Bea's Labels

We bottled our entire production of 2011 Viognier from the two vines at our house today (all five bottles). Our daughter was very eager to make the labels for the wine. We started with blank label sheets, water colors and markers, and made about 18 labels. She then selected her fave-five, and we applied them together. This wine is not for sale, so no need for any words. I think they are beautiful. We may have to do a few more that we can scan to use as the basis for a future PWR label.

Creative winemaking part 2, in which we confess our error

In our previous post we mused about the nature of creativity in winemaking. To wit: is there any, or even room for any?

We compared winemakers to chefs, contrasting the way in which chefs are applauded for novel technique and approaches to food, while the winemaker is expected to get out of the way and allow the grape to express itself.

Part of the difference, of course, is that food has few boundaries, even if it does have tradition. A Béchamel must be a Béchamel, but if the cook changes it enough that it becomes something new, no one seems to mind. A chef can use wine, but if a winemaker uses food, the product is no longer wine. In that sense wine is constrained.

Béchamel. Thank you Wikipedia.

But really, I missed the point. The nature of creativity is all but impossible to discuss because it can't be known until it appears. If we say “X would be something new in wine,” we've already created it. All that remains is the doing. I would argue that wine types beyond still wine, such as sparkling and fortified arose out of creativity, along with creativity's dance partner, good fortune. Other winemaking differences or preferences are more reflections of style than of creativity.

Where and when the next creative breakthrough will arise remains to be seen. We'll work on it. Promise.

The role of a winemaker, the role of a chef

Herewith some rambling thoughts on the nature of creativity in winemaking. Expect revisions and updates as the writer's brain continues its churning. Please weigh in with your own thoughts and suggestions.

Winemakers must be a self-effacing lot. How many times do we hear winemakers say their job is to take perfect fruit and get out of the way, letting the grapes express their greatness in wine?
Chefs of course seek out the finest ingredients, but diners would be disappointed if chefs did the disappearing act that winemakers claim to aspire to.

In simply prepared, or familiar, dishes the quality of the ingredients may matter as much as the technique. But technique is what piques our interest, and why many of us are willing to pay big money to eat food. Even perfect ingredients cost much less than the plate prepared from them at a restaurant. We are paying for technique.

Technique.

From Adria's Wikipedia page and used under a Creative Commons License. Thanks!

The current issue of Lucky Peach has a wonderful, thought-provoking article on Ferran Adria, a master of technique to say the least. Adria makes the point clearly: "I laugh now when people say 'No, the future is the product, the ingredients.' That is gibberish. What's important is the creative talent."
What is the creative talent in wine, and how can it be set free? Winemakers know that the self-effacing statement is a convenient fiction that marketers and, we hope, the public want to hear. The winemaker must make decisions that will greatly influence the finished wine, and there really is no true expression of the fruit, unless you consider that to be the shriveled or rotten end state of unpicked grapes.

Is deciding to pick at 25 degrees Brix (percent sugar in the grapes) rather than 22, or 27, a creative decision? Are the other routine decisions of how to handle the fruit and fermenting must, and how to age the wine creative, or stylistic decisions?

Adria says that the first person to make a mousse expanded the culinary language. What's an analogy in wine? Aside from the endless grape varieties wine can be made with, we have categories such as still, sparkling, fortified. Sometimes grapes are processed in some way before fermentation, e.g., Amarone, Ice Wine. Relatively new (or returned) to the wine world are the "orange" wines, white wines fermented and aged on the skins, often in oxidative conditions. We also have new techniques at hand, such as flash-detente, electrodialysis, and reverse osmosis with selective membranes to adjust the concentration of compounds such as tartaric acid, acetic acid, alcohol and ethylphenols. Are these techniques expanding the language of wine? Do they offer new creative outlets?

Do the ever-popular Biodynamics(tm) rules for farming enhance the winemaker's creative options?

In truth, winemakers love to share ideas, and these discussions can lead to experimentation in the winery. Both the conversations and the experiments are a lot of fun. Is it creative to try a technique that another winemaker is already using? What is a creative breakthrough in wine, and where will the next come from?

Valentine's Day Thoughts

In 1998 I visited France for the first time, in the company of my wonderful wife-to-be. We explored Paris, Burgundy, the Rhone and Provence. Not bad for a 2-week visit. Between Burgundy and the Rhone we took an impulsive side trip to the Jura, nestled against the western tip of Switzerland.

There we found fabulously stinky cheeses and impossibly obscure (but delicious!) wines, from the ethereal Poulsards and Trousseaus to the tangy Savagnins and Vins de paille. We also found a spectacular campground, set among lakes underneath towering mountains.

Source: http://www.vacances-camping-jura-location.com/photos/photo-article-1285665301-1285748464.jpg

We found no grocery store, nor any other purveyor of food save for the one-Michelin-star restaurant at the campground itself (yes, that's how they do it in France. This is not KOA). Lacking appropriate attire to enter the restaurant, we sheepishly approached the kitchen door and explained our plight. "One hour" the shadowy figure behind the screen declared, "and 20 francs."

An hour later we were clutching a perfectly roast chicken and an abundance of frites. We returned to our campsite for the feast. We lacked silverware and napkins, but we did have a bottle of 1985 Burgundy we had found in a grocery store in Chablis for a song. '85 was a great vintage, but would a simple AOC Bourgogne hold up for 13 years? Yes, dear readers. Yes.

That meal, wonderful roast chicken, perfectly crisp french fries, and a simple but well aged Burgundy, enjoyed in the beautiful outdoors with my true love, is the most happily remembered meal of my life.

It's the day before Valentine's and, like many of you, we have yet to firm up our plans for tomorrow. As we consider our options, we'll look for inspiration in the memories of our time in the Jura. Enjoy your day!

Note: Inspiration for this post came from http://elsbethcooksanddrinks.wordpress.com/ Thank you, Elsbeth!