Tag Archives: Theory

Somms dealing with tartrate crystals

Oh my god, this is so bad. I’m pretty certain that the following essay is a fail.

This was a tricky question too: basically asking what advice I’d give to a sommelier when dealing with tartrates in front of a customer. Ignore it?

I definitely didn’t have enough advice to fill an hour. I finished the following essay in under 25 minutes (including mind mapping) not because I’m quick, but because I had little to say on the topic.

This essay also successfully illustrated how little I know about the facts when it comes to tartrates. I totally blanked when trying to explain the origin of the crystals, how they form a a technical description of how they can be removed (and there is more than one way to remove them!) I think the structure of my essay overall is alright, but I had nothing to say on the topic and it shows!!!

**sigh** I guess that’s why we do practice essays.

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How would you advise a sommelier in dealing with naturally-occurring tartrates with a customer?

Tartrate crystals (sodium bitartrate) are natural by-products of the fermentation process and a particular issue for white wines as the tartrate crystals will build under chilled conditions. The concern is that, though completely harmless, it looks like tiny shards of broken glass. Tartrate crystals in red wines are not as noticeable (possibly at the end of the cork) and so this tends to be more of a white wine issue. Sommeliers may encounter tartrate crystals when serving wines to a guest and there could be three ways to deal with this in front of a customer: decanting, switching wines or education.

Tartrate crystals are large enough to see and, while totally harmless, can give a slight bitterness when consumed. For customers expecting a clear bottle of wine, decanting the wine off of its tartrate sediment could be an easy solution. Filtering the wine through a wetted paper coffee filter would also help to recover the most amount of wine possible.

If the customer is particularly sensitive about the crystals, gently steering the customer to a completely different winey could be another successful tactic to dealing with customer situations. As tartrate crystals are more likely to happen in smaller-production wineries (where the crystals can be explained to buyers), suggesting larger case production winery brands could help avoid this situation altogether.

Finally, a sommelier could educate the customer on what is happening in the bottle. Tartrate crystal formation is the result of less process at the winery. To remove tartrate crystals, the wine needs to be chilled to -4°C for up to a few weeks in order for the crystals to come out of suspension before the wine is then filtered off. The customer then may delight in knowing that they have a less filtered (so less manipulated) wine in their glass.

While completely harmless, some guests at a restaurant expect their wines to be crystal clear and sommeliers need strategies when encountering tartrate crystals tableside. Though the physical act of decanting (or filtering), by switching to a winery less likely to throw tartrate crystals or by education, a sommelier can successfully serve the needs of their guests.

Will micro-oxygenation render barrels obsolete?

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This wine makes me as happy as this essay. It also neatly proves that micro-oxygenation will not make barrels obsolete.

I kinda like this essay. It was a beautiful moment where all my facts and figures were easily recalled and the essay question itself provoked further questions from me (which I am now pursuing with different wineries to find out their experience). I think the structure is pretty clear too.

This is the kind of moment (and feeling) I always wish for…

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It has been said that “micro-oxygenation might render expensive barrels obsolete”. What do you think is the future of micro-oxygenation, and what impact (if any) will this have on the wine industry?

With the advent of successful micro-oxygenation over the past few decades, this practice has increased in use and importance in the wine industry, and some have even suggested that micro-oxygenation might render expensive barrels obsolete. Micro-oxygenation is a process that mimics the minute oxygen exchange that usually happens over months in barrel. A micro-oxygenation meter can be used in tank to diffuse out tiny amounts (0.1mg/liter/month) of oxygen that can help polymerize tannins and stabilize color, and if oak flavor was also necessary, this could be added in the form of oak alternatives. There are advantages and disadvantages of using micro-oxygenation and depending on the size of the winery and skill of the winemaker, this technique could be used to replace barrels in some wineries.

One of the first advantages of micro-oxygenation is the relative cost to barrels. The initial capital outlay for a micro-oxygenation diffuser is high, with ongoing costs related to O2 tanks, but these expenses can be amortized over larger amounts of wine (depending on your tank size). There is also a significant savings of labor: moving and monitoring dozens of barrels relative to programing the micro-oxygenation diffuser in a single tank. Relative to that tank of wine divided into dozens of French oak barrels (costing around €1,200 for each new one), micro-oxygenation can be an economic option for some wineries, particularly larger wineries.

There is also an advantage of speed. Whereas the traditional oak barrels will naturally have individual rates of oxygen exchange (also depending on how many times that barrel has been used), a micro-oxygenation diffuser can be dialed in precisely to the level of O2 needed for a particular wine. With all of the wine in one tank, it is relatively easy to measure a wine, determine the rate of micro-oxygenation and set the diffuser to dispense that amount. Follow up monitoring and measurement in tank is relatively easy as well, compared to measuring dozens of barrels for the same metrics.

Despite these advantages, there still needs to be considerable practice and skill applied to use a micro-oxygenation meter. The science of tannin management is not fully understood and deliberate exposing a wine to oxygen always carries a risk of oxidation. This risk is further magnified by the volume of oxidizing an entire tank of wine relative to a single barrel. Calculating the rate of oxygen metering is not a straight formula, so a winemaker would need to understand the risks and gain considerable practice before completely forgoing barrels.

Some in the industry also question whether micro-oxygenation will result in a homogenization of styles of wine. For that same disadvantage that every traditional oak barrel will result in a slightly different wine (both from micro-oxygenation and from choice of origin/toast of the barrel), those differences can be blended to create a more complex wine than if everything was dosed from one tank. Even if a tank undergoing micro-oxygenation used a variety of flavor profiles of oak alternatives, the winemaker there will not have as much control to blend the final product to something more complex. A consistent wine style might be the aim of a larger volume of branded wines, but smaller operations might want to keep the variation (and subsequent potential complexity) of using smaller barrels.

Micro-oxygenation has several advantages including economics and speed, which might render this practice ideal for larger, branded wines. Just the same, using this technique requires considerable risk, which might be easier for the larger winey to absorb, and skill, which the larger winey might be able to attract. For these reasons, there seems to be no issue to use micro-oxygenation for larger, branded wines where consistency is key to the style. On the other hand, smaller wineries might still incur the higher expenses and longer maturation of using barrels for the same effect, if only because their consumers will accept more complexity and variation in wines.

The future impact of micro-oxygenation will be the continued quality improvement for branded wines at a relatively low cost, creating consistent wines with smooth tannins and appropriate color, and raising the bar at the value end of wine industry.

Wild versus commercial yeasts

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Oh, regrets.

The following is a timed essay that I did as practice for my upcoming Certified Wine Educator exam. I was halfway through the total allotted time (60 minutes) when I realized that I should have structured it to be compare/contrast wild and commercial yeast by topic rather than the clumsy way I did it here (which was everything-about-each-yeast-separately).

Yum. Yeast.

I guess that is why I practice.

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What is your take on the cultured vs. wild yeast topic? Is the claim of “wild yeast fermentation” valid, or does cultured yeast dominate the wineries of the world to the extent that wild yeasts are subdued?

A 2013 study by the University of British Columbia found that spontaneous fermentations with so-called “wild” yeasts were quickly overtaken by commercial yeast strains from the air, and these stronger strains could complete the fermentations to dryness. There were some flaws in the study, but the subsequent reporting raised the question: do wild yeasts matter?

It is an important question as many wineries claim to use ‘wild’ or ‘native’ yeast and use this as a marketing point of differentiation, yet this study, and other anecdotal evidence around the world, found that even without inoculating, the stronger, commercial yeast strains dominate fermentations. Commercial yeasts (generally Saccharomyces cerevisiae) are available for sale from any oenology store. These yeasts have been separated out by a microbiologist for various traits, multiplied, packaged and sold ready to add to your must. Wild yeasts, on the other hand, are native to a particular cellar. They live on the equipment, in the vineyard and in the air. The wild yeast are from other strains and oddly enough, the discussion of wild versus cultured has been so significant that oenology companies are now culturing wild yeast strains for sale.

Cultured yeasts have been an input to winemaking since Pasteur discovered the cause of fermentation in the 19th century. Many winemakers today will use cultured yeast for their specific properties (low foaming, low VA production or maybe tolerance to high alcohol) and it is this predictability that make cultured yeast so relevant. Being predictable means that the winemaker can control the quality and expression of the vineyard a little better. The winemaker at Smith-Madrone has said that he used wild ferments on his Pinot Noir for over 35 years before switching to cultured yeasts and cited that the cultured yeast allowed for a more pure expression of fruit.

Of course very few technical sheets or winemakers will openly cite what strain of commercial yeast they are using (but they would be open about other things like, which forest they get their barrels from) as it interferes with the consumers’ romantic notion of winemaking. There is also a fear of standardization: could wines that use the same yeasts (which impacts fermentation kinetics) start to taste the same?

Wild yeast fermentations certainly add complexity to a wine partially due to the different metabolites of these yeasts. Fermentation kinetics will also be different (might be slower to start and warm up) which will impart their own characteristics. Wild yeasts, when taken from the native environment, certainly saves money for the winery, which must be considered, and the romantic notion that wine is merely grapes carefully guided to the bottle will stay intact.

But most truly wild yeasts (non-Saccharomyces cerevisiae) have many drawbacks, mainly, that many of them die around 4-6% alcohol, implying that, even if a cellar has never had a packaged yeast brought into the area, Saccharomyces cerevisiae must finish the job anyway. This reason alone leaves the question of using a commercial yeast, which has the least amount of risk, as a no-brainer, but also that most aroma differences in wines made by wild versus natural yeasts are lost within the first 12 months, so again, why bother?

Knowing that a microbiologist can very easily separate our any yeast strains and reproduce it to use for a fermentation, it should be acknowledged that all yeast could really considered to be wild. Some have just been ‘tamed’. Also consider that the human hand is as much a part of the definition of terroir as the soil, the climate or even the grape variety. The winemakers’ job is to not destroy the individual terroir of the wine. If a wild fermentation starts to generate high amounts of volatile acidity because the yeasts are sluggish to get fermentation started, is this volatile acidity interfering with terroir or part of it?

In the end, it seems that the debate of wild yeast versus commercial yeasts is a philosophical debate. Studies have proven that wild yeasts and commercial yeasts co-exist in many fermentations and contribute their own positive and negative aspects to a finished wine, so the choice depends on the style of wine you are making and for what commercial segment of the market.

Review of the Italian Wine Professional Certification Program

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If you already have some wine knowledge under your belt and are ready to take your education of wines from Italy to the next level, I highly recommend pursuing the Italian Wine Professional certification program, proctored by Italian Wine Central.

First, be sure to check out Italian Wine Central’s amazing website. It’s really easy to navigate, it has fantastic (and consistent) maps and I can always find a quick answer to whatever I’m researching. Go bookmark it now.

On to the course!

What is the Italian Wine Professional?
The Italian Wine Professional is the second of two levels in Italian Wine Central’s education program, which is made available online several times a year (via Napa Valley Wine Academy). Once you register for the course, you’ll receive a physical textbook and join an online group where you can access eight weekly webinars and discuss the lessons with your classmates. The course is self-paced, but the weekly webinars and regular reminders will keep you on track. There is no required tasting portion (bummer, but I took the online course), but they do have flights that they recommend for each of the eight units that are commercially relevant.

The Italian Wine Professional textbook is great.

The final exam is an online 100-question test comprising a mix of multiple-choice questions, map identification questions, and a very tricky yet useful exercise in which you’ll have to correct the mistakes in an Italian wine list—wrong section, DOC versus DOCG, incorrect grape, appellation typos, etc. In addition to the exam, you have the option to put together a presentation on any topic from a given list to improve your grade (I planned to do this myself, but time is never on my side).

What does the course entail?
First, let me tell you my favorite thing about the course: instead of studying wines region by region, the lessons are laid out by wine style, which makes much more sense. After a brief introduction to Italy, reds are covered first by northern, central, and southern regions, followed by whites in the same fashion. Finally, sparkling wines are covered in a separate section as well as baller wines (or luxury wines, as they’re called in the book).

I love love love the maps in the textbook!

This is by far the most logical way to study Italian wines. I’m also impressed that the course creators combined premium wines into their own group, because that’s naturally how your potential buyer would think of them. With those out of the way, it’s easier to focus on understanding the diversity of other DOC/Gs that usually stand in the shadow of these classics.

Aside from the excellent curriculum, another plus of this course is the fact that you can check your progress with quizzes in the book. The online portion of the course basically repeats the text from the book, although quizzes are included throughout each section to ensure you retain the information and get a feel for the types of questions you’ll see in the final exam.

The only flaw I found was in the online exam provider, ProctorU: I finished my exam only to have the screen freeze, forcing me to start the exam over. The live proctor wasn’t sure if my score had been saved or not, so I had to wait a few days to find out if it had even registered my test. Needless to say, I didn’t need that kind of stress after cramming for the last few days!

Should I take this course?
If you’re passionate about Italian wine, then yes! The Italian Wine Professional course offers a challenging yet logical way to learn about Italian wine, so it will certainly be worth your time should you choose to pursue it.

I’m currently enrolled in the Italian Wine Scholar program by Wine Scholar Guild, which goes into the minutia of wine on a traditional region-by-region basis, so having this solid foundation of knowledge from the Italian Wine Professional makes this one easier to follow.

I recommend this course for wine professionals or enthusiasts who already have a strong background in various wines of the world, such as those above WSET Level 2. So if you really love Italian wine, be sure to check out the Italian Wine Professional certification program today!

CWE practice essay: Biodynamics

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This is probably a terrible idea.

So I should definitely do it.

As part of my preparations for the Certified Wine Educator exams, I am going through their online course which is essentially the book club, logically organized all in one place. This course covers many books I’ve been meaning to read and includes exercises (including the essay below) and online quizzes.

I spent five mins brain-dumping and a few more making a brief outline. The red and blue words are the editor’s suggestions.

This was my first timed essay (30 minutes)…in its raw form. I actually took the essay over to fiverr.com and for a grammar check and critique (and learned that I used the word “includes” a lot). It’s no small investment ($12 for this essay), but how can you improve without getting feedback?

To be clear, this was done closed-book in timed conditions (do you also apologize before showing your unpolished work to someone?) Is this helpful?

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What do you think about biodynamic viticulture? Does it have some basis in fact, is it all just a new age fantasy, or do you believe something in between?

Biodynamic viticulture is a system of farming whereby the farm is seen as a single organism, and that organism should be taking care of itself in a holistic way including aligning activities with the gravitational pull of the moon. It is of growing importance (and receiving more press) in the wine world with some positive aspects (including connection to the vineyard and marketing) and challenges (including scientific rigor and business risk).

Biodynamics has the benefit of being something solidly achievable by having an established set of principles and protocols to follow, including a third-party certification process. Unlike other wine terms like ‘natural wine’ or ‘sustainable farming’ (without certification), there is understanding of biodynamics, although this system of farming may not be as well-known to the end wine consumer as organic farming.

Which is an opportunity for wineries that do farm biodynamically. Indeed, the farming practices that include fermenting cow manure in a cow’s horn (Prep 501) lends itself well to storytelling to consumers, and is definitely a point of differentiation from a marketing perspective.

The fact that biodynamics is used by some of the most well-known and respected wine estates around the world (including Domaine de la Romanee Conti (Burgundy) and Zind Humbrecht (Alsace)) gives credibility to the biodynamic process. These premium wineries don’t use biodynamics as a marketing point, but will instead, if asked, talk about how biodynamics beings the farmer even more in touch with the vines.

Because biodynamics uses more homeopathic prevention and remedies in the vineyard, efficacy might take longer than more studied organic or conventional targeted strategies, which means that a farmer who practices biodynamic farming needs to spend even more time carefully monitoring the vineyard for pests, diseases and other imbalances.

Spending more time in the vineyard is certainly not harmful, and may be the source of the benefit, but these biodynamic treatments have not been rigorously studied scientifically. Spraying stinging nettle tea in the vineyard might not harm the vines, but was it the tea preparation (and the dynamic stirring that made the tea) that was the benefit, or is it the extreme care the farmer is giving the vines the benefit. Many people point out, quite correctly, the the founder of biodynamics, Rudolph Steiner, was never a farmer, and so this system of farming has always been based on philosophy from other disciplines, not reality.

The fact that the definition of biodynamics implies a closed-system farm yet you can purchase the inputs to biodynamic farming (stinging nettle may not grow in your climate, or it might be tricky to secure a stag’s bladder for fermentation) also raises questions of whether the unique treatments give rise to a healthy vineyard or, again, is it the vigilance of the farmer the driver of quality.

Farming biodynamically is a risky endeavor from a business perspective, especially when converting from other farming systems. Like treating a cough with homeopathic remedies may not be as effective as taking traditional cough syrup, there can be a lag time before the vines develop their own balance and self-resistance against pests and diseases.

In the end, there are many examples of premium wines that practice biodynamics. Due to business risks, and because it seems that spending more time studying the vineyard are the only established facts of biodynamics, this farming system may only be appropriate for boutique wines that can get the return on investment for such careful farming practices. Until there is more scientific explanations, biodynamics might not be something that should be widely adopted for all wines at all price points, but it certainly does no material harm in the vineyard, may strengthen the connection between the farmer and the vines and is a unique point of differentiation from a marketing perspective.

Every Wine is a Blend

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Blending is the process of combining one or more wines, in order to increase production quantity, achieve a particular price point, obtain the best balance and complexity or obtain a standardized style (from vintage to vintage). Even a single vineyard wine is likely a blend of grapes that were picked days or weeks apart to introduce complexity. Blends can be made quantitatively (accounting for levels of acids or alcohols) or organoleptically (blending by aromas and flavors), and are one of the most commonly used tools in the winemakers’ kit.

Blending is routinely employed for high volume wines with price points that are more sensitive than source, as in the case of California White Zinfandel. Here, the blending strategy has two aims: standardized style (by blending from a larger area) and the ability to purchase grapes on the spot market to allow winemakers to respond quickly to changes in demand. High volume wines can also benefit from the more liberal AVAs like “California”, adding small amounts of other grapes to smooth vintage variation (like Petit Sirah for spice, or Barbera for acidity).

Blends are also commonly used by smaller scale boutique operations, especially as a way to induce complexity. For instance, Merlot is often used to soften austerity and fill in the mid-palate of Cabernet Sauvignon in Bordeaux-style blends. Château Rauzan-Gassies speak of Cabernet Sauvignon’s elegant expression and precision of fruit, but even in ripe years (like 2009 in Bordeaux), adding Merlot gives you a broader spectrum of flavors, even if by doing so you lose some of the precision of Cabernet Sauvignon.

In some older wine regions, blending defines the style of wine, as in the fortified wines of Jerez in Spain. Historically, Sherry was sold as a vintage-dated wine, but the region started adopting the now widely-used solera fractionalized blending system in the mid-19th century. The benefits are continuity and consistency, with the added bonus of refreshing nutrients for wines that are under the flor yeast (to maintain the health of the flor). As this is also a region and wine that is more about the house style, rather than the absolute terroir (a concept still largely seen in Port as well), blending here can help maintain a consistent house style.

Wine blends

Other reasons for blending include hitting a particular price point, as witnessed by Mommy’s Time Out Pinot Grigio, which is actually blended with the less expensive Garganega, and can sit on the retail shelf for around $8.

Before our current climate of wine regulations and testing, blending of wines was seen as a dubious and fraudulent practice. However, today’s blending (when legal) is one of the most important tools in the winemakers’ kit at all price points, and can help with achieving an intended volume and standard style, as well as inducing complexity, whilst hitting a sensitive price point and maintaining continuity and consistency of a house style.

Why is alcohol in wine so important?

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As the second most abundant component in wine (after water), understating alcohol’s role in wine is important. Alcohol is so central to the definition of wine that in many countries around the world, there are stated alcohol minimums in order for a fermented grape product to even be called wine (5.0% in the UK, 8.5% (with exceptions) in the EU, and 0.5% in United States). Alcohol is important for sensory, stability, and health reasons, but there are also important negative consequences as well.

The sensory impact is the most obvious and important role that alcohol plays in wine. Alcohol enhances perception of the body and also increases aromatics as it carries aroma molecules with it when it volatilizes. Wine is certainly more generous in weight and aromatics than grape juice. Alcohol also provides a warming sensation on the palate as well as in your skin as alcohol causes blood vessels to dilate, moving blood closer to the surface of your skin.

chemical formula for alcohol

Alcohol also enhances the stability (and shelf life) of a wine. Specifically, alcohol is toxic to wine yeasts above ~15.5%. A moderate alcohol wine (11-14%) with the smallest amount of residual sugar is subject to refermentation in the bottle unless sterile filtered (not possible until post-WWII) or fortified to 16%+ alcohol. The classic example is Port, which has high levels of sugar (around 100g/L) but remains stable in the bottle due to the 19%+ alcohol by volume. In this case, the sugar helps to preserve the Port for many years, aided by the stability and longevity that the high alcohol provides.

Alcohol plays an important role in the longevity of humans as well. For centuries, wine and beer was preferred over water because microbes could not survive in wine and beer and were, therefore, more “clean” to drink than water. More recently, studies have shown moderate alcohol consumption can decrease the chance of everything from diabetes to dementia and even reduce your risk of cardiovascular disease. Beyond diseases, Catholic University of Campobasso recently analyzed a pool of studies and concluded that moderate alcohol consumption can decrease your chance of death by 18%.

But drinking more than moderate amounts can have important negative consequences. In addition to increasing your chances of liver disease and certain types of cancer (including breast cancer), large amounts of alcohol can negatively impact your physical (inflammation, lack of coordination, slurred speech) and mental health (memory loss, poor judgement, addiction). Social consequences of alcohol are an important topic in many parts of the world with organizations like DrinkWise in Australia and DrinkWare in the UK specifically setup to reduce the misuse of alcohol.

Alcohol in wine is important. Wine would not be the same pleasurable experience without alcohol nor would it last as long in the bottle. Alcohol is important for its health consequences, and when wine is allowed to be a respectful guest at the dinner table, the health benefits and the pleasure will accrue to the drinkers as well.

The plan

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Which brings me to today: pissed off at what an asshole I have been about attaining mastery of the global business of wine and embracing a new attitude of urgency.

That said, I do have the luxury of time. Though see? That passive attitude just crept up again. “I have all the time in the world!!” But let me explain:

Given where I am as a candidate, the June 2017 exams would have been my second out of three attempts. But as I indicated before, I had the good fortune of falling in love and now we’re getting married and it turns out that weddings are expensive (yes, I’m still trying to talk him into eloping). With the $10,000-15,000 annual expenses to pursue the MW, I don’t know how to do that and save up for a wedding on my little wine industry income (my darling is a flight attendant, so we both have to make adjustments to save up for our big day).

Oh, did I show you my gorgeous engagement ring?

So plan A was to sit in June 2017 and take 2018 off (to save money and get married).

Buuuuuuuuut where I am in the program (I’ve already taken my one year off), I would be out of the program in 2018 and have to re-apply. It took me a while to work out the machinations, but basically a candidate gets three attempts in four years (so one year ‘off’). I already took that year off so I can’t take 2018 off as well without losing my candidacy.

So after a few weeks of sleepless nights, and worried as fuck, Plan B was developed: I decided to drop my candidacy as of the 2018-2019, rejoin in the fall of 2019. The big risk here is that I have to reapply and they are *way* more strict about letting people in the program than they were in 2011 when I started this jam.

I only have one more shot at this. That’s the new attitude.

And so I want to use this blog to record the mess that is preparing for the Master of Wine exams.

Did I show you my engagement ring?? It’s so perfect!!!

I have a weekly plan set up (version 12 this calendar year, if you care to know) dividing the Theory syllabus into chunks and the Practical into countries (with major associated varieties) and styles (like sweet wines, old world sparkling, rosés, etc.).

The plan is to attack one theory topic each week and show you my mastery paragraph (a summary paragraph on the topic – I learned the mastery paragraph technique from Doug Frost, MW, MS). I will be doing writing drills for theory but not until after the madness of OND. I’m not sure how to summarize the practical knowledge for you.

Did I mention I’m starting a new job (and creating a new division) for my company in October?

Anyway, I would love to hear your feedback on my studies — positive or negative.

Me drinking one of many coffees to come in the next few years. Oh – and you can see my engagement ring in this photo too!