New World Winemaker Blog

Over the years, South African winemaker, Henry Kotzé, has refined his winemaking mantra to one of minimal interference and maximal expression of variety by means of selecting the best terroir possible. Experience speaks for itself and Henry was appointed winemaker at Morgenster in 2009. Previously, Henry’s oenological skills were honed during his stints at Vergelegen, Boschendal, Neil Ellis and Eikendal (all highly acclaimed South African wineries.) Henry’s focus at Morgenster is on red wine where he works with the classical Bordeaux grape varieties (Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet franc, Petit Verdot and Merlot) and Italian grape varieties (Sangiovese and Nebbiolo).

The first vines on the farm were planted in 1994 and the average age of the vineyards is 15 years. The grapes are usually harvested, depending on the fickle weather of course, late February. Average yield is 5.5 tonnes per hectare and juice yield is 700 litres per tonne.

Now, let’s get started with the winemaking section of this blog. This is what Henry had to say: “As the grapes are destemmed and crushed (about 10% is whole bunch pressed), I’ll add an Enartis red wine enzyme for colour extraction. Cold soaking is done for two to four days at less than 10°C. Only one pump-over a day is needed and this is done slowly and gently, to facilitate maximum extraction.” As he says this, he glances longingly at his mud encrusted mountain bike and then back to me. I realise that he’s probably very busy and has not been getting a lot of sleep (the plight of every winemaker!), so I hurry on with my questions. As for the Bordeaux varietals, Henry elaborated about two of his favourite yeasts: “I inoculate Anchor NT 202 and Anchor WE 372 (Oenobrands) at 15°C. NT 202 has always been a stalwart and works well with the wine style that we like to embrace at Morgenster. It is also easy controllable with temperature alterations.

As for WE 372, it is a slower fermenter which really enhances the varietal character of the grapes I am working with. WE 372 makes a particularly powerful contribution towards red berry and fruity aromas when I’m working with Merlot. For my Italian varietals, I use selected Lallemand yeasts. A typical fermentation is done at 26 to 28°C for seven to ten days. I also use a lot of oxygen during fermentations for maximum colour extraction. As an activator I use Laffort Dynastart and Anchor Nutrivin (Oenobrands) and DAP during fermentation.” Henry also formed part of a group of winemakers in South Africa who tried the new Anchor NT 202 Co-Inoculant MLF starter culture (Oenobrands) in 2011.

He says: “I tried the Co-inoculant on a batch Petit Verdot this vintage and was pleasantly surprised with the results, since MLF took only 14 days to complete after AF finished. This usually takes three to five weeks. I usually inoculate all my red wines with Lallemand bacteria, but intend to use the Co-inoculant again next year and in bigger amounts.” Henry explains post-AF as follows: “Extended maceration on skins can last a few days or up to two weeks. After MLF, the wine is racked and three rackings are done during 18 months of barrel ageing. Beta-glucanase (Enartis) is used during ageing.

Optimal filtering would be done with a 1.6 micron candle filter, but where VA is 0.6g/L or higher, I will use a 0.45 micron candle filter.” Henry has his wine bottled during December and January after which it is released three years later. As for the premium Morgenster wines, expect to pay US $69 and US $33 for the Lourensriver Valley range.

Bernard Mocke is a technical Consultant for Anchor Wine Yeast.

Délestage – (‘dehl-luh-STAJ’) aka “rack and return” (though the French sounds much more refined and romantic, as usual.) refers to the practice of repeatedly draining fermenting red wine off of its skins through a screen that traps some portion of the seeds, then returning the drained-off juice to continue fermenting on the skins, but minus the seeds entrapped in the draining process. Fewer seeds = lower seed-to-juice ratio = less extraction of seed tannins into juice = less tannic wine.

You know that it can’t really be that simple. There are two reasons why just describing the mechanics of the operation is inadequate. First, the “rack and return” process does more than just remove seeds. Like other methods of cap management*, the process also douses the floating grape skins. Unlike some other methods of cap management, délestage generally incorporates a lot of air into the must when the juice is pumped back over the skins.

Besides stimulating their growth, oxygen discourages fermentation yeasts from producing unsavory cooked cabbage and onion-like sulfides. Oxygen also has far-reaching and often poorly-understood effects on myriad elements of wine chemistry. Tannin polymerization, for example, is influenced by oxygen in complex ways that seem, in general, to lead to softer and rounder wines In fact, the role of oxygen in winemaking is so very complex that I’m going to refrain from saying any more about it here for fear of perjuring myself. In any case, the influence of délestage on a wine can’t just be attributed to removing seeds; oxygen must play a part, too.

The second reason why délestage is more complex than its mechanical description comes from our understanding – or, rather, our lack of understanding – of tannins themselves. We once separated tannins into the two broad categories of seed tannins and skin tannins. Seed tannins were bad: harsh, bitter, and green. Skin tannins were better: softer and malleable. In this context, délestage makes a lot of sense. Decreased exposure to bitter seeds during fermentation should reduce harsh, bitter flavors.

For better or for worse, tannin chemists, led by Dr. Jim Harbertson at WSU, have shattered this simplistic understanding. Tannins are polymers of flavon-3-ols. According to Harbertson’s work, longer tannins are usually perceived as more astringent, yet seed tannins are about a third of the length of skin tannins, averaging ten instead of thirty units. On the other hand, seed tannins take longer to extract than skin tannins; even though seed tannins outweigh skin tannins in magnitude, they release more slowly. To add yet another layer of complexity, the make-up of each tannin polymer influences its sensory characteristics in addition to its sheer length. And even then tannin experts haven’t yet deciphered what happens to tannins over time to make well-aged wine seem softer and less harsh than its youthful counterpart. For more on this topic without delving into the scientific literature, try this palatable Wines and Vines article.

The upshot of how to use délestage in the face of all of this complex chemistry? Taste, taste, taste. I’m no winemaker, but isn’t this self-evident? Superb winemakers have been making superb wine for centuries before anyone ever named or knew of a flavon-3-ol. Intuitively, it makes sense that removing seeds will reduce seed-y flavors. If that makes your wine taste better, go for it. As for oxygen, even if it remains the great unknown variable, scientific uncertainty doesn’t invalidate your taste buds.

*Cap management – grape skins are pushed, parachute-like, to the top of the must by CO₂ bubbles created by the fermentation process, creating a “cap” of skins that can literally float above the surface of the must. Free from the protective effects of alcohol and acid and exposed to air, this cap will rapidly submit to spoilage microorganisms if not frequently reincorporated into the must. Hence, in making red wines, the “cap” must be “managed.”

Erika Szymanski is an independent contributor to this blog. She is in no way affiliated with the sponsoring company. This blog was originally posted on her blog: The Wine-o-scope.