Cowboys & Wine

In late June we had the privilege of joining K Bar L for their Wine in the Wilderness retreat—where we tasted and paired wine, rode horseback, and enjoyed the gorgeous sweeping Montana views. It was an unforgettable weekend. In honor, a cowboy poem.

Mornin' on the Desert

Mornin' on the desert, and the wind is blowin' free,
And it's ours, jest for the breathin', so let's fill up, you and me.
No more stuffy cities, where you have to pay to breathe,
Where the helpless human creatures move and throng and strive and seethe.

Mornin' on the desert, and the air is like a wine,
And it seems like all creation has been made for me and mine.
No house to stop my vision, save a neighbor's miles away,
And a little 'dobe shanty that belongs to me and May.

Lonesome? Not a minute: Why I've got these mountains here,
That was put here just to please me, with their blush and frown and cheer.
They're waiting when the summer sun gets too sizzlin' hot,
An' we jest go campin' in 'em with a pan and coffee pot.

Mornin' on the desert-- I can smell the sagebrush smoke.
I hate to see it burnin', but the land must sure be broke.
Ain't it jest a pity that wherever man may live,
He tears up so much that's beautiful that the good God has to give?

"Sagebrush ain't so pretty?" Well, all eyes don't see the same,
Have you ever seen the moonlight turn it to a silvery flame?
An' that greasewood thicket yonder -- well, it smells jest awful sweet,
When the night wind has been shakin' it -- for its smell is hard to beat.

Lonesome? Well, I guess not! I've been lonesome in a town.
But I sure do love the desert with its stretches wide and brown.
All day through the sagebrush here the wind is blowin' free.
An' it's ours jest for the breathin', so let's fill up, you and me.

The author of "Mornin' in the Desert" is unknown, though the poem is sometimes attributed to John R. Nielson. This poem was published in a single-author collection of poetry published in Arizona in 1910, called "Songs from the Sage Brush" by Katherine Fall Pettey. The poem was also featured in an episode of the old radio show called "Death Valley Days" as well as used in many periodicals, newspapers, books throughout the 20th century, and recently has had an upsurge in popularity on webpages on the internet.   

 

 

 

Complex and Elusive: Mouthfeel

This is a post about body and mouthfeel. Whoa…! Easy killer. This is a wine blog! We’re talking about the texture of wine here...

Creamy, rich, smooth, silky, juicy, supple, viscous, lean… These days, balance, body, and astringency (all factors contributing to the texture of wine) are right alongside aroma and flavor as factors leading consumers buying choices. Said some Pacific Northwesterner somewhere: It’s all about the way it feels.

 
Contributing market trends, nationwide:

-         Steady influx of new wine consumers who are demanding “smooth” wines—more inclined toward fruit and silk and less so leather, cigarbox, or firm tannins.

-         Consumers who are not aging their wines but drinking them relatively quickly after purchase—a turn toward winemaking techniques that “do the cellaring” for them.

-         Trend toward high-extract, high-alcohol reds, adjusting winemaking techniques so that high tannin levels don’t stick out.

So how do we go about catering to this in our highly tannic Washington state? Here are some of the traditional techniques:

-         Malolactic fermentation (the effect that made California Chardonnay famous) produces a broader, fatter mouthfeel by transforming sharp malic acid into gentler lactic acid.

-         Barrel aging can add oak tannin for structure and, over time, increase roundness through evaporation and concentration.

-         Yeast additives, which break down and contribute to a creamy texture.

-         Residual sugar, a natural mouthfeel enhancer (think dessert wines), can make wine feel full, like syrup. Even a half percent more residual sugar can change the entire feel of the wine.

Matt’s philosophy is that mouthfeel is predicated on how everything is in balance—alcohol, acid, fruit, oak. Harvest decisions play a lot into it—too early, more acidic; a bit later, lower acid, etc. We do a bit of experimentation every year with the yeast we use, must mostly for the purposes of creative exploration.

So when you walk into a winery with mouthfeel on your mind, go forth! Be not afraid of that elusive but oh so important quality of the you consume. And use some fancy words while you’re at it:

-         Weight (viscous, full, thin, watery)

-         Texture (syrup, creamy)

-         Heat (hot, warm)

-         Irritation (spritz, prickle, tingle, pepper, chili)

-         Dynamic (puckery, chewy, grippy, adhesive)

-         Harsh (hard, aggressive, abrasive)

-         Patriculate (talc, clay, powder, plaster, dusty, grainy, chalky, sawdust)

-         Surface Smoothness (furry, fine, energy, velvet, suede, silk, chamois, satin)

-         Complex (soft, supple, fleshy, mouthcoat, rich)

-         Drying (numbing, parching, dry)

-         Unique (green, sappy, resinous)

-         Acidity (metallic, steely, sour, soapy)

-         Flavor (concentration, activity, lift)

[developed by researchers at the Australian Wine Research Institute]

 

Punching Down

WARNING: Muscles required.

There is a point in the wine-making process, after crush and when fermentation is just beginning, that muscles are required. Not that they aren't required throughout the rest of the year for basically everything that is done around here (lest I am remiss)... but it is during this time that they are put to the test: can you punch down with the professionals?

Since the color and most of the flavor in red wines is derived from the skins, it is important to extract as much as possible from fermentation. The creation of CO2 during fermentation causes the skins to rise, forming a cap. The cap needs to be pushed down and broken up so that the color, flavor and tannins can be extracted by the fermenting juice. The more aggressive you are about breaking up the cap, the more wine will be extracted, dark and tannic. Other than enhancing the flavor and a great upper body workout, here are reasons to punch down:

-      During the early stages of fermentation, it helps introduce oxygen to yeast cells, helping them “kick start” fermentation

-       It helps keep harmful bacteria or mold that could ruin your wine from forming

-      It helps dissipate heat that naturally occurs during fermentation—left alone, the cap can reach high temperatures 

At Two Mountain, like most wineries punching down by hand, we use what looks like a life-size potato-masher to push the cap down, break it, and submerge it again. Here, we punch-down at least twice per day (once in the morning and once before bed). Each bin gets about a week and a half of punchdowns—which, depending on when the bins come in, lasts from two to eight weeks. It is not an easy task! 

If you’ve ever attempted to make a red wine at home, but the finished product lacked color, taste, or astringency, changes are your wine could have benefited from doing punch downs—something to keep in mind. 

 

Sources:
http://wineyakimavalley.org/files/documents/Fast_Facts_and_Terminology.pdf
http://www.grapestompers.com/punch_down_cap.aspx