What Is Malolactic Fermentation?

There are a lot of wine terms that get thrown around in the wine world that can be quite overwhelming. One of those terms is malolactic fermentation. At the risk of taking you back to high school chemistry and biology class, I want to take a moment to explain malolactic and why it is important in winemaking.

First off, there are typically two fermentations that a wine can undergo. Primary fermentation is the yeast turning sugar to alcohol (personally this is my favorite) and secondary fermentation which is malolactic fermentation. Malolactic fermentation is performed by lactic acid bacteria that can use malic acid as a food source. During the fermentation the bacteria turn malic acid, a sharp acid, into lactic acid (a softer acid). Malic acid is the same acid found in foods like granny smith apples which is why they are so tart and sharp. Conversely, lactic acid is often found in milk in the form of lactate which is typically mild.

So why do we undergo malolactic fermentation in wine? There are several reasons, which include softening of the acidity, microbial stability, and flavor development. Most red wines undergo malolactic fermentation to soften out the acidity in the wine. Young red wine tends to be sharp and acidic.  By converting the malic acid in the wine to lactic acid, we can soften the palate of the wine. Although we can sterile filter wines, there was a time when bottling wines that had not gone through malolactic fermentation would be at risk of fermenting in the bottle. Lactic acid bacteria are everywhere around us and would get into the wine during bottling (those of you who have ever made homemade sauerkraut know this well).  As you can imagine, this is not a great situation as the fermentation releases a small amount of carbon dioxide which can push the cork, or the wine becomes hazy and tastes bad. Today many winemakers choose to bottle unfiltered which will require the need for the wine to have gone through malolactic fermentation.

Finally, there is the desire to enhance the flavor of the wine. Some strains of malolactic bacteria have the potential to produce more of a compound called diacetyl. This is the same compound that makes your movie popcorn taste buttery. Those big buttery chardonnays will all have gone through malolactic fermentation to impart this buttery character in the wine. In fact, there are some well-known chardonnays that add extra malic acid to the wine to increase the amount of food for the bacteria, thus increasing the level of diacetyl and buttery flavor. Quite often these chardonnays also have a hefty dose of new oak on them as well, which is often the toasty vanilla and butterscotch flavors. These aromas work together to create an oaky buttery style that is quite sought after by some.

As for me, all my red wines go through complete malolactic fermentation. However, I do not allow my white wines such as Pinot Gris, Chardonnay, Dry Riesling, Rose, and Sauvignon Blanc to go through that process. I love the beautiful high acidity we have in Oregon, and I believe the minerality and texture of these wines are really showcased by the higher acidity.

So, the next time you smell a big buttery chardonnay or hear someone talking about the wine going through malolactic, you will know all about it.

Jul 6, 2022 at 2:00 PM Permalink

Wine Aging

Wine Aging

I have had a few great questions about what makes a wine age. Ageability really comes down to three things in wine…acidity, tannin and alcohol. Aging is just very slow oxidation. Without getting too crazy with the chemistry, I will try to break each one down.

Acidity and more importantly the pH of the wine has a huge effect in determining the reactivity form of many of the compounds in wine that act as antioxidants such as color and tannin. Wines with higher acid and lower pH tend to age better than wines with low acid and high pH. Acid also plays a key role in the balance of a wine and preserving the fruit and aromatics.

Tannins are a class of compounds that come from the skins and seeds of the grape as well as from oak barrels. Tannins act as natural antioxidants. The higher the tannin the more antioxidants available to slow down the aging process. Wines like Cabernet Sauvignon, Petite Verdot, Tannat and Petite Sirah all tend to have very high tannin levels. Whereas Pinot Noir, Gamay, and Barbera tend to have low natural tannin levels but often will have higher acidity to assist with aging. A good indication of the tannin level of a particular wine is the level of astringency you sense on your palate. This is the sensation of drying you feel on your gums after you swallow a sip of wine.

Alcohol can also play a role in ageability, especially when it comes to dessert wines and fortified wines such as port. Alcohol levels of 17-21% act as a preservative and allow these wines to age incredibly well. The oldest wine I have ever tasted was a Madeira from the 1800’s. Madeira is a fortified wine with extremely high acidity thus giving it both high acid and high alcohol. It was still young!

Aging wine is romantic. Many consumers fall in love with the idea of dusting off that bottle you have been saving for a really special experience only to have the wine be past its prime. I can’t tell you the number of wines I have saved for that special night only to have them be over aged and undrinkable. At the end of the day, you have to ask yourself if you really like aged wine. As a wine ages the fruit will typically go from fresh fruit characters to dried fruit characters. The acidity will soften over time and the tannins will soften. The overall wine will hopefully become more complex and integrated but eventually there will come a time when the wine peaks and starts to diminish in quality. Just because you age a wine does not make it better. Most wines these days are made to be drank upon release, even some very expensive bottles may not hold up to aging.

If you want to age your wine be sure to cellar in a dark place with a consistent temperature. Ideally 55-60F is a good aging temperature, but the important thing is to not let the temperature fluctuate a lot. This expands and contracts the headspace inside the bottle allowing more oxygen to enter the bottle. If you do not have a wine fridge built for aging, a closet in the center of the house works well. Be aware of your climate and how the temperature varies.

Just remember, life is short and enjoying a wine a little young is never as bad as not enjoying it at all!

Jan 3, 2022 at 9:00 AM Permalink

"Nice legs.... why thank you!"

“Nice legs…. why thank you!”

While we all know the story of this lamp, wine legs have a legacy of their own…

Let’s admit it, we have all had that wine expert friend or family member tell us “Wow this wine has nice legs.”  Ever wonder why people look at the legs of a wine and what it tells them? The legs running down the inside of your glass are actually alcohol. The more legs the more alcohol (try putting some vodka in a wine glass, talk about legs!!).

So, what does this tell us, and should we really evaluate a wine based on its legs? Well for the answer we must go back about 800 hundred years to when English wine merchants were tasked with buying wine to bring back to the castles of England. In those days it was exceedingly difficult to get grapes ripe without some sort of terrible weather, pest or disease event forcing an early harvest. However, when those great vintages came along that allowed the grapes to ripen a bit longer, they developed more flavor and sugar. These vintages were sought after for being of higher quality because they had more hang time which in turn usually meant higher sugar. Since more sugar means more alcohol in the finished wine, merchants would use the legs of the wine to evaluate the wine’s “ripeness” with hopes of purchasing the best wine.  Keep in mind the alcohol of wine back then was much lower than we typically see today. A wine with 10-11% alcohol would have been high back then! Today of course you can just look at the label to see the alcohol and of course higher alcohol does not necessarily mean higher quality.

So, the next time someone holds up a glass to look at the legs, you can explain to them that they may want to just look at the label if they want to know the alcohol.

Dec 1, 2021 at 11:00 AM Permalink

Sense Memory

Yesterday I was catching up with a friend who is recovering from COVID-19. He had a pretty mild case but like a lot of people who have had COVID, he lost his sense of smell and taste. Five weeks later it still has not come back 100%. It made me realize just how important my sense of taste and smell is. As a winemaker, my livelihood depends on my palate and more specifically, my ability to sense the aromas, flavors, textures and taste of a wine. Customers often say, “You must have an amazing palate!” like it is some sort of gift I was born with. The truth is we are all born with the same biological abilities to smell and taste. What separates those that are deemed to have “great palates” is the individual’s ability to connect their brain with their olfactory and reference a previous smell or taste. Remember, none of us were born with a memory bank of smells and tastes, nor were we born with the ability to put language to describe those senses.

This concept of what wine tasting is really became clear one day while watching the “Actor’s Studio” with James Lipton. He was interviewing Dennis Hopper about his many great films and he brings up “Easy Rider”. He asks Hopper what being on the set was like and the many rumors about the drug use during filming. Hopper laughs and explains that while he was never high while acting in the film, he could have never acted out those scenes if he had never experienced being high in real life. He said the essence of acting is relying on your “Sense Memory”. That really resonated as the same idea of wine tasting; we are calling on our sense memory to recall flavors experienced in our past to describe a wine.

Becoming a great wine taster takes two things in my opinion, experience and clarity. Experience comes from our everyday life. Since the day we were born we have been taking in the world around us. Since almost all of the flavors in wine are associated with those in the natural world, our vocabulary of wine terms is often associated with things found in food and nature. I had the pleasure of working with a great chef at one of my first jobs with the Robert Mondavi winery. Her name is Denise and she taught me a lot about the importance of fresh ingredients in cooking. She would often invite me along to purchase the items needed for an upcoming luncheon we were putting together at the winery. As we strolled the aisles at the market, Denise would pull out a pocketknife and started cutting into fruits and vegetables.  “Close your eyes” she said, “here smell this tangerine…now this orange, see the difference?” I had never really taken the time to smell the difference and let it register in my brain. It was a turning point in my career. From then on, I spent more time taking in the smells of the natural world and storing them for later. We all come from different areas of the world and different cultures. Based on your experiences in the world you have specific set of personal sense memories that you can use to describe wine. I will never forget the first time I was invited to sit with the winemakers at my first job, we would taste 6-8 wines blind, then discuss. This particular tasting was chardonnay from our cellar that was being blended for bottling. As I let my pen flow with whatever came to mind, I started listing smells, flavors and tastes. When it came time to discuss, the head winemaker called on me to tell everyone what I saw in the first wine. Looking at my notes I was quite nervous, “lemon curd, pear, yeast, and mother’s makeup” everyone laughed. When asked what “mother’s makeup” was I explained that the wine smelled exactly like the base makeup my mother used to apply. I would sit on the end of her bed before school while she got ready for work…. the wine reminded me of that experience, it was my sense memory.

Another important idea in being a good taster is emotional clarity. When you are experiencing emotions such as frustration, nervousness, worry or anger, I believe our ability to sense aromas and taste wines is greatly diminished. Most days I have a routine where I come in have my coffee, answer emails and then go downstairs to taste through monthly QC, competitive sets or blend tastings.  I have found that if I am still thinking about an email or if something is bothering me, or in general my head is not clear, my tasting notes are simple and nondescriptive. Over the years when I have found myself in these situations I put on some music, the sense memories start to connect, and I am once again able to connect the dots between what I am sensing and my ability to describe it with language. I find Pink Floyd’s “Dark Side of the Moon” is particularly good for Pinot Noir tasting days! Quite often we see first time tasters in the tasting room, and they are worried about the etiquette of wine. Unfortunately, wine has had its fair share of snobbery over the years that makes many people uncomfortable when tasting wine. Tasters are often so worried about how to swirl the glass or what they are supposed to be tasting that they never really get to experience all the great things about wine. We preach non-pretentious education in the tasting room and really try to help people learn and become comfortable with the terminology and etiquette, all the while having fun. I urge you to do the same when sharing wine with friends and family. We can educate without being snobs!

Remember at the end of the day wine is supposed to be fun. We all experience wine differently and there are really only two terms you need to know Yum and Yuck!

Feb 24, 2021 at 3:19 PM Permalink

Pairing Wine With Winter Steelhead

Lemon Butter & Garlic Steelhead PREP TIME: 10 MIN | COOK TIME: 20 MIN SERVES 2   INGREDIENTS: 1 LB Steelhead Filet, Skin removed 2 TBSP Butter Juice of 1/2 Lemon 2 Cloves Garlic, minced 1 TSP Parsley, minced Salt & Pepper to taste INSTRUCTIONS: 1. Preheat oven to 375 F 2. Spray a sheet of aluminum foil with cooking spray and place the trout filet in the center.  Fold up all four sides of the foil.  Season the trout with salt, pepper and lemon juice. 3. Melt butter in microwave-safe bowl, stir in fresh minced garlic and drizzle over the trout.  Top with fresh minced parsley. 4. Fold the sides of the foil over the trout, covering completely, and seal into a closed packet.  Place directly on oven rack and bake until cooked through, about 15-20 minutes.  *You'll know it's done with you can flake the fish with a fork and the meat will be opaque.   The 'Lure' of the Umpqua The Umpqua Valley has a special place in Scott's heart.  He grew up fly fishing the North Umpqua River with his father and knew early on that someday he would move to the area to make wine and raise a family.   Did you know? One of the things that makes the North Umpqua River so unique, is that it is home to both summer and winter Steelhead runs.  This is special because there are very few Summer Steelhead runs left.  Pretty cool, huh?  The North Umpqua River possesses 31 miles of the most scenic flyfishing-only water in the Northwest.  Right now, winter run steelhead are in the river, coming into the North Fork of the Umpqua River beginning in January, peaking in February and tapering off through the first part of March.  We are huge advocates for catch and release for all wild steelhead, but do enjoy a hatchery fish every now and then.   NOTE: You can tell if a fish has come from a hatchery because the adipose fin is clipped, making it legal to keep.   Many people may not know how to properly pair wine with Steelhead, so in honor of this wonderful winter bounty that we're so lucky to have, we're sharing our favorite recipes and wine pairings to get the most flavor and enjoyment out of your Winter Steelies.  Enjoy!   Steelhead falls into the Meaty Fish categoriy, types of fish that are firm with a meaty and steak-like texture.  For meaty fish,  the best wine pairings are rich white wines with lots of flavor and even a few red and rosé wines.  This this particular recipe, we recommend our 2015 Susan's Vineyard Pinot Noir.  This wine's silky texture with sweet fruit is balanced enough not to overpower the sometimes delicate flavor in Steelhead and quenching enough to pair well with smoked fish recipes.

Feb 21, 2018 at 7:37 AM Permalink