminates the need for unnecessary handling of wines and juices (with all its detrimental effects and risks like exposure to oxygen and consequent product losses & quality), e.g. several racking’s and pre-historic filtration actions.

I believe it is important to give compliments where it is due. A very fine piece of technology is the STS family of centrifuges. This is a superior method for optimal wine recovery from grape solids, fermentation lees and fining lees with negligible dissolved oxygen pick-up during the separation process, which was considered the major downside ages ago.

So what exactly happens? Quite simple: Dirty liquid goes in, it is separated, and crystal clear liquid comes out…and of course solid matter or sludge that has the density of peanut butter at a moisture level of 95%.

In a few conversations with winemakers who use this technology, the following advantages came up: 1) Reduced juice and wine losses, associated with racking, filter aid adsorption, or even or de-sludge actions of older or under-performing centrifuges. 2) Reduced juice and wine quality “downgrades” .This classically happens where existing lees handling processes lead to the loss of quality as a result of oxygen pick up, or contamination, or human error. This of course may lead to a loss of freshness, loss of varietal integrity and character, or even reductive taints from prolonged exposure to lees. 3) Eliminating DE (diatomaceous earth) filtration, principally the lees Filter and Rotary Drum Vacuum filter not only reduce the amount of juice and wine handlings, but is also associated with direct hard savings in reduced DE consumption which also have health and auditing benefits. Occupational Health, Safety and Environment considerations of DE and the ability to proactively demonstrate a major reduction in DE usage in the cellar is an intangible benefit. 4) A key advantage over the older centrifuges is the very low oxygen pick-up, which is as low as 0.02 mg of oxygen per litre of wine. This means the same wine can be centrifuged multiple times during its maturation cycle, without the detrimental effect oxygen may have on particularly white wines. 5) If all the technical benefits are weighed, then it is also a no-brainer to see that the application of this technology also builds a very strong business case, and the immediate effect on the bottom line.

Key applications include clarification of: White juice from recently pressed grapes – cold-settled juice lees – white wines after primary fermentations (including yeast lees) – white wines after bentonite finings (including bentonite lees) – bentonite lees – stuck or sluggish ferments – late harvest and botrytis wines where primary fermentation must be stopped – Red wine after primary ferment (including gross lees) – gross red lees – red wine after malolactic fermentation – wines after cold stabilization – cleaning of wine with in-line cross-flow).

Forgive me if I start to sound like a STS representative… but I am just wondering if all directors or all big cellars know how much money can be saved on the bottom-line if the “optimal” technology or equipment is being used “optimally”…

Bertus Fourie is a winemaker, turned Enology lecturer and creator of the Barista coffee Pinotage.

This NewWorldWinemakerBlog.com post was written by Bertus Fourie

Chinese Checkers Anyone?

Bertus Fourie — Mon, 10 Sep 2012 09:59:35 +0000

Chinese checkers is a board game that can be played by two, three, four, or six people, playing individually or with partners. The objective is to be first to race one’s pieces across the hexagram-shaped gameboard into the “home” section, which is the corner of the star opposite one’s starting corner, using single-step moves or moves which jump over other pieces. Others keep playing to establish 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th, and last place finishers.

Now what on earth does a board game have to do with wine, or anything remotely associated with wine, except for the fact that in some cases the two might go hand in hand… wine and games that is… Well, nothing really, except for the fact that predicting the style and quality of a wine as a result of the fruit and oenological processes, remains one of the most important and difficult parts of a viticulturist and winemaker’s job and is sometimes more luck than wisdom (This was confirmed by a very interesting sensorial lecture by Professor Heyman of UC Davis a few days ago).

Imagine having a tool in the laboratory which helps you to assess the maturity kinetics of your vineyards and its fruit profile helps you to optimize the picking date according to the desired wine profile and finally, helps you to create more consistent wine profile results, year after year, with multiple vineyards or blocks of the same cultivar.

The technology, called the Dyostem system (Berry Maturity Analyses system), to measure berry skin colour has been developed by Vivelys Society (France) and Montpellier SupAgro (France) a while ago and is currently being assessed commercially in the Northern and Southern Hemisphere. According to Professor Alain Deloire of the University of Stellenbosch, the method uses the evolution of the berry colour by applying optical techniques, as an indicator of berry ripening, which of course relate to the wine’s aromatic profile. In short: The average colour of the berries “predicts” the wine style as a result of the ripeness level of the fruit.

The term “optimal ripeness” is such an important, yet complex term that not even scientists can agree fully on a definition or all the complexities that it entails. Yet, the significance of “optimal ripeness” is reflected not only in the development of technologies like the Dyostem system and formal sensory techniques (BSA or Grape Berry Assessment), but also in the jargon used by winemakers when presenting wine tastings or trying to flog a few bottles to a restaurant.

Winemakers agree to the fact that “optimal ripeness” bares direct relation to the style of the required wine, which in turn is dictated by market or by the objective to produce a wine that reflect the expression of a typical terroir related profile. The classical indicators of “ripeness level” include sugar level or potential alcohol, natural acids (particularly malic and tartaric) and pH and of course various and diverse methods of spectral analyses to give us some insight into the colour ripeness and tannin or “mouth feel” ripeness. All these parameters strongly relate to the perception of the taste of the wine.

In lectures to students, when asked the question “but when exactly do you decide when to harvest?” of course I cannot give them a straight and simple answer. I do however think back to Christopher Walken’s answer to his daughter’s question “what should I do Dad?” in the movie the “Wedding Crashers”: “The best you can do is to use all information at hand to make the best possible decision.”

Dyostem I have never had the privilege to work with, but when it reaches the point where it does exactly what it was designed for, I am getting myself one of those…or like Orange winemaker Justin Jarrett said “I can walk down the rows of my vineyard and taste fruit and get it right, or hope I get it right… but I guess if I get it wrong, I’ll get it really wrong. This way you have some science to the process of determining picking times based on the flavours you want…”

Bertus Fourie is a winemaker, turned Enology lecturer and creator of the Barista coffee Pinotage.

This NewWorldWinemakerBlog.com post was written by Bertus Fourie

Diamonds are forever…

Bertus Fourie — Wed, 29 Aug 2012 10:53:48 +0000

“Diamonds are forever,
They are all I need to please me,
They can stimulate and tease me…”

Shirley Bassey’s lyrics from the famous 1971 James Bond Movie, Diamonds are Forever. In the movie of course, he enjoys a very fine sherry. Interestingly enough, also a wine which was associated with the occurrence of “wine diamonds”, or tartrate crystals as a function of the presence of potassium, particularly in the case of sherry, calcium tartrates as a function of fermentation in traditional cement tanks or treatments with calcium sulphate to lower the pH.

Nowadays, as a result of many technologies and additives, the occurrence of this type of instability (regarded as a wine fault, mostly by consumers who may associate it with glass crystals) can be prevented.

The traditional way of course to rid the product of these crystals is to keep a still wine at -4^oC for a week, and a fortified wine at -7^oC. This would give the tartrate crystals enough time to crystallize and settle and the clear wine can be racked off the sediment. The downside of this technique though is the time it takes, energy required and other variables that may induce poor nucleation. Variation of “traditional cold stabilization” therefor exists and is known as contact stabilization. The addition of potassium bi-tartrate crystals is to increase the rate of crystallization and to decrease the energy required after which the wine is separated from the crystals.

During the 1950’s though, Down Under came up with even a more innovative way of preventing wine diamonds, called ion-exchange. Used both for acidification and lowering the pH, treatment of wine leads to a decrease in other cations like K⁺and Ca²⁺. The process entails a cation-exchange resin to be charged with hydrogen ions and passing wine through the resin where the hydrogen ions are released and K⁺ and Ca²⁺ are taken up by the resin.

Electrodyalysis (ED) became a sudden buzz word the past few years. ED is a powerful technique for selectively removing excess potassium and bi-tartrate ions that cause instability. The principle of ED is based on the flow of wine through a stack of alternating cation- and anion-selective membranes, in parallel with “brine” under an electrically charged field. Thinking back to science classes in school, K⁺, Ca²⁺ and Na⁺ will be attracted to the negatively charged cathode and conversely the HTa^- (bi-tartrate ions) to the anode.

Off course we live in the Fast Food era, and there is basically a quick fix for most challenges. Such a fix is MTA (Meta-Tartaric Acid) and CMC’s (Carboxy Methyl Cellulose). MTA acts as a nucleation inhibitorby sheathing the crystals of potassium bi-tartrate and calcium tartrate, thus preventing crystal growth. This unfortunately is not a permanent reaction, as it slowly rehydrates to tartaric acid over time, especially if the wine is exposed to higher temperatures. CMC is used in food science as a thickener and to stabilize emulsions in various products like ice cream. It is also a constituent of many non-food products, such as K-Y Jelly, toothpaste, laxatives, diet pills, water-based paints, detergents, textile sizing and various paper products. Although in some products it has the ability to lower freeze points and subsequent crystal forming, e.g. white wine, the results on some rose wines and particularly red wines, are not favourable.

Mannoproteins colloids in wine with a carbohydrate part of 70% and 30% part protein, occurs in wine naturally as a result of autolysis of yeasts. It was found not only to reduce a white wine’s requirement for bentonite treatment to enhance heat stability, but also increase a wine’s tartrate stability. The instability of the phenolic matter in red wines due to many variables may compromise potassium bi-tartrate stability over time. Under these conditions, the anti-nucleation effect of mannoproteins can be reduced.

So, as they say, “different strokes for different blokes”. With all additives and actions you have to take full cognizance of potential upsides and downsides… or else I suppose, diamonds may well be, forever.

Bertus Fourie is a winemaker, turned Enology lecturer and creator of the Barista coffee Pinotage.

This NewWorldWinemakerBlog.com post was written by Bertus Fourie

You can’t always get what you want

Bertus Fourie — Sun, 05 Aug 2012 18:14:42 +0000

One of my favourite songs by the Rolling Stones a decade or few ago. It actually has nothing to do with wine, except for the second verse, but do create a slight bitterness on my palate I guess when it comes to general service levels in some countries, and certainly some products.

Have we grown used to the fact that we are expecting too much from service and product suppliers? Or are we a bit gullible in the sense that when it comes to winemaking, we assume that grapes, juice and wine can just about absorb all abuse, bad product, misfits and misfortunes that come its way? Do we get payback from some suppliers because their products are mediocre and do not speak for themselves?

Is this perhaps too much controversial a topic?

In a market over supplied by universities and colleges, is this not the perfect time to demand products and service that not only “works” for a specific purpose, but also delivers on what it is promoted to do? It seems like everyone but producers are benefitting profusely and consistently from the wine industry, yet if you talk to winemakers there are always interesting stories to listen to…

Like the time Jack had to stop the bottling line because the corks gave off such a residue that it might drop into the wine. Like the time Pete ordered a large quantity of barrels from a cooperage and he then received barrels that caused his only batch of Shiraz to taste green…apparently not green oak, but green fruit (at over 15% alcohol…). Or the time Steve called upon the barrel cleaners who opened up the barrels and the only thing consistent about the cooperage was the amount of blisters in the barrel. Or Jack’s wine who’s calsium content in press wines dropped when he used a different supplier of diatomaceous earth and bentonite. Or Steven’s red wine which had significant problems with colour instability, but it changed when he used different extraction enzymes. Or Marie’s alcohol was supposed to be reduced with 0.5%, and she ended up with a wine of which the alcohol was reduced by 1.2%. Or sweetened wine was cross flowed the morning and transported to William’s cellar and ended up in a tank with a clarity of 1.6 NTU’s and 2 million yeast cells per millilitre.

Like John…

And Bartho…

Or I had a conversation with a person a while ago who promised me TCA free corks because they hand select their corks…

I am sure there are wonderful stories to be told by many winemakers. Perhaps a few thoughts from my side in preventing disasters in your wine:

It is sometimes better to know what not to do then what to do.

- Trial the product several times before you make a decision.

- Go back to oenological basics – we have to commit science sometimes.

- Never trust cocktails or quick fix solutions (how did you end up here anyway?)

- Always ask for scientific trials on the product (here it also helps a lot if the article provide insight into repeatability, statistics that make sense, i.e. where figures are not manipulated so that insignificant statistical differences may be interpreted otherwise, and ultimately accredited journals, and not The Horse and Hound…).

- Always ask for a reference list of people who use the product or service.

- Always ask them how much money the mother company spend on research and development.

In the end I wonder how many of the suppliers will guarantee money back if their product does not work. I have grown to realise the product is never wrong, only the conditions were.

It is time we get what we want, and certainly what we pay for!

Bertus Fourie is a winemaker, turned Enology lecturer and creator of the Barista coffee Pinotage.

This NewWorldWinemakerBlog.com post was written by Bertus Fourie

The (Colloidal) Matrix Part III

Bertus Fourie — Wed, 04 Jul 2012 13:26:52 +0000

The Architect: You played a very dangerous game.

The Oracle: Change always is.

I was fortunate enough to visit Chateau Quinalt in St.Emilion a few years ago. Now the essence of this blog is to look at alternative ways to manage lees, and not to gossip about how and why this Chateau became a “Parker Darling”, but the truth is that their Parker ratings became quite significant. And I must say, I love everything I have tasted. I was also fortunate enough to spend a bit of time in the cellar.

This is where I saw the technique of taking healthy lees and keeping it in suspension at above 35⁰C for a substantial amount of time with a slow mixer, and using this autolyzed broth to top up the barrels…or at least this is what they have told me! The red lights started flickering, and I immediately thought to myself: “Lees, autolysis, food for bacteria, VA and finally- spoiled wine”. So I was extremely happy to meet Michael Paetzold in the early 2000’s and the technique which they refer to as Thermoflash®. This is a heat treatment process for musts and wines, based on the principles of flash pasteurization, by subjecting the product to a specific temperature for a set period of time. The treatment is ideal for the preventive or curative management of the microbes in wines. It can be applied during different stages of the winemaking process and even on different types of wines. The difference between pasteurization and flash pasteurization is heating the wine to 60-70°C for 1 to 2 minutes, vs. heating the wine to 71.5 to 74°C for 15 to 30 seconds. This shorter period, slightly more intense treatment of the wine is effective in destroying acetic acid bacteria and lactic acid bacteria, as well as Brettanomyces, while maintaining the organoleptic qualities of the product.

The nett result? Wines that can mature healthy in contact with lees until the, let’s say “mouth feel readiness” has been achieved. I have worked with this technique the past few years with excellent results. This however is not going without saying that SO₂management remains a critical aspect in maturation management, but merely a tool with a lot of potential, in order to reach a stylistic goal.

The process of autolysis may be enhanced by the addition of glucanase enzymes. These enzymes are industrially prepared from Trichoderma fungus cultures and preferably added after fermentation. Its action takes from 7 to 10 days and must occur at a temperature equal to or greater than 10◦C. Higher doses are required in red winemaking simply because phenolic compounds partially inhibit the activity of the enzyme.

Practical advances (and significantly simpler) in the management of lees include barrel racks with wheels that facilitate rolling of barrels in order to get the lees into the suspension without opening the bung hole and having to stir the lees with a putter (battonage). The Oxo trademark is the “designer’s folly” as to how to achieve this, but exactly the same can be achieved by rolling the barrels on the parallel floor stands (if of course it’s not stacked).

Different strokes for different blokes I suppose…the essence of the blog is to say that to roll or not to roll, to flush or not to flush, changing your ways to adopt some sound lees management practices will benefit your wines.

Bertus Fourie is a winemaker, turned Enology lecturer and creator of the Barista coffee Pinotage.

This NewWorldWinemakerBlog.com post was written by Bertus Fourie

The (Colloidal) Matrix part II

Bertus Fourie — Wed, 06 Jun 2012 08:58:48 +0000

Trinity: Dodge this…

Unfortunately, like most things in life I suppose, too much of a good thing can be bad…and sometimes even dangerous. Although there is a significant upside to the use of healthy, “light” lees, there can be a very destructive downside! And this of course, is what every winemaker wants to dodge…

Some of the solid particles and flakes which form part of lees may be the origin of vegetal aromas and flavors, sometimes up to a point where it almost smells a bit reduced. I have heard the term “sauerkrauty” which is actually a very good descriptor for this phenomena, as it refers to both the elements of vegetal and reductiveness. Another potential risk is the fact that our “friend” the bisulfite ion, which, to a certain degree has an anti-microbial function (although not as significant as molecular SO₂), as well as some free SO_2, are also bound by these solid particles. Of course in the bound form, SO₂lose most of its antimicrobial function and probably all of its anti-oxidative properties.

This of course is a time bomb, simply because we are now managing all the good microbes in parallel with the high risk ones from which we are normally “protected” as a result of the effects of SO₂: Brettanomyces, Pediococcus, Lactobacillus. And – the higher the pH, the higher the risks.

Another risk related to lees contact is the development of reductive odors and metallic tastes. The release of these sulfur compounds may be the result of light lees that is very tightly compacted during wine maturation. This phenomenon is potentially even more hazardous in situations where reductive odors appeared during primary fermentation.

The release of “bitter” substances in wines, combined with reductive and “Brett like odors” is another risk associated with lees contact and is related to contamination by living yeasts such as Brettanomyces and Pichia, as well as lactic acid bacteria like Pediococcus. We are well aware of exactly where they come from: insufficiently disinfected cellar equipment, lack of optimal SO₂management, high pH’s and the release of nutrients into the wine as a result of autolysis.

And speaking of release of nutrients…living lactic acid bacteria may have the ability to metabolize different amino acids with the production of biogenic amines. Hence the importance of hygiene and optimal SO₂management!

What do I propose?

To keep it simple. Manage hygiene. Manage SO₂ and pH optimally. Taste frequently. And great will be your reward.

Bertus Fourie is a winemaker, turned Enology lecturer and creator of the Barista coffee Pinotage.

This NewWorldWinemakerBlog.com post was written by Bertus Fourie

The (Colloidal) Matrix part I

Bertus Fourie — Wed, 30 May 2012 12:39:34 +0000

Morpheus: “Unfortunately, no one can be told what the Matrix is. You have to see it for yourself. ”

For particularly the higher price point wine market segments, wine maturation is a very significant step. Some factors to consider are: the tank or barrel size, the use of oak or not, the length of maturing and ageing conditions and to micro-oxygenate or not. Wine transfers and managing “wine lees” is one of the most important dimensions of enhancing “wine quality through mastering wine maturation”.

What is “wine lees?” I guess it depends on who you are talking to… The official definition of lees is the “residue that forms at the bottom of recipients containing wine, after fermentation during storage or after authorized treatments, as well as the residue obtained following the filtration or centrifugation of this product” (if you are ever inclined to read the EU Regulations)…

I suppose lees for me as a winemaker, is a tool to potentially reach a stylistic goal, i.e. to enhance the structure and mouth feel of the wine, to enhance body and increase the aromatic complexity, and ultimately to achieve longevity.

There are a few technicalities to consider whenever lees is discussed. Heavy lees in red wines is considered to be a combination of yeast cells, tartrate crystals and precipitated color matter and tannins; or involve compounds made up of proteins, tannins and polysaccharides. In white or rosé wines heavy lees may consist of solid grape particles (depending on the clarity of the juice prior to primary fermentation), yeast cells, tartrate crystals and precipitated colloidal matter. It may even include residues of settling treatments such as PVPP, bentonite and casein.

The technical definition of light lees (or “functional lees” as I call it) is: “particles which remain suspended 24 hours after a wine has been moved, and consist mainly of yeast cells and lactic acid bacteria.”

The truth is that, no matter the semantics, optimal lees management will contribute to quality in one or more of the following ways:

1. Increased polysaccharides benefits

-A direct sensorial effect on wine structure – roundness, volume and coating. (Polysaccharides, of different origins, are added to numerous products such as sweets and dairy desserts, in the food industry.)

-Some released colloids or mannoproteins block the reactions of tartrate crystallization and thus enhance tartrate stability.

-Enhanced protein stability

-Binding reactions between tannins, color pigments, proteins and volatile compounds stabilize some of these compounds, which “protects” them against polymerization and precipitation.

-Mannoproteins may have an indirect effect on astringency when they combine with phenolic compounds from grapes or oak, thus acting as protective colloids that decrease the intensity of tannin.

2. Amino acids and nucleic acids are released. The cell content of yeast is rich in amino acids and nucleic acids and is regarded in the food industry as flavor enhancers. This may intensify various taste sensations and complex aromas according to Delteil, as the concentrations of these compounds can be affected by lees contact.

3. Esters & other volatiles are released, especially the esters of fatty acids with sweet and spicy aromas. Primary grape aromas are complemented by the sweeter and spicy aromas of the ethyl esters.

Many wines from around the world and even dimensions of marketing are built upon this simple term – “sur lie.” From wonderful, rich Muscadets from the Loire, great Burgundies, to two of South Africa’s greatest unwooded Chardonnays and Chenins – the Jordan Chardonnay “Sur lie” and the Bosman Family Vineyards Chenin blanc “Sur lie.”

Look out for The (Colloidal) Matrix Part II

Bertus Fourie is a winemaker, turned Enology lecturer and creator of the Barista coffee Pinotage.

This NewWorldWinemakerBlog.com post was written by Bertus Fourie

A walk in the clouds

Bertus Fourie — Fri, 13 Apr 2012 11:21:18 +0000

“Some call her sister of the moon, Some say illusions are her game…”

Those of you who are into Fleetwood Mac (I shall give you a hint: A popular rock band which got together in the late 60’s), are probably intrigued by the familiar lyrics yet again, and those of you who are into biodynamics, probably enchanted by it.

It is a science although not regarded as one. It has many truths, although not acknowledged by too many. Some facts though, that I can put on the table, remain in my view, significant:

1. I grew up spending time with Cousin Riaan in Chenin blanc and Shiraz vineyards, almost 20 years ago, dusting vines with sulfur no more than 3 or 4 times during season. All dry land vineyards. 30 tons per hectare. Today we might not survive if we do not put down a few systemic sprays and a couple of contact sprays. What happened? Are we not treating symptoms instead of zooming in on the reason for these symptoms? Our focus is simply on “pumping the soil” full of required elements to sustain next year’s bottom line. We spray the vine with all sorts of funny things when it shows symptoms of illnesses, disease, pests or deficiencies, instead of zooming in on the variables that cause the distress We have forgotten how to treat and respect the well being of a living entity in our quest to “push the yield”…no wonder we have such chaos in our crops.

2. I have stuck my hand into soil managed biodynamically, but almost broke my fingers trying to get into the first few millimeters of the neighbor’s.

3. Many studies confirmed significantly higher concentrations humus in biodynamically farmed soils, hence more diverse populations of soil microbes and higher concentrations of more diverse populations of microbes on the grapes.

4. I could not find mealy bug on the biodynamically farmed vines, nor those of the neighbor’s. The difference though was that the mealy bugs moved back to where it prefers to live – underground on the roots of a diverse population of plants (even though some are regarded as weeds). Luckily of course Chlorpyrifos (or by the household name Dursban) got rid of the mealy bug via ant control. Unfortunately bees are not to keen on Dursban either.

5. Lower costs of farming biodynamically have been researched and verified by many studies, despite a slightly lower yield.

6. The slightly lower yield justifies itself in better quality grapes and wine. Higher phenolic concentrations, smaller berries and slightly lighter clusters.

7. “Better” wines? I have my personal convictions when it comes to this “sensitive”, abstract term.

My personal conviction on Biodynamics is that scientists and critics do not need to ask whether BD can be regarded as a scientific category or even point out that part of the scientific community looks at it with skepticism and marks it as dogmatic. There are over 4200 farms around the world that are certified as BD, the numbers are increasing, so it is clearly worthy of more respect and attention that it currently enjoys.

Biodynamics make sense to me because I simply believe in things I experience with my God-given senses.

I suppose I will be outlawed as a “winemaker with a scientific approach”, just the way I was (still am I suppose), outlawed as a traditional winemaker, because I produced a “non-typical” Coffee Pinotage style. Whatever typical or traditional may mean…

Bertus Fourie is a winemaker, turned Enology lecturer and creator of the Barista coffee Pinotage.

This NewWorldWinemakerBlog.com post was written by Bertus Fourie

On artificial insemination…

Bertus Fourie — Fri, 02 Mar 2012 10:05:58 +0000

Most of us heard about the snappy response of one of South Africa’s greatest winemakers after a lady asked him about the use of oak alternatives…

Lady (living encyclopedia of wine knowledge): “Do you use oak alternatives like chips, dust, staves and balls?

Winemaker (focused and slightly annoyed): “Lady, do you know what artificial insemination is?”

Lady (living encyclopedia of veterinary science): “Why, yes of course!”

Winemaker (with a grin): “Lady, which do you prefer?”

The question remains: Can the use of oak alternatives benefit the wine to such an extent that it can fully replace the use of barrels, i.e. that it induce in wine all the required reactions without jeopardizing the final wine’s quality and/or style?

There certainly are opposing answers to this question!

The “no” school – Investigations into oak derived products and their influence on wine quality yielded certain disadvantages, e.g. no retrieval of complexity compared to oak barrels, occurrence of hydrogen sulfide on wines associated with fermentation on chips and the precipitation of yellow, semi-crystalline substance as a result of wines treated with sawdust or shavings because of extracted ellagic acid. There is also a general lack of information concerning the influence of oxygen provided by oak derived products and its contribution towards wine quality.

The “yes” school – There are, however, important advantages as well. We all took note of the significant cost reduction in the use of oak derived products opposed to the use of barrels. The addition of oak staves, chips, shavings or powder is a more rapid and economical method of oak treatment. Increased surface area of these oak derived products results in more significant rates of extraction. Some researchers documented the use of 7g/L of oak chips during white wine fermentation to increase the favorable perception of a tasting panel. Ducournau et al. (1999) documented oak chips to be more adapted for consistent toasting, resulting in more homogeneous lots. Zoecklein noted the use of oak derived products in combination with micro-oxygenation to result in wines with increased body, soft tannins, stabile color and enhancement of fruit and oak aroma integration (Zoecklein et al., 2002).

My personal conviction? Staves work as well as barrels. Nevertheless – we are debating the wrong issue here. Perhaps the right question should be: “How does the flavor profile of my wine suit the market where I try to flog it? How can I ensure consistency in my wine in a financially viable way?” Are we afraid of the answers, because we simply do not have them? Or do we acknowledge the fact that we squander money based on our personal opinions of the consumer, what they want, how they want it and where?

Bertus Fourie is a winemaker, turned Enology lecturer and creator of the Barista coffee Pinotage.

This NewWorldWinemakerBlog.com post was written by Bertus Fourie

Snow blower on Enceladus

Bertus Fourie — Fri, 18 Nov 2011 09:49:57 +0000

Have you ever wondered where the circle around Saturn comes from? Interestingly enough it was discovered that one of the moons of Saturn, called Enceladus, is successful in shooting ice grains far enough to form Saturn’s ring…

Just as amazed as I was 12 years ago when I was introduced to Saturn, I was when Ice Jet came to clean some of my barrels. The technology was introduced to me a while ago, and we have decided to put it to the test.

The coopers come to your site with their mobile unit and remove the heads of the barrels to expose the inside of the barrel. And this is where I saw to my total amazement the biggest, deadliest blisters you can imagine! And I was even more appalled when I saw and smelled the puss that drizzled out of these opened wounds…I call on all winemakers to inspect your barrels, please! I have some understanding now of why barrel differences occur, why Brett spoils our wine, why volatile acidity increase sporadically, and, and, and…If only barrel inspection helped…older barrels with these types of blisters induce most of the nightmares in very expensive, barrel maturing wines!

How does this work? The CO₂ ice pellets are blasted onto the contaminated barrel surface at -79⁰ C and basically “delaminates” contaminants from the wood. Once the ice makes contact with the wood surface it, returns to its natural gas (CO₂) state and expands up to 700 times to create shock waves. This effect drives brittle materials from the surface as tartrate crystals and sediments are frozen, fractured and removed exposing original, unused toasted oak surface.

It removes not only sediment, but also contaminants on up to 99% of the interior surface of the barrel. Most bacteria and mold spores are removed, which leaves the barrel in a cleaner state than any chemical or physical process can.

During the ice blasting process a layer of wood between 0,5 and 1,2 mm is removed, exposing a freshly toasted oak surface to the next cycle of wine. This also restores micro-oxygenation as a result of restored porosity. As toasting during cooperage is typically up to 1 cm deep, there is no need for re-toasting after ice blasting.

In a major project testing this technology in the USA, very promising results were obtained. The tests showed that the treatment allowed the barrels to impart significantly more oak volatiles into the wine. The only volatiles, which showed lower readings, were guaiacol and 4-methylguaiacol, which is responsible for “smoky”, and “chary” flavors. Organoleptic evaluations found the treatment to result in wines with improved fresh oak, vanilla, butterscotch and coconut flavors, decreased smoke/char flavors and fresher, cleaner fruit.

It is not the cheapest way to clean barrels, but as sure as the ice circle around Saturn, the most effective and hygienic way to clean barrels!

Bertus Fourie is a winemaker, turned Enology lecturer and creator of the Barista coffee Pinotage.

This NewWorldWinemakerBlog.com post was written by Bertus Fourie

Stinkpots

Bertus Fourie — Fri, 30 Sep 2011 07:28:57 +0000

Now you probably wonder what old Jack Sparrow had to do with this…Interestingly enough, Stinkpots, favorite weapons of pirates, were malodorous concoctions made from saltpeter, limestone, asafetida (a vile-smelling gum resin), and decayed fish that were packed into earthenware jugs, ignited, and hurled onto an enemy ship…

Most of us had to manage a stinkpot brewing in our cellar at some stage of our lives, whether it was a result of a power failure (load sharing for South African winemakers), too little nitrogen, or just a general struggling yeast population. And then of course, if the H₂S turns into mercaptans… it will just about kill any odorous component remotely smelling of fruit.

H₂S contains sulfur in its most reduced form. Mercaptans are common organic compounds. When aerated, mercaptans can be oxidized to disulfides, which slightly change their sensory threshold and character. The oxidized forms are usually less of a stinkpot. These reductive components have unpleasant odor descriptors, and these can increase post-fermentation. Some of these, such as H₂S and mercaptans, react with copper and can be removed by copper additions, usually in the form of cupric sulfate. In some wineries additions of cupric sulfate is a standard procedure, sometimes with an addition of inactivated carbon. All of us are aware of course that such an addition, particularly on Sauvignons, can reduce the concentration of aromatic thiols with up to 20%… I personally believe a slight element of H₂S might actually contribute to the complexity of Sauvignon blanc.

But what to do? Well, the magic potion arrived in the form of inactivated yeasts impregnated with copper – Reduless®. It can be suspended with water and added to the tank directly after primary fermentation. The wine is racked off the lees after 72 hours. No residues, no potential risk of copper casse forming, but only a fresh smelling, wonderful wine. It has been developed by Lallemand for red and white wines to reduce H₂S, DMS, DES and other stinkpot related off-flavors in wine.

Bertus Fourie is a winemaker, turned Enology lecturer and creator of the Barista coffee Pinotage.

This NewWorldWinemakerBlog.com post was written by Bertus Fourie

Gone with the wind

Bertus Fourie — Fri, 09 Sep 2011 09:36:30 +0000

When in 1939, Rhett Butler quoted the memorable “how fickle is woman…” he obviously did not have any idea how complex consumers can be…But if one thing is true about consumers, it is the fact that they demand top quality for no dollars!

What does the consumer want? I reckon 99% of consumers want drinkability in what ever they may take from the shelve. And “drinkability” is one of those abstract terms with so many meanings and definitions. For me drinkability is a function of how well the winemaker interpreted the phenolic personality of a given block (or cultivar), and how the processing dynamics were being managed early in the life of the wine to obtain a wine which has loads of fruit, and soft and subtle tannins which are protected by complexing factors such as mannoproteins and colloids.

There are numerous ways to achieve this, and we know what important role oxygen plays not only in achieving this, but also in increasing the viability of yeasts and getting rid of bad flavours like H₂S. Various winemakers have experience with a number of cap management regimes, but in most instances various levels of oxygen is incorporated in the process. Obviously different strokes for different blokes.

Pulsair is one of these techniques. I stumbled upon this technology at an exhibition almost six years ago. More recently I saw fixed installations and even handheld units at various cellars in Australia. Yalumba has a fixed system on most of their red fermentation tanks.

How does it work? It works on the sequential release of compressed air or gas at the bottom of a tank for the purpose of creating circulation and mixing. Measured amounts of high pressure air are injected under flat round discs called accumulator plates installed on the tank bottom. It looks just like a creepy crawly. These released bubbles become bigger as they rise to the surface, and bubbles through the cap mixing the fermenting must very efficiently with the pomace.

The result? Soft luscious wines with loads of fruit.

I think winemakers should think a bit more out of the box when it comes to buying expensive oak barrels, and perhaps think more about savings down stream. The clever application of simple technology can certainly swing the bottom-line.

See pulsair in action on YouTube

Pulsair cap management

Pulsair red winemaking

Bertus Fourie is a winemaker, turned Enology lecturer and creator of the Barista coffee Pinotage.

This NewWorldWinemakerBlog.com post was written by Bertus Fourie

Wine adulteration 101

Bertus Fourie — Fri, 10 Jun 2011 07:53:45 +0000

The history of the wine trade is filled with stories of wine that has been manipulated, adulterated (substances not related to grapes being added) and even counterfeited. We have grown used to spinning cones and reverse osmosis, electron dialyses and ion exchange, thermoflush and decanting, cmc’s and various cocktails. Do not get me wrong, I also love the science of wine, and I firmly believe you have to have cash to sustain “real winemaking”…profit can only be achieved if costs are reduced and turn over maximised…and if you can use technology to achieve that, why not?

But to add strong acids? To add glycerol? To add flavourants? And call it wine? I can certainly not agree with this, even if legislation does in some cases. Take Mega Purple for example, a food additive that is used to enhance sensory attributes such as color, taste and mouth feel. It is produced by concentrating the teinturier grape Rubired, a cross between Alicante Ganzin and Tinta Cão and has a sugar concentration of 68%. Teinturier grapes is different to vinifera in that it has dark, red juice. Mega Purple is basically a concentrate of sugar and colour, and is added to a wine with insufficient colour to fix the colour to a darker hue, making it more attractive for the buyer. It is common knowledge that a darker, deeper red colour is associated with higher quality, irrespective of the cultivar. It is therefore possible to “change a white wine or Rose into a red wine” by the addition of this magic potion. The downside, however, is that it has its own, unique smell and if you use as little as <1% it may change the aroma/bouquet of the adulterated wine to something less intriguing. Perhaps it is in order to use mega purple in cheaper wines, but as soon as the potion is added to wine, it “homogenise” the complexity of the bouquet significantly. Perhaps the consumer who buys wine in this category does not really care about terroir, nor bouquet, only about price.

If you surf the net to establish how people feel about Mega Purple, you’ll find loads of oenophiliacs giving the wine drinking community a piece of their mind, but no comments from “semi-oenophiliacs”. The question is though: Does someone who buys wine for less than $10 or €3-00 really care? I honestly think they don’t!

From a personal perspective though…I suppose it just does not feel right.

I remember someone saying long ago “it is the complexities of nature that gives personality to our wines…”

Bertus Fourie is a winemaker, turned Enology lecturer and creator of the Barista coffee Pinotage.

This NewWorldWinemakerBlog.com post was written by Bertus Fourie

Substitute?

Bertus Fourie — Fri, 08 Apr 2011 13:44:42 +0000

VERB: to put in the place of another; switch seemingly equivalent items (e.g. “substitute regular barrels with flextank”)

DEFINITION 1: to use something or someone instead of another thing or person

(You can substitute oak barrels for flextank in the production of icon and ultra premium segment wine.)

DEFINITION 2: to perform the same job as another thing or to take its place

(Polymer flextank will substitute for less efficient oak barrels.)

(Definition of substitute verb from the Cambridge Advanced Learner’s Dictionary)

I am sure I have most reader’s attention now. Something in me shivered when I read on flextank Australia’s website, the bullish mantra “Barrels – a good idea 500 years ago…a great idea today –fFlextank Barrel replacement” for the first time. I am a traditionalist. I use barrels to mature wine in! How could I EVER be a representative of a product in which I do not whole heartedly believe in? This is a story of a paradigm shift…

The title of my M.Sc. thesis many moons ago was “The influence of oak and oak derived products on the evolution of red wine”, and this was somewhat part of the birth of the Coffee Pinotage 11 years ago. I realised throughout the course of the project that you can achieve great results by using staves as opposed to barrels, if certain aspects of the processing part is tweaked.

I met the flextank team last year, and became part of an incredible product, which raised my eyebrows at first…until I experienced the proof in the pudding. Before I get there, let me explain what flextank is. Wine is matured in barrels for two reasons mainly: One is the contribution of oak to the mouthfeel of the wine, and the second is the contribution to the wine’s aromatic complexity. The evolution of both is influenced by oxygenation as a result of the porosity of the oak – which of course is not that consistent…hence barrel differences in many cases. flextank is a polyethylene polymer, which allows for the effect of oxygenation, making this process very homogenous and controlled. No barrel differences!

The lifespan of the 1000 L cube is more than 25 years, requires less manpower to move around, rack and transport, has no evaporative losses, is significantly more hygienic than older barrels, does not lose its ability to oxygenate at a controlled level like old barrels (new barrels 30-40 mg O₂/L/year, old barrels <10 mg O₂/L/year), is more space efficient (can be stacked 4 high) and can be reductively “battonaged” simply by using a forklift (yes, the seal is that effective). It can be used for both red and white wines, and can be used for alcoholic fermentation, malolactic fermentation and maturation. I almost forgot – it is also slightly more cost effective, although this should not even be part of the consideration for using flextank…

The proof of the pudding? I tasted over 40 wines in Australia earlier this year. The wines matured in flextank tasted (blind) fresher, fruitier, livelier and better integrated than the older barrels, and I did not pick up any difference between wines matured in flextank vs. NEW barrels.

Plus the friendlier carbon footprint…what more do you need?

Bertus Fourie is a winemaker, turned Enology lecturer and creator of the Barista coffee Pinotage.

This NewWorldWinemakerBlog.com post was written by Bertus Fourie

Old World wines changing profile?

Bertus Fourie — Thu, 30 Dec 2010 23:00:36 +0000

Baroness Philippine de Rothschild’s well known saying “winemaking is not difficult, only the first 300 years are…” encapsulate so much when you think about it. It not only speaks of a history rich in trial and error, but also of credibility, immense beauty and vineyards which lived through several wars and saw different owners over the decades. It also speaks of vastly different wine styles…or does it?

Spain, Italy, France and Portugal are regarded as the Old world wine producing countries where caves are still used to mature wine in, Cladosporium and Candida covered bottles are regarded normal and production methods are still governed by ancient law. Wines styles are considered rustic, infused with elements of Brettanomyces (which in some cases may add to the complexity – and it is my personal opinion and I like it!) and sometimes described as “earthy”, “farmyardy” and may taste “drier”. It is impossible to put generic adjectives to styles which are sometimes very diverse as a function of terroir, production and varietal and in doing so you might step on someone else’s toes (or palate…). Winemaking is considered more of an art form and the resulting wine traditionally needs time to develop in the bottle and also needs to be drunk with food.

The New World producing areas include Australia, Argentina, Chile, the USA, New-Zealand and South Africa (which of course is actually an “old New World producing country”). The wines in general are considered significantly more fruit driven and sometimes even “sweeter tasting” than the traditional old world wines. The reason for this is mainly due to the focus to “preserve the fruit” by picking riper, thus inducing higher alcohol in some cases, a ripe fruit profile, and colloids that mask the intensity of tannin. Newer cellar practices challenge some of the traditional methods and advances in viticultural techniques, especially in the field of irrigation, ensured fruit which created wines which spurred areas like California, Barossa, Marlborough and Stellenbosch to the New World forefront. One of the main reasons for New World styles to gain so much market share to the detriment of the Old World, is a function of focusing on the needs of the consumer. One of these needs of course to simplify what the label communicates, which is still a confusing subject for consumers when it comes to Old World Wines.

What does the consumer prefer? Perhaps an unfair question. It is important to consider though, the fact that the Old World producers have lost more than 60% market share to their New World Competitors. As a result of this the traditional styles are evolving. Increased fruit intensity, cleanliness, more oak intensity in some cases, and rising alcohol levels (not only as a result of global warming) are common. Wines are softer, taste “sweeter” and are “more consumer friendly”. Marketing strategies are adapted to focus significantly more in understanding the consumer, befriending the consumer and accommodating the consumer. Old World Wine Renaissance is taking place, and is evident in all the main international markets, i.e. the Rhone Renaissance, increased popularity of the Priorat and Dao, and wines from the Languedoc and Provence.

Although some changes are great for the sake of the producer, the brand and the category, I realise some nostalgic presence…what about reflecting in the wine the fruit from the vineyard as dictated and perhaps limited by terroir?

Isn’t it the limitations of nature that gives personality to a wine?

Bertus Fourie is a winemaker, turned Enology lecturer and creator of the Barista coffee Pinotage.

This NewWorldWinemakerBlog.com post was written by Bertus Fourie

Screw caps screwed?

Bertus Fourie — Thu, 09 Dec 2010 23:00:07 +0000

I did not bring a lot of wines back with me after a recent trip to Northern Spain, mainly because I spent most of my money on a single bottle of Vega Sicily…I had everything planned: A lovely evening with good friends, good music, and of course, good food. And the highlight of the evening: the very expensive bottle of Vega Sicily. I think you know what happened next…yes, cork!

I do not want to participate in the closure debate in this blog, although many similar events really annoyed me during my past 13 years in the wine industry. Expensive wines, corked!

Let’s consider the upside of corks: It is the traditional closure which was considered to have all the necessary specifications for being the most suitable closure for wine bottles. It owns the “romantic dimension” for closures, because the popping sound of a pulled cork enforce so much fond feelings of happiness, love and joy…(although those feelings easily disappear as the fruit in a fruit scalped bottle of wine if the cork was tainted…). The downside of course is TCA and all the related components responsible for a wine lover to break a bottle of potentially good wine with a hammer. In all fairness to cork closures however, in the hunt for the TCA perpetrator, it was discovered that TCA may also come from oak barrels, bottling lines, water, and a million other sources. This unfortunately is but a small comfort to any wine lover who has poured an expensive bottle of tainted wine down the drain.

What are the advantages of screw caps? Tyson Stelzer from Down Under, well known writer and expert on the field of screw caps, listed the following 20 “reasons for choosing screw caps”:

Remove the risk of corky taint.
Remove the risk of sporadic oxidation.
Avoid flavour modification.
Eliminate flavour scalping.
Allow the proper aging of white wines.
Allow the proper aging of red wines.
Oxygen ingress is NOT a condition for wine ageing.
Maintain a reliable long term seal.
Facilitate vertical storage.
Are not affected by humidity.
Provide greater resistance to temperature change.
Resistant to odours in the cellar.
Are not vulnerable to insects in the cellar.
Do not need to be recapped.
Wines can be cellared for longer periods.
Easy to open.
Are easily resealed.
Are cost effective.
Can be recycled.
Are romantic…

Sounds like such a great idea!

Negative criticism on screw caps were published in Wine Business Monthly (2007/15/04) in an article by Cyril Penn entitled Independant Consumer Research on closures. Apparently consumers in the USA, UK, Australia & France prefer natural cork in wines over $15. The latest criticism against screw caps is the large carbon footprint. Cairn Environment in France conducted tests which concluded the production of 10 kg of CO₂ per ton (screw caps) vs. 2.5 kg of CO₂ per ton for corks.

Frustrating isn’t it?

Bertus Fourie is a winemaker, turned Enology lecturer and creator of the Barista coffee Pinotage.

This NewWorldWinemakerBlog.com post was written by Bertus Fourie

Something is rotten in the state of Denmark…

Bertus Fourie — Thu, 18 Nov 2010 23:00:52 +0000

Is Brett a bad thing? Mmmm….How long is a piece of string? But as a winemaker you should probably have a decent, well informed opinion about Brettanomyces and what it does in wine. I remember as a student going to classes at the Cape Wine Academy in South Africa. We always decided to sit right in the back of the class, because we believed our vocabulary, especially with regards to adjectives, were not sufficient enough to explain why we loved or hated a wine. (And apart from that, we felt quite intimidated by the glares of our fellow classmates should we not agree with some of them…). Luckily I soon realised that it is okay to have a different opinion, because as for the perception of tannin, consumers differ widely in their sensitivity to aromatic substances. Hence, the reason why people differ in opinion when it comes to their perception of a wine and its quality is because of their genetics and not their vocabulary.

Anyway – we’re on Brett. What is it? Apparently also a “probiotic culture”, which will probably make Nicolas Joly shrivel with anguish. I tasted a very highly recommended fruit infused tea the other day. It smelled like the cow shed (the typical old, wet ones) where I learned how to milk cows when I was little. I reflexively read the back label. It contained five different probiotic cultures of which Dekkera anomalaus was one. And I am sure you probably know this, but Dekkera is the anamorph of Brettanomyces. This would be an example of Brett gone badly. Way too much of the pencil shaving, spicy, wet cow yard, funny farmyard, funky, damp hamster cage nuances that can be absorbed and smiled upon by this wine addict.

Five species of Brett are associated with wine, of which B. Bruxellensis is most common. The reason for growth in wine mediums include poor SO₂ management (and molecular SO₂ influenced directly negatively by a high pH), riper grapes and residual sugars. Too high nitrogen levels in musts (mostly as a function of winemakers who do not regard nitrogen management important) also fuels the action of Brett. What does the spoiled wine taste and smell like? Well, it depends on the aromatic culprit. Three common molecules are responsible for much frustration – 4-ethyl phenol (smells like horse stables, sweatiness, cow yard/barnyard, burnt beans) is the main culprit, IVA or 3-methylbutiric acid (smells rancid, horsy) which is a volatile fatty acid and last, but not least, 4-ethylguiacol (smoky, spicy aromas).

And then, the million dollar question: Can it add to complexity in a wine? I believe yes, particularly if the spicy, smoky 4-EP is present. There is however, opposing opinions amongst scientists and winemakers. Some icon wines have been associated with Bretty nuances. Beaucastel, Henschke, Jaboulet’s La Chapelle and even Penfold’s Grange come to mind and interestingly enough, it is postulated that cultivars such as Shiraz and Mourvedre have more phenolic precursors, thus making it more likely to show Bretty characteristics.

I guess in the end, you should probably ask yourself what you get from Brett, how much of it and how, and whether it contribute to the wine’s typicity and quality.

And ultimately measure your sales, just to make sure you got it right…

Bertus Fourie is a winemaker, turned Enology lecturer and creator of the Barista coffee Pinotage.

This NewWorldWinemakerBlog.com post was written by Bertus Fourie

A venture into coffee

Bertus Fourie — Thu, 04 Nov 2010 23:00:14 +0000

Negative criticism on the “coffee Pinotage category” is as common as coffee to Kenia. Interestingly enough, the blows usually comes from “traditionalists” making comments on how “this style does not reflect typical Pinotage” and “I would rather have my coffee in the morning out of a cup”. The list goes on and on, and, sorry to say, actually became boring quite quickly.

The truth is: It is the fastest growing category from South Africa. What once was a 12000L tank now has evolved into a category in its own right. What I thought 10 years will cause me my job, now evolved into a wine style that is understood and loved by most consumers simply because it demystifies and clarifies wine completely. Consumers can make the association with roasted coffee beans and chocolate. They feel part of an industry with its own, and sometimes very complex jargon.

But how did the “coffee Pinotage” came about? There are usually two groups of information that is acquired during a research project: Results that can be proofed statistically significant, and results that you label “for further investigation”. I noted coffee aromas occurring as a result of various treatments of Shiraz and Pinotage during my research. But what was intended for Shiraz, was applied on Pinotage in 2001 as a result of the vintage and running out of cellar space. And the cellar smelled “like walking into a coffee shop” the next morning. It was the birth of the “coffee Pinotage” style.

But what is the origin of these components that give wine such an intense bouquet? Loads of research projects have been launched to isolate and identify the components responsible for these coffee aromas, almost similar to the project in Australia where rotundone was identified as the component being responsible for the pepper aromas in wine. Some have said that it is a result of the toasting of the barrels, whilst others mentioned it to be a fermentation artefact. Interestingly enough both schools are correct, as it is a group of components that were isolated and identified from – wait for it – coffee brews. The group of components, referred to as furfuralthiols, is a result of the metabolism of the yeast and the toasting of the barrels. It occurs in both white and red wines, and presents it selves as aromas of “roasted coffee beans”, “mocha” and “chocolate” – aromas all known to please many a consumer.

So, while sensitive traditionalists are eager to criticize the “coffee Pinotage”, the category is acting locally and internationally as a true ambassador of not only Pinotage, but also the South African Wine Category in winning wine consumers and converting beer and whiskey drinkers to wine.

What more do you want?

Bertus Fourie is a winemaker, turned Enology lecturer and creator of the Barista coffee Pinotage.

This NewWorldWinemakerBlog.com post was written by Bertus Fourie

Destination USA…

Bertus Fourie — Thu, 14 Oct 2010 23:00:37 +0000

Andy Roediger, in a wine tasting on New World wines today, mentioned; “Our skills are evolving. We are making better wines today than 10 years ago. Pinot noir from NZ has evolved in quality probably by 20% the last 4-5 yrs….” I agree with Andy. South Africa certainly came a long way. Its winemakers are travelling the world, getting exposure to all sorts of winemaking techniques, wine styles, grape varietals, cultures and markets. And the best catalyst probably, in driving us as South African winemakers to be the best we can be (gosh – I am sounding like USA military recruitment), is the fierce competition not only locally, but also internationally. With everything that has happened the past couple of years, from earth quakes to changing weather patterns, from the crash of the US economy to the rise of China (we have 3 shops now in the main street of my local town…), from Australia creating a strong “Brand Australia” to consumers growing tired of critter labels, we are experiencing the pressure to establish a strong “Brand South Africa” internationally.

By now you probably wondering what point I am trying to make. Well, here it is: I am growing tired of some of the international “benchmarks” of the South African wine category, simply because I wonder if there is any control about “what we show where, the message behind what we show, and sometimes even how we are trying to carry the message over”.

I’ll explain. I have just arrived back from the country under the rainbow (the one with the potential pot of gold and the saving grace of the wine industry…) – the USA. I spent two weeks walking the streets, calling on accounts with distributors. I took close to 600 pictures, amongst them a couple of pictures of hard working, successful South African brands such as Mulderbosch, Excelsior, Fairview and Jardin (yes – Jordan, but just like the Highlander, there can be only one and the USA has one…). I must add that I am extremely proud to be associated with these brands reflecting the potential of South Africa.

But unfortunately, besides the fact that South Africa is not a category in the USA like Australia or even a region like Rioja, I saw too many brands which are promoted by shelve talkers that say “the most awarded wine from South Africa” which is not only a lie, but definitely not a reflection of the potential of South Africa, nor what we have learned, nor our abilities or knowledge. It is not a reflection of our diversity, or the character of the environment, nor the message that we want to establish or the experience we have gained. And I am not only talking about shelve talkers, but I am also talking about brands from South Africa carrying the message that says “THIS is South Africa…” Felt to me the only message they reflect is one of a “quick buck to be made by being dishonest to consumers.”

I do not have an answer. I think it is a generic principle. One of sufficient control in what we produce, how we promote it, and what we use to promote it.

Bertus Fourie is a winemaker, turned Enology lecturer and creator of the Barista coffee Pinotage.

This NewWorldWinemakerBlog.com post was written by Bertus Fourie